THE ZOOLOGIST. 
THIRD SERIES. 
Von. 1] MARCH, 1877. [No. 3. 
ON THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE 
FALLOW DEER PAST AND PRESENT. 
TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF L. H. JEITTELES.* 
By P. D. Uttmann anv J. E. Hartine. 
NaTurRAL History shares with History the doubtful honour 
of possessing many chapters which are nothing more than what 
Talleyrand would call “des fables convenues,” or which are 
made up of fallacies universally adopted as true. To this un- 
favourable side of science Geology contributes the largest share, 
but Zoology is by no means exempt, especially as regards the 
habits, haunts and geographical distribution of animals. 
According to most works on Zoology, “The Fallow Deer (Cervus 
dama) is a native of the countries washed by the Mediterranean, 
from whence it was introduced into Germany, Scandinavia, and 
England after the Crusades.” And yet this animal was equally 
indigenous many thousand years ago, not only in Africa and 
Western Asia, but also in Southern Russia, and even in Central 
Europe, Denmark, Italy, and the South of France. 
My researches into the geographical distribution of the Fallow 
* ‘Ueber die geographische Verbreitung des Damhirsckes in der Vorzeit und 
Gegenwart.’ Von L. H. Jeitteles, ‘Der Zoologische Garten,’ 1874, pp. 288—297. 
After this article had been translated and forwarded to the printers, we discovered 
that an English translation by Mr. P. L, Sclater had already appeared in ‘ Nature’ 
(26th November, 1874). To many readers of ‘The Zoologist,’ however, we believe 
the subject matter will be new, and therefore we do not hesitate to offer the present 
version. At the same time we cannot do better than quote, by way of supplement, 
the valuable criticisms which this essay has elicited from Prof. Boyd Dawkins 
(‘ Nature,’ 10th December, 1874) and Sir Victor Brooke (‘ Nature,’ 14th Jan. 1875). 
M 
