2i6 THE RED DEER OF EX MOOR. 



received orders to go about the country hunting in 

 the Royal forests. Sometimes the harriers seem to 

 have accompained the buckhounds, sometimes the 

 harthounds ; but apparently all hunted red and fallow 

 deer indiscriminately, and with small regard for 

 season. The directions are sometimes by counties ; 

 sometimes the particular forests are mentioned, with 

 the number of deer expected from each. We find 

 John Lovell ordered to hunt in Somerset on 

 December 30th in 1336, but in what forest or how 

 many deer were to be killed, is not stated. The 

 general orders as to staghunting seem to have been 

 issued about July, judging from some dated July 14th 

 and 15th, 1315, which are preserved. These give a 

 complete list of the deer to be killed " in the fat 

 season " in the various forests. We find the total 

 amounted to 322 harts, 302 bucks, and 20 does, while 

 the quota demanded from the county of Somerset 

 was — Exmore, 20 harts ; Pederton, 20 bucks ; 

 Selwood, 12 bucks; Munedep, 12 harts and 20 bucks. 

 Nothing was demanded from Neroche, which was 

 probably included under Pederton. 



How the Master of Game expected three packs, 

 counting the harriers as one, to account for 648 deer 

 in the short staghunting season is not explained. 

 That only a very trifling proportion of them can 

 have been fairly killed by hunting at force is obvious 

 — probably the majority were wounded by the 

 berceletar, and run down by the greyhounds ; but 

 even then it is difficult to believe that the number 



