30 THE BRITISH MAMMALS : THEIR GENERA AND SPECIES. 



are then complete. They are small but stout, always less than 

 twice the length of the head, and rarely measuring a foot ; and they 

 are round, furrowed, rough, and sharply pointed ; in fact, they fur- 

 nish most of the so-called " stag's horn " used as handles for carving 

 knives. In the Red Deer and Fallow Deer the lateral metapodials 

 are represented by their upper ends ; in the Roe by the lower ends. 

 There is also a difference in the dentition, the two other British 

 deer having upper canines, while the Roe has the same formula as 

 the cattle and sheep, namely, no incisors and no canines in the 

 upper jaw, three incisors and a canine in the lower, and three pre- 

 molars and three molars in each. The Roe rJairs for life, and is not 

 gregarious ; four at most are seen at a time, consisting of the buck 

 and doe with their two fawns, their favourite haunt being the un- 

 derwood of large forests, and rising slopes. They are not such 

 good runners as leapers ; their high jumps reach six feet, and their 

 long jumps range from twenty-four to thirty feet. They are the 

 wildest of the native deer, and seldom thrive even in the modified 

 captivity of a large park. They are entirely absent from Ireland, 

 and chiefly met with in Scotland ; in England they are mostly in the 

 north. There are some in the Vale of Blackmoor, in Dorset, and a 

 few in Windsor Forest and Epping Forest ; but these are modern 

 introductions. On the Continent the Roe ranges into Western Asia. 



Cervua. Plates xvi. and xvii. UNGULATA. 



50. elaphus, RED DEER. Antlers without palmations and rounded 



throughout. 



51. dama, FALLOW DEER. Antlers with palmations and rounded 



only at base. 



The Red and Fallow Deer differ from the Roe Deer in having a 

 brow-tine projecting close to the burr and in the antlers having 

 five or more tines, instead of three. The teeth differ in there being 

 a canine in the upper jaw, so that there are thirty-four teeth instead 

 of thirty-two, the full complement being no incisors, one canine, 

 three premolars, and three molars in the upper jaw, and three 

 incisors, one canine, three premolars, and three molars in the other. 

 There is also a difference in the feet, it being the upper ends of the 

 lateral metacarpals and metatarsals that are represented, instead 

 of the lower. They are also of larger build, the height at the 

 withers being Red Deer four feet, Fallow Deer three feet, Roe Deer 

 two feet ; and they shed their antlers in the spring, while the Roe 

 Deer shed theirs in the autumn. 



The Red Deer is dark reddish brown in summer, and brownish 

 grey in winter ; the muzzle is blackish, and the inside of the thighs 

 and flanks is of a dark fawn. The tail is shorter than the ear, 

 which is longer than half the head. The antlers are rounded 

 throughout, and are more than twice as long as the head when com- 

 plete. They first show in the eighth month, and grow as a spike 

 until the third year, when the brow-tine appears. The young deer 

 is then known as a brocket. Next year, as a spire, he has a brow- 

 tine, and a half-developed beam known as an upright ; next year 



