CHASE OF THE WILD RED DEER 63 



the fury of the stag, which bears a deadly antipathy 

 to the male calv^es, fearing, I suppose, that they may 

 one day become his rivals. The females, or hinds, 

 he never molests or injures. 



When the stag's neck begins to swell, evidencing 

 the approach of the rutting season, the time for 

 hunting him is at an end ; and, accordingly, shortly 

 after the Sth of October, which should be the last 

 day for hunting the stag, the autumn season for hind 

 hunting commences (a fortnight or three weeks 

 being allowed to elapse, during which time the stags 

 and hinds are permitted to consort together without 

 molestation), and continues for the five following- 

 weeks, or even up to Christmas if the weather per- 

 mits and no frost sets in.* 



I have already mentioned the way in which a stag 

 tries to provide himself with a substitute when 

 roused by the hounds. When a hind is found 

 in covert, if she have a young calf by her side, 

 she will generally seize the first opportunity of 

 depositing it in a place of safety, and if, when 

 so found, she refuses to leave the covert and 



* Such restrictions would hardly suit modern requirements ; stag- 

 hunting rarely ends before October 20th, while the hinds are hunted 

 on to the end of April, without any interval other than wintry weather 

 necessitates. In Dr. Collyns' time there was a spring hind-hunting 

 season {iiide Chapter IV.). — L. J. B. 



