14° The North American Cervidce. 



spring, it feeds on the young and tender shoots of the birch, the 

 maples, poplar, and mountain ash, as well as those of some conifer- 

 ous trees ; during the summer, the willows and the water-lilies and 

 other aquatic plants form a considerable portion of its food ; and in 

 winter, with its sharp incisors it nips the twigs and strips off the bark 

 from different shrubs and trees. 



The horns of the moose start in April and become hard early in 

 September. The rutting season at once follows, lasting until No- 

 vember. At the beginning of this season the bulls are at their best, 

 and then is the time to hunt them. Later, the flesh becomes some- 

 what strong, and, before the rut is over, the animals have become 

 thin, and are scarcely fit for food. 



It seems a pity that the moose cannot be domesticated. Experi- 

 ence has shown that they are readily tamed, and that they can be 

 broken to harness without much difficulty. The elk of Europe was 

 formerly used to draw sledges in Sweden, and in America the moose 

 has occasionally been used as a draught animal, and has shown itself 

 strong and tireless. It has not been practicable, however, to use it 

 during the rutting season. 



In winter, when the snows lie deep, and traveling becomes dif- 

 ficult, the moose " yard up," as it is called ; that is, they collect in 

 localities where food is abundant, and remain there until spring, or 

 until they are driven off by hunters. This species is less gregarious 

 than most deer, and it is somewhat unusual to see more than four or 

 five together, and these are usually a single family of old and young. 



The Caribou ( Rangifer Grcenlandicus, Baird). 



The older naturalists described the two forms of American caribou 

 under different specific names, and regarded both as different from 

 the reindeer of the Old World. At present, however, the best author- 

 ities consider the woodland caribou ( R. Grcenlandicus tarandus), 

 which is the common Southern form, as a fairly good geographical 

 race of the barren ground species, and look upon the circumpolar 

 forms as identical. 



The head of the caribou, while less coarse than that of the moose, 

 is far from presenting the delicate and graceful outlines seen in the 



