102 THE DEER OF AMERICA. 
range, we find several more or less distinctly marked varieties of 
this species, all of which have well defined indicia which deter- 
mine their specific identity. This branch of our subject will be 
considered in another place. 
From its wide distribution and great numbers it is quite famil- 
iar to nearly all Americans, and is almost the only one known to 
most of them. 
In form and action it is the most graceful of all, and has been 
more frequently domesticated than any other, yet rarely have 
persistent attempts been made to reduce it to complete and per- 
manent domestication. When young it is a pretty pet around 
the premises, but in a few years it becomes dangerous, and so is 
generally got rid of. In its markings it is less stable than either 
of the other species. In shades of color there are wide differences 
among individuals in the same neighborhood, while fugitive mark- 
ings are frequently observed, which are present only for a sin- 
gle year, and some individuals have permanent markings which 
are wanting on others. In summer pelage a large majority are 
of a bay red, but with a great diversity in shade, while others of 
the same herd will be of a light buff yellow; between these ex- 
tremes almost every shade may be seen. 
In a given neighborhood there is a great difference in the size 
of individuals, but there is a permanent difference in size in dif- 
ferent localities ; the smallest being found in the southern part 
of the range, bordering the Gulf of Mexico and in Northern 
Mexico, the westerly ones being the smallest of all, where they 
have been classed by naturalists as a separate species, under the 
name of Cervus Mexicanus. In their northern range and in the 
mountainous regions of the west, the white portions cover a 
larger surface of the body than in other regions, where they have 
been ranked by many naturalists as a separate species under the 
name of Cervus lucurus. By hunters these have been called 
the long-tailed, or white-tailed deer, the latter name having 
been used by Lewis and Clark, while in truth their tails are no 
longer than those found in other regions. From the larger ex- 
tent of white frequently if not generally found on them, we 
might possibly be justified in assigning them the distinction of a 
variety, though this peculiarity is by no means universal, for 
many individuals cannot be distinguished from those found in 
Illinois or Wisconsin. I have one specimen from northwestern 
Minnesota, with all the legs entirely white, to several inches 
above the hocks and knees, with occasionally a tawny hair in- 
