COAT AND COLOR. 127 



lines long when it appears in place of the old ; it is very soft and 

 fine, of a beautiful glossy black, although it undergoes an appre- 

 ciable change every day, so that it very soon loses its fine luster, 

 and shows the gray, which is its characteristic color during the 

 winter. Were this change of garb to take place simultaneously 

 over the whole animal, it would for a short time appear in a 

 beautiful black suit ; but the change is usually so gradual, that a 

 casual observer might not remember the black appearance at all, 

 for the part of the new coat which had been exposed for a few 

 days would have already assumed its grayish hue, and a part 

 would still be covered by the old yellow summer coat. The finer 

 the condition of the animal, the more intense and brilliant is this 

 black, and the longer it resists the tendency to turn gray. I once 

 had a farrow doe that was very fat, which retained the black till 

 the yellow was all gone, so that for a few days she was as black 

 as a bear, and specimens of the new coat, plucked from the loin, 

 were not more than five or six lines long. An examination of 

 these hairs showed that the black was confined to the upper part, 

 while the lower was of a considerably lighter shade, but none of 

 the annular rings of different shades had yet appeared. 



So it is on all the species, to a greater or less extent. When 

 the winter has replaced the summer garb, the hairs are short, 

 fine, and soft ; but they rapidly grow in length and diameter, and 

 undergo the changes of color peculiar to the species. At first, 

 they lie down smoothly, but presently the diameter become so 

 great, that they force each other up to a more vertical position, 

 or at right angles to the skin. As the diameters increase, he 

 cavities within enlarge and become filled with a very light pith, 

 they become brittle, and lose their elasticity, so that the integ- 

 rity of the walls is destroyed when sharply bent, and they remain 

 in the given position. Towards spring these hairs become so 

 tender near the outer ends that they are liable to be broken off 

 by the animals rubbing against the trees. This is especially the 

 case with the caribou, which by reason of the darker ends of the 

 hairs becoming broken off, appears in almost a white garb to- 

 wards spring. I have observed the same occurrence in many 

 instances in the Virginia deer in my grounds. I have known a 

 few instances in which the Virginia deer had bitten off", towards 

 spring, almost the entire winter coat. I supposed this was 

 caused by their being infected by vermin, but I was unable to 

 verify this supposition. 



On all the species, the hairs of the winter coat, except the short 



