344 UNGULATA. 



yearling male show only knobs an inch high. The tail of 

 the Moose is a mere rudiment, and the feet have large and 

 shapely pointed hoofs. 



The bull Moose is much larger than the female, and has 

 a hair-covered appendage on the throat, formed by the di- 

 latation of the skin, varying from four to ten inches in 

 length. 



The Moose is found throughout Canada, and in Maine 

 and Minnesota and the northern part of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains. The Alaskan Moose of the Yukon Valley is un- 

 doubtedly the largest form of its genus, and has lately been 

 classed as a separate species (Alces-gigas). 



The Moose feed from early dawn till sunrise, when 

 they repose till ten or eleven o 'clock ; then they feed again 

 till about two, when they take another resting spell until 

 four or five o 'clock, after which they feed until dusk, when 

 they lay down for the night. In summer they are solitary 

 in their habits, wandering alone in the neighborhood of 

 swamps, rivers or lakes ; but in winter they gather in small 

 parties in what are termed moose yards, which are always 

 located in some part of the country where there is an abun- 

 dant growth of deciduous trees such as white birch, maple, 

 poplar and mountain ash, which with the shoots of the 

 evergreen, balsam fir and juniper, form the diet of the 

 moose. 



The antlers of the Moose are shed during January, and 

 the new pair are fully developed by August. The hair of 

 the Moose is coarse and with the exception of the yel- 

 lowish legs generally of some shade of brown, but during 

 some seasons and at certain ages the pelage may be of a 

 greyish hue. The favorite pace of the Moose is a long, 

 swinging trot. The slaughter of these animals when 

 imprisoned in their yard in winter is prohibited by law. 

 The three legitimate methods of capturing them are : 

 stalking or still hunting, fire hunting and calling. 



