COMMON ROE. 9,9^ 



every natural habit. Instead of associating in 

 herds, they live in separate families. The father, 

 mother, and young go together, and never mix 

 with strangers. They are constant in their 

 amours, and never unfaithful, like the stag ; and, 

 as the females generally produce two fawns, the 

 one male and the other female, these young ani- 

 mals, brought up and nourished together, acquire 

 so strong a mutual affection, that they never quit 

 each other, unless one of them meets with a mis- 

 fortune, which never ought to separate lovers. 



During the period in which they are engaged 

 in the task of nursing a new family, they drive off 

 the former brood as if to oblige them to yield 

 their place to those which are to succeed, and to 

 form new families for themselves ; but when this 

 season is past, the fawns again return to their mo- 

 ther, and remain with her some time; after 

 which they separate entirely, and remove to a di- 

 stance from the place which gave them birth. 



The female goes with young five months and 

 a half, and brings forth about the end of April, or 

 beginning of May. The hinds or female stags, 

 on the contrary, go with young above eight 

 months ; and this difference is alone sufficient to 

 prove that these animals are so remote from each 

 other in species, as to prevent their ever intermix- 

 ing or producing an intermediate race. By this 

 difference, as well as that of figure and size, they 

 approach the goat as much as they recede from 

 the stag ; for the goat goes with young nearly the 

 same time, and the Roe may be l egarded as a wild 

 V. II. p. II. 20 



