SECRETARY'S REPORT. 191 



matured they become ossified, until, completely developed, the skin be- 

 neath which they were formed, and by which they are still covered, dries 

 up and peels off leaving them bare bone ; the blood vessels at their base 

 soon become connected together and refuse nourishment to the horns, 

 which now are solid, dead bone, requiring no effort of nature to detach 

 them from the skull, but are removed by accident. 



The female has one or two' young in early summer. The fawns are 

 at first reddish, spotted with white. They lose their spots in autumn and 

 become gray in winter. In the fall the deer are in good condition, and 

 their flesh, which is called venison, is delicious ; in the winter they herd 

 together, and when the snow is deep they tread it down in large patches 

 which are called yards, in these they remain, browsing on twigs and 

 mosses ; hunters follow them to these yards where they often destroy the 

 whole herd. This practice should be condemned, as by it the deer are 

 greatly reduced in numbers, and if it is followed up to any extent it will 

 be the sure means of their extermination. The following laws, (General 

 Statutes, chapter 82,) which took effect on and after the 31st of May, 

 1860, if faithfully enforced, will protect to some extent these animals in 

 this State: — 



Section 12. Whoever between the first day of January and the first day 

 of August kills or hunts any deer, except his own tame deer, or deer kept in 

 his park or on his own land, shall for every such offence forfeit twenty dollars. 



Section 13. Whoever at any time of the year hunts, chases, or kills, with 

 hounds or dogs, any deer within the counties of Plymouth or Barnstable shall 

 for every such offence forfeit twenty dollars. 



Description. — Head, rather long; tnuzzle, sharp; ears, long and broad ; 

 eyes, large and lustrous ; body, slender ; limbs, long and slender ; hoofs, 

 long and narrow, false hoofs, long; tail, long and bushy, widest laterally. 

 Color : head and ears, back and sides, and the upper side of the tail, light 

 chestnut red ; beneath the chin, throat, belly, inside the legs, and under 

 side of the tail, white ; this is the spring and summer dress, in winter 

 there is a considerable sprinkling of grayish hairs. 



DIMENSIONS OF A PINE BUCK. 



Length of head, 12 inches. 



Length of ear, 6 inches. 



Length of head and body, 5 feet 5 inches. 



Length of tail to the end of the hairs, 11 inches. 



Length of tail, not including the hairs, 8 J inches. 



