CHASE OF THE WILD RED DEER 73 



that of an oak tree. But these are merely 'guesses 

 at truth.' In my opinion, a deer lives from twenty 

 to thirty years ; but Mr Scrope mentions instances 

 which may be well authenticated, showing that deer 

 live more than a hundred years. One is of a stao- 

 shot by the late Glengarry, with a peculiar mark 

 in his ear, identified by the foresters as the mark of 

 Ewen Mac Ian Og, who died a hundred and fifty 

 years before the deer was killed! It is said by Mr 

 Scrope, that the Duke of Saxe-Coburg had a stag 

 whose age was fabulous, having been by tradition 

 handed down from father to son, and that no one 

 was allowed to molest him. Mr Scrope argues 

 against the longevity of the deer on account of the 

 exhaustion produced by the rutting season, and the 

 yearly effort of nature to reproduce the horns ; but 

 I cannot say that I think these arguments of much 

 weight. I may mention that I have had conversa- 

 tions with experienced foresters in Scotland who 

 have paid particular attention to this much vexed 

 question, and that they agree with the opinion 

 which I venture to express, that a deer lives from 

 twenty to thirty years. They also consider that a 

 stag is at its prime when about fourteen or fifteen 

 years old, and that after that period the horns do 

 not improve, and, in fact, begin to deteriorate ; 



