DECOMPOSITION. 



DEER. 



the lifetime of the animals, as certain kinds of 

 hair, horns, and teeth. In botany, it is applied 

 to such trees and plants as shed their leaves in 

 the autumn, in contradistinction to evergreens. 

 Thus the oak, the elm, the beech, &c., are 

 called deciduous trees. 



DECOMPOSITION (Lat. decomposes). The 

 reduction or dissolution of any mixed body to 

 the separate parts of which it is composed. It 

 is of great importance to be assured, that, in 

 every process of decomposition, whether by 

 heat, air, or putrefaction, nothing is lost, no- 

 thing is ultimately destroyed ; the components 

 of the decomposed substance form new com- 

 pounds. Decomposition is therefore not, in 

 strict language, a destructive process ; but 

 merely a change of affinities, and a transform- 

 ation of old into new compounds. 



DEER (Sax. eop; Swed. diur ; Lat. cervus). 

 The general name of animals of the stag kind, 

 of which there are several species. These 

 may be primarily divided into two groups ; of 

 which one includes those with antlers more or 

 less flattened, the others those with rounded 

 antlers. The elk is the most characteristic 

 species of the first group. The reindeer 

 differs from the rest of the genus in the pre- 

 sence of antlers in both sexes, and in the great 

 developement of the brow-antlers. The third 

 species of deer, referable to the flat-horned 

 group, is the English park, the fallow-deer 

 (Cervus dama, Lin.). The period of gestation 

 in the fallow-doe is eight months. We have 

 in England two varieties of the fallow-deer, 

 which are said to be of foreign origin ; the 

 beautiful spotted kind, and the deep brown sort. 

 These have multiplied exceedingly in many 

 parts of the kingdom, which is now become 

 famous for venison of superior fatness and fla- 

 vour' to that of any other country in the world. 

 The spotted deer of the Dama species must not 

 be confounded with the spotted deer brought 

 from India, which is a distinct species, namely 

 the Cervus (Axis} macula tus, and never changes its 

 spots, whereas the spotted fallow-deer becomes 

 a uniform brown in winter. This species has 

 been domesticated in England, and propagates 

 freely in parks. It is smaller and more elegant 

 in form than the fallow-deer, and furnishes as 

 good venison. Of the species of deer of which 

 the beam of the antler gives a rounded form in 

 section, the red deer (C. elaplws) and the roe- 

 buck (C. capreolus) are indigenous species. 

 The male red deer, in the language of "the 

 noble art of venerie," is called a " hart," and the 

 female a "hind." She goes with young about 

 a week longer than the fallow-doe;' and brings 

 forth in May a single fawn, rarely two. The 

 young of both sexes are at first styled "calves." 

 In the common stag, or red deer, the shedding 

 of the horns takes place about the end of Feb- 

 ruary, or during March. The fallow-deer 

 sheds his horns from about the middle of April 

 to the first weeks of May. The roe-buck is 

 the smallest species of European deer; the 

 male is monogamous, and the female brings 

 forth two fawns. They are not confined to the 

 Scotish mountains, being still found in some 

 of the rugged woods of Westmoreland and 

 Cumberland. The roe-bupk in its native wilds 

 does not keep in herds in its perambulations ; 

 402 



but it only congregates in low coverts. The 

 food of the roe-buck in the Highlands of Scot- 

 land is the Rittms suxutilis, or roe-buck-berry ; 

 but in winter they browse on the tender twigs 

 of the birch and the fir. The flesh of 'the roe- 

 buck is tender and delicate, when the animal 

 has been hunted. The horns are used for 

 handles of knives, and other instruments. 

 Three varieties of the genus Cervus are pro- 

 fessed objects of the chase ; the stag, the fal- 

 low-deer, and the roe-buck ; each of which 

 have long been followed with great ardour, 

 according to the tastes of different sportsmen, 

 and their means of gratifying them : the roe- 

 buck is, however, becoming scarce. 



The following notice of the several kinds of 

 deer found in the United States, is chiefly con- 

 densed from Dr. Harlan's "Fauna Jlmericana" 



1. The Moose (Cervus alces), is by some called 

 elk. It is the largest species of the deer kind, 

 and is distinguished from all others by having 

 broad and flattened horns, and a hairy tuft and 

 protuberance under the throat. In size, these 

 animals are sometimes larger than a common 

 sized horse. The upper lip is square, very broad, 

 deeply furrowed, and hangs over the mouth. 



The length of the moose, measured from the 

 tip of the nose to the base of the tail is 6 feet 

 10 inches: height of fore-part 5 feet 2 inches ; 

 behind 5 feet 4 inches: horns 3 feet 1 inch 

 long; breadth between these at their summits, 

 3 feet 10 inches : those on the male sometimes 

 weigh 60 Ibs. They consist of a simple and 

 flattened expansion furnished with numerous 

 prongs on the -external border. The tail is ex- 

 ceedingly short. The neck is short, and the 

 female has no horns. Both sexes have a tuft 

 of long hair, like a beard, beneath the throat, 

 the male having a protuberance in the same 

 place. The general colour is fawn-brown on 

 the top of the head, the back, and rump ; and a 

 deeper brown beneath the lower jaw, neck, &c. 

 The under part of the tail is whitish. The 

 young animal is of a reddish brown colour 

 without spots. 



Moose live in small troops, in swampy 

 places. Their gait, which is commonly a trot, 

 is much less active than that of other deer. 

 They live upon the buds of trees, moss, and 

 some kinds of plants. In eating from the 

 ground they are compelled, from the shortness 

 of their necks, either to kneel or separate their 

 fore-legs. They rut about the end of August 

 and all the month of September. The females 

 bring, forth from the middle of May to the mid- 

 dle of June, generally two and sometimes three 

 and occasionally only one at a time. The old 

 moose shed their horns annually, in January 

 and February, and the young in April. They 

 live 15 or 20 years. This species of deer* is 

 met with at present only in the more northern 

 parts of the United States, and beyond the 

 great lakes. 



2. The Rein-deer (Cervus tarandus), has a total 

 length of 5 feet 6 inches ; the horns are 2 feet 

 10 inches long, and 2 feet 2 inches apart at 

 their summits. Their size is about that of the 

 common deer, the legs being thicker in pro- 



i portion, and the hoofs shorter and thicker, the 

 i neck is very short The colour varies accord- 

 i ing to the seasons nd age of the animal. The 



