388 NORTHERN EUROPE 



the antlers are entirely different from those of all other deer. The main beam 

 rises from the upper part of the skull far behind the eyes, and the brow-tine (at 

 least on one side) attains a great development, spreading out almost in the shape* 

 of a hand, and sometimes touching the muzzle. The antlers are, however, subject 

 to a considerable amount of local and individual variation in this and other 

 respects. Next the brow-tine comes the equally forked and often hand-like bez- 

 tine, above which the beam extends some distance backwards till it turns up- 

 wards and forwards at an acute angle terminating in an expanded palm with a 

 number of snags. In build the reindeer is somewhat heavy, with short, thick legs, 

 ending in wide hoofs. The principal hoofs are round, wide, and short, and 

 separated by a deep cleft ; and the lateral hoofs are exceptionally large and com- 

 pressed. When running on snow-fields, the main hoofs spread to the sides, while 

 the lateral pair touch the snow, thereby forming a wide sole and preventing the 

 sinking of the feet into the snow r . The reindeer also betrays its northern character 

 by being provided with fairly long hair at the muzzle, and therein differs from 

 other deer. The small ears are closely haired on both sides ; the throat is 

 covered with long, stiff hairs; the neck has no mane, and the body is covered with 

 a curly or wavy upper coat, and soft, woolly under-fur. The colour of the hair is 

 principalh r brownish grey, but whitish on the face, neck, and throat ; the nose, ears, 

 and legs being brown. The tail is mostly white, but has a brown hue at its root 

 and on the upper side. The hair above the hoofs is white, the hoofs are black, 

 and the antlers yellowish and partly whitish. Young reindeer are generally uni- 

 formly coloured, but afterwards the colour varies considerably, some being partly or 

 almost entirely white. Being spread not only over northern Europe, but also 

 northern Asia and North America, much local variation might be expected, 

 and quite a number of races (regarded by some as species) have been described. 

 Reindeer from different countries vary much in size, some of the American races 

 having a shoulder-height of 4 feet 7 inches, and an average weight of 336 to 

 44-2 lbs. 



In the Old World reindeer range to the Arctic Ocean, and from Scandinavia 

 to eastern Siberia. Wild reindeer have become rare in Scandinavia, but in Russia 

 they are found in Kasan in 54° N. latitude. In the Urals the southern boundary of 

 their range is about 52° N. latitude in the Kirghiz Steppes, but reindeer are also found 

 wild in the neighbourhood of Orenburg. In these districts they do not seem to 

 be domesticated, as they are in part of Norway, Lapland, the Russian district of 

 Perm, and Siberia. The Scandinavian domesticated reindeer, which is specially used 

 by the Lapp, is much smaller than the wild reindeer. The reindeer of Siberia, 

 which are mostly used for riding, are larger than those of Scandinavia ; they are 

 said to be particularly large in the district of Kasan, where the female often lacks 

 antlers. Reindeer breed well in Iceland, where they were introduced in 1870; in 

 Alaska they were imported in 1892. Wild reindeer are indigenous in several Arctic 

 islands ; they are absent from the Franz Josef Archipelago, but appear in Novaia 

 Zemlia and Spitzbergen, as well as farther north. In Spitsbergen they are numerous, 

 and there their habits have been best observed. During summer they keep to the 

 grassy plains in valleys free from ice ; but later in autumn resort to the sea-shore to 

 eat the weed thrown up by the sea. In winter they visit the mountains in the interior 



