RUMINANTIA-CERVINAE—CERVUS VIRGINIANUS. 
647 
parts, from near the fore legs, including the inside of the thighs and the buttocks, and the 
under surface and sides of the tail, are white. There is also a white and abruptly truncated 
patch on the throat opposite to the space between the rami of the jaws, of which color are also 
the region around the eyes, (except the dusky eyelids,) the end of the chin, the sides of the 
muffle, and the posterior portion of the ears near the base. There is a dusky ring passing over 
and around the posterior margin of the naked muffle and encircling the lower jaw just behind 
the white tip of the chin ; on the upper jaw, again, there is a lighter space just behind the 
dusky one. The tail, as already stated, is white beneath, and on the sides, this color showing 
conspicuously from above ; the upper surface is reddish at the basal half; the rest of it (coming 
to a point in the white) is of a nearly pure sooty brown in some specimens ; in others, this is 
overlaid with rusty so as to he obscured. In all cases, however, the white margins the dusky 
of the tail all round as seen from above. There is generally a dusky shade towards the tips of 
the ears. The tail is very full and bushy ; broad and depressed ; well covered everywhere with 
hair. 
Sometimes, in old males, there is a very strong tinge of dark chestnut on the top of the head 
and on the lower portion of its sides, the muzzle posterior to the light patch behind the 
nostrils being quite dark and mottled with whitish. 
A single head, (1489 9 ,) marked “Black Tail deer,” the precise locality of which is unknown, 
hut either from Western Texas or the Upper Missouri, in general character of length of ear 
resembles the Gervus virginianus. The hair of the muzzle comes down over the naked muffle 
more in a point, however, instead of passing nearly transversly across. The ears are densely 
coated with hair, and nearly black on the terminal half of the convexity. The chestnut of the 
cheeks is continuous across the chin posterior to the white terminal patch. The white patch 
between the rami of the lower jaw is considerably more restricted than in C. virginianus. 
This deer is very different in many respects from the western species, G. macrotis and colum- 
bianus. For the characters in which the distinctions consist, I would refer to the articles on 
these species. A peculiar feature is seen in the very short and broad gland on the outer 
edge of the hind leg which is about as long as the hone is wide, and is encircled by white hairs. 
For the differences from the supposed C. leucurus , see the next article. 
The peculiarities of the horns of this deer will be best understood by reference to the accom¬ 
panying figure (13). 
From this it will be seen that the horn bends first backwards and outwards, then forwards 
and outwards ; and that beyond the sub-basal snag, which starts from the inner face of the 
antler and is directed upwards, all the branches spring from the posterior part of the main 
stem. The figure represents an average horn ; more usually there are but two posterior 
branches. Sometimes the basal snag is much longer than in the figure ; the curvature of the 
horn, too, varies a good deal. Sometimes a perfectly adult, full grown male will have but a 
single slender spike, thus resembling the buck of the second year. 
The Virginia deer is the best known, and probably the most abundant of the American deer. 
According to Audubon and Bachman, it is not found north of Maine, from which limit it is 
spread over the entire area of the United States east of the Missouri river. Although less 
common than formerly, it is met with in large numbers in the mountainous portions of New York, 
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and States further south, as well as on the seacoast region. 
