EXAMINING THE GROUND, SIGNS, ETC. 25 



every spot that you are likely ever to travel again 

 should be deeply impressed upon the memory, with its 

 general character either as a deer's feeding-ground, 

 lying- down ground, lounging - ground, skulking- 

 ground, or ground upon which deer rarely or never 

 stop. The courses of all valleys should be noted so 

 that you will know how the wind is in any one of 

 them at any time, how the sun shines in them, the 

 facilities for traveling in them quietly, and for seeing 

 what is in them without climbing too high on the 

 ridges. The best routes along the ridges should also 

 be noted, with the best point of observation from any 

 of them. In short, study how the ground may be 

 traversed so as best to take advantage of the princi- 

 ples hereafter laid down. 



In most ranges the question of food will, at the 

 proper time of year, aid you more than anything else in 

 determining what hunters call the "run of the deer." 

 The deer is a browsing animal. He cares but little 

 for grass in general; though when it is young and 

 tender, or when other kinds of food are scarce or the 

 browse is old and tough, he will eat even grass. And 

 some of the grasses, such as young wheat, oats, bar- 

 ley, etc., deer frequently eat. I have never known a 

 deer to eat what is known as "dry feed," to wit, sun- 

 dr-ied grass, as antelope and stock do in California. 

 Nor have I ever found " dry feed " in a deer's stomach. 

 They eat the buds, twigs, and leaves of a vast variety 

 of shrubs and trees. And this makes their feeding- 

 ground for a large part of the year too general to be 

 of much aid in determining their favorite haunts. 

 They are fond of turnips, cabbage, beans, grapevines, 

 and garden-stuff generally; but all such food is too 

 accidental to influence their movements much. There 



