8 BULLETIIT 1089, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



period of shedding for the female herd as a whole covers a compar- 

 atively long period, since the fawning season extends from April 10 

 to the end of the first week in May. On April 20 some hornless does 

 may be seen, but these are few in number. The shedding increaseji 

 day by day until the peak is reached early in May, the last horns 

 falling oif about the 20th of the month. Occasionally does may give 

 birth to fawns before or after the ordinary season, and in this event 

 she casts her horns after the fawn is born. In one case a doe that 

 dropped her fawn about August 28 was noted with one horn shed and 

 the other clear of velvet on September 19. 



Bucks. — Reindeer bucks 2f years of age and over drop their horns 

 after the rutting season in November. The coming 2-year-old bucks 

 shed their horns shortly prior to the time the females drop theirs. 

 About the middle of November, in one of the herds at Unalakleet, 

 there were observed many hornless bucks. Early in January, in two 

 large herds which were counted, no bucks over 2f years old were in 

 possession of horns. In contrast to this, none of the coming 2-year- 

 old bucks had shed their horns at that time. Apart from lack of 

 horns, it is easy to pick out the bucks which have been rutting, as they 

 are gaunt and tucked up in the flanks, whereas those under 2 years 

 of age are usually in good condition. As the bucks cast their horns 

 much earlier than the fawns or does, the new horns are far advanced 

 in growth before those of the other members of the herd, and by the 

 middle of April they may attain a length of 18 inches. 



Steers. — Castration has a remarkable effect on the. horns, these 

 secondary sexual characters being materially affected by any form 

 of injury to the reproductive organs. It has been a common practice 

 in Alaska to castrate the bucks that have been in service one or two 

 years. Many are castrated in August, just before the beginning of 

 the rutting season, i. e., after the velvet has peeled or " set " on the 

 horns, and within the next two to three weeks the horns fall off 

 (PI. VI, Fig. 1). When the horns are in the velvet and are growing 

 at the time of castration the effects are quite different, in that both 

 the horns and velvet remain on. Properly castrated steers retain the 

 velvet until the horns fall off in the spring. If the operation has 

 been only partially successful, as is often the case with the Lapp' 

 method, the effect is again different. The shock of the operation may 

 cause the horns to fall off, but the following season, when the new 

 horns appear, these partially sterilized animals show some signs of 

 rutting, the velvet is partly peeled off the horns, and other evidences 

 of sexual activity are shown. When an animal has been properh^ cas- 

 trated (the glands entirely removed) it is docile and the velvet 

 remains intact on the horns (PI. Yl. Fig. 2). 



