Symptoms of malnutrition in deer can be detd. and a classification established as to the condition of the deer in a practical manner by way of a field test based on fat absorption. 185 deer in the Northern Black Hills of S. Dakota were checked during the Winter of 1943-44. In classifying the physical condition of a deer, the following standards were used: 1) A deer with fat between the skin and body cavity and in the body cavity and whose bone marrow was white was considered to be in good condition. 2) A deer that had fat inside of the body cavity and whose bone marrow was white but had no fat between the skin and body cavity was considered to be in fair condition. 3) A deer with no fat between the skin and body cavity and with no fat in the body cavity and whose bone marrow was red and jelly-like was considered to be in poor condition and definitely suffering from malnutrition.