DISEASES OF THE DEER, 



It is only when the deer are in confinement that we can study 

 the diseases to which they are subject and their mode of treat- 

 ment. That they are liable to distempers in the wild state 

 either epidemic or contagious, which sometimes carry off great 

 numbers, we may not doubt, as we sometimes receive pretty well 

 anthenticated accounts of such calamities. Such accounts as I 

 have noticed have, however, been confined to the Vii'ginia Deer. 



If the moose or the caribou are in the wild state subject to dis- 

 tempers I do not know it, and yet it is not improbable that such 

 calamities may sometimes befaU them but have not been observed. 



The Wapiti are undoubtedly very healthy and hardy, and ca- 

 pable of enduring great vicissitudes. I have for many years had 

 large numbers, and am not aware that one was ever sick. If 

 only they get enough to eat, it scarcely matters what, they re- 

 main healthy and in good condition. 



With me the Mule Deer have not proved healthy. The first 

 pair I procured, I turned into the park where a considerable 

 growth of white clover had established itself among the blue 

 grass. In about a month I observed them drooling, and exam- 

 ination showed that both were badly salivated. This I attributed 

 to the white clover, and I immediately turned them into the 

 flower garden where they could not find the clover, but a great 

 variety of other food. All the deer are very fond of flowers and 

 flowering plants and shrubs. The female, which was the oldest 

 and not so badly affected as the other, recovered in a few weeks, 

 but the buck was too far gone ; his teeth finally dropped out and 

 he died. The doe was never again afflicted in the same way, 

 — nor for that matter any other deer, — though she ran in the 

 same grounds for sevei'al years thereafter. 



The next Mule buck I pi^ocured seemed quite healthy for sev- 

 eral years ; when at last, in the month of May, I found him in 

 the East Park with hoofs grown to fully four inches in length, so 

 that he could only walk with great difficulty and on his heels. I 

 sawed about an inch from each toe, which enabled him to walk 

 more comfortably, and turned him into the orchard. Although 

 he seemed to eat and ruminate pretty well, still he grew worse. 



