THE FARMER'S SLY NEIGHBOR. 



223 



The largest and finest red fox skins come from 

 Canada, Labrador, Michigan, and Minnesota ; these 

 sell for a dollar and a half or a dollar and eighty-five 

 cents, according to quality and size. 



The gray fox ( Urocyon cinereo-argenteus) is rare- 

 ly if ever found in New England nowadays.* He 



The Gray Fox. 



is small, and it is said that he has been driven out by 

 the larger red fox. But in the middle "West he is still 

 common from southern Michigan to western New 

 York, and from northern Indiana to South Carolina 

 and Tennessee. Plis coarse fur, which is stiff and 

 long haired, is blackish mixed with silver-gray, behind 

 and beneath the ears is a rusty tinge, and the upper 

 part of the tail is very dark, characterized by long 

 black hairs. The skin is worth about sixty -five cents. 



* According to Prof. J. A. Allen, his most Northern range is not 

 much beyond the parallel of 43°. 



