143 RED DEER. 



Unless he be disturbed, the stag is almost 

 sure to remain in harbour, but it has once 

 now and then happened that he has moved 

 to an adjacent wood. Sometimes a watcher 

 is left to see if this occurs or not; but as 

 a rule, once harboured, the stag is safe in 

 hand. 



At the meet the pack is now waiting shut 

 up in a farmyard ; so soon as the harbourer 

 comes, the huntsman takes out six or eight 

 couples of hounds to draw the cover, leaving 

 the rest of the pack still confined. The 

 hounds selected to draw the wood are called 

 the " tufters," and are old, staunch, and 

 steady ; drawing the cover is called " tuft- 

 ing." At the wood, if the stag has entered 

 up-wind, the huntsman must tuft up-wind 

 that is, let the hounds go in with the breeze 

 in their faces. If possible, the harbourer 

 takes the huntsman to the actual slot where 

 the stag entered the wood, and the hounds, 



