WAYS OF RED DEER. 97 



much ; the awn is troublesome to them. 

 They will get into rye-grass and damage it, 

 but very seldom touch a rick of hay. One 

 winter, when the ground was more than 

 usually bare, and there seemed absolutely 

 nothing for the sheep or ponies, a rick or 

 two of hay was pulled round the outside, 

 but this was exceptional. Stags jump so 

 well and are so bold that it is next to im- 

 possible to keep them out of anything they 

 fancy, and hinds climb over the highest walls 

 and fences. The beech hedges of the coun- 

 try, as before described, grow on walls, and 

 are high and thick, but these are not the 

 least obstacle. 



The farmers place stakes in the hedges, 

 and hang a vine of straw along from stake 

 to stake a foot or so above the top of the 

 hedge. A vine is a rope of twisted straw ; 

 this in itself would not for a moment resist 

 the impact of a stag, but the rope is smeared 

 with tar, which they dislike and avoid. This 

 is a protection to some extent where it can 



H 



