THE CANADIAN SPOBTSMAN AND NATURALI8T. 





and heavier bodies, The Doctor, howevi r, is 

 correct, in regard to the number of prongs 

 as not indicating age. A very old buck may 

 be recognized by the corrugations at the base 

 of his horns. I also coincide with him thai a 

 comparatively small buck may carry a large 

 pel of antlers The heaviest set F ever saw is 

 in my possession, and they were carried by an 

 animal under 150 His. in weight. I differ, how- 

 ever, with the the Doc-tor about the size of the 

 horns of the red deer of Europe, as compared 

 with the Wapiti or stag of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains. No species of the genus Ccrrus carries 

 such heavy magnificent horns as the Wapiti, 

 which is a larger animal than the Scottish 

 deer. 



Yours truly, 



Hammeri.ess Greener. 

 Ottawa, July, 1881. 



P. S. — A surveyor informs me, and in whose 

 word I implicitly rely, that he found a pair of 

 Wapiti horns in the North-west last fall which 

 he set up with the top points together, and 

 walked under them without touching his head. 

 My friend the surveyor is six feet two inches 

 high. 



I have three very fine heads of deer stuffed 

 in addition to the large one above referred to. 

 One with long spikes, very wide set and lofty, 

 from a buck of 170 lbs. Another quite wide 

 also and beautifully formed, with a spike 

 nine inches long on each side growing back- 

 wards from the main arms of the antlers. This 

 buck weighed 200 lbs. A third set are very 

 small and regular in shape ; weight of deer 1 75 

 lbs. I have also another head from a buck 

 killed by a friend of mine in the Madawaska 

 River, two years ago, which weighed 250 lbs. 

 The horns are of great thickness, at the base, 

 with great breadth and length in the main 

 branches, and few prongs. Their singularity . 

 however, consists of an irregular and unnatural 

 growth of horn very thick and massive at the 

 root, extending from the right side of the head. 

 This abnormal mass of horns, bears twenty- 

 one points. 



In regard to the deer, if « ill raffl 

 -a\ thai there is onlj otk I 



occurring in Ontario, and that although -: 



mens ar scasionally found which appear to 



the eye of man a- indicating difference <<t struc- 

 ture, that these peculiarities are nof -ml 

 to make a species — the formula of dentition 

 alone is what determines sp cific i I 

 tics, and as these have nof been discovered to 

 vary in the " : Spike-buck , v all the Ontario 

 forms are only one species calk ; ' 

 (Cariaius) Virginianus. 



Note. — The bird commonly called a robin in 

 this country, belongs to the genus Turdus . it 

 is therefore a thrush. Our correspondent's 

 remark regarding" God's bird," may possibly 

 have arisen from the nursery legend where it 

 is said that the Europeon Robin red-breast cov- 

 ered the lost babes in the woods with leaves. 



OUR FOREST TRKKS 



Lombard y Poplar : Populus fastigiai — 

 This tree, once so extensively planted and 

 admired for avenues and roadsides, has had its 

 day. It is ol' no value for shade, and its num- 

 erous dead branches, even on young I - a 

 it an untidy appearance. It was intoduced from 

 Europe. 



Poplar; Poplar. — A rapid growing 

 valuable for charcoal, and pulp which furnishes 

 a large proportion of the stock for paper collars. 



White Willow : Salixalba. — This is also a 



native of Europe, hut has been extensively 



- planted in new England. It grows rapidly t" a 



considerable height. In England it is valued 



for its timber. 



White Elm ; Ulmus Amaicana. The grace- 

 I ful curvature o\' the branches of this tree dis- 

 tinguishes it from all others and it may well 

 be called the favorite shade tree of New England. 

 The elms of Boston common. o\ New Haven, 

 and along the valley of the Connecticut River, 

 are familiar emblems of majestic beauty. They 

 are attractive even when the foliage is gone 

 from the airy sweep of the branches and the 

 feathered regularity of the spray. The elm 

 hears transplanting and pruning better than any 

 other forest tree, and is of rapid growth. Its 

 wood from the peculiarity of the grain, is very 

 difficult to work, hut it is often used for making 

 large ships's blocks and ship's floors. For the 

 hubs of waggons and carriages, it is preferred 

 to e\ery other kind of timber. Some elms in 

 Massachusetts, though known to he nearly 200 

 years old and generally hollow at base, are still 

 in apparent vigor. 



Slipper? Elm ; Ulmusjukxt* — Though com- 

 monly a much smaller tree, this hears a strong 

 resemblance to the White Elm. but is not by 



