For a long time it was thought that foxes should be included among the ancestors of the dog. They are very dog-iike in general appearance and in many of their habits.

I have had many American red foxes in captivity, and one which I reared from a puppy became almost as tame as a dog. He followed me on my walks and had the run of the house. Foxes of this species whine, yelp, and bark. and. like dogs and wolves, smile and wag their tails when pleased, bury food which they cannot eat at the time, and turn round and round on their beds before lying down. But in spite of these similarities, and in spite of the fact that they will sometimes make friends with domesticated dogs, and even with wolves, it seems that they are not closely related to either.

As far as I am aware, no one has ever succeeded in obtaining a cross between a fox and a dog. The late Mr. A. D. Lart-lett, for years superintendent of the Zoological Gardens in London, after a long series of experiments and observations, not only failed to procure a cross himself, but states that he never heard of a single well-authenticated case of such a cross having been made.