84 HOOFED ANIMALS 



"black-tail," and is really a fine animal. A large buck stands 

 36 inches high at the shoulders, is 53 inches in length of head 

 and body, its tail is 7 inches long to the end of the vertebrae, 

 and 5 inches more to the end of the hair. A fairly large 

 pair of antlers from central Montana are 23^ inches in length 

 from burr to tip of beam, spread 18 inches and have 13 points. 

 A heavy Maine buck is reported to have weighed, before 

 being dressed, 278 pounds. 



Usually but one fawn is born each year, in May, which 

 at birth is beautifully spotted, stands 15% inches high and 

 weighs 4J/ pounds. 



Let it not be supposed, however, that in the South the 

 White-Tailed Deer of the North necessarily becomes a small 

 or inferior animal. A collection of more than one hundred 

 pairs of antlers from Texas, recently inspected by the writer, 

 contained a surprisingly high percentage of large and heavy 

 specimens, fully equal in length, spread and weight to the best 

 examples from Montana, Minnesota and Maine. 



WILD GAME AS A SOURCE OF REVENUE. All persons who 

 pay state taxes in states or territories in which "big game" 

 and game fishes are found, will do well to bear in mind that 

 under certain conditions wild animal life can be made an 

 important and legitimate source of revenue. The United 

 States Supreme Court has decided (Ward vs. Race Horse, 

 163 U. S. 507) that all wild game on unoccupied lands is the 

 property of the state, and that even the National Government 

 may not, either by treaty with Indians or in any other man- 

 ner save actual sequestration, convey any rights or privileges 

 affecting it adversely. 



