Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/367

 FOX 359 two or three times as much, and that of the black fox much more ; but prices vary much according to the caprices of fashion. The American red fox, being a northern species, is rarely hunted by horses and hounds, as the na- ture of the country would generally render this European Fox (Vulpes vulgaris). sport impossible, and the people will not per- mit their standing grain to be trodden down by man and beast. In Great Britain and Ire- land, on the contrary, the sport of fox hunting is one of the most popular amusements of the higher classes. The prairie fox ( V. macrourus, Baird), the largest species known, inhabits the central portions of North America, and is noted for the beauty of its fur ; its general color is like that of the red fox, and it seems to run into the variety of a cross fox ; the tint is yellower, Arctic Fox (Vulpes lagopus). and there is more white below; the tail is un- commonly full and hairy ; the skull is charac- terized by a muzzle as much longer than that of the red fox, as is the muzzle of the latter than that of the European species. The kit or swift fox ( V. velox, Say) is smaller than the red species ; the head is short and broad, the ears small, and the legs short ; the tail is very dense and bushy ; the general color above, in- cluding the ears and tail, is yellowish gray, grizzled on the back, sides pale reddish yellow, below whitish, and tail black-tipped. The arc- tic fox ( V. lagopus, Linn.) is chiefly confined to the arctic regions of both hemispheres, and has rarely been seen within the limits of the Uni- ted States, though it has occasionally been found in Newfoundland ; it is smaller than the red fox, with a very full and bushy tail, the soles of the feet thickly furred, and the pelage fine and dense ; in the adult the color is white, in the young grayish leaden. We are familiar with the appearance and habits of this species through the narratives of arctic explorers. The gray fox ( V. Virginianus, Schreb. ; uro- cyon, Baird) has the head and body about 28 in. long, and the tail 14 or 15 in. ; the tail has a concealed mane of stiff' hairs. The color is gray varied with black; sides of neck and flanks fulvous; band encircling the muzzle black ; throat white ; tail hoary on the sides, rusty below, black at the tip. The head is shorter and the body stouter than in the pre- ceding section, and the fur is much coarser. It is decidedly a southern species, being rare north of Pennsylvania, and common from that state southward, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific ; it is less daring and cunning than the red fox, and rarely visits the farm yard ; it in- vades the nests of the wild turkey, pounces upon coveys of quails, and gives chase to the rabbit like a dog. When pursued by hounds in open woods, where it cannot skulk through thick underbrush, it will very often climb a tree. In general this species does not dig a burrow, preferring a hollow log or a hole in the rocks for its den ; it is often caught in steel traps, and as a pet is less playful and less odor- ous than the red fox. Its windings when chased afford good sport for the hunter, and its chase with horses and hounds in the south- ern states, where the ground is favorable, is much relished as a healthful exercise and ex- hilarating pastime. In Carolina this species produces from three to five young at a time in March or April. The short-tailed fox ( V. or U. littoralis, Baird) is .about half the size of the gray fox, with the tail only one third the length of the body ; it resembles a miniature gray fox, of about the size of a house cat, though of stouter body ; it was found on the island of San Miguel, on the coast of California. Other species of fox exist in Nepaul, in the Himalaya mountains, in Syria, and in Egypt, named re- spectively V. Hodgsonii (Hardw.), V. Himalai- cus (Ogifby), V. ilialeb (II. Smith), and V. Ni- loticus (Geoff.). FOX, Charles James, an English statesman and orator, born in London, Jan. 24, 1749, died at Chiswick, Sept. 13, 1806. His father, Henry Fox, afterward Lord Holland, had amassed a great fortune as paymaster of the forces ; his mother was a daughter of Charles,