36 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



made by prehistoric man on cave-walls at Combarelles, in France, 

 some twenty thousand years ago, Mr. Millais adds a note that 

 they " are a good deal better than many pictures of wild animals 

 by modern artists, although they are not ' as good as Landseer,' 

 as one art critic described them." 



The Deer occupy many pages, as might be expected from one 

 who has already written on ' British Deer and their Horns." 

 Mr. Millais joins issue with the opinions of Mr. Lydekker and 

 the late Sir William Flower, " that when the growth of the 

 antler is complete, the supply of blood to it ceases, the skin dies 

 and peels off, leaving the bone bare and insensible, and after a 

 time, by a process of absorption near the base, it becomes de- 

 tached from the skull, and is shed," &c. Mr. Millais writes : — 

 "Having given much attention to this growth of antlers, and 

 having killed many Stags at all stages of their horn-growth, I 

 must differ entirely from this view, and can state definitely that 

 it is erroneous." The reader will also find much argument as to 

 the subspecific splitting of these animals, which merit the deepest 

 consideration, whatever opinion may be ultimately held ; in fact, 

 we find ourselves in Wild Deer exactly in the crux of Wild Geese, 

 so far as taxonomy is concerned. We can only give one para- 

 graph from Mr. Millais : — " No deerstalker, for instance, who 

 has been much associated with Eed Deer, whether in Eastern or 

 Western Europe, would found specific or subspecific distinctions 

 on local variation in bodily size, colour, or antlers, being well 

 aware that these are all exceedingly variable characters, not only 

 among individual Stags in the same neighbourhood, but even in 

 the same herd. It is clear, however, that Dr. Botezat's classi- 

 fication of Bed Deer in Carpathia has been wholly based upon 

 such characters, selected incidentally, no doubt, from a few 

 specimens in which they are more or less strongly marked. I feel 

 quite sure that in the Scotch island of Jura, thirty miles long, 

 I could select three Stags which, to a zoologist of Dr. Botezat's 

 school, who had never previously seen a Scotch Stag, would 

 constitute quite as good sub-species as the ' short-faced Bed Stag,' 

 ' black mountain Stag,' and ' large grey lowland Stag,' " &c. 



The Bovidce are beyond the limits of our space to adequately 

 notice, but we may draw attention to a reproduction of Sir E. 

 Landseer's well-known " Chillingham Cattle." 



