EVEN- TO ED UNGTTLATES (aRTIODAOTYLA) 231 



sun is liot and again from sunset to nightfall. 

 During the day in summer they will lie out in the 

 heather or on the open moor ; in winter they seek 

 the shelter of woods and coppices. On bare ground 

 they will scrape out hollows to lie in, and if troubled 

 by flies they will run round a bush to brush them 

 off. The roe feeds very close, the food consisting 

 principally of the leaves of shrubs and trees, such as 

 l)irch, beach, holly, rowan, and young shoots of 

 bramble, heather, spruce, and oak. They will also 

 eat lii])s and haws and certain fungi, and growing 

 corn, turnips and clover, when such luxuries are 

 within reach. 



The movements of the roe are exceedingly 

 graceful, springing over the heather in a series of 

 bounds. They are excellent jumpers and good 

 swimmers. Indeed, their agility is only equalled by 

 that of the chamois. Their senses of sight and 

 hearing are keener than those of the red deer, and 

 they pick up the scent of man equally well, though 

 not at such long distances. They are always loth to 

 leave their cover, and when disturbed will stop, 

 ]U'ick their ears to listen, and look intently. 



'' K roe doe,^^ says Mr. Millais, ^' makes a charming 

 pet, but the buck is not to be trusted. Once the 

 male reaches the age of maturity he exhibits a savage 

 disregard for all persons, especially women, and will, 

 without warning or the smallest provocation, attack 

 with great fury." 



Up to the time of Henry YIII and Elizabeth, roe 

 deer were hunted with horse and hound, as they are 

 now in France. In the first half of the nineteenth 



