3840 THE DEER OF AMERICA. 
difference very much. In this we have the testimony of the an- 
imals themselves, which is scarcely less satisfactory than manifest 
physical differences; nay, I am not prepared to say that this 
sexual aversion, which is so clearly manifest, is not more conclu- 
sive than very considerable variations of physical structure. 
Should we bring together two parties of deer, of several individ- 
uals, brought from distant localities, different physically in what 
we might consider important features, and find them associat- 
ing and interbreeding without the least restraint or reluctance, 
we should regard it as conclusive of specific identity, notwith- 
standing the physical differences. A white crow is recognized by 
his black brethren as a good crow, notwithstanding his degener- 
ate color, and the albino deer is regarded by the others as 
good a deer as the best of them. The doe in my collection was 
shot when standing by the side of a buck of the ordinary color. 
The social standing and sexual inclination manifested must be 
allowed to overcome serious difficulties in establishing relation- 
ship, and so on the other hand where aversion exists instead of 
inclination, it assures us of a radical difference though we may 
be unable to detect it on mere inspection. In this case the sex- 
ual aversion adds much to the significance of the absence of the 
gland on the hind leg, and leads us to expect that the compara- 
tive anatomist will surely find other differences which we cannot 
now detect. It is an additional evidence of the importance of 
this gland in classifying the deer. 
