THE REINDEER 115 



part of the year. The fawns are without these beautiful ornaments, 

 which render the full-grown deer one of the most graceful and 

 impressive of all four-footed animals. The long thin legs of the 

 deer are admirably adapted for rapid movement, and with the 

 exception perhaps of some of the antelopes there is no animal that, 

 making allowance for its size, can be compared with it for speed. 



In most European countries the hunting of the deer has for 

 an indefinite period been regarded as the sport of kings. So care- 

 fully, indeed, were they protected in England, that anyone killing 

 a stag in the king's forests without permission was liable to be 

 put to death. 



At the present time there are very few deer left in this country. 

 Red and Fallow Deer are, however, still to be found in the High- 

 lands of Scotland and in a few districts in England and Ireland, 

 but if they were not carefully protected they would soon die out. 

 Their favourite home is in dense forests or on wild moorlands as 

 far removed as possible from human habitation. 



THE REINDEER 



We cannot find a better representative of the Deer Family than 

 the Reindeer, which is by far the most intei'esting, as well as the 

 most useful of this group of animals. It is still found in some 

 abundance in the northern parts of the European and Asiatic 

 continents; but wild herds are few, the greater number having 

 been captured and placed under domestication. 



For the reindeer is used for a great many purposes. It can be 

 employed, for example, as a beast of burden and draught, and so 

 takes the place of the horse. When harnessed to a light sledge, or 

 bearing a rider upon its back, it can travel at a good speed for 

 thirty or forty miles. Its driver guides it, not by means of reins 

 and a bit, but by a cord fastened to its horns. By gently tapping 

 this cord against the side of the animal, he shows it in which 

 direction he wishes it to go. 



A fully-grown reindeer can thus draw, if required, a load of 

 three hundred pounds, and carry on its back a burden of about 

 two hundredweight. In order to prevent its strength from being 



