THE DEER KIND. 



259 



are utterly unable to oppose. They then 

 walk with their heads stooping down, to keep 

 their horns from striking against the brandies 

 of the trees above. In this state of imbecility 

 they continue near three months before their 

 heads have acquired their full growth and soli- 

 dity ; and then, by rubbing them against the 

 branches of every thicket, they at length clear 

 them of the skin which had contributed to their 

 growth and nourishment. It is said by some, 

 that the horn takes the colour of the sap of the 

 tree against which it is rubbed ; and that some 

 thus become red, when rubbed against the 

 he uii ; and others brown, by rubbing against 

 the onk ; this, however, is a mistake, since 

 stilus kept in parks where there are no trees, 

 have a variety in the colour of their horns, which 

 can be ascribed to nothing but nature. A short 

 time after they have furnished their horns, they 

 begin to feel the impressions of the rut, or the 

 desire of copulation. The old ones are the 

 most forward ; and about the end of August, 

 or the beginning of September, they quit their 

 thickets, and return to t le mountain in order 

 to seek the hind, to whom they call with a loud 

 tremendous note. At this time their neck is 

 swol'.i; they appear bold and furious : fly from 

 country to country ; strike with their horns 

 against the trees and other obstacles, and con- 

 tinue restless and fierce until they have found 

 the female ; who at (irst flies from them, but 

 is at last compelled and overtaken. When two 

 stags contend for the same female, how timor- 

 ous soever they may appear at other times, they 

 then seem agitated with an uncommon degree 

 of ardour. They paw up the earth, menace 

 each other with their horns, b< How with all 

 their force, and striking in a desperate man- 

 ner against each other, seem determined upon 

 death or victory. This combat continues till 

 one of them is defeated or flies ; and it often 

 happ-ns that the victor is obliged to fight se- 

 veral of those battles before it remains undis- 

 puted master of the field. The old ones are 

 generally the conquerors upon these occasions, 

 as they have more strength and greater cou- 

 rage ; and these also are preferred by the hind 

 to the young ones, as the latter are more feeble, 

 and less ardent. However, they are all equal- 

 ly inconstant, keeping to the female but a few 

 days, and then seeking out for another, not to 

 be enjoyed, perhaps, without a repetition of 

 their former danger. 



NO. 23 & 24. 



In this manner the stag continues to range 

 from one to the other for about three weeks, 

 the time the rut continues; during which he 

 scarce eats, sleeps, or rests, but continues to 

 pursue, to combat, and to enjoy. At the end 

 of this period of madness, for such in this ani- 

 mal it seems to be, the creature that was be- 

 fore so fat, sleek, and glossy, becomes lean, 

 feeble, and tirnid. He then retires from the 

 herd to seek plenty and repose ; he frequents 

 the side of the forest, and chooses the most 

 nourishing pastures, remaining there till hie 

 strength is renewed. Thus is his whole life 

 passed in the alternations of plenty and want, 

 of corpulence and inanition, of health and 

 sickness, without having his constitution much 

 affected by the violence of the change. As 

 he is above five years coining to perfection, 

 he lives about forty years ; and it is a gene- 

 ral rule, that every animal lives about seven 

 or eight times the number of years which it 

 continues to grow. What, therefore, is re- 

 ported concerning the life of this animal, has 

 arisen from the credulity of ignorance : some 

 say, that a stag having been taken in France, 

 with a collar, on which were written these 

 words, "Caesar hoc me donavit;" this was 

 interpreted of Julius Ca3sar ; but it is not con- 

 sidered thatCaesar is a general name for kings, 

 and that one of the Emperors of Germany, 

 who are always styled Caesars, might have or- 

 dered the inscription. 



This animal may differ in the term of his 

 life according to the goodness of his pasture, 

 or the undisturbed repose he happens to en- 

 joy. These are advantages that influence 

 not only his age, but his size and his vigour. 

 The stags of the plains, the valleys, and the 

 little hills, which abound in corn and pasture, 

 are much more corpulent and much taller 

 than such as are bred on the rocky waste, or 

 the heathy mountain. The latter are low, 

 small, and meagre, incapable of going so swift 

 as the former, although they are found to hold 

 out much longer. They are also more art- 

 ful in evading the hunters; their horns are 

 generally black and short, while those of the 

 lowland stags are reddish and flourishing; 

 so that the animal seems to increase in beau- 

 ty and stature in proportion to the goodness 

 of the pasture, which he enjoys in security. 

 The usual colour of the stag in England 

 2U 



