ORNAMENTAL COAT. 151 



the hairs being long, fine, and soft, and slightly curled. Edge of 

 the ear is black, which invades the inside on the lower anterior 

 part. Below the opening of the ear it is surrounded by white 

 which on the back side extends up nearly half the length of the 

 ear. On the female is a small place of very black hair where the 

 antler is situate on the male. On the Acapulco Deer the brisket 

 is brown. The posterior part of the inside of the fore leg is white 

 extending to the elbow. The white inside the hind leg is con- 

 fined to the broad part, thence down the leg is fulvous yellow, 

 lighter behind than below. 



The strong resemblance of the Ceylon deer to this Acapulco 

 deer, suggests the propriety of comparing them briefly. 



The Ceylon deer is larger than the Acapulco, but the differ- 

 ence is not considei'able. In form they are nearly alike, and in 

 the general color of the winter coat there is not much difference, 

 but in the summer dress the American species is decidedly 

 darker and graj'er than the other and has less of the red shade. 

 In detail there is considerable difference in color or niarking:s. 

 The forehead of the Ceylon deer is marked much like those of 

 the Mule deer and the Columbia deer. This is not observable on 

 the female, nor is it seen on the male of the Acapulco deer. The 

 faces of the Ceylon deer are grayer than those of the Acapulco 

 deer, which are black. The ear is larger and has a denser coat 

 of hair than the American species. Both are equally courageous 

 and belligerent. The minor differences in color testify to no spe- 

 cific differences, and but for the presence of the metatarsal gland 

 in the one and not in the other, and the difference in the antlers, 

 I should not hesitate to pronounce them specifically identical. 



ORNAMENTAL COAT. 



We have no species of deer, in North America at least, where 

 the adult is uniformly adorned with the beautiful spots of the 

 fallow deer of Europe. All of our species are born with a coat 

 more or less ornamented with spots, generally white on a colored 

 ground. These white spots must be considered more or less orna- 

 mental. On the young of the moose and the caribou this orna- 

 mentation has nearly faded out, so much so that the spots are 

 not observed on all the specimens, and indeed only upon a small 

 portion of the young of the moose. But because I could not find 

 them on the few which I have examined, it would be folly in me 

 to say that they never occur and that those who claim to have 



