THE PARMER'S SLY NEIGHBOR. 225 



Prof. J. A. Allen, who is aa unquestionably Wgh au- 

 thority in the definition of species. Here is what he 

 has to say about the common fox : " In the common 

 fox we meet with a range of color variation irrespec- 

 tive of locality, somewhat akin to that seen in the 

 wolf {Canis lupus). The prevalent tendency, how- 

 ever, is toward melanism,* which tendency is much 

 more strongly developed in the colder than in the 

 warmer latitudes. Frequently individuals of the me- 

 lanistic type occur in litters of the common variety. 

 The varying degrees of melanism occurring in this 

 species have given rise to several commercial vari- 

 eties, which have received at the hands of naturalists 

 systematic designation, and have been regarded more 

 or less commonly as valid species. Generally these 

 melanistic varieties are more fully furred and have 

 larger and heavier tails than the common form. The 

 difference in the fineness and softness of the fur is 

 recognized to such an extent by furriers as to greatly 

 affect the price of the skins ; the so-called ' silver ' 

 and ' cross ' furs being considered far more valuable 

 than the fulvous type. 



" With this tendency to great variability in color, 

 we meet, as usual in such cases, a great variation in 



* Melanism, or melanosis, from iJuKivaais, which means a be- 

 coming black. 

 16 



