ACAPULCO DEER. 115 



which was ill in his gardens, and died soon after I received her, 

 and two Ceylon does. The first was of a much darker color than 

 the one presented by Governor Latham, which survived, which 

 has always been perfectly healthy. Of all the deer I ever had, 

 she shows the greatest tendency to fatten. She remains in fine 

 order when shedding the winter coat in the spring, when most of 

 the other species of deer become very poor. She even suckles 

 two hybrid fawns almost as big as herself, and still remains in 

 fine order. I never procured a male of this species till 1876, 

 three years after she was turned into my grounds. He was a 

 very small specimen, two years old. I do not think they noticed 

 eacli other before September, when I occasionally saw them to- 

 gether, or rather the buck seemed inclined to seek her society, but 

 she showed herself quite a virago, and would dash after him as if 

 she desired above all things to give him a good beating. This, 

 however, she was much more inclined to do when I was around 

 than when she did not see me. If this was a pretense of mod- 

 esty on her part, it was the merest affectation, for, as I shall 

 hei-eafter explain under the head of Hyhridity., I fear she has be- 

 come thoroughly debauched, by breeding to bucks of another spe- 

 cies, and that she will still favor them instead of the male of her 

 own species, which she seems so much inclined to punish. How- 

 ever, I have lately seen him several times turn upon her, as if 

 inclined to defend himself from her vicious attack, and I hope he 

 will soon be able to tame the termagant. It is evident she will 

 find him a very different subject to deal with from the great 

 awkward Mule buck, which she tyrannizes over so wickedly. 



In 1873, at the same time that I procured the Acapulco doe, I 

 procured a buck and two does of a size scarcely larger than the 

 former, in form and color, and indeed in most characteristics re- 

 sembling her very much. The buck was presented to me by Gov- 

 ernor Latham, who informed me that he purchased it from the 

 deck of a ship just arrived from the Island of Ceylon, whence, he 

 was informed, the deer was brought, so that I can no longer doubt 

 as to the place of its nativity. The does are undoubtedly from the 

 same place. Their close similarity to the Acapulco deer will in- 

 duce me to compare them when we discuss the different branches 

 of our subject. For the present, I will only say that they are 

 nearly the same in size, color, and form. Antlers about the same 

 size, but differing in form. Both are very courageous, and com- 

 bative with other deer. Both are robust, good feeders, and fat- 

 ten easily, and bare giving suck remarkably well, though the 



