57 



SIZE, COLOR AND QUALITY. 



Wild animals, like human beings, seem to develop best 

 where they are obliged to put forth some effort to procure 

 the means for subsistence. The largest and most powerful 

 representatives of any species are not found in the fertile 

 valleys hut on the barren mountains, and where the range 

 of a species extends through different latitudes the animals 

 increase in size as they move away from the equator and 

 approach the poles. The males of any species are larger than 

 the females. Inbreeding makes the stock become more 

 symmetrical but smaller, while crossing the various strains 

 produces larger animals. 



With the exception of the beaver and Alaska red fox the 

 darkest hued representatives of every species are those liv- 

 ing nearest the equator. Cold seems to cause the fur of all 

 animals to become lighter in color, and white mammals as 

 a race are found only in the arctic regions. The fur also 

 becomes lighter with age, the new growth with a few not- 

 able exceptions always being darker than the old coat. 

 White, black, brown, and grej are the predominating colors ; 

 but red and yellow mammals are quite numerous, and a 

 few species even show a blue tinge. 



White has always been considered a mark of distinction 

 in fur. The North American Indian set a high value on a 

 white "Buffalo "and would give several horses in exchange 

 for it. The Alaska Indians would give five otters or foxes 

 for a single white marten. White elephants are regarded 

 with reverence in Siam. The sacred ox of India is white, 

 and the coronation robes of royalty have always been made 

 of white ermine. 



The beaver attains its greatest depth of color in certain 

 districts of Canada, and the Alaska Red Fox is much 

 darker than the more southern representatives of the 

 species, but with very few exceptions there is a decrease 

 in pigment as animals move away from the equator and 

 approach the poles. The tropical mammals have been 

 known to become lighter haired when they have been 

 kept in captivity in colder climates. 



