DEER. 
39i 
year the throat, a ring above the muzzle, a spot above and below the eye, portions 
of the inside of the ear, the inner surfaces of the limbs and the under-parts are, 
however, white. The upper surface of the tail is dark brown, and even in winter 
there is a more or less reddish tinge throughout the pelage. In build this deer is the 
most elegant and graceful of all its compatriots. Its variation in size is so great that 
it would be useless to give any measurements, although it may be mentioned that 
unusually fine bucks are said to weigh as much as 200 lbs., and occasionally more. 
With regard to the variation in size and colour in this, the commonest North 
American species, Mr. Caton writes that, although in a given neighbourhood there 
is a great difference in the size of individuals, in widely different localities there 
is a permanent and constant difference of size. Thus, whereas in the north all 
the deer are large, as we proceed south there is a progressive diminution, till in 
Northern Mexico and the neighbourhood of the Gulf of Mexico the deer have so 
diminished that it is at first difficult to believe that they are specifically identical 
with their northern representatives. Similarly we find in the mountainous regions 
of the west an increase in the amount of white on the tail and body, which has 
given rise to the notion that the so-called white-tailed deer is a distinct species; 
but Mr. Caton states that this difference is not constant even among the deer of the 
west, where many specimens cannot be distinguished from those found in Illinois 
or Wisconsin. The more northerly race appears, however, to be characterised by 
the absence of the black markings on the face and tail, which so frequently occur 
in the southern and eastern portion of the animal’s range. 
In the Adirondack region of New York Dr. Hart Merriam says 
Habits 0 " 
that the Virginian deer “ is found high upon the mountain-sides, as well 
as in the lowest valleys and river-bottoms. It frequents alike the densest and most 
impenetrable thickets and the open beaver-meadows and frontier clearings. From 
the 1st of May to the 1st of November its food consists of a great variety of herbs, 
grasses, marsh and aquatic plants, the leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs, 
blueberries, blackberries, other fruits that grow within its reach, and the nutritious 
beech-nut. While snow covers the ground—which it commonly does about half 
the year—the fare is necessarily restricted, and it is forced to subsist chiefly upon 
the twigs and buds of low deciduous trees and shrubs, the twigs and foliage of the 
arbor vitae, hemlock, and balsam, and a few mosses and lichens. In winters succeed¬ 
ing a good yield of nuts the mast constitutes its staple article of diet, and is 
obtained by following the beech ridges and pawing up the snow beneath the trees.” 
Although shy and timid in the extreme, and at first retreating rapidly before 
the advance of cultivation, these deer soon regain confidence, and come back to 
their ancient haunts. Their speed is great, and they are excellent and rapid 
swimmers, even young fawns while still in the spotted coat taking readily to the 
water. During long-continued deep snow these deer frequently collect together 
in parties, sometimes of considerable size, and form “ yards,” like the elk. 
There is considerable variation in the time of changing the grey dress of winter 
for the red coat of summer, as there is in the date when the antlers of the bucks are 
shed, these differences being apparently mainly due to the severity or mildness of 
the winters. The pairing-season, during which the bucks, like those of other deer, 
are exceedingly pugnacious, lasts from the latter part of October till the beginning 
