CHAPTER XXVI 
THE SPOTTED DEER (<?. AXIS) \ HOG-DEER ( C . PORCINUS ) 
Without any exception, this is the most beautiful 
and graceful of the deer tribe, although, like the 
sambur, it has only six tines upon the antlers. 
These are very long, slender, gracefully curved, and 
exceedingly sharp at the points. 
The stag is a little larger than a fallow buck. 
The skin is a rich dark brown, glossy and short; 
this is completely covered with snow-white spots. 
The belly and the inside of the thighs are white. 
In India this species is generally known by 
the name cheetul, but the habits of the deer are 
different from those of Ceylon. In the latter colony 
they are found upon plains in the neighbourhood 
of forests, until about an hour after sunrise ; they 
again reappear upon the open at about 4.30 p.m. 
In the northern district, about Jaffna and Illepe- 
cadewe, there were an immense number when I 
knew the country many years ago. They were so 
little disturbed that I have seen them upon the 
open, and beneath shady trees and bushes through¬ 
out the day, in herds of upwards of a hundred each. 
