THE AMERICAN DEEK. 223 



dance, the wilder and more gamy is tlie flavor of the 

 venison. 



The third variety is the Roe, a native of all the wilder 

 and more broken forest regions of Great Britain, both 

 north and south, though they are few in number as 

 compared with either of the other species. They are 

 much smaller than the Red or Fallow Deer, of a uniform 

 reddish-brown color, and are distinguished by small erect 

 horns, with a single prong in front. Of the two last 

 species the male is known as the buck, the female as the 

 doe. 



The American Deer in size, color, the branched for- 

 mation of its antlers, and the character of its flesh, most 

 nearly resembles the Red Deer of Europe, but is clearly 

 distinguished from that animal by some peculiarities in 

 its structure and by the shape of its horns. In the 

 European Red Deer, the direction of the main stem of 

 the antlers is directly backward, all the branches or 

 prongs springing from the anterior side and pointing 

 forward, the lowest on each side, or brow antler, which 

 is the principal defense of the animal against his natural 

 enemies, the wolf and dog, bending forward and down- 

 ward on the outer side of the brow and eye. 



In the American Deer, the main stem at first inclines 

 backward for about half its length, but then turns for- 

 ward with a bold curve, and terminates in a sharp 

 deflected point, all the prongs, which are sometimes 

 themselves bifid, and even trifid, arising from the poste- 



