22 BULLETIN 1089, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
snow. Where held too near the coast during the winter season, even 
within the Arctic Circle, reindeer herds occasionally suffer consider- 
able losses through starvation when winter rains fall on the snow. 
In such cases the herd must be moved back to protected areas in the 
interior hills, but heavy losses may occur before the animals can 
reach favorable ground. 
Under ordinary conditions, depth of snow on the winter range 
along the coast does not constitute a serious factor, since at least a 
part of the area is generally exposed to the winds and so does not be- 
come deeply covered. In the interior, however, particularly on tim- 
bered flats and bench land country, there is less drifting, and depth of 
snow is then a matter to be considered in the selection of winter 
range. 
The area selected for grazing should lend itself to the handling of 
the herd throughout the year. It should comprise a natural grazing 
unit, with the spring, summer, and fall, and the winter ranges com- 
bined. In a timbered country, reindeer are difficult to herd success- 
fully, and in the absence of fencing this is a factor to be considered. 
The value of the different kinds of range forage plants varies 
greatly with the stage of growth, and probably to some extent with 
the tastes of the animals. As a rule, reindeer prefer green vegeta- 
tion and fresh growths and are fond of variety. They feed upon a 
great number of range plants, but in winter graze especially upon 
mosses and in summer upon green vegetation (sedges, browse, grasses, 
and weeds). In spring they seek the earliest green vegetation, and 
feed on green growth throughout the summer. In fall and winter 
they feed on dry vegetation of various kinds and on lichens and 
mosses, but prefer the lichens known as " reindeer moss," which, 
having made new growth in fall, are fresher and probably more 
palatable (PI. XI, Figs. 1 and 2) . While the lichens represent princi- 
pally winter forage, they are also taken to a certain extent during 
the summer. 
FORAGE COVER. 
The character of vegetation along the coast is very similar through- 
out, the relative proportions of the various species and their density 
varying, however, with exposure and other conditions. The cover 
comprises a composite type of lichens, mosses, sedges, browse, weeds, 
and grasses, most of the summer range (PI. XII, Fig. 1) containing 
a predominance of sedge and species of browse, and that of the win- 
ter a predominance of lichens and browse (PL XII, Fig. 2). 
As a general rule, the percentage of lichens increases in the vegeta- 
tive type with the distance from the coast except in valley and basin 
areas. Very little timber occurs within the coastal areas — none at 
all over the major portion of Seward Peninsula, practically none 
