14 THE WILD REINDEER OF NORWAY. 



comes off in large flakes in the summer, and at this 

 time the general colour is greyish black. 



Both sexes are furnished with horns, but those of 

 the hind or " simla," as she is called in Norsk, 

 rarely exceed nine or ten inches in length, while 

 those of, the stag or " rein" sometimes reach a very 

 great size. A pair in my possession, taken from a 

 deer shot by myself in October, 1870, present the 

 following measurements : 



Inches. 

 Length of antler following curve ... 47 



Width of antlers 41 



Length of brow-antlers ... ... 14 15 



The total number of points, including the small 

 ones on the brow-antlers, is 37 ; but the head is an 

 unusually fine one, and such dimensions are not 

 often attained. I hope in a future article to give a 

 detailed account of reindeer-stalking, and to describe 

 the circumstances under which I was fortunate 

 enough to obtain the above-mentioned animal. 



In the male reindeer the horns do not lose the 

 velvet or attain their perfect development till the 

 middle of September, at which time the animals 

 are in their best condition. 



The horns of the stag are shed about the second 

 week in December, but the hinds and young stags 

 retain theirs till the ensuing March. 



The rutting season begins early in October, and 



