THE ANTLERS OF THE RED-DEER 233 



less than a century ago was after venison rather 

 than a trophy, it did not matter to him very much 

 what sort of head he got. To-day the deer- 

 stalker is after trophies all the time, and the 

 modern rifle vastly increases his power of selecting 

 what he wants. This selection of the great heads 

 is more likely to affect the stock in the case of 

 deer than the selection of the best individuals in 

 almost any other species of animal ; for, thanks 

 to the deer's polygamous habits, a stag is for all 

 practical purposes prevented from perpetuating 

 himself till he has acquired his great head. The 

 general result is that one can never read a review 

 of a stalking-season in these times without finding 

 the shooting of a stag with a head of long and 

 thick beam and tine, dark-coloured and rough, 

 recorded as a rarity" the typical old Highland 

 stag not often met with now, when horns are 

 more generally light in colour and smooth in tex- 

 'ture." The roughness of the deer's antler is 

 merely the record of the network of blood-vessels, 

 which built it up when it was soft and growing, 

 and a smooth horn denotes a deficient blood 

 supply. 



This " elimination of the fittest " would account 

 for almost any amount of reduction in the antlers 

 of the deer, but there is another considerable 

 probable cause. In our time the deer population of 

 Scotland is almost confined to the hill country, 

 so much so that many people think of the moun- 

 tains and moorlands as the animal's proper and 

 chosen habitat. That, however, is a mistake. 

 Throughout its range, which extends over tern- 



