360 
THE FOX. 
muring when pleased, and sometimes 
screaming like a peacock. The general co¬ 
lour inclines to red; but there are gray, 
black and white varieties. There is a great 
resemblance among the different species, 
which makes it very difficult to classify 
them accurately. The Arctic fox, like many 
other Northern animals, is pure white in 
winter, turns speckled as warm weather ap¬ 
proaches, and during the short summer is 
brown, gray or bluish. It is caught in 
traps and used for food, but his flesh is not 
very agreeable. They are more social than 
other foxes, and are known to make large 
burrows, deep and warmly lined with moss, 
in which twenty cubs are sometimes found 
together. They are not so distrustful as the 
red fox, but are very sagacious, and excel¬ 
lent swimmers. 
“The common red fox is found abun¬ 
dantly both in Europe and America. It is 
about two feet nine inches long, one foot 
three inches in height, and the tail is one 
foot three«inches. They are reddish or yel¬ 
lowish in colour, with white cheeks, lips 
and throat. The breast and belly are usu¬ 
ally white, and the tip of the tail almost 
