DEE 
viewed through a microfcope, appears fpongy like 
a bull-rufh, and is fmaller at the roots and points 
than in the middle ; for which reafon it lies very 
fiat and fmooth ; and, though ever lb much ruf- 
fled, ftili returns to it's former ftate. The horns 
alfo are very valuable, inafmuch as they are ap- 
plied to all thofe purpofes for which hartlhorn is 
beneficial. 
This animal is faid to be fubjedl to the epilepfy, 
as it frequently falls down when purfued, and thus 
becomes an eafier prey; on which account fome 
have imagined the hinder hoof to be pofiefTed of an 
antidote againft all epileptic diforders. This, how- 
ever, m.ay be regarded as a vulgar error'; as well as 
the petty fiction of the animal's curing itfelf of that 
diforder by the application of it's hinder hoofs to 
it's ears. 
The pace of Moofe-Deer is fomewhat lingu- 
lar, being a high fhambling trot; but they move 
with great celerity. In Sweden, they were for- 
merly much ufed in drawing fledges; but, as the 
cfcape of criminals was frequently effected through 
their means, the ufe of them has been long prohi- 
bited under very fevere penalties. 
Though Moofe-Deer are in general inoffenfive 
animals, during the rutting-feafon, and when 
wounded, they become very furious, and attack 
whatever comes in their way with the united ef- 
forts of their horns and hoofs. 
Deer, Rein. The Rein-Deer, which is the 
moft ufeful, as well as extraordinary, of all ani- 
mals of the Deer kind, inhabits the frigid regions 
of the north : and all attempts to reconcile it to 
more fouthern ones have proved ineffectual; for, 
when tranfported from it's native foil to a more 
propitious one, it foon feels the influence of the 
change, and, by a gradual decline, expires in a 
very few months. Nature feems to have fitted 
this animal entirely for the necefllties of that hardy 
race of mortals who live near the pole. It is met 
witli farther north than any other hoofed quadru- 
ped. In America, it is found in Spitzbergen and 
Greenland, but not farther fouth than Canada; in 
Europe, it inhabits Samoieda, Lapland, and Nor- 
way ; in Afia, it traverfes tlje north coafl; as far as 
Kamtfchatka, and the interior parts as low as Sibe- 
ria; but, in Africa, it is totally unknown; nor 
does it indeed appear in any country where other 
animals can fuperfede it's utility. From this crea- 
ture alone the natives of Lapland and Greenland 
fupply mofl: of their wants. It anfwers the pur- 
pofes of a horfe, in conveying themfelves, as well as 
their humble furniture, from one mountain to ano- 
ther; thofe of the cow, in affording them milk; 
and thofe of the flieep, in furniihing them with a 
warm kind of cloathing perfeftly adapted to the 
climate: the flelh ferves them for food; and the 
.tendons for bowftrings ; which laft, when fplit, fup- 
ply the want of thread. Thus, from this animal 
alone, the inhabitants of thofe hyperborean regions 
reap as many advantages as we derive from many ; 
fo that Providence, as a compenfation for the nu- 
merous local difadvantages which they experience, 
has given them this faithful domeftic, more pa- 
tient, as well as more beneficial, than perhaps any 
other on earth. 
The horns of the Rein-Deer are large, but flen- 
der, bending fonvards, and palmated towards their 
tops; with brow-antlers broad and palmated. Both 
the male and female are furnilhed with horns; but 
thofe of the latter are of inferior dimenfions, and 
have fewer branches. The height of a full- 
DEE 
grown Rein-Deer is about four feet fix Inches; it is 
lower, andilronger built, than the fl;ag; it's legs 
are fliorter and thicker; and it's hoofs are alfo 
broader. It's hair is very thick ; it's ears are large; 
and it has always a black fpace round the eyes. 
It's pace, which is rather a trot than a bounding 
motion, it is capable of continuing for a whole 
day, without appearing to be fatigued. It's hoofs 
are cloven and moveable; and, in walking, it 
fpreads them abroad, in order to prevent it's fink- 
ing in the fnow. When it proceeds on a journev, 
it lays it's horns on it's back; while there are two 
branches which overhang it's forehead, and almoft 
cover it's face. 
The following circumftance feems peculiar to 
this animal and the elk ; namely, that a pretty loud 
cracking noife is heard as they move along: this 
found arifes from their manner of treading; for, as 
each of the animals refls on it's cloven hoof, it 
fpreads on the ground, and the two divifions fepa- 
rate from each other; but, when it is lifted up, the 
divifions clofe again, and, ftriking againil each 
other, occafion the above nolle. 
When the Rein-Deer finl: flied their hair, they 
are of a brown colour; but, in proportion as the 
fummer feafon advances, their hair begins to grow 
whitifli; and at laft they are nearly grey. Their 
necks are covered with long depending hair, coarfcr 
than that on anyother part of their bodies; and their 
feet, juft at the infertion of the hoofs, are fui round- 
ed with rings of white. 
After the rutting-time, whi^ h happens towards 
the latter end of Novemjber, thefe animals flied 
their horns, which are not compleatly furnifhed 
again till towards autumn. The females" always 
retain theirs till they bring forth ; and, if they prove 
barren, which is not unfrequently the cafe, they 
do not flied them till winter. The caflration of 
Rein-Deer does not prevent tiie fliedding of their 
horns; but the time of this annual diveftment is ac- 
celerated or retarded according to the condition 
of the animals. 
In Lapland, where thefe creatures conftitute the 
principal wealth of the natives, fome of them fre-i 
quently pofl^efs upwards of a thoufand head in a 
fingle herd. Tlie mountainous part of this coun- 
try is fterile, bleak, and totally uninhabitable during 
the v/inter ; but, in the fummer feafon, it is the moft 
defirable fituation of this inhofpitable climate, and 
by far the moft populous. The Laplanders gene- 
rally refide on the declivities of the mountains, in 
fmall cottages, three or four of which are erefted 
contiguous to each other; and in themi they lead 
a chearful, innocent, and focial life. On the 
approach of winter, however, they are obliged 
to defcend into the plains, each individual bring- 
ing with him his whole herd, and leading it to 
thofe fpots where the pafturage appears moft luxu- 
riant. 
The woody part of the country is ftill more de- 
folate and forbidding; for there the whole face of 
nature prefents a rueful fcene of trees devoid of 
fruit, and plains without verdure. As far as the 
eye is capable of reaching, nothing is to be feen, 
even in the midft of fumimer, but barren fields, co- 
vered only with a kind of mofs almoft as white as 
fnow ; no grafs, no agreeably diverfified landfcapes, 
appear, biit only a few folitary pine-trees, which 
have efcaped the frequent conflagrations by which 
the natives burn down their forefts. What is ftill 
more extraordinary, as the whole furface of the 
earth is cloathed in white, lb, on the contrary, the 
foreft* 
