Its body is thick, and rather square; tail short; legs not so long as those of a stag; hoofs large, concave, and deeply cloven; hair very thick, and under the neck long and pendent: before the first coat is shed it is of a dark cinereous colour, but after that period it changes to white, except a large space round each eye, which is always black.[13] Some rein-deer are four feet six inches high; and a pair of their horns has been found which were three feet nine inches long, two feet six inches from tip to tip, and weighed nine pounds and three quarters. The horns of the females are less than those of the male, and not altogether of the same form. She has six teats, four of which only give milk. [13] _Hieme etiam barbam albam, ut hircus habet._ Fab. _de Cerv. Tarand_. The principal food of the rein-deer is the _lichen_ (or liverwort) which it frequently raises from below great depths of snow by means of its feet and antlers. The female goes about eight months with young, and seldom brings forth more than one at a time. Her attachment to her offspring is remarkably strong. The rein-deer species do not bound, but run with an even pace, and with considerable rapidity; in running, they make a clattering noise with their hoofs. They swim very well, crossing in their way narrow arms of the sea. Their senses of smelling and hearing are extremely acute; and it has been observed, that they are more cautious when in flocks, than when living in a solitary manner. The camel is not more useful to the Arabians, than the rein-deer to the Laplanders, and northern Asiatics; it, in fact, constitutes their whole riches; and on this valuable animal they may be said entirely to depend. An attention to rearing and preserving them, forms the sole business of their lives, and to that alone their agricultural economy is confined. “The rein-deer forms their riches. These, their tents, Their robes, their beds, and all their homely wealth, Supply their wholesome fare, and cheerful cups: Obsequious at their call, the docile tribe Yield to the sled their necks, and whirl them swift O’er hill and dale, heap’d into one expanse Of marbled snow, as far as eye can sweep, With a blue crust of ice unbounded glaz’d.” The _Canis lagopus_, or Arctic fox, is found in all parts of Spitzbergen. Its nose is sharp and black; eyes black, with yellow iris; ears short, erect, round, and almost hidden in the fur; legs short, with the toes furred like those of a hare; tail long and bushy. The male is generally larger than the female; but neither reach the size of the common British fox. In summer, its hair is of a greyish colour, which in winter changes to white, when it also becomes longer, softer, and a good deal thicker than it is in the former period. The Arctic fox is monogamous, and brings forth twice a year, in the months of March and June. It has several pups at a time.