38 CONSERVATION OF CANADIAN WILD LIFE 
owing to the settlement of the country, and it is only in 
regions where there has been insufficient or no protection 
that its numbers have decreased. In this respect it differs 
from many of the larger forms of our native wild life, and 
its tendency to extend its range with the settlement of the 
country, and to increase in numbers when given adequate 
protection, are facts of very great economic importance in 
the development of a ‘“‘wild”’ meat supply, to which subject 
reference has already been made (pp. 8-10). 
The chief distinguishing characteristics of this species are 
the form of the antlers and tail, and the length of the gland 
on the outer side of the hind shank. The length of this 
gland is about one inch long in the white-tail, two inches 
long in the Columbian black-tail, and three inches long in 
the mule deer. 
2 
ay 
Fra. Il—ANTLERS OF THE WHITE-TAILED DEER (1) AND MULE 
DEER (2) 
The antlers of the white-tailed deer, after rising for a 
short distance from the forehead, bend suddenly forward 
so that the beam is almost horizontal and the tines rise 
perpendicularly. The characteristic tail, from which this 
species derives its name, is long and bushy. The under side 
is white, and the edges are fringed with the same colour. 
When it is startled it runs away, carrying its white tail aloft, 
and this conspicuous appendage sways stiffly from side to 
side with every leaping movement of its owner. 
See 
