56 THE COURTSHIP OF ANIMALS 



to hold a harem against all rivals after his fertility has 

 declined. This, however, is extremely improbable. A 

 lowering of fertility means a decline in the potency of 

 the hormones, and in the development of the secondary 

 sexual characters, among which are the antlers, which 

 are by no means negHgible factors. That they are not 

 all-important, however, seems to be shown by the fact 

 that, occasionally, stags appear in a herd which are 

 congenitally unable to produce antlers — a reversion to the 

 ancestral condition — and such are said, occasionally at 

 any rate, to be able to oust their formidably armed rivals. 

 This may be so, but the fact that " hummel " stags, as 

 they are called, are so rare is surely to be regarded as 

 eloquent testimony of the disadvantages of their un- 

 armoured state. They become speedily eliminated, in 

 short, by " Sexual Selection." 



After this outburst of sexual activity has spent itself, 

 the various harems, with their lords, amalgamate; all 

 living in peace through the winter. The stags retain their 

 antlers at this season, partly as a protection against 

 predatory enemies, such as wolves, and other large car- 

 nivores, which would otherwise play havoc in their ranks^ 

 and partly because the cold of winter and scanty fodder 

 would inhibit the growth of new antlers or reduce their 

 size. With the return of spring the dangers of attack 

 are lessened, temperature rises, and food becomes once 

 more plentiful. Then the inevitable disarmament takes 

 place. 



The Red-deer, though mature at six, does not reach his 

 prime till his eleventh year, and from thence till his 

 fifteenth or sixteenth year is at his best. The hinds 

 mature earlier, and appear to be fertile for a much longer 

 period. At any rate, a wild hind in Jura, known by 



