468 - A New Californian Deer. [ Argust, 
I lack the necessary information to enable me to determine the 
extent of the habitat of this variety of the mule deer. I think 
it safe to say that it predominates in the Coast Range south of 
Montera, and probably south of San Francisco, while it is rarely 
if ever met with in the Coast Range in California north of San 
Francisco. Good observers report C. macrotis in the Coast Range 
in Oregon, though of rather a small size, and I have most satis- 
factory evidence that it occurs abundantly in the Sierras in 
Northern California ; but whether these are of the variety I have 
described I have no means of determining. I hope this article 
will induce naturalists and observers on the west coast to exam- 
ine with critical care specimens from the various localities and let 
us have the result of their observations, so that this question may 
be determined. I expect that we shall find that the Sierras are 
the dividing line between the two varieties of C. macrotis. 
I am informed by Professor Baird that the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution some years since received several skins from Cape St. 
Lucas, of a very small variety of C. macrotis inhabiting the pen- 
insula of California, with spike antlers, which were said to be 
fully adult, and not yearlings with dag antlers. Those skins 
were unfortunately destroyed, so that I could not examine them. 
I have thus far failed in my efforts to procure specimens from 
that locality. Mr. Burton, of Santa Barbara, who forty years 
ago hunted the sea otter along that coast, informed me that he 
found a very small variety of deer quite abundant on the island 
of Santa Margarita, off the coast of Southern California ; but he 
could not describe it except that it was of diminutive size and 
quite abundant. 
As soon as the deer reached camp I selected a fair specimen, 
buck, which I judged to be four years old, and prepared the skin 
and necessary parts of the skeleton for mounting. This I subse- 
quently sent to the Smithsonian Institution. Professor Baird has 
expressed much interest about it, and assured me that it would 
be mounted and added to the collection of American quadru 
at the Centennial, where those who take an interest in these 
studies may examine and compare it with others. 
After our work was done we enjoyed a most leisurely feast of 
venison prepared in all the different modes most approved m 
camp, sweetened by long absence and hard toil. After a late 
breakfast the next morning, in which venison was again most 
prominent, we leisurely broke camp and I bade farewell to one 
of the sweetest nooks for such a purpose I have ever seen. 
