74 Deer and Antelope of North America 



tips of the grass itself. I have seen moose feed- 

 ing on the tough old lily stems and wading after 

 them when the ice had skimmed the edges of the 

 pool. But the whitetail has usually gone back 

 into the woods long before freezing time. 



From Long Island south there is not enough 

 snow to make the deer alter their habits in the 

 winter. As soon as the rut is over, which in dif- 

 ferent localities may be from October to December, 

 whitetail are apt to band together more apt than 

 at any other season, although even then they are 

 often found singly or in small parties. While 

 nursing, the does have been thin, and at the end 

 of the rut the bucks are gaunt, with their necks 

 swollen and distended. From that time on bucks 

 and does alike put on flesh very rapidly in prepa- 

 ration for the winter. Where there is no snow, or 

 not enough to interfere with their travelling, they 

 continue to roam anywhere through the woods 

 and across the natural pastures and meadows, eat- 

 ing twigs, buds, nuts, and the natural hay which 

 is cured on the stalk. 



In the northern woods they form yards during 

 the winter. These yards are generally found in a 

 hardwood growth which offers a supply of winter 

 food, and consist simply of a tangle of winding 

 trails beaten out through the snow by the inces- 

 sant passing and repassing of the animal. The 

 yard merely enables the deer to move along the 



