308 Deer and Antelope of North America 



Lake country, in the Liard River country, about 

 60 N., to the west of the Mackenzie 66.30 N., 

 in the country north of the Porcupine 70 N., and 

 on the Kenai Peninsula 60 N. Moose abound 

 in all the localities mentioned, yet although I 

 searched carefully for it, I could find no trace of 

 their feeding on the lilies. Certain varieties of 

 willows are their favorite food, though they feed 

 upon alder, aspen, and sometimes birch and bal- 

 sam. They snap off branches, thick as one's 

 finger, as readily as most ruminants nip blades of 

 grass, and will ride down a young tree to secure 

 its tender top branches. Lowlands along the 

 streams and around the marshy lakes are their 

 favorite feeding-grounds in spring and summer, 

 but with the approach of fall they begin to work 

 their way into the hills. High rolling country 

 which has been run over by fire, and followed by 

 one or two seasons' growth of willows, is their 

 very choicest feeding-ground. The new growth 

 of willows after a fire is always exceptionally lux- 

 uriant; the new shoots being large and tender. 

 The short neck of the moose unfits it for feeding 

 on the ground, and rarely are the willows clipped 

 below a height of thirty inches. Their long heads 

 and great height naturally fit them for such feed- 

 ing, but they seem to delight in doing so, and 

 will often rear on their hind legs to secure some 

 especially tempting twig. I have seen where 



