CHASE OF THE WILD RED DEER 39 



Flies irritate and plague them; the least contact 

 with a hard substance causes pain or apprehension ; 

 and the fear in which they live, of suffering pain, is 

 observable in all their motions and actions. They 

 may be seen standing in the same place for hours at 

 a time, their heads bent low, twitching- their ears 

 and stamping their feet incessantly, to drive away 

 the winged pests by which they are haunted and 





m 





Flies irritate and plague thiem.' 



annoyed. In the ' Art of Venerie,' page 242, it is 

 said, 'His heade when it commeth first out, hath a 

 russet pyll upon it, the which is called velvet, the 

 toppes thereof (as long as they are in bloude) are 

 goode meat, and are called tenderlings.' 



The horns attain their full growth about the 

 beginning of September, but still the velvet sur- 

 rounds them, and continues to case the horn until 



