66 MOUNTAIN AND MOORLAND 



and another below the ankle surrounded by a tuft of 

 hair. It is possible that the secretion of these glands 

 helps mutual recognition. 



The antlers are outgrowths of the forehead or 

 frontal bone, and are confined to the stags a general 

 law to which an exception is found in the Reindeer, 

 where they are usually present in the females as well 

 as in the males. In the first year of his life the young 

 Red Deer has no antlers ; in the second year they are 

 simple, unbranched prongs, six to twelve inches long; 

 in the third year the branches begin, and every year 

 their number is added to till the stag is about four- 

 teen years old. When there are twelve "points" the 

 antler is called "royal." But the antler growth starts 

 at the beginning again each year, the previous year's 

 growth being cast off at the end of each winter. If 

 we look at a stag's head carefully we see that the 

 antler springs from a thick bony stalk an inch or two 

 inches high, which probably corresponds to the bony 

 core inside the horns of cattle or sheep. At the top 

 of the short stalk there is a rough folding of bone 

 called the coronet, and it is here that the extraor- 

 dinary process occurs by which the antler is shed 

 each year. The new growth of antlers occurs from 

 April till July, and during that time the antler is 

 covered with a thin, hot, hairy skin, called the 

 " velvet." It is rich in bloodvessels, and the nourish- 

 ment these bring enables the bone to grow. In 

 August the "velvet" begins to die away, and ragged 

 shreds of it hang on the antlers till the end of August 

 or the beginning of September. When the antlers 

 are clear the fighting begins. 



The stags fight fiercely with one another, stabbing 



