186 THE ROE-DEER 



woodcutters, whose hideous clatter was to be heard 

 hourly in the main valley and at frequent intervals 

 in the side corries, I cannot say. 



There is practically only one hour in the day during 

 which it is possible actually to stalk roe, namely, 

 from 4.30 to 5.30 in the afternoon. It took about 

 two hours to climb to the top of the ridge, a coign 

 of vantage which it was absolutely essential to reach 

 unless favoured by an extraordinary piece of luck, 

 consequently early morning stalking was out of the 

 question. 



I never saw one lying out on the open hill-side, and 

 the earliest at which I ever saw one come out of the 

 wood was 2.30. Usually they move about a little 

 at noon, and then lie up again till late in the 

 evening. The bucks seemed to me more alert than 

 the does ; their heads were never down for more 

 than a few seconds at a time. As a rule they stand 

 at the edge of the wood, hidden by undergrowth, 

 and make quite sure the coast is clear before 

 venturing forth. George killed two bucks, right 

 and left, at one o'clock, not far from our camp, 

 without any stalk at all. They were both in their 

 winter coats, though the younger of the two had 

 not entirely completed his change. The muzzle 

 was black, and there was a black patch on each side 

 of the lower jaw, which was white. The edges of 

 tlie ears were black, and the legs were dark in 

 colour. The white patch on the throat was very 

 conspicuous, extending as a rule for some way down 

 the front of the neck, and not making two distinct 

 markings as in the European variety. 



Though by far the commonest game animal we 

 encountered during our whole trip, I consider it 



