THE STORY OF THE DEER. 
I never could understand how anyone could derive pleasure from hunting 
deer for the mere sport of shooting them. They are such gentle, timid crea¬ 
tures, SO' pleasing to the eye and so easily domesticated that it has always 
seemed brutal to> me to see them shot down in mere wantonness. 
To kill them for food, when necessary, is, of course, an entirely different 
matter. Venison is among the finest flavored meats I have ever eaten. Thanks 
to increasing wisdom and humanity the game laws of many countries now pro¬ 
tect these animals against hunters who' slay them out of wantonness or merely 
for their hides and antlers. 
It is these antlers that distinguish the deer family from all others. The cow, 
antelope, gazelle, sheep and other species have horns, but none has a branching' 
into tines of this horny growth. 
In addition to 1 being generally more or less branched, the most characteristic 
feature of an antler when fully developed is that its outer surface is rugged and 
devoid of any covering of skin or horn. In fact, for all practical purposes, an 
antler may be regarded as a mass of dead bone borne for a certain period by a 
living animal. Except occasionally, as an individul peculiarity, antlers are shed 
once every year, and, save in the reindeer, are present only in the male sex. 
