COMMERCIAL VALUE OF BLACK FOXES 



61 



the fore leg, and another on the side of the neck. In my 

 opinion a really typical Cross Fox is the handsomest fox in 

 the world, far more beautiful than the much-sought "silver 

 fox." Some day it will win the appreciation it deserves, 

 and be sought accordingly. It stands between the red and 

 the black foxes, and grades into both. It is found in Mani- 

 toba, Alberta, British 

 Columbia, and Alas- 

 ka, and occasionally 

 in Idaho and Utah. 



The Black Fox, 

 commonly called the 

 "Silver Gray" Fox 

 (although there is no 

 silvery color about it, 

 save its tail-tip), en- 

 joys the distinction of 

 having the highest 

 price on his head that is offered for any fur-bearer. In March, 

 1900, a single skin of this animal sold at auction in London 

 for $2,784; and it is not at all uncommon for extra fine skins 

 to sell in this country at from $600 to $1,200. They are 

 worth so much as furs for the very wealthy that zoological 

 gardens cannot afford to purchase live specimens for exhi- 

 bition. Their exhibition value is far below their fur value. 



Like the cross fox, this is only a color phase of the typical 

 red fox, but commerically the two forms are so distinct, and 

 so sharply defined in dollars and cents, that they demand 

 separate notice. 



Drawn by J. Carter Beard. 



BLACK, OR "SILVER" FOX. 

 A subspecies of the Red Fox. 



