394 Domestication of certain Ruminants and Aquatic Birds. (June, 
some four months old, in which there was peritonitis, but no local- 
ized center of irritation); the general physical condition was poor, 
tubercles generally being found in the liver and spleen; in each 
case death was immediately owing to the presence of a fibrous 
clot in the heart, resulting from the generally impoverished con- 
dition of the animal. All had fed well or rather voraciously up 
to the day of death. 
The females have never appeared to take much care of the 
young, and they have been weaned very early. I have about 
determined, if I have an opportunity to try again, to attempt to 
raise the young altogether by hand. This is, of course, always 
risky, but from past experience I am inclined to think it no more 
so than to leave them with the mother. It is very difficult to give 
them the proper amount of arboreal food, and its place has to be 
supplied mostly with ordinary dry food and grass, hay, a little 
corn, bran several times a week, either wet or dry as may seem 
to be desirable for the condition of the animal. I have not 
noticed in any of our specimens, the elongation of the hoof which . 
you observed in yours. I will be exceedingly glad if you can 
give me any ideas or suggestions which would serve to promote 
my attempts to domesticate the species—as thus far I confess to a 
complete failure—the breeding of healthy offspring being the best 
possible measure of success in domestication. 
It will not be uninteresting to you to know what my experience 
has been with other species of deer. We have had in the collec- 
tion the following : 
Moose (Alce americanus). 
Caribou (Rangifer caribou). 
Wapiti ( Cervus canadensis). 
Common deer (C. virginianus). 
White-tailed deer (C. leucurus). 
Mule deer (C. macrotis). 
Mazame deer (C. campestris). 
Wood Brocket (C. nemorivagus 1} Sout America. 
Pudu deer (C. pudu). 
Fallow deer (Cervus dama). Europe. 
Axis deer (C. axis) 
Sambur deer (C. E \ India. 
All of five specimens of moose and eight of caribou have died 
at periods varying from three months to two years and five months, 
