RED DEER. 



usually a sign that the stag had not reached 

 maturity. 



The length and thickness of the beam or 

 stem, the number of points and offers of 

 points, and the width between the tips of 

 the horns as they grow on the head are all 

 reckoned in estimating antlers. Such are 

 the terms commonly used in the present day 

 on Exmoor ; but in ancient times connois- 

 seurs of the chase had numerous others, such 

 as the burr, the pearls, the gutters, royals, 

 and sur-royals. Crowned heads and forked 

 heads, however, are still spoken of when the 

 antler forks, or when the points draw to- 

 gether in the outline of a crown. 



The ancient terms began with the " burr ; " 

 this was the thickened base of the horn (or 

 beam) where it joins the head. It is there 

 enlarged and rough like the base of an oak- 

 tree at the ground. " Burr," as a term ex- 

 pressive of bulging, is still in use by black- 



