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When thus at large they multiply freely of themselves, and, by
this time half wild, often stray away from the herds altogether.
The rearing of reindeer might easily be made such a profitable
business as to be sufficient in itself to insure a comfortable
livelihood to the Lapps. The deer itself hardly requires any looking
after the whole year round. All through the summer it feeds on
various grasses, and in winter on the _yagel_, or reindeer lichen
(_Cladonia rangiferina_), which it scratches out from under the
snow, with its hoofs. This lichen, or moss, grows in profusion all
over the _tundras_ and forests of the Kola Peninsula. It is his
deer which supply the Lapp with food and clothing, convey his family
and goods hundreds of versts in his wanderings, and, finally, give
him the opportunity of adding to his income by acting as carrier,
and by supplying teams to the government postal-stations, etc.
Some years ago some Zirians from the Petchora settled in the Kola
Peninsula with their herds, numbering some 5,000 head.


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