THE ARCTIC FOX, (Canis lagopus,)
Is a smaller species than the common Fox, and has a much longer fur to fit him for the severe cold which he necessarily experiences in the Polar regions which he inhabits. The colour of the fur is frequently a bluish leaden gray, from which circumstance it is sometimes called the Blue Fox; some specimens are brownish, others nearly black. The fur becomes pure white in the winter, and in this state the Arctic Fox is an exceedingly pretty animal. This species is captured for the sake of its skin, the bluish specimens being preferred. He is usually taken in pitfalls or traps, of which he is not nearly so suspicious as his sly English relative. The flesh of the young is said to be very good.