Charles Schweder gave the following account. The bucks hasten the shedding of the velvet in the autumn by rubbing their antlers on various trees--willow, spruce, or tamarack. The individual may complete the operation in possibly half a day. It is thought, however, that most of the velvet comes off at the first tree. The animals usually select a tree standing by itself rather than one in a thicket. It is usually a small tree--say 4 feet high and 1 inch in diameter. Perhaps a spruce is most often selected. Branches are broken and much of the bark is scraped off in the process. The velvet soon dries up, so that it is little noticed. Charles did not recall having seen any hanging in a tree. The numbers of rubbing trees that I noticed at Simons’ Lake in mid-October indicated that Caribou must have been much more numerous there during the previous month than in the vicinity of the Windy River post. These trees were particularly in evidence on the outskirts of a spruce and tamarack thicket at the head of the lake. They were mostly tamaracks, with some black spruces. Of the two spruces shown in figure 26, the larger was about 4 feet high. Many of the young trees had been killed. The branches and the tops had been pretty generally broken off and were lying on the ground. Most of the damage was fresh, but some of it dated from previous years. _Reference._--Hanbury, 1904: 232. MORPHOLOGY AND TAXONOMY _Pelage and molt_ When the Caribou migrate northward through the Nueltin Lake region in May and June, they still retain their winter pelage. It is now worn and faded, and harsh as well, in contrast to the fresh, dark, soft autumn coat. This stage is represented by an adult buck (No. 1046) of June 18. The general color above is Cream-Buff (capitalized color terms are derived from Ridgway, 1912), changing gradually to Isabella Color on sides of head and body; no distinct dark longitudinal stripe on lower sides (such as appears in summer and autumn pelage); tail Cream-Buff above, the rest Cartridge Buff; rump-patch varying from Cartridge Buff to Cream-Buff; tip of snout and chin dirty whitish; small area below nostrils near Mummy Brown; triangular area behind nostrils Cream-Buff; crown Cartridge Buff; ears Olive-Buff on outer surface, Cartridge Buff on inner surface; posterior venter Cartridge Buff; legs Isabella Color in front, remainder Cream-Buff; hoofs black, bordered above with Cartridge Buff hairs, forming a band ½-2 inches in width; antler velvet in this and other specimens Olive-Brown. The marked difference between the dark brownish and white pelage of the autumn and the Cream-Buff coat of early June presumably results from wear and fading, without molt. The does and the yearlings in June appear grayer than the adult bucks. In another adult male (No. 1033), collected June 3, the darker part of the pelage is Buffy Brown rather than Cream-Buff.