VIRGINIA DEER. 57 



tailed Deer, but little is known. In South America there 

 are several species of Deer, but they are not much known. 



On the Eastern continent there are many kinds : as the 

 Elk, the Reindeer, the Stag or Red Deer, the Roebuck, the 

 Malayan Rusa Deer, the Axis Deer, and the Fallow Deer. 

 The Fallow Deer is common in Europe and Asia ; it is do- 

 mesticated in England, and may be seen in flocks in the 

 parks, almost as tame as sheep. These animals live to- 

 gether in herds, which sometimes divide into two parties, 

 and maintain obstinate battles for the possession of a favor- 

 ite part of the park : each one having its leader, which is 

 always the oldest and strongest of the flock. They attack 

 in regular order of battle ; they fight with courage, and 

 mutually defend each other. 



The chief difference between the Stag and the Fallow 

 Deer appears to be in the size and form of their horns : 

 those of the latter are much smaller than those of the for- 

 mer. The Fallow Deer is easily tamed ; it feeds on a va- 

 riety of substances which the Stag refuses, and preserves 

 its condition nearly the same throughout the year, al- 

 though its flesh, called venison, is considered much finer 

 at some periods of the year than it is at others. There 

 are two varieties of the Fallow Deer in England; which 

 are said to be of foreign origin. The beautiful spotted kind 

 were brought from Bengal in India. These animals, with 

 some variation, are found in almost every country in Eu- 

 rope. Those of Spain are as large as Stags, but darker ; 

 their necks are also more slender ; and their tails, which 

 are longer than those of England, are black above, and 

 white beneath. 



The American Elk or Wapiti Deer, is domesticated by 



