274 BULLETIN NO. VII. 



and the proper method of applying the salve to the tender 

 skin of the scalp. The same instinct is shown in the habit of 

 diving in fly -time to escape the assaults of these pests if this 

 habit is not the result of the fondness of the moose for the 

 roots of the yellow water lily Nuphar. 



The bark of the flowering maple and mountain ash and the 

 twigs of the fir and "moosewood" are said to form the staple 

 winter diet of the moose in some places at least. In summer 

 the white hunter is most successful in hunting the moose by 

 availing himself of the curiosity and antipatly to fire which are 

 prominent traits of the animal. Torch hunting has been al- 

 ready frequently referred to and the process is essentially 

 similar in all cases. A canoe manned by two persons is quietly 

 paddled along the stream or among the water plants of the 

 lake frequented by moose, and the glare of the torch is said to 

 excite the male to a blind rage, making it an easy victim. At 

 the proper season the accurate imitation of the bellow of the 

 male is said to be an effectual means of getting within range. 

 Aside from the loud bellow referred to the sound known by the 

 hunters as "chopping" i. e., the gnashing of the teeth is per- 

 haps the only sound intentionally produced. The only speci- 

 men of this animal encountered from Minnesota is that now on 

 exhibition in the museum of the University, but as it was not 

 seen in the flesh no anatomical or other details could be secured. 



Rangifer tarandus. 



WOODLAND CARIBOU, OR AMERICAN REINDEER. 



Fig. 20. 



The reindeer are represented in America by two species, and 

 only one of these merely enters the northern outskirts of the 

 United States. The relationship between our species and the 

 European is so close that many writers have hesitated to con- 

 sider them as distinct. The caribou is much smaller than its 

 relative, the moose, and is even more ungainly and kine-like. 

 The full-grown animal is as large as a well-grown yearling 

 beef, and has much the same stocky form. The legs are 

 shorter and the neck rather longer than in the moose, while the 

 hoofs are broader than in any American ruminant. Like the 

 moose the neck of the male is clothed with a shaggy mane- 

 The muzzle is like that of the ox rather than of the moose. 



The color is variable and fluctuates with the seasons ; in gen- 

 eral, however, it is lighter than that of other deer. In summer 

 it is darkest, the prevailing color being dark brown varying 



