THE RED DEER. 



231 



and suffering. Even in the New Forest itself the Red Deer is seldom 

 seen, and those few survivors that still serve as relics of a bygone age 

 are scarcely to be reckoned as living in a wild state, and approach 

 nearly to the serai-domesticated condition of the Fallow Deer. Many 

 of these splendid animals are preserved in parks or paddocks, but 

 they no more roam the wide forests in unquestioned freedom. In Scot- 

 land, however, tlie Red Deer are still to be found, as can be testified 

 by many a keen hunter of the present day, who has had his strength, 

 craft, and coolness thoroughly tested belore he could lay low in the 



The Fallow Deer [Dama Vulgaris). 



dust the magnificent animal whose head with its forest of horns now 

 graces his residence. 



The great speed of the Stag is proverbial, and needs no mention. It 

 is an admirable swimmer, having been known to swim for a distance 

 of six or seven miles, and in one instance a Stag landed in the night upon 

 a beach which he could not have reached without having swum for a 

 distance of ten miles. The gallant beast was discovered by some dogs 

 as he landed, and, being chased by them immediately after his fatiguing 

 aquatic exploit, w^as overcome by exhaustion, and found dead on the 

 following morning. 



The color of the Stag varies slightly according to the time of the 

 year. In the summer the coat is a warm reddish brown, but in the 

 winter the ruddy hue becomes gray. The hind-quarters are paler than 

 the rest of the fur. The young Red Deer are born about April, and 

 are remarkable for the variegated appearance of their fur, which is 

 mottled with white upon the back and sides. As the little creatures 

 increase in dimensions, the white marking gradually fades, and the fur 

 assumes the uniform reddish brown of the adult animal. 



