16 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 
takes place at different times in the joung and older animals. 
I cannot do l)etter than bring his views before the reader in 
his own words, particularly as he comes to a different opinion 
from that which I felt disposed to adopt on one or two of the 
points which I speculated upon. Mr Mackenzie says — " I 
have consulted one of our most intelligent natives, a man of 
about sixty years of age, who has been a deer hunter from his 
youth, and the result of our " conference" I will presently 
give you. I send by the ship a deer's head and antlers, which 
were received about last Christmas, and said to have been 
killed early in December ; it bears some resemblance to the 
North American species, a representation of which is given 
in your pamphlet, although the brow antler, however, forms a 
small angle with the head, and does not come down parallel 
with it, as in the heads sent you by Mr Hargrave ; it has also 
a second projecting prong, bent near the head, without any 
terminal points or fingers, but these it would have had, had 
the animal lived a year or two more ; indeed the horns do not 
cease growing till the seventh year. I do not believe that 
the brow antler is intended for the purpose of clearing away 
the snow, but is intended rather as a means of defence against 
the animal's numerous enemies. The wolf, wolverine, and lynx, 
destroy them, I am informed, in great numbers ; but the ani- 
mal, on its guard, appears to me to have a good means of 
defence in his brow antler. Generally, however, he is taken at 
a disadvantage ; when lying down, and off his guard, the lynx 
(of the cat tribe) moves stealthily along, and with a bound 
springs upon his back, and fastening his claws in his neck 
and throat, worries him to death. The wolf and wolverine 
are not numerous (the latter, indeed, is rarely found) in 
this part of the country, but of the three the latter is the most 
savage, and with him the deer has little chance of escape 
when attacked. Indian opinion here is, that for clearing away 
the snow, the animal uses his fore-legs alone ; and whether it 
is hard or soft, they are well adapted for the purpose. My 
own opinion is, that our rein-deer is the same as the Lapland 
rein-deer. The following information, collected as I have al- 
ready mentioned, may tend to throw some light on the subject. 
The rutting season is in September ; the females carry 
