70 



SUBKINGDOM VERTEBKATA. 



The Reindeer* has widely-spreading hoofs, as a special pro- 

 vision for traveling on the snow ; while to give a secure hold 



upon the crags, the 



Fig. lOS. 



toes of the closed foot 

 are firm and pointed. 

 In summer, it subsists 

 upon Arctic shrubs, 

 and in winter upon 

 moss, which it detects 

 under the snow by its 

 keen smell, and digs 

 up with the palmated 

 tips of its antlers.f 



The Wap iti, or 

 American Elk, iden- 

 tical with the red deer 

 or stag of Northern 

 Europe, has long, 

 branching, conical 

 horns, sometimes six 

 feet apart at the tips. 

 The RoelucTc, 

 marked by its white 

 haunches, is the small- 

 est of the British deer. 

 Its short, straight 

 Unlike other deer, it 



Jiang'ifer tarandus^ Reindeer. 

 Fig. lOU. 



Hoof of Beindeer, closed and open. 



horns are divided into three branches, 

 pairs for life, and lives in families. 



* The CariTjon of North America is now considered identical with the BeUideor 

 of Lapland, and, if domesticated, would doubtless, in » few generations, shCTW- as 

 many varieties. 



t Harnessed to a sledge, with only a collar and a trace passing between its legs, 

 and guided by a single rein attached to its neck, the Reindeer easily draws its mas- 

 ter over the snow a hundred miles a day. It has been known to nin nearly 19 miles 

 in an honr and 150 in 19 hours. To the Laplander, it is at once horse, cow, and 

 sheep. Its horns supply tools ; its hide and hair, clothing ; and its flesh and milk, 

 food. Without it Lapland would be uninhabitable. The inhabitants reckon their 

 wealth by their reindeer, as the Arabs do by their camels. A rich Laplander owns 

 one thousani^ or more. 



