THE DOCILE MAMMALS. 261 



to sheep, lambs, and calves. It will rarely attack man, 

 unless ■wounded, or in defence of its young. When the 

 weather is severe and the snow is deep it makes a den in a 

 hollow tree, cave, or under the root of a tree, and there 

 hibernates. It has young but once in three years. 



The bears are succeeded by the marten family {Musteli- 

 dce), or the otter, skunk, badger, wolverene, weasel, mink, 

 ermine, etc., all of which are valuable for their furs. 



The skunk {Mephitis mephitica), says Merriam, who 

 thinks this malodorous creature has been too much abused, 

 '' is pre-eminently an insect-eater;" he "destroys more bee- 

 tles, grasshoppers, and the like than all our other mammals 

 together, and, in addition to these, devours vast numbers 

 of mice." Skunks hibernate only during the severest 

 portion of the winter. They are very prolific, bringing 

 forth six to ten young at a birth; these young, with their 

 parents, remaining in one hole for the ensuing year. 



The dog family {Canidcs) is represented by the fox, wolf, 

 and dog. The gray fox ( Urocyon Virginianus), the com- 

 mon red fox ( Vulpcs vulgaris), with its varieties, the cross, 

 silver, and black fox, as well as the woLf {Canis lupus), 

 are valuable for their furs. The common red fox is more 

 frequent even in thickly settled portions of the Eastern 

 States than is usually supposed. 



The woK is one of the most cowardly and yet wary, 

 crafty, and sagacious of our wild beasts, and, when game 

 is abundant, wantonly destructive and wasteful. It makes 

 its lair in rocky caverns, under the roots of fallen trees, 

 and in hollow logs. The young are born in. April and 

 May, from six to ten pups constituting a litter. The wolf 

 is mostly gray northward, becoming " southward more and 

 more blackish and reddish, till in Florida black wolves pre- 

 dominate and in Texas red ones." 



The prairie-wolf or coyote ( Canis latrans) is characteris- 

 tic of the Western plains and Pacific coast. The Indian 

 dogs breed with the coyote, and the offspring is fertile. 

 This fact appears to support the theory that the Indian 



