18 ( ALV1NG OF HINDS. 



coaled the whole of the day, and returns to it late in the 

 evening, when she apprehends no disturbance. She makes 

 it lie down by a pressure of her nose ; and it will never 

 stir or lift up its head the whole of the day, unless you 

 come right upon it, as I have often done. It lies like a 

 dog, with its nose to its tail. The hind, however, although 

 she separates herself from the young fawn, does not lose 

 eight of its welfare, but remains at a distance to the wind- 

 ward, and goes to its succour in case of an attack of the 

 wild cat or fox, or any other powerful vermin. I have 

 heard Mr. John Crerar say, and it is doubtless true, that 

 if you find a young fawn that has never followed its dam, 

 and take it up, and rub its back, and put your fingers in 

 its mouth, it will follow you home for several miles ; but 

 if it has once followed its dam, for ever so small a space 

 before you found it, it will never follow human being. 

 When once caught, these fawns or calves are easily made 

 tame ; and there were generally a few brought up every 

 year by the dairy-maid at Blair. I speak of hinds only ; 

 stags generally turn vicious and unmanageable. When 

 the calf is old enough to keep up 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 certainly 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, 



