SILVEE FOX FARMING. 3 



rich fulvous, except for restricted black markings on the feet and ears, 

 a white area at the end of the tail, and certain white-tipped hairs on 

 the back and rump. Grading into the next phase the black increases 

 in extent until, in the typical cross fox, the black predominates on 

 the feet, legs, and underparts, while fulvous overlaying black covers 

 most of the head, shoulders, aDd back. A gradual increase of the 

 black and elimination of the fulvous, or its replacement by white, 

 results in the next phase, the silver (or silver gray) fox (fig. 1), in 

 which the entire pelage is dark at the base and heavily or lightly 

 overlaid with grayish white. The color of silver foxes varies from 

 grizzly to pure black, except for a few white-tipped hairs on the back 



Fig. 1.— A silver fox. 



and rump. Finally, in the black phase, the white is absent from all 

 parte except the tip of the tail, which is white in all four phases. 

 The jcd phase is much more abundant than the others, but all four 

 interbreed freely, and wherever one occurs occasional examples of 

 the others may be expected. In general the cross fox is fairly com- 

 mon, the silver gray 3carce, and the pure black very rare. 



The market value of skins of the different phases depends upon 

 the relative scarcity of the animals. 1 'he price paid for black skins, 

 however, has recently fallen considerably below that of silvers, for 

 the reason that furriers now dye ordinary ved fo.x skins a lustrous 

 black, and put them on the market at a comparatively low figure. 



