THE RAIN-DEER. $33 



Jinking Thefe animals are extremely- 

 gentle, and are kept in flocks, which bring great 

 profits to their owners. The milk, the fkin, the 

 iinews, the bones, the hoofs, the horns, the hair, 

 the flefh, are all ufeful articles. The richeft 

 Laplanders have Hocks of four or five hundred ; 

 and the pooreft have ten or twelve. They are 

 led out to pafture, and, during the night, they 

 are Ihut up in inclofures, to protect them from 

 the wolves. When carried to another climate, 

 they foon die. Steno Prince of Sweden lent 

 fome of them to Frederic Duke of Holftein ; 

 and, more recently, in the year 1533, Guftavus 

 King of Sweden tranfmitted to Pruffia ten male 

 and female rain-deer, which were let loofe in the 

 woods. They all perifhed without producing, 

 either in the domeftic or free ftate. * I had a 

 4 great defire/ fays M. Regnard, * to carry fome 

 ' live rain-deer to France. This experiment 

 £ has been frequently tried in vain. Laft year, 

 ' fome of them were brought to Dantzick, 



* where, being unable to endure the heat of that 



* climate, they perifhed.' 



In Lapland there are both wild and domeftic 

 rain-deer. During the rutting feafon, the fe- 

 males are let loofe into the woods, where they 

 meet with wild males ; and, as the latter are 

 fhonger and more hardy than the domeftic kind, 

 the breed from this commixture is better adapt- 

 ed for drawing fledges. Thefe rain-deer are 

 not fo mild as the others ; for they fometimes 



not 



