72 THE ARCTIC FOX, 
and white hairs. The hair is long and thick, being doubly thick during the 
colder months of the year, so that the fur of a Fox which is killed in the 
winter is more valuable than if the animal had been slain in the hot months. 
The tail, which is technically termed the “ brush,” is remarkably bushy, and 
partakes of the tints which predominate over the body, except at the tip, 
which is white. The height of this animal is about a foot, and its length 
about two feet and a half, exclusive of the tail. 
One of the most celebrated species of the Foxes is the ARCTIC Fox, 
called by the Russians PEsZI, and by the Greenlanders TERRIENNIAK. This 
animal is in very great repute in the mercantile world on account of its 
beautiful silky fur, which in the cold winter months becomes perfectly white. 
During the summer the fur is generally of a grey or dirty brown, but is 
frequently found of a leaden grey, or of a brown tint with a wash of blue. 
Towards the change of the seasons the fur becomes mottled ; and by reason 
ARCTIC FOX.—( Vulpes lagopus.) 
of this extreme variableness has caused the animal to be known by several 
different titles. Sometimes it is called the White Fox, sometimes the Blue 
Fox, sometimes the Sooty Fox, sometimes the Pied Fox, and sometimes the 
Stone Fox. 
This animal is found in Lapland, Iceland, Siberia, Kamtschatka, and North 
America, in all of which places it is eagerly sought by the hunters for the 
sake of its fur. The pure white coat of the winter season is the most valu- 
able, and the bluish grey fur of the summer months is next to the white the 
colour that is most in request. 
In.size, the Arctic Fox is not the equal of the English species, weigh- 
ing only eight pounds on an average, and its total length being about 
three feet. The eye is of a hazel tint, and very bright and intelligent. It 
