160 



THE CANADIAN SPORTSMAN AND NATURALIST. 



little spoon are treble hooks of small size, 

 trimmed with red, white and peacock herl. 

 Mr. Wright played this fish for half an hour, 

 and we look on it as a prime adult female 

 Dore", of whose capture any sportsman would 

 feel proud. It is to be stuffed for Mr. "Wright. 



LEMOINE'S BOOK ON ORNITHOLOGY. 



J. M. LeMoine, Esq., of Quebec, is collect- 

 ing material for a second edition of his French 

 work on Canadian Birds. His aim is to pro- 

 duce a book which will be popular among 

 students in seminaries, &c. There is no doubt 

 regarding our esteemed correspondent's ability 

 to write a scientific and agreeable treatise on 

 our birds, and we wish him every success. 



Correspon&ence. 



LYNX RUFUS.— THE RED LYNX. 



Mr. Editor. — It gives me much pleasure 

 to read the remarks on the Canada Lynx in 

 your issue of June last. Having studied the 

 subject, I wish to make some observations on 

 the courteous notes referred to. What I 

 understand the Peninsula of Ontario to be, is 

 that portion west of a line drawn from Toronto 

 northward to the south-eastern limit of the 

 Georgian Bay. I have to : day sent down a 

 typical specimen of Lynx rufus. Although I 

 have obtained a few larger, the one sent by 

 express, is a fair-sized animal. It weighed 

 thirty-five pounds. Along with it you will 

 find five skulls of different sizes ; the largest is 

 of an adult that weighed sixty-eight and a-half 

 pounds. It was wounded witli No. 5 shot 

 about the end of January, but escaped ; it was, 

 however, found dead in March, 1879, and the 

 skull is before you. I have trapped several 

 of these animals, and handled dozens of their 

 skins — young and old — in this section of 

 Canada, and I never saw any variety but the 

 one sent for your examination. I have long 

 been of the opinion that these two varieties — 

 species if you will — are one and the same ; 

 that Lynx Canadensis is merely a more north- 

 ern form of Lynx Rufus ; the varieties being 

 produced by climate and food. This happens 

 to other fur-bearing animals whose pelage is 

 less developed in the south, and this causes 

 much difference in color and general external 

 appearance. I have before me Professor 

 Jordan's " Manual of Vertebrates," and I give 



the relative description of the two species side 

 by side with my own observations in italics 

 so that a comparison can be made without 

 difficultv: 



Lynx Canadensis. 



1. Feet very large, 

 densely furred be- 

 neath in winter, con- 

 cealing the small 

 naked patches. 



2. Tail black at tip. 



No distinct bars on 

 inner sides of legs. 



Lynx Rufus. 



1. Feet not so much 

 furred. " How do 

 they differ in sum- 

 mer ? They leave a 

 very large track on 

 the snow." 



2. Tail with black 

 patch at the tip pre- 

 ceded by half rings. 

 " In the adult these 

 rings disappear, and 

 are sometimes much 

 more distinct in the 

 young." 



3. Inner sides of legs 

 with dark cross-bars. 

 " These are well- 

 marked in the young 

 but less so in the 

 adults, and frequent- 

 ly there are none to 

 be seen at all, pure 

 white. 



4. Smaller — Less feet, 

 less fur. 



5. Habitat — United 

 States and North- 

 ward. 



In the specimen sent, there are merely 

 blotches on the inner hind legs; the bars ou 

 fore legs are indistinct and mostly covered with 

 white long fur that has to be separated to 

 make them perfectly seen. There is a full 

 tufted belt of long fur round the throat which, 

 in old specimens I have seen very much larger. 

 The ears are slightly tufted, but I have seen 

 them more so, and over an inch of full pen- 

 celling on tips. It was shot in Kent Co.. by 

 Mr. Thos. Dusten, who kindly forwarded it. 

 When in the fiesh, the animal measured forty 

 and a quarter inches from nostril to tip of tail. 

 The specimen is, I think, about two years old, 

 but a fair sample, although not adult. The 

 largest skull belonged to an old male L. rufus 

 which measured forty-nine and a-half inches 

 from the nose to tip of tail. At first sight it 

 may appear that the smaller skulls belong to a 

 different species on account of the greater pro- 

 portional development of the cavity of the 



4. Much larger than 

 next with larger teet 

 and longer. 



5 . Ha bit at — North 

 America. 



