NOTES ON ADIRONDACK MAMMALS. 325 



It is a well-known fact that the numbers of the fox, as of the lynx, fluctuate 

 greatly. From 1853 to 1877, inclusive, the Hudson Bay Company sold in London 

 260,775 re d, 59*650 cross and 20,100 silver and black foxes. This will afford some 

 idea of the proportionate number of the several colors. 



Gra^ Fox. 



The gray fox (Urocyo)i cinereoargenteus) does not reach the Adirondacks, in 

 fact, barely enters southern New York. 



Opossum. 



The Virginia opossum {Didelpliis virginiana) likewise occurs in the lower counties 

 of the State, but does not reach the North "Woods. 



In the Adirondacks the only two members of the Felidae or cat family, in addition 

 to the puma mentioned above, are the two lynxes. 



Canada L^nx. 



The Canada lynx {Lynx canadensis) is of wide distribution, and formerly 

 extended south into Pennsylvania, along the line of the Alleghenies. It is, however, 

 exceedingly rare, and in recent years has been almost unknown in the Adirondacks, 

 although probably not altogether extinct. 



This animal, known to the Canadians as the loup cervier, which in Maine is 

 corrupted to "lucivee," is large, powerful and savage, and is closely related 

 to the European lynx. It is a rabbit-killer by profession, and many of the stories 

 which are referred to the puma should be properly credited to this animal. 



The Canada lynx apparently culminates, as far as the northeast is concerned, 

 both in point of size and in numbers, in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. In the 

 latter colony it has taken to preying on young caribou, and has greatly increased 

 in numbers, apparently occupying, in the economy of nature, the place of the wolf, 

 which has almost disappeared. 



Perhaps the most interesting fact about the Canada lynx is its periodic increase 

 and decrease in numbers, which occur every decade. The records of the 

 Hudson Ba}* Company indicate that the catch of Canada lynx for each of the 

 three seasons when they are least numerous falls as low as four to five thousand skins 

 for the whole territory covered by the company's posts. In the fourth year the 

 catch is twice as large, and the fifth year will often more than double the catch 

 of the preceding year. The sixth year's catch doubles that of the fifth, while 



