Moose-Himtiiig in Canada. 189 



America is almost, if not quite, identical with the elk of Europe, but 

 it attains a greater size. The horns especially are much finer than 

 those to be found on the elk in Russia, Prussia, or the Scandinavian 

 countries. 



The moose has many advantages over other deer, but it suffers 

 also from some terrible disadvantages, which make it an easy prey 

 to its great and principal destroyer, man. Whereas among most, if 

 not all, the members of the deer tribe, the female has but one fawn 

 at a birth, the cow-moose generally drops two calves — which is much 

 in favor of the race. The moose is blessed with an intensely acute 

 sense of smell, with an almost equally acute sense of hearing, and it 

 is exceedingly wary and difficult of approach. On the other hand, 

 it is but little fitted to move in deep snow, owing to its great weight. 

 Unlike the caribou, which has hoofs specially adapted for deep snow, 

 the moose's feet are small, compared with the great bulk of the ani- 

 mal. If, therefore, it is once found and started when the snow lies 

 deep upon the ground, its destruction is a matter of certainty ; it 

 breaks through the snow to solid earth at every step, becomes speed- 

 ily exhausted, and falls an easy prey to men and dogs. Again, a 

 large tract of land is necessary to supply food for even one moose. 

 In summer, it feeds a good deal upon the stems and roots of water- 

 lilies, but its staple food consists of the tender shoots of the moose- 

 wood, ground- maple, alder, birch, poplar, and other deciduous trees. 

 It is fond of ground-hemlock, and will also occasionally browse upon 

 the sapin, or Canada balsam fir, and even upon spruce, though that is 

 very rare, and I have known them when hard pressed to gnaw bark 

 off the trees. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are nearly " settled 

 up." More and more land is cleared and brought under cultivation 

 every day ; more and more forest cut down year by year ; and the 

 moose-supporting portion of the country is becoming very limited in 

 extent. On the other hand, the moose is an animal which could 

 easily be preserved if only reasonable laws could be enforced. It 

 adapts itself wonderfully to civilization. A young moose will become 

 as tame as a domestic cow in a short time. Moose become accus- 

 tomed to the ordinary noises of a settled country with such facility, 

 that they may sometimes be found feeding within a few hundred 

 yards of a road. A railway does not appear to disturb them at all. 

 I have shot moose within sound of the barking of dogs and the cack- 



