THE AMERICAN DEER 979 



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graceful of all its compatriots. Its variation in size is so great that it would be use- 

 less to give any measurements, although it may be mentioned that usually fine 

 bucks are said to weigh as much as two hundred pounds, and occasionally more. 



With regard to the variation in size and color in this, the commonest North- 

 American species, Mr. Caton writes that although in a given neighborhood there 

 is a great difference in the size of individuals, in widely different localities, there is 

 a permanent and constant difference of size. Thus, whereas in the north all the 

 deer are large, as we proceed south there is a progressive diminution, till in North- 

 ern Mexico and the neighborhood of the Gulf of Mexico the deer have so dimin- 

 ished that it is at first difficult to believe that they are specifically indentical with 

 their northern representatives. Similarly we find in the mountainous regions of the 

 west an increase in the amount of white on the tail and body, which has given rise 

 to the notion that the so-called white-tailed deer is a distinct species; but Mr. Caton 

 states that this difference is not constant even among the deer of the west, where 

 many specimens cannot be distinguished from those found in Illinois or Wisconsin. 

 The more northerly race appears, however, to be characterized by the absence of the 

 black markings on the face and tail, which so frequently occur in the southern and 

 eastern portion of the animal's range. 



In the Adirondack region of New York, Dr. Hart Merriam says that 

 ' ' the Virginian deer is found high upon the mountain sides, as well as 

 in the lowest valleys and river bottoms. It frequents alike the densest and most 

 impenetrable thickets and the open beaver meadows and frontier clearings. From 

 the first of May to the first of November its food consists of a great variety of herbs, 

 grasses, marsh and aquatic plants, the leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs, 

 blueberries, blackberries, other fruits that grow within its reach, and the nutritious 

 beechnut. While snow covers the ground which it commonly does about half 

 the year the fare is necessarily restricted, and it is forced to subsist chiefly upon 

 the twigs and buds of low deciduous trees and shrubs, the twigs and foliage of the 

 arbor vitse, hemlock and balsam, and a few mosses and lichens. In winters succeed- 

 ing a good yield of nuts, the mast constitutes its staple article of diet, and is obtained 

 by following the beech ridges and pawing up the snow beneath the trees. ' ' 



Although shy and timid in the extreme, and at first retreating rapidly before 

 the advance of civilization, these deer soon regain confidence, and come back to their 

 ancient haunts. Their speed is great, and they are excellent and rapid swimmers, 

 even young fawns while still in the spotted coat taking readily to the water. Dur- 

 ing long-continued deep snow these deer frequently collect together in parties, 

 sometimes of considerable size, and form " yards," like the elk. 



There is considerable variation in the time of changing the gray dress of winter 

 for the red coat of summer, as there is in the date when the antlers of the bucks are 

 shed, these differences being apparently mainly due to the severity or mildness of the 

 winters. The pairing season, during which the bucks, like those of other deer, are 

 exceedingly pugnacious, lasts from the latter part of October till the beginning of 

 December. The fawns, which are nearly always two in number, are mostly born 

 in May. They retain their white spots till September, when both young and old 

 assume their winter dress. The fawns are easily tamed, if captured sufficiently 



