DEER FAMILY 



II 



thousand are killed annually by hunters holding 

 the permits of the State. 



The White-tail is exceedingly graceful when 

 in motion. One enthusiastic sportsman writes of 

 it : " The \\ hite-tail moves with an indescribable 

 spring and buoyancy. If surprised close up, and 

 much terrified, it simply runs away as hard as it 

 can, at a gait not materially different from that 

 of any other game animal under like circum- 

 stances. . . But normally its mode of progres- 

 sion, whether it trots or gallops, is entirely 

 unique. In trotting, the head and tail are both 

 held erect, and the animal throws out its legs 



pads, acorns, beechnuts, chestnuts, and other 

 mast, all go to make up its dietary. Add to these 

 a good supply of running water and access to 

 rocksalt, and the White-tail menu is complete. 

 Except the goat, no animal requires so little 

 attention. It is a prolific breeder. One buck is 

 assigned to twelve does. The does begin breed- 

 ing at seventeen months. 



There are several related species of this Deer, 

 but the slight differences in size or marking can 

 usually be traced to environment. Commenting 

 on this fact, Mr. Archibald Rutledge says (in 

 Field and Stream) : 



YOUNG WHITE-TAIL DRINKING 

 Interesting snapshot of a young White-Tail, taken after dark with the aid of a flash-light 



with a singularly proud and free motion. . . In 

 the canter or gallop, the head and tail are also 

 held erect, the flashing white brush being very 

 conspicuous. Three or four low, long, mar- 

 vellously springy bounds are taken, and then a 

 great leap is made high in the air, which is suc- 

 ceeded by three or four low bounds, and then 

 by another high leap. A White-tail going through 

 the brush in this manner is a singularly beautiful 

 sight." 



No animal does better in captivity than the 

 Virginia Deer. It feeds on almost any kind of 

 vegetable. Lichens, mosses, fallen leaves, lily 



" The Virginia, or White-tail Deer is of very 

 wide distribution in America, and it is perhaps 

 better known and loved than any of our game 

 animals. Yet, since, as is the case with all wild 

 creatures, its environment has considerable to 

 do with the nature and habits of the White-tail, 

 those who know it best in one locality are un- 

 familiar with its manner of life in another. The 

 \Miite-tail of the Florida Everglades is, in many 

 ways, very dififerent from the Deer of the Adiron- 

 dacks and those of the big Allegheny mountains. 

 . . . For many years I have been acquainted with 

 the White-tailed Deer as it is found in the South, 



