Ill 



THE DEER FAMILY 



ATORTH AMERICA may be said to have fared 

 -L N badly when the antelope were distributed, and 

 has only one, while Africa and Asia have a hundred or 

 more. We find ample compensation for this shortag-e 

 when we observe the Cervidae or deer. If the two 

 splendid caribou which are named as separate species 

 in the Boone and Crockett club-list be considered as 

 one we have at least six distinct species of deer, includ- 

 ing the moose and the elk, the two largest and most 

 magnificent deer in the world; the mule-deer, another 

 splendid animal, justly celebrated as an object of the 

 chase and noted for the delicacy and fine flavor of its 

 flesh; the Columbia black-tail, an equally good deer; 

 the familiar Virginia or white-tailed deer, somewhat 

 smaller, and the caribou, or reindeer, which is similar to 

 the reindeer of Europe. There are a number of geo- 

 graphical races which are mentioned by naturalists, the 

 most notable of which are the varieties of the common 

 Virginia deer, one of which, the dwarf specimen found 

 in Arizona, is not much over two and one-half feet in 

 height. These all have the same habits and are all 

 common Virginia deer to the sportsman. 



With the exception of the moose, which is positively 

 ugly in appearance, all of the deer arc remarkably 



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