THE DEER KIND. 



269 



end of autumn, and renew during the winter ; 

 differing in this from the stag, who sheds them 

 in spring, and renews them in summer. When 

 the roe-buck's head is completely furnished, it 

 rubs the horns against the trees in the manner 

 of the stag, and thus strips them of the rough 

 skin and the blood-vessels, which no longer 

 contribute to their nourishment and growth. 

 When these fall, and new ones begin to appear, 

 the roe-buck does not retire as the stag to the 

 covert of the wood, but continues its usual 

 haunts, only keeping down its head to avoid 

 striking its horns against the branches of trees, 

 the pain of which it seems to feel with exqui- 

 site sensibility. The stag, who sheds his horns 

 in summer, is obliged to seek a retreat from 

 the flies, that at that time greatly incommode 

 him ; but the roe-buek, who sheds them in 

 winter, is under no such necessity ; and, con- 

 sequently, does not separate from its little 

 family, but keeps with the female all the year 

 round.* 



As the growth of the roe-buck, and its arri- 

 val at maturity, is much speedier than that of 

 the stag, so its life is proportionably shorter. 

 It seldom is found to extend above twelve or 

 fifteen years ; and, if kept tame, it does not 

 live above six or seven. It is an animal of a 

 very delicate constitution, requiring variety of 

 food, air, and exercise. It must be paired 

 with a female, and kept in a park of at least a 

 hundred acres. They may easily be subdued, 

 but never thoroughly tamed. No arts can teach 

 them to be familiar with the feeder, much less 

 attached to him. They still preserve a part 

 of their natural wildness, and are subject to 

 terrors without a cause. They sometimes, in 

 attempting to escape, strike themselves with 

 such force against the walls of their enclosure, 

 that they break their limbs, and become utterly 

 disabled. Whatever care is taken to tame 

 them, they are never entirely to be relied on, 

 as they have capricious fits of fierceness, and 

 sometimes strike at those they dislike with a 

 degree of force that is very dangerous. 



The cry of the roe-buck is neither so loud 

 nor so frequent as that of the stag. The young 

 ones have a particular manner of calling to 

 the dam, which the hunters easily imitate, and 

 often thus allure the female to her destruction. 

 Upon some occasions also they become in a 



Button, vol. xii. p. 88. 



manner intoxicated with their food, which, 

 during the spring, is said to ferment in their 

 stomachs, and they are then very easily taken. 

 In summer they keep close under covert of the 

 forest, and seldom venture out, except in 

 violent heats, to drink at some river or foun- 

 tain. In general, however, they are contented 

 to slake their thirst with the dew that falls on 

 the grass and the leaves of trees, and seldom 

 risk their safety to satisfy their appetite. They 

 delight chiefly in hilly grounds, preferring the 

 tender branches and buds of trees to corn, or 

 other vegetables ; and it is universally allowed 

 that the flesh of those between one and two 

 years old is the greatest delicacy that is known. 

 Perhaps, also, the scarceness of it enhances its 

 flavour. 



In America this animal is much more com- 

 mon than in Europe. With us there are but 

 two known varieties ; the red, which is the 

 largest sort ; and the brown, with a spot be- 

 hind, which is less. But in the new continent 

 the breed is extremely numerous, and the 

 varieties in equal proportion. In Louisiana, 

 where they are extremely common, they are 

 much larger than in Europe, and the inhabi- 

 tants live in a great measure upon its flesh, 

 which tastes like mutton when well fatted. 

 They are found also in Brasil, where they 

 have the name of cugacu apara, only differing 

 from ours in some slight deviations in the 

 horns. This animal is also said to be common 

 in China ; although such as have described it 

 seem to confound it with the musk goat, which 

 is of a quite different nature. 



THE ELK. 



WE have hitherto been describing minute 

 animals in comparison of the elk ; the size of 

 which, from concurrent testimony, appears to 

 be equal to that of the elephant itself. It is an 

 animal rather of the buck than the stag kind, 

 as its horns are flatted towards the top ; but it 

 is fur beyond both in stature, some of them be- 

 ing known to be above ten feet high. It is a 

 native both of the old and new continent, being 

 known in Europe under the name of the elk, 

 and in America by that of the moose-deer. It 

 is sometimes taken in the German and Russian 

 forests, although seldom appearing ; but it is 

 extremely common in North America, where 



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