THE GLANDS. 265 



My opportunities to examine the Barren-ground Caribou for 

 this gland have been limited. I have but two hind feet and one 

 fore foot of this animal, which I have carefully dissected. On 

 the fore foot there is no appearance of the gland. On one hind 

 foot I found it very conspicuous. It was an inch and five lines 

 in depth and six lines in diameter, and was literally filled with 

 coarse, stiff hairs, pointing to and even protruding from the ori- 

 fice. All of the hairs within the sack were stained a tawny yel- 

 low color, deepest near the orifice, but beyond it the ends faded 

 out to nearly white. When soaked and washed much of this 

 coloring matter is removed, but still the hairs do not become 

 white. This coloring matter is the exudation of the glandular 

 ducts, which is very abundant upon and near the skin among the 

 lower part of the hairs, and is found in detached particles adher- 

 ing to the hairs for some distance up from their roots. I observed 

 no odor from this secretion, nor should I have expected any aft?er 

 the specimen had been dried for a year or two. On the left 

 hind foot as well as on the fore foot of this Caribou, this gland 

 was entirely wanting. The fact that it was conspicuousl}^ pres- 

 ent in the right hind foot and wanting in the left foot of the 

 same animal, shows that in that species at least this mark is not 

 reliable. The same thing may occur in other deer, but I have 

 heard of no example of it unless it be in the Woodland Caribou. 

 I have not had an opportunity to examine the feet of the Wood- 

 land Caribou, but Dr. Gilpin informs me that he finds these 

 glands in the hind feet of this animal and not in the fore feet of 

 the adult, though he found them distinct though very small in 

 a fawn of this species, which suggested to him the possibility 

 that they might be present in the fawns and become obliterated 

 in the adult. This I understand also corresponds with the obser- 

 vations of Mr. Morrow of Halifax. My examination of the wild 

 reindeer which I brought from Norway shows that they agree 

 Avith the Woodland Caribou in having the interdigital glands in 

 the hind feet and not in the fore feet. 



From the many specimens examined of our Elk, I think I may 

 safely say that this gland is entirely wanting in all of its feet ; 

 at least I have never found a vestige of it in any specimen. The 

 cleft or indentation between the phalangeal bones is very deep, 

 but that is all. 



I have no reliable information whether this gland is present in 

 any of the feet of the Moose or not, and so must leave that to 

 future observations. 



