THE VIRGINIA DEER 131 



presents .21388 of the live weight, or 411 of the whole 

 animal. 



" The dressed weight being given in pounds, add to 

 it five ciphers, divide by 78,612, and the result will be 

 the live weight in pounds." 



The white-tail deer is especially fond of lily-pads 

 and stems and the vegetation of the swamps, and in the 

 summer is often found near the small woodland lakes 

 and streams. Here it spends much time in the water to 

 escape the flies and other insects. It prefers the still 

 waters where the lilies grow to the tumbling moun- 

 tain trout-brooks. A country where there are many 

 of these feeding-places is the best deer-country. The 

 Virginia deer is a good swimmer and crosses large 

 lakes without difficulty. The deer feeds also on grass 

 and on shrubs, berries, and the leaves and tender 

 shoots of trees. He is accused of visiting the gar- 

 dens, and like the mule-deer in California, he can do a 

 lot of damage in a night. New England farmers have 

 insisted upon the right to shoot them out of season 

 when they were raiding their gardens. 



Judge Caton and Grinnell regard the Virginia deer * 

 as the best of all the deer as a game-animal. Colonel 

 Dodge prefers the mule-deer, and as we have seen, re- 

 gards him as more difficult to stalk. Roosevelt says : 

 "To my mind the chase of the white-tail, as it must be 

 carried on, offers less attraction than the chase of 

 any other kind of our large game." 



I agree with the last-named writer. In all the places 

 where I have seen the white-tail recently, the sport 

 was not especially interesting. There was more fun 

 to be had in shooting ruffed grouse over dogs. In 



