96 Life-histories of Northern Animals 



SALT- All our ruminants have a great fondness for salt and 



LICKS 



eagerly seek out anything of a salty nature that they can find 

 in their native range. They doubtless need it for a tonic. 

 Many different soluble mineral salts seem to satisfy this crav- 

 ing. Merriam calls attention ^^ to one in the Adirondacks 

 where "the Deer had licked the clay, possibly obtaining a 

 trifle of potash, alumina, and iron derived from sulphates 

 from decomposing pyrites." 



LIFE OF If we begin in the early spring to follow the life of the 



DOE Whitetail on its northern range, we shall find that up to the 

 month of January the does and bucks are still in company. 

 According to Audubon and Bachman,^^ it is only during the 

 mating season that the sexes herd together. This is a general 

 statement which has many exceptions, especially in the North. 

 I think that both males and females are found in the deer- 

 yards throughout the winter, and that young bucks may follow 

 their mothers throughout their first year. 



But the melting snow sets all free again. The older bucks 

 go off in twos or threes, leaving the does to go their own way 

 also, which they do in small groups, accompanied by their 

 young of the year before. 



All winter the herd has fed on twigs, moss, evergreens, and 

 dry grass. Now, the new vegetation affords many changes of nu- 

 tritious diet, consequently they begin to grow fatter, and the un- 

 born young develop fast. The winter coat begins to drop and 

 a general sleekness comes on both young and old. May sees the 

 doe a renovated being, and usually also sees her alone, for now 

 her 62 months' gestation is nearing its end. Some day, about 

 the middle of the month, she slinks quietly into a thick cover, 

 perhaps a fallen tree-top, and there gives birth to her young. 

 The number varies according to the age and vigour of the mother. 



FAWNS The first time, according to Audubon and Bachman,"^ 



"she has i fawn. If in good order, she has 2 the following 

 year. A very large and healthy doe often produces 3, and we 



"^Ibid., p. 135. "Quad. N. A., 1849, Vol. II, p. 226. *^Ibid., p. 226. 



