106 MANNER OF FEEDING. 



leaves of the juniper and the Scotch fir ; occasionally, 

 indeed, of those of the spruce-pine. Several kinds of 

 lichens, especially the Usnea barbata, Ach., which grows in 

 the greatest abundance on pine-trees and logs, also constitute 

 a considerable portion of his food. 



To enable the elk to get at the sprigs of the aspen, the 

 mountain-ash, &c., he depresses the larger branches with his 

 head ; but if the tree be of any height, and slender withal, 

 he leans his breast against the stem, so as to bend it down- 

 wards, when, advancing step by step, he thus at length 

 reaches the topmost boughs. 



The dung of the elk varies in appearance according to the 

 season of the year. In the summer it is somewhat loose, 

 resembling in degree that of cattle ; but in the winter it is 

 hard, and in size and shape not unlike so many huge cob- 

 nuts. Where the animal has been reposing for a while, one 

 often sees a shovel-full or two collected in a heap. 



The rutting season with the elk, as with others of the deer 

 tribe, is in the month of September and October. The male 

 at this time utters a peculiar cry, supposed to be the Lock- 

 ton, or call-note, with which he entices his mate. Ekstrom 

 tells us, " It resembles a Small, or loud report, and is 

 followed up by a snort like to that of a horse when alarmed, 

 but much louder, and with a note as from a trombone. 

 The Small is probably produced by his long and overhanging 

 lips, and the snorting noise by the air being hastily and 

 with force blown through his nostrils." 



Although just prior to the rutting season, the males 

 wander greatly in search of mates ; yet as soon as they have 

 found a partner, the pair retire together to a dense brake, 

 generally consisting of fir or spruce, in the wildest recesses 



