174 R ED DEER. 



ditions of the antlers, and deducing from 

 these the age of the deer. 



Such are the points and definition of a 

 warrantable stag as understood at the present 

 day on Exmoor. They do not quite corre- 

 spond in every particular with the statements 

 in ancient books of venery or hunting as to 

 the signs of a runnable deer, and the gradual 

 enlargement of the antlers year by year. 

 The divergence is probably due to the pecu- 

 liar nature of the country where the red deer 

 are now alone found wild in England, and 

 which, as already explained, is singularly 

 exposed and cold in winter. Even there a 

 difference is observed between the horns of 

 the stags feeding in enclosed ground and 

 those that lie in the North Forest; that is, 

 on the highest moors. The ancient writers, 

 recording the experience of their own times, 

 when there were wild deer in every part, 

 referred to the growth of antlers in England 



