Page:Handbook for Boys.djvu/155

134 The elk of Washington is very dark in color; that of the Southwest is very pale and small.

White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

This is the best known of the common deer of America. It is distinguished by the forward bend of the horns, with the snags pointing backward, and by its long tail which is brown or blackish above and pure white below. Its face is gray, its throat white. A fair sized buck weighs two hundred pounds, live weight. A few have been taken of over three hundred and fifty pounds weight. In the Southern states they run much smaller. Several varieties have been described. It was found formerly in all of the timber states east of the Rockies; also in Ontario south of Lake Nipissing, in south Quebec and south New Brunswick. At present it is exterminated in the highly cultivated states of the Middle West, but has spread into northern Ontario, New Brunswick, and Manitoba. Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)

This is the commonest deer of the hill country in the centre of the continent. It is found in the mountains from Mexico to British Columbia and northeasterly to the Saskatchewan and the Lake of the Woods. It is known by its