TRACKS AND TRACKING 



off their range if they are bucks, and to claim 

 ownership of them if they are does. The white- 

 tail buck does not keep a harem, as is done by 

 the elk and to some extent by the black-tailed 

 deer, but stays with a doe a few days only, gen- 

 erally two or three, and then looks out for adven- 

 tures elsewhere, or, more probably, the doe does 

 not care for his company after being satisfied, and 

 avoids him. Before the close of the hunting sea- 

 son, where it is extended until January 1, bucks 

 again stay in thickets as prior to the rutting sea- 

 son, and soon after migrate to their winter range, 

 where they, in company with does and fawns, 

 spend the rigorous season of the year. 



Summing up, we have seven signs by which to 

 distinguish a buck's trail from that of a doe, of 

 which the first in the following list is a feature 

 of the white-tailed deer solely, and of which the 

 three last named cannot be regarded as always 

 absolutely certain: 



1. Watching from cover; 



2. Drag; 



3. Blazing of trees; 



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