75 
Lessons in Natural History. 
° THE DEER. 
DEER shed their horns an-nu-al-Iy in the 
spring: if the old ones do not fall off; the ani- 
mal rubs them gently against the branch of a 
tree. "The new horns are tender ; and the deer 
walk with their heads low, lest they should hit 
them against the branches: when they are full- 
grown and hard, the deer rub them against the 
trees, to clear them of a skin with which they 
are covered, 
The skins of deer are of use for leather, and 
the horns make good handles for common 
knives. Spirit of hartshorn is extracted, and 
hartshorn shavings are made from them. 
Rein-deer, in Lapland and Greenland, draw 
the natives in sledges over the snow with pro- 
di-gi-ous swiftness.