322 



CALIFORNIA TISH AND GAME 



this milkweed, said by some people to be injurious if eaten by domestic 

 stock, was a total loss as food for deer. However, in the fall after the 

 first hard frost had killed the milkweed plant stalks, I found that the 

 dry leaves were especially soupht for and eaj^erly devoured by bucks, 

 does and even by fawns (see Fig. 118). My final appraisal of the pala- 

 tability of any given plant is based upon the degree with which deer, 

 at all seasons, utilize it for food (see tables), 



SEASONAL VARIATION IN FOOD HABITS 



Both seasonal and geographical variation in food preferences of 

 mule deer in California are great. Many pages would be required to 

 give in detail all of my observations on food habits. Since this is not 

 feasible, I am presenting here the outstanding food plants eaten at 

 various seasons of the year. For convenience these food items are 

 treated under four seasonal heads. 



SUMMER 



In summer, mule deer in California feed to a greater extent than 

 at any other season, upon green leaves, growing herbs, weeds and 

 meadow grasses. Table A presents a fair example of mule deer food 

 in summer. 



TABLE A 

 Food Preferences of California Mule Deer, Yosemite Valley, June 20-July 2, 1927 



Determined from actual observation of browsing deer 



Common name 

 Yard grass 

 Meadow fescue 

 Spanish clover 

 Western choke cherry 

 California black oak 

 Kentucky blue grass 

 Curly dock 

 Hoi-scwccd 

 Green manzanita 

 Deer brush 

 Crook dogwood 

 California wild rose 

 Bigelow snoezeweed 

 Innocence 

 California laurel 

 Canyon live oak 

 Gooseberry 

 Black Cottonwood 

 Yellow monkey flower 

 Staghorn lichen 

 Laceweed 

 Blue curls 



Scientific name 

 Pol y (JO n urn avir ii hire 

 Fesfuca elafior 

 Lotus amcricatiiis 

 Primus demissa 

 Quercns heUoqqli 

 Poa prateiisis 

 Rumex crisp us 

 Erigeron canadensis 

 ArctosiapJiylos patuln 

 Ccanolh us inlcfierrim us 

 Cornus califoniica 

 Rosa califoniica 

 Jlelenium bigclovii 

 Collinsia tiiictoria 

 Vm hcllu la ria calif or )\ ica 

 Quercns chrysolepis 

 Rihes roezlii 

 Populus trichocarpa 

 Mimulus I rimuloides 

 Unsea 



Gai/ophytu m ratnosissimum 

 Trichostema ohlonguin 



Total number deer watched 136 



Total actual grazing time (deer minutes) 1217$ 



*In computing "deer minutes," the number of deer observed feeding upon any 

 one species of plant is multiplied by the number of minutes spent in feeding. Thus, 

 if two deer browse on curly dock, each for a period of five minutes, the result would 

 be totaled as: curly dock, 10 minutes. 



Note. — Careful watch was kept to see if any of the deer ate plants said to be 

 poisonous to domestic cattle or sheep. Azalea and larkspur, both said to be poison- 

 ous, were not only present but abundant. Cow parsley, said to be nonpoisonous, 

 was also abundant but I have never, during over 100 hours of close observation, 

 seen a mule deer eat any of these plants when green. 



