498 
RURAL HOURS. 
Foxes are still to be found within the county, though not com- 
mon. Two kinds belong to our quadrupeds : the Red and the 
Gray. The red is the largest, about three or four feet in length ; 
there are two varieties of this fox which are less common, and hio-h- 
ly valued for their furs. One is the Cross Fox, bearing the mark 
of a dark cross on its back : this sells for twelve dollars, while the 
common fox sells for two dollars. It is found throughout the 
State. The Black Fox, again, is extremely rare ; it is almost en- 
tirely black, and only seen in the northern counties ; the fur is 
considered six times more valuable than that of any other animal 
in America. 
The common Gray Fox, again, is a different species, smaller 
than the red, and more daring. This is a southern animal, not 
seen far north of 42^^, while it extends to Florida. Both the red 
and the gray probably exist in this county, but as this is not a 
sporting region, we hear little of them. Some skins of the red 
fox are, however, sold every year in the village. 
Beavers have become extremely rare in New York. They no 
longer build dams, but are found only in families in the northern 
counties. Three hundred beaver skins were taken in 1 815 by the 
St. Regis Indians, in St. Lawrence county ; since then the animals 
have become very rare. They were formerly very common here, 
as in most parts of the State ; there was a dam at the outlet of 
our lake, and another upon a little stream about a mile and a half 
from the village, at a spot still bearing the name of Beaver Mead- 
ows. These animals are two or three feet long, of a bay or brown 
color. They are nocturnal in their habits, and move on land 
in successive leaps of ten or twelve feet. They are said to eat 
fish as well as aquatic plants and the bark of trees. Old Van- 
