  The spin-averaged structure function of the neutron, F_2^n, is extracted from
recent deuteron data, taking into account the small but significant corrections
due to nuclear effects in the deuteron. At small x, the F_2D/F_2p ratio
measured by the New Muon and Fermilab E665 Collaborations is interpreted to
suggest a small amount of shadowing in deuterium, which acts to enhance F_2^n
for x < 0.1. A careful treatment of Fermi motion, binding and nucleon off-shell
effects in the deuteron also indicates that the neutron/proton structure
function ratio as x -> 1 is consistent with the perturbative QCD expectation of
3/7, but larger than the traditional value of 1/4.
