1887.] PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 167 



A liuuter iu Shasta County sllo^Yt'd me a pair of slim-looking horns, 

 which he assured me adorned the head of a doe, killed by an Indian iu 

 his employ, and the statement was substantiated by one of his neigh- 

 bors. This man's porch was ornamented with numerous deer-horns 

 remarkable for size and deformity. 



The wild bucks seen April 1 had new liorus, in the velvet, about 3 

 inches long. In July they appeared to have attjiiuod there full size, 

 but the velvet did not begin to rub off until towards the last of August. 

 In specimens killed September 10 there were bits of this covering still 

 adhering to the white and, as yet, unpolished antlers. The antlers do 

 not drop off until about the 1st of February, although there is consid- 

 erable difference in this respect between the young and the old bucks, 

 the former carrying their spikes much longer. 



We thought we could detect quite an individual difference in the 

 adult bucks brought to our camps. One class were seemingly long- 

 legged lank deer, with large and rough horns, while the others had 

 shorter legs and smoother, and usually smaller, though perfectly 

 developed, antlers. The difference iu the weight of these two kinds 

 was very noticeable, the latter being decidedly heavier. The hunters 

 appeared to have no explanation for this individual difference, although 

 they constantly recognized it. It is probably due to age only, the very 

 old animals probably not attaining the weight of those only five or six 

 years old. 



The rutting season with this species is about the month of November, 

 when the first frosts come. It is somewhat earlier in t!)e high mount- 

 ains than in the low country. An early rain appears to liave the eflect 

 of hurrying this time a week or more, and then the Deer are found run- 

 ning everywhere about the woods, where a week before they migiit 

 have been scarce. In this region fawns are dropped in May and June. 

 Hunters think that this period is also affected by the locality, whether 

 low or elevated. In such mountainous country a difference of only a 

 couple of thousaud feet in altitude makes a great difference iu the prog- 

 ress of the seasons, the first frosts affecting the rutting, and thus the 

 fawning periods. 



Still-hunting is the only method practiced in Korthern California, so 

 far as I am aware, in the hunting of the Black-tailed Deer, I heard 

 nothing of any habitual hounding of Deer, or shooting on runways, or 

 night-hunting with lights. Dogs are used by many hunters in trailing 

 wounded animals and as assistants in discovering game, but the com- 

 mon varieties are usually the only ones trained in such work. 



In the spring and sammer mouths the customaiy method of the still- 

 hunting is to ascend the high wooded ridges, early iu the morning, and 

 seek the deer before they retire to the brushy gulches for concealment 

 and to escape the heat of noon. At such times they may be found 

 wandering in small bands along the ridges and other elevations where 

 there is but little brush, while later iu the day they are not easily 



