200 AN AMERICAN HUNTER 



diurnal in their habits. I have seen dozens feeding in 

 the neighborhood of a lake, some of them two or three 

 hundred yards out in shallow places, up to their bellies ; 

 and this after sunrise, or two or three hours before sunset. 

 Before September the deer cease coming to the water, 

 and go back among the dense forests and on the moun- 

 tains. There is no genuine migration, as in the case of 

 the mule-deer, from one big tract to another, and no en- 

 tire desertion of any locality. But the food supply which 

 drew the animals to the water's edge during the summer 

 months shows signs of exhaustion toward fall; the deli- 

 cate water-plants have vanished, the marsh-grass is dying, 

 and the lilies are less succulent. An occasional deer still 

 wanders along the shores or out into the lake, but most 

 of them begin to roam the woods, eating the berries and 

 the leaves and twig ends of the deciduous trees, and even 

 of some of the conifers although a whitetail is fond of 

 grazing, especially upon the tips of the grass. I have 

 seen moose feeding on the tough old lily stems and wad- 

 ing after them when the ice had skimmed the edges of 

 the pool. But the whitetail has usually gone back into 

 the woods long before freezing-time. 



From Long Island south there is not enough snow to 

 make the deer alter their habits in the winter. As soon 

 as the rut is over, which in different localities may be 

 from October to December, whitetail are apt to band to- 

 gether more apt than at any other season, although even 

 then they are often found singly or in small parties. 

 While nursing, the does have been thin, and at the end 

 of the rut the bucks are gaunt, with their necks swollen 



