204: NEIGHBORS WITH CLAWS AND HOOFS. 



the American or Virginian deer. It belongs to that class 

 of ruminating animals the males of which carry large 

 branching, solid horns, that fall oft' and are renewed every 

 year. The deer -hunt in the wilder regions of North 

 America is an exciting sport, and often trying to the 

 nerves of the young and inexperienced sportsman. A 

 writer in " Scribner's Monthly " gives a graphic sketch of 

 such an occasion, from which the following descriptive 

 selections are made : 



2. " The deer of the region is the Cervus Virginianus, 

 or common deer of America, which is distributed over 



The Red Deer with Branching Antlers, 



such a large area of our continent. Of the deer killed by 

 our party, there were no less than three that weighed over 

 two hundred and twenty-five pounds. It is the most 

 beautiful of the Cervidce, and in its graceful carriage, its 



