DEER. 



39i 



year the throat, a ring above the muzzle, a spot above and below the eye, portions 



of the inside of the ear, the inner surfaces of the limbs and the under-parts are, 



however, white. The upper surface of the tail is dark brown, and even in winter 



there is a more or less reddish tinge throughout the pelage. In build this deer is the 



most elegant and graceful of all its compatriots. Its variation in size is so great that 



it would be useless to give any measurements, although it may be mentioned that 



unusually fine bucks are said to weigh as much as 200 lbs., and occasionally more. 



With regard to the variation in size and colour in this, the commonest North 



American species, Mr. Caton writes that, although in a given neighbourhood there 



is a great difference in the size of individuals, in widely different localities there 



is a permanent and constant difference of size. Thus, whereas in the north all 



the deer are large, as we proceed south there is a progressive diminution, till in 



Northern Mexico and the neighbourhood of the Gulf of Mexico the deer have so 



diminished that it is at first difficult to believe that they are specifically identical 



with their northern representatives. Similarly we find in the mountainous regions 



of the west an increase in the amount of white on the tail and body, which has 



given rise to the notion that the so-called white-tailed deer is a distinct species ; 



but Mr. Caton states that this difference is not constant even among the deer of the 



west, where many specimens cannot be distinguished from those found in Illinois 



or Wisconsin. The more northerly race appears, however, to be characterised by 



the absence of the black markings on the face and tail, which so frequently occur 



in the southern and eastern portion of the animal's range. 



In the Adirondack region of New York Dr. Hart Merriam says 

 Habits 



that the Virginian deer " is found high upon the mountain-sides, as well 



as in the lowest valleys and river-bottoms. It frequents alike the densest and most 

 impenetrable thickets and the open beaver-meadows and frontier clearings. From 

 the 1st of May to the 1st of November its food consists of a great variety of herbs, 

 grasses, marsh and aquatic plants, the leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs, 

 blueberries, blackberries, other fruits that grow within its reach, and the nutritious 

 beech-nut. While snow covers the ground — which it commonly does about half 

 the year — the fare is necessarily restricted, and it is forced to subsist chiefly upon 

 the twigs and buds of low deciduous trees and shrubs, the twigs and foliage of the 

 arbor vitse, hemlock, and balsam, and a few mosses and lichens. In winters succeed- 

 ing a good yield of nuts the mast constitutes its staple article of diet, and is 

 obtained by following the beech ridges and pawing up the snow beneath the trees." 



Although shy and timid in the extreme, and at first retreating rapidly before 

 the advance of cultivation, these deer soon regain confidence, and come back to 

 their ancient haunts. Their speed is great, and they are excellent and rapid 

 swimmers, even young fawns while still in the spotted coat taking readily to the 

 water. During long-continued deep snow these deer frequently collect together 

 in parties, sometimes of considerable size, and form " yards," like the elk. 



There is considerable variation in the time of changing the grey dress of winter 

 for the red coat of summer, as there is in the date when the antlers of the bucks are 

 shed, these differences being apparently mainly due to the severity or mildness of 

 the winters. The pairing-season, during which the bucks, like those of other deer, 

 are exceedingly pugnacious, lasts from the latter part of October till the beginning 



