408 
these two species of deer. This may be 
said of all regions where they coexist. 
The habits of the whitetail must of 
necessity vary in conformity with the great 
differences in climate and environment oc- 
curring throughout so broad a range. Thus 
we find that in the North the rutting season 
does not: take’ place until late October or 
November, and fawns are rarely born be- 
fore early June. In southern Georgia the 
mating season arrives perhaps six weeks 
earlier, while the young are born at a 
correspondingly early date. Still farther 
south, in the impenetrable swamps and 
cane-brakes of Florida or Louisiana, these 
periods occur even earlier. Throughout 
the heavily timbered woods of the North- 
east, where snow often reaches five or six 
feet in depth, it becomes necessary in winter 
for deer to yard in order to secure food. 
These yards are merely a series of deep, 
well-beaten paths interlacing back and 
forth through second-growth trees and 
bushes. Where food is scarce a single 
animal will sometimes yard by itself in a 
comparatively small area; but often a few 
will band together for mutual protection 
and trample down a series of runways many 
acres in extent. Food is the prime con- 
sideration in yarding, for mere cold is not 
responsible for the great mortality among 
deer in our Northern woods. When all 
twigs within reach have been eaten, the 
animals turn their attention to the un- 
palatable leaves of the conifers. When 
these are gone they must of necessity strike 
off through the deep snow in search of 
another locality. Should a blizzard arrive 
at this time, they are wholly at its mercy, 
and the weaker perish; for it is difficult for 
deer, with their thin legs and small, sharp 
hoofs, to flounder through five or six feet 
of soft snow for any distance. Formerly 
the lumbermen and hide hunters took ad- 
vantage of the deep snows to slaughter 
them in large numbers by a method termed 
“crusting.” The animals were followed 
on snowshoes, driven off into the drifts, 
where after a short chase they fell an easy 
prey. 
No more pitiful sight can be seen in 
the woods than to watch a terror-stricken 
deer struggle frantically on and on until 
exhausted, in a vain endeavor to plough a 
‘the water. 
RECREATION 
way of escape through barriers of piled-up 
snow. 
In the Southern States as well as in many 
parts of the West, whitetails may be found 
living in the same localities, the same 
marshes, swamps and thickets, the year 
round. Of course, one may wander up 
or down a river a few miles in search of 
better food, but no tract is ever completely 
deserted nor is there any general migration 
from one region to another, as in the case 
of the wapiti or the caribou. In the 
northern part of their range, however, 
from Maine to Minnesota, they frequent 
different haunts in summer and winter, 
although in the same general locality. 
Countless streams and marshy ponds are 
scattered over the wilder portions of the 
Northeast, and around this network of 
waterways the deer congregate during the 
summer months. It is no unusual sight to 
see 200 Or 300, even more, in the course of 
a canoe trip through northern Maine during 
July or August. In fact, the animals are 
semiaquatic in their habits at this season 
and spend a large part of the time wading 
about in the shallow ponds, cropping the 
lilies and delicate water plants and some- 
times thrusting their heads well under the 
surface to find the tempting morsels. 
In remote localities, a few may be found at 
almost any time of the day grazing on the 
marsh grass along shore. The great 
majority, however, prefer some shady 
resting place beneath the alders during the 
midday heat. 
Although rather tame at this season and 
often easily approached by canoe, they are 
more alert, much more restless and warier 
than moose. I recall many occasions 
when, without exercising any particular 
caution, I have paddled within ten or 
fifteen yards of a deer while the animal 
watched me. This, however, is rarely 
possible with old bucks. Once on Fish 
Lake, Maine, a doe, accompanied bya fawn, © 
actually waded out in the shallows toward 
the approaching canoe, stamping her feet 
and “blowing” defiantly. When about 
twenty paces away, I flourished the paddle 
at her, and she slowly retreated, backing 
off toward the bushes, still angrily stamping 
Five minutes later we could 
hear her “blowing” away up the pond. 
