IO8 MAMMALIA. 



When the first warm winds of approaching spring uncover here 

 and there in the beaver meadows small spots and narrow strips of 

 oround between the snowdrifts, the new marsh crass is found al- 



o o 



ready sprouted, and its tender blades afford the Deer a tempting 

 change from the dry twigs and tough lichens that constitute its win- 

 ter fare. ::: 



From this time until the latter part of September much of their 

 sustenance is procured in the immediate vicinage of water. After 

 the snow has left the forests and the new vegetation has fairly start- 

 ed, they gradually work back into the woods, but return again in 

 early June to feed upon marsh plants and grasses, and wade or even 

 swim to procure the lily-pads and other aquatic plants that thrive 

 in the shallow water near by. During June, July, and August hun- 

 dreds of Deer visit the water-courses of this Wilderness every night, 

 and retire at break of day to the deep recesses of the forest. 



It has been stated that thev do this to rid themselves of black flies 



* 



and mosquitoes, but a little reflection will suffice to show the absurd- 

 ity of this assertion. For nowhere in the entire Wilderness are these 

 insect pests so abundant and annoying as on the marshes and in the 

 immediate neighborhood of lakes and streams. And since it is rare 

 to find a Deer above his thighs in water, the fallacy of this supposi- 

 tion is apparent. The fact is, that, for the sake of obtaining the 

 plants that grow in such situations, they submit to the annoyance of 

 swarms of insects most of which they would escape did they remain 

 amid the mountain fastnesses. It is true, however, that Deer, par- 

 ticularly at the South, do sometimes enter water when not in search 

 of food, and sink to such a depth that little save the nostrils and eyes 

 remain in sight ; but whether this is done for the riddance of insects, 



* I was particularly struck with this fact on the 2<jth April, 1882, while crossing from Big 

 Moose Lake to Lake Terror, in company with Dr. F. H. Hoadley. Here, along the banks of a 

 sluggish stream which was still bordered with ice eight to ten inches in thickness, we observed fresh 

 green grass already over an inch and a half high in small bare spots between snowdrifts two and three 

 feet in depth. The same day we saw a Deer standing on a mass of ice and snow on the shore of 

 Lake Terror, doubtless in search of food. 



