RED-DEER. 



105 



The gravity of the 

 damage done depends, in 

 other respects, on the size 

 of the wounds, the season, 

 repetition of the injury to 

 the same tree, age of the 

 wood, and nature of 

 locality. Summer -peeling 

 is more injurious than 

 winter-peeling, although in 

 the former case the. anti- 

 septic nature of the outflow 

 of turpentine is to some 

 extent a compensation. 



At the commencement of 

 spring most damage is done 

 in this way. The younger 

 the wood, the more fertile 

 and moister the soil, the 

 quicker the damage is 

 repaired. 



Bark-peeling by red-deer 

 is a new habit ; as long as 

 mixed woods under the 

 Selection system and cop- 

 pice- with- standards offered 

 plenty of nourishment, the 

 deer left the bark alone, 

 but the present density of 

 growth, which excludes 

 grass, and the substitution 

 of conifers for broadleaved 

 species, have rendered 

 fodder scarce in the forests, 

 and it is possible that the 

 deer eat the bark medicin- 

 ally, as well as from 

 hunger, and also partly 

 from sportiveness. 



Fig. 29. Spruce sapliugs rubbed 

 by red-deer. 



