MAMMALIA— STAG. 



335 



remote from man, the peaceful retreats of nature. His light and elegant 

 form ; his flexible, yet nervous limbs ; his head rather adorned, than armed, 

 with a living substance, like the branch of a tree, which is every year 

 renewed ; his size, his swiftness, his strength, sufficiently distinguish him 

 from the rest of the inhabitants of the forest. 



The old stags shed their horns first, which happens about the end of Feb- 

 ruary, or the beginning of March. Stags in their seventh year do not 

 undergo this change till the middle or the end of March ; nor do those in 

 their sixth year, till the month of April. 



After they have shed their horns, they separate from each other; the very 

 young ones, alone, associating together. They remain no longer in covert ; 

 they seek the beautiful parts of the country, the groves, and the open cop- 

 pices, where they remain all the summer, till they recover the antlers which 

 were wont to adorn their brows. And, during this season, they carry their 

 heads low, for fear of striking them against the branches ; for they are 

 exceedingly tender till they arrive at perfection. The horns of the oldest 

 stags are scarcely half repaired by the month of May ; nor do they attain 

 their full length and hardness till about the end of July. The horns of the 

 young stag are very late shed, and very late recovered ; but when these 

 are completely lengthened, and are become quite hard, they rub them 



