REINDEER IN ALASKA. 9 
GROWTH OF HORNS. 
The growth of the horns is so rapid that at times the animals show- 
signs of some irritation or perhaps even of pain. It has been ob- 
served that they are constantly touching them with the hind fetlocks, 
but they do this very gently and with a sort of rubbing motion. 
Evidently the horns at this stage are so tender that care is taken not 
to injure them. Once the growth is complete and the velvet has 
become avascular, the animal's attitude changes and the horns become 
weapons of offense and defense. 
SHEDDING THE VELVET. 
As the bucks shed their horns the earlier, it is natural to expect 
that they would peel off the velvet before the other sex. The earliest 
signs of peeling noted were on July 31, but it was not until August 15 
that the horns were becoming clean and polished; and even then, 
in a good many cases, there were still strips of velvet hanging to 
them. The horns are entirely clean and the rutting season has begun 
by approximately August 25. Most of the does shed the velvet by 
August 20, although strips of it may still be adhering to the horns 
of many up to September 10 and even later. The fawns shed a little 
later than the does. Properly castrated steers should have the velvet 
intact at this time (PI. VI, Fig. 2). 
SHEDDING HAIR. 
The bucks are the first to shed the hair in spring, and by the mid- 
dle of June most of them will be in good coat. Females, in some 
districts at any rate, are a week or two later. Yearlings correspond 
more to the does in time of shedding. It has been noticed that old 
or diseased animals are slower in shedding than those that are 
healthy, and ragged-coated does have been seen up to the first days 
of August. As the hair is closely related to the horns histologically, 
it will be seen that the shedding of hair links up closely with the 
growth of the horns (PL VI, Fig. 3). 
ALASKAN AND NORWEGIAN REINDEER COMPARED. 
An importation of Norwegian reindeer into the United States in 
March, 1922, afforded opportunity of making a comparison between 
them and the Alaskan species. The reindeer in the Norwegian ship- 
ment compare very unfavorably with the ordinary run of reindeer 
in Alaska, and, in comparison with the best Alaskan animals, so far 
as concerns size and general appearance, they can be rated as very 
inferior. Full-grown Alaskan reindeer measure 13 hands and over. 
The largest Norwegian buck and doe measured only about an inch 
over 10 hands. The largest Norwegian buck weighed 175 pounds 
and the largest doe 148 pounds. 
