150 THE STILL-HUNTER. 



book. The gaze is fixed quite as much on the sur- 

 rounding ground, and the trail appears almost to 

 stand out in relief. 



The appearance of a deer's track upon bare ground 

 varies very much, and a trail may in a quarter of a 

 mile run through a dozen or more variations. All 

 appearances may, however, be included under the fol- 

 lowing heads, and the great majority of tracks you 

 will see will correspond exactly with the description 

 of the class : 



ist. Distinct impressions of the whole hoof. 



ad. Faint impressions of only the points of the 

 hoof. 



3d. A slight rim of dirt or dust thrown up by the 

 sharp edge of the hoof. 



4th. Slight scrapes upon hard ground, recognizable 

 only by the change of color, being made by a faint 

 grinding of the finest particles of the surface without 

 any impression. 



5th. Mere touches or spots showing only a faint 

 change in the shade of the color. There is scarcely 

 any air so dry that the ground during the night will 

 not absorb a trace of moisture. The least disturb- 

 ance of the top particles of such soil, even without 

 grinding them over each other, will make a difference 

 in the shade of the color, which will be visible under 

 some point of view though invisible from others, de- 

 pending upon the direction of the light. 



6th. Crushing or grinding of the surface of friable 

 rocks, and mere scrapes or scratches on harder rock 

 or frozen ground. 



7th. Depressions in moss, grass, dead leaves, etc. 



8th. Dead leaves, sticks, etc., kicked or brushed 

 aside or overturned, or broken or bent, etc. 



