THE YOUNG DEER 123 



asked a keeper his opinion of the passage in which 

 that old worthy describes the conduct of the hind 

 and her calf at the time of the birth of the latter. 

 The passage is as follows : 



" She drops her fawn in high heather, where 

 she leaves it concealed the whole day, and returns 

 to it late in the evening, when she apprehends no 

 disturbance. She makes it lie down by a pressure 

 of her nose, and it will never stir or lift up its 

 head the whole of the day unless you come right 

 upon it, as I have often done. It lies like a 

 dog, with its nose to its tail. The hind, however, 

 although she separates herself from the young 

 fawn, does not lose sight of its welfare, but remains 

 at a distance to the windward, and goes to its 

 succour in case of an attack of the wild cat, or 

 fox, or any other powerful vermin. I have heard 

 Mr. John Crerer say, and it is doubtless true, that 

 if you find a young fawn that has never followed 

 its dam, and take it up and rub its back, and put 

 your finger in its mouth, it will follow you home 

 for several miles ; but if it has once followed 

 its dam for ever so small a space before you 

 found it, it will never follow human beings." 



My friend's comment on this was that no such 

 formal ritual was necessary, or, as he put it, " You 

 don't need to take so much trouble." If a young 

 deer is found in this early stage and handled, .it 

 will follow the person who has lifted it. He and 

 his fellows were collecting a number of hind calves 

 for transportation to a remote forest, whose owner 

 wished an admixture of fresh blood. The finding 

 of them called for a prolonged and patient watching 



