CALVING OF HINDS. 37 



with a herd of deer, and to take pretty good care of itself, 

 its mother takes it off, and leads it into ground that can be 

 travelled without difficulty, avoiding precipitous and rocky 

 places. 



Hinds that have calves have no fat whatever upon them, 

 and are fit only for soup, or perhaps for stewing. A good 

 sportsman will never fire at them : indeed, it is reckoned a 

 disgrace to do so ; and a most wanton act of cruelty it cer- 

 tainly is. The best shots, however, will occasionally kill 

 them accidentally ; for they come up so rapidly before the 

 hart you are aiming at, that they often, like Polonius, get 

 that which was meant for their betters. Those hinds, how- 

 ever, that have not bred for the season, are lawful game ; 

 they are killed late in the year, and their venison is 

 fat and more delicate than that of the harts. They are 

 called Yell or Yeld Hinds, these terms signifying barren* 

 They are known by their sleek and compact make ; but it 

 requires a very experienced eye to distinguish them at a 

 distance with certainty ; and I must confess I have some- 

 times been egregiously deceived. They come into season 

 when the harts go out. 



Deer, except in certain embarrassed situations, always- 

 run up wind ; and so strongly is this instinct implanted in 

 them, that if you catch a calf, be it ever so young, and turn 

 it down wind, it will immediately face round and go in the 

 opposite direction. Thus they go forward over hill-tops 

 and unexplored ground in perfect security, for they can 

 smell the taint in the air at an almost incredible distance. 

 On this account they are fond of lying in open corries, 

 where the swells of winds come occasionally from all 

 quarters. 



I have said that deer go up wind ; but, by clever manage- 

 ment, and employing men to give them their wind (those 

 men being concealed from their view), they may be driven 

 down it ; and in certain cases they may easily be sent, by a 

 side wind, towards that part of the forest which they con- 

 sider as their sanctuary. 



It is to be noted, that on the hill-side the largest harts 

 lie at the bottom of the parcel, and the smaller ones above ;. 

 indeed, these fine fellows seem to think themselves privi- 



