distinguished from each other, when offered for sale, by the ears being entire. All that have had an owner are marked by notches and holes in that part. The hide of the wild deer is also of a darker colour. The natives can always swear to their cattle, even by the horns; they never are willing to ascertain the exact number of their herd, either from a superstitious idea, that if counted it will decrease, or more probably from an unwillingness to pay the amount of taxes at which they might consequently be rated.

The Laplander lives in a tent of a circular conical shape, provided with an opening at the top for the smoke to escape. The tent is made

either of coarse woollen cloth or of reindeer skins. The richer Laplanders have a double covering; the door consists of a curtain of the same material. The interior arrangements are very simple; in the middle are a few stones, which form a kind of fireplace, and at the sides, round about, twigs of birch are strewed, and rein-deer skins spread over them, thus forming a sofa by day, and a bed at night. The wooden dishes, copper kettles, and

spoons made of the bones of the reindeer, lie scattered about in the tent; and above are suspended rein-deer stomachs, filled with preserved milk, and completely blackened by the smoke. It is not to be expected that cleanliness should exist in such wretched dwellings; in fact, the Laplanders have no idea of this comfort, and allow their numerous dogs to share their place of repose.

The rein-deer, in height, is about four feet and a half, and his owner scarcely exceeds him. The general colour is brown above, and white beneath; but as the animal advances in age it often becomes of a greyish white, and is also subject to great variety of colour, either brown or mottled. The space around the eyes is always black. The hair on the under part of the neck is much longer than that of any other part on the body,-where it is so thick that, on putting it aside, you cannot see the skin. The hoofs are broad and spreading; and thus, when the animal crosses the yielding snows, they serve the purpose of a kind of snoe-show, and prevent the animal from sinking, as deeply as if his hoofs were formed like those of the fallow-deer.

The horns of the male are long, slender, and branched, much larger than those of the female, and have widely-extended palmated tips directed forwards; a single branch springs from each horn near the base. The reindeer casts its horns every year, and while in the first stage of growth they are extremely sensible, so that the animal suffers greatly from the attacks of the clouds of insects that indeed form one of its general persecutions. From this cause the Laplander, who dwells in the interior of the country, is compelled to undertake the most arduous journeys to the mountains that overhang the coast for the preservation of his valuable property. Here the elevated situations, and the cool sea-breezes, are unfavourable to the existence of these troublesome insects, which are found in less number there, and do not quit the valleys; so that the deer, by ascending the highlands, can, in a measure, avoid them. If the Laplander did not use these precautions, he would, during the months of June, July, and August, run the risk of losing the greater part of his herd, either by actual sickness, or from the deer taking

flight of their own accord to these mountainous districts to escape their tormenting enemies.

"The interior parts of Lapland," says Mr. de Broke, "particularly its boundless forests, are so infested by various species of gnats and other insects, that no animal can escape their incessant persecutions. Large fires are kindled, in the smoke of which the cattle hold their heads to escape their attacks; and even the natives themselves are compelled to smear their faces with tar, as the only certain protection against their stings. No creature, however, suffers more from the larger species of gadfly (oestrus tirandi) than the rein-deer, as it not only torments it incessantly by its sting, but even deposits its eggs in the wound it makes in the hide." From this cause the animal frequently dies, or suffers so much that it becomes quite lean in summer. The skin is of no value so long as the larvæ exist in it, being sometimes as full of holes as a sieve from the operations of these insects, and nothing but the extremity of hunger can render the flesh palatable. The animals killed at this time are generally only used for the dogs.

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At the first appearance of the fly, the whole herd instantly perceive it; they toss about their horns, and would speedily take flight to the distant snows of the mountain if not restrained. The Laplanders say, that one of their objects in going to the coast is, that the deer may drink the sea water; and that he takes one draught which destroys the larvæ of the fly, but never repeats it. In August and September, when these animals are returning from the coast, they are then healthy, the venison is excellent, and, as they have just acquired their winter coats, the fur is thick and warm. It is then that the Laplander kills his rein-deer. The scene presented by a herd crossing a lake, or from one island to another, is very curious; one or two deer are carried over in the boat with the Lapland family, and the remainder, often several hundred in number, follow swimming.

The mode of living among the Laplanders is very simple, especially in summer, for at that season they are supported almost exclusively on rein-deer milk, which they keep in bags, as I have described, and a kind of sorrel.