168 
THE SPOTTED AXIS. 
fiaeinent they are mild tempered, and easily tamed, 
and, like many of the tribe, extremely nice in tasting 
any food which has been much handled or wrought 
among. The cry somewhat resembles that of the 
stag. 
The height of the Axis at the shoulder is 2 feet 
6 or 7 inches. The hair is softer than in the other 
deer, and not so dry or brittle. The ground colour 
of the body is of a rich but delicate fawn colour, 
changing to nearly black along the back, and on 
the lower parts shaded to a pure white. The flanks, 
shoulders, hind quarters, and a part of the neck, are 
marked with white spots. These are generally di- 
rected in lines, one along each side of the back, and 
one between the belly and the flanks; two also spring 
from the shoulders, and descend on the limbs, and 
two divide the hind quarters, and descend upon the 
belly ; and the whole hinder part of the thigh is bor- 
dered with a lengthened white spot or border. This 
is the general distribution of the spots ; but they 
vary in different individuals. The females are near- 
ly similar, except being less in size, and wanting 
horns ; and the young at their birth nearly resemble 
their parents in colouring. Several varieties of lesser 
size and varied spotting are found ; and it is pro- 
bable that another animal is still mixed up with some 
of these. 
Another animal, to be referred to this division, 
and whose characters have been somewhat obscure, 
is 
