840 
LYNX. 
eils of hairs at the ears are characteristic of the 
different species of lynxes ; its legs and feet are 
very thick and strong. 
A Russian lynx will measure, from nose to tail, 
four feet six inches, while the tail is only six inches 
long. They vary sometimes in their colour. 
The irbys, from lake Blackash, situated to the 
west of the river Irtish ; as also the katlo of the 
Swedes, is whitish, spotted with black, and larger 
than the common kind. This large variety is called 
by the Germans, wolf-lucks, and kalblucks, on 
account of its size. 
It inhabits the vast forests of the north of Eu- 
rope, Asia, and America, but not the hot regions 
<of Africa, or of India, though the poets have 
harnessed them to the chariot of Bacchus, in his 
conquest of that country. The female brings 
two or three at a time. It is a long lived animal. 
It climbs trees, and lies in wait for the deer that 
pass under ; drops on them, and seizing the jugu- 
lar vein, soon makes them its prey. It does not 
attack man, but is very destructive to the rest of 
the animal creation ; since, after sucking the 
blood and devouring the brains, it frequently aban- 
dons its prey, and goes in quest of fresh game. 
The furs of these animals are valuable for their 
softness and warmth ; but their colour varies ac- 
cording to the season and climate. Numbers of 
them are annually imported from North America, 
and the north of Europe, and Asia. The farther 
qorth and east they are taken, the w hiter they are, 
and the more distinct the spots. The most elegant 
kind is the irbys already mentioned. Their skins 
sell on the spot for one pound sterling each. 
The ancients celebrated the lynx for its great 
quickness of sight, and feigned that its urine was 
converted into a precious stone. Our lynx, though 
his sight cannot penetrate stone walls, has brilliant 
