524 BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA. 



as Sam Weller gave the orthography of his name, " accord- 

 ing to the taste and fancy of the speller." " For my part," 

 observes Mr. Weller, "I spells it with a we." 



The Fox is mutually fertile with the Wolf and domestic 

 dog, which seems to be true of all existing canine species; 

 whether the cross-bred offspring presents the character of 

 mongrels, or of fertile hybrids, has not been determined. 

 Not even, as a rule, have naturalists, all run to morpholog- 

 ical views as they are, clearly recognized these differences; 

 for the greatest naturalists have confounded atavic varia- 

 tion with the reversion of hybrids to a parent form. Leav- 

 ing this question of specific distinctions as we find it, the 

 sportsman' s distinction between our Foxes is, broadly, into 

 red and gray. The cross-Fox is merely a Eed Fox thus 

 marked; the kit-Fox, a dwarfish individual. 



The Gray Fox, treated by some naturalists as being a 

 mere color variety, has habits entirely different from the 

 Red, in almost all possible respects. So far as my pergonal 

 observations inform me, the following are some of the prin- 

 cipal distinctions : First, as to reproduction, the Red Fox 

 nearly always brings forth its young in an earth den; the 

 Gray Fox, generally in a hollow log or tree, or, at most, 

 under a rock. The last one I found with her young was 

 a Gray. The young, only a few hours old, were in the hol- 

 low stump of an old rotten tree, broken off about five feet 

 high. As I came up, the old one jumped out of the top of 

 the stump and ran off. I looked down the hole, and saw, 

 at the bottom, five young ones, scarcely dry. I have sel- 

 dom seen a Gray with more than five, and often with only 

 four young. I never found a Red with less than five. I 

 have seen one with nine, and several with seven. I think 

 it certain, therefore, that the Reds are more prolific. 



Second, as to hunting for prey and subsistence : The 

 Reds are bolder in pursuit, and hunt over a much greater 

 territory than the Grays. Whether the Grays ever climb 

 trees in pursuit of prey, I am uncertain; but they take to a 

 tree as readily as a cat when hard run by hounds. I think 

 it nearly certain that they climb for persimmons, grapes, 



