THE HUNTED STAG. 133 



tli ere was much blood, which the present 

 way does not cause If any fresh sportsman 

 is in at the death his face is ' blooded,' and 

 there is often a scramble for trophies, as the 

 slot, or hoofs, tufts of hair torn from the 

 skin, or the tusks. The teeth polish well, 

 and are set in scarfpins ; the slots are often 

 silver-mounted as the base of candlesticks. 



The eager hounds have the paunch at 

 once ; the dead stag is then placed in a cart 

 and taken to the nearest farmhouse, where 

 the farmer usually skins it the same day, the 

 skin coming off better if it is done directly. 

 Next day the huntsman comes and cuts up 

 the carcase into twelve pieces (a hind makes 

 eight), and distributes these among the 

 farmers round. The kidney, as a delicacy, 

 is generally taken by some old and staunch 

 sportsman. Head and horns are the property 

 of the Master of the Hunt ; only a part of the 

 skull is kept without the skin, for it is found 

 that heads preserved with the skin on are soon 

 infested by moths and spoiled. Moths cannot 



