Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 9.djvu/525

 F W - - F O X 493 FOWNES, GEORGE (1815-1849), Ph.D., F.R.S., an eminent chemist, was born in London. He early showed an interest in scientific pursuits, and when seventeen or eighteen years of age joined with Dr Henry Watts and Mr Everett in establishing a philosophical class at the Western Literary Institution in Leicester Square. In 1837 he entered the laboratory of Everett, lecturer on chemistry at the Middlesex Hospital; and in 1839 he studied for some time under Professor Liebig at Giessen. He was lecturer on chemistry first at the Charing Cross and then at the Middlesex Hospital Medical School, as also at the school of the Pharmaceutical Society. In 1345 he was appointed director of the Birkbeck Chemical Laboratory in University College, London. He died of consumption, January 31, 1849. Besides his well-known and frequently re-edited Manual of Chemistry, and the Acton prize essay of the Royal Institution, entitled Chemistry, as exemplify ing the Wisdom and Beneficence of God, Fownes wrote numerous scientific papers, among others the following : &quot;On the Direct Formation of Cyanogen from its Elements,&quot; lfrp. Brit. Asxoc., 1841, part ii. pp. 52, 53 ; &quot; On the Preparation of Artificial Yeast,&quot; Mem. Chem. Soc., i., 1841-43, pp. 100-103; &quot;On the Preparation of Hippuric Acid,&quot; Phil. Mag., xxi., 1842, pp. 382-384 ; &quot;On the Food of Plants&quot; [prize essay], Jour. Agric. Xoc.,iv., 1843, pp. 498-556; &quot;On the Existence of Phosphoric Acid in Rocks of Igneous Origin,&quot; Phil. Trans., 1844, pp. 53-56; &quot; An Account of the Artificial Formation of a Vegeto-alkali &quot; (Fiirfurol), and &quot;On Benzoline,&quot; ib., 1845, pp. 253-268; &quot;On the Production of Furfurol,&quot; Pha-rm. Journ., 1849, 113-116; &quot;On the Equivalent or Combining Volumes of Solid Bodies,&quot; ib., pp. 334 339. FOX (Vulpes), a genus of digitigrade Carnivora, be longing to ths Canidce or dog family, but differing from the true dogs (Canis) in the greater elongation and sharp ness of the muzzle, and in the greater length and bushiness of the tail. They likewise differ in the pupil of the eye being elliptical when contracted, and in the possession of a subcaudal gland, in which a fetid substance is secreted, the emission of which gives to foxes their peculiarly dis agreeable odour. There are 24 recent species of foxes known, distributed over all the great continents except South America and Australia. Of these the Fennec foxes are exclusively African, and the bristle-tailed foxes North American. The Common Fox ( Vulpes vulgaris], the pet of the hunting field and the pest of the farmyard, occurs throughout Europe, wherever it has not been exterminated by man. It is the Scottish tod and the French renard. It measures about two feet in length exclusive of the tail, v. hich is about a foot long Its fur is of a reddish-brown colour above, and more or le.3S white beneath ; the back of its ears and the fore part of its limbs are black, and the tip of its bushy tail, or brush as it is called, is white. Its long, sharp muzzle, erect pointed ears, and sharp eye give it an appearance of sagacity and cunning which its real character fully justifies. The fox is undoubtedly the subtlest of British beasts of the field, its intellectual capacity having no doubt been enlarged by the peculiarly hard conditions under which alone it is permitted to exist in this country. It is regularly hunted by the fleet and keen-scented fox hounds, urged on by mounted huntsmen, all of whom are not unfrequently baffled by the speed, cunning, and ingenuity of this wily creature. The fox is a solitary animal, inhabiting a burrow known as its earth, which it either excavates for itself, or, as more usually happens, obtains by previously ejecting the badger or the rabbit from its home. So averse, indeed, is the fox to dig for itself, that when foiled in its attempts to dispossess the badger, it has been known to take up its quarters with the latter, and in Germany it is readily induced to make its home in artificial burrows, constructed of stone and earth for the purpose of facilitating the operation of digging out the cubs. The fox also occurs in woods, and even in the open country without burrows, lying in its &quot;cover by day and stealing forth at night, when alone it can be said to see properly, in search of its prey. Its food consists of rabbits, hares, poultry, and game-birds, although when these are not to be had it is fain to satisfy its hunger with rats, mice, and even insects &quot; the droppings of these creatures,&quot; says Bell, &quot;being often composed almost entirely of the wing cases of beetles.&quot; The fox also visits the sea-shore, where it feeds on shell-fish and crustaceans ; and on the Continent it is said to frequent the vineyards in order to gratify its taste for ripe grapes. Although the flesh of most birds forms its favourite food, it is a curious circuiri- stance, noticed by Dr Weissenborn, that even the severest hunger cannot compel it to eat the flesh of birds of prey, while there is good reason to believe that the fox enjoys, if it does not even prefer, &quot;high&quot; meat. The female produces her young in April the period of gestation extending from 60 to 65 days. These are usually from 5 to 8 in number, and for them she shows the greatest solicitude) defending them with the utmost courage, and exhibiting a boldness altogether foreign to her character at other tim^s. The cubs, attain their full size in about 18 months, and the duration of life in the species, judging from individuals kept in confinement, probably extends to 13 or 14 years. The cubs, like those of most Carnivora, are exceedingly playful, and may often be seen amusing themselves, after the manner of young dogs, in pursuit of their own brushes. Their resemblance to the dog does not, however, extend much further, for, unlike it, they seem incapable of attach ment to man. Although taken young and brought up with dogs, their attachment does not go beyond refraining from biting the hand that is accustomed to feed them. They remain timid and suspicious, and are always ready to snap at any one seeking to be familiar. This incapability of domestication, and the fact that the dog and fox have never been known to interbreed, would seem to prove that these animals are by no means so nearly related as was at one time supposed. Ample proof of the very considerable intellectual capacity of the fox is to be found in the stratagems to which it has recourse in securing its prey, but still more in the quickness with which it detects man s strategic efforts to outwit and capture it. &quot; Its instinctive cunning.&quot; says Bell, &quot; leads it soon to suspect the wiles of its enemies, and it will in a very short time ascertain the design of a trap or a gin, though concealed with the utmost care.&quot; Nothing can exceed the caution with which reynard approaches and examines the baited trap, or the non chalance with which he approaches, enters, and rifles the snare in which some animal has been already caught, and which he evidently knows can do him no injury until reset. There are also several well -authenticated cases of the fox counterfeiting death in order to escape from its enemies. Attempts have been made to put a different interpretation on such instances, but examples of &quot; feign ing &quot; have of late years been noticed in so many and such diverse animals, among insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals, that there seems no reason to doubt that the wily fox has recourse to a stratagem which, for want of a better term, may be described as counterfeiting death. Closely allied to the common fox of Europe is the Rod Fox (Vulpes fidvus) of eastern North America, regarded by many naturalists as only a variety of the common species an opinion which receives some confirmation from the fact that hitherto no remains of the red fox have been found in the cave deposits of that continent, although remains of the grey fox are abundant. It may thus possibly be the descendant of individuals of the European species, intro duced at a comparatively early period, and owing the differences that now distinguish it to the greatly altered conditions under which for centuries it has existed. It is