FISHERIES, GAME AND FORESTS. 1 69 



and browse or feed. In the central yard- the soiled and trampled snow, hoof tracks, 

 and excrement, make the spot look like the barnyard of a farm. 



The "rutting" season, or time when the males seek the company of the other sex, 

 occurs in November. As this period approaches, the neck of the buck enlarges 

 noticeablv, and increases until it is one-third greater than its normal size. This is the 

 period during which the bucks evince such a pugnacious, warlike disposition, fighting 

 with each other for the possession of the does or mastery of the herd. During this 

 time thev are active, and are traveling through the forest continually in search of 

 females. But when this season is past and their horns have fallen off, they herd with 

 their male companions in peace and quiet. 



The period of gestation with the does, as stated by the naturalists, is seven months, 

 although observations made in the State Breeding Park and in private deer parks 

 furnish instances where the period was less by two or three weeks. The fawns are 

 born in May or June, mostly in the latter month. The young does, or yearlings, bring 

 forth their offspring somewhat later, and generally produce only one fawn the first 

 year, after which they have two at a birth ; and, occasionally, a doe has three fawns. 

 But the latter number is unusual with the Adirondack deer, although not an uncommon 

 occurrence with the Carolina deer. In a private deer park at Loon Lake, Franklin 

 county, N. Y., owned by Mr. Ferd. W. Chase, where the deer are under close obser- 

 vation, it was noticed that a fawn born in May gave birth to a single fawn the next 

 May. Bachman* states that he was present in Carolina when a large doe killed by 

 J. W. Audubon was opened and found to contain four large, well-formed fawns. When 

 confined, or restricted to deer parks, no matter how large the enclosure, the does are 

 not as prolific as when at large, and single fawns are the rule rather than twins. 



In the forest the doe conceals her young with instinctive method, teaching them to 

 lie quiet beneath some tree-top, within some thicket of young evergreens, or behind 

 some fallen tree trunk. The little fellows will not start or show any alarm if one walks 

 near so long as they are unobserved, which is very apt to be the case so well are they 

 concealed. But the nervous, apprehensive movement of the doe, which always hastens 

 to the spot, is unmistakable, and announces that she has a fawn or fawns concealed 

 near by. The doe, when not alarmed, grazes or feeds in the vicinity, visiting her fawns 

 at intervals during the day to nurse them. As they get older and stronger they follow 

 the doe through the woods, at first with a funny little tottering gait — but later with a 

 most beautiful, graceful motion, — and then begin to nip the tender blades or leaves, 

 soon learning to provide for themselves. 



* Quadrupeds of North America : by John James Audubon, F. R. S., and Rev. John Bachman, 

 D.D., LL.D. 



