340 THE DEER OF AMERICA. 



difference very much. In this we have the testimony of the an- 

 imals themselves, which is scarcely less satisfactory than manifest 

 physical differences ; nay, I am not prepared to say that this 

 sexual aversion, which is so clearly manifest, is not more conclu- 

 sive than very considerable variations of physical structure. 

 Should we bring together two parties of deer, of several individ- 

 uals, brought from distant localities, different physically in what 

 we might consider important features, and find them associat- 

 ing and interbreeding without the least restraint or reluctance, 

 we should regard it as conclusive of specific identity, notwith- 

 standing the physical differences. A white crow is recognized by 

 his black brethren as a good crow, notwithstanding his degener- 

 ate color, and the albino deer is regarded by the others as 

 good a deer as the best of them. The doe in ray collection was 

 shot when standing by the side of a buck of the ordinary color. 

 The social standing and sexual inclination manifested must be 

 allowed to overcome serious difficulties in establishing relation- 

 ship, and so on the other hand where aversion exists instead of 

 inclination, it assures us of a radical difference though we may 

 be unable to detect it on mere inspection. In this case the sex- 

 ual aversion adds much to the significance of the absence of the 

 gland on the hind leg, and leads us to expect that the compara- 

 tive anatomist will surely find other differences which we cannot 

 now detect. It is an additional evidence of the importance of 

 this gland in classifying the deer. 



