THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE 



397 



five stone, though his antlers were of the size of those of an ordinary 



Scotch six- pointer. In the Kouban country deer are strictly 



preserved on the Grand Duke Serge's ground, where about twenty 



are shot every year during the rutting" season. Here stalking is 



the only mode of hunting employed. Outside this ground, deer 



are mercilessly shot by natives at any time of the year, and the 



chances the sportsman has of coming across a stag are now practically 



nil. Drives are organised at Borjom, Karaiaz, and in the other 



parts of the Caucasus. The Borjom preserves, belonging to the 



Grand Duke Michael, abound with deer, but they cannot compete 



in size of antlers or body with their Kouban relatives. Karaiaz , 



is also a Grand Ducal preserve. It is a densely-tangled oak wood, 



almost on the railway line between Tifiis and Bakou, some twenty 



miles from the former place. The fortst is usually driven twice a 



year for wild boar and stags, resulting in a bag of about fifty of the 



former and a few of the latter. In Daghestan and other districts 



natives shoot when and where they like, and the present scarcity 



of wild animals is due to the weak enforcement of game laws. 



Although the antlers of the Caucasian ollen vary 



considerably, they have one or two distinctive features. Distmctive 



Features of 

 The brow-antler is usually long, the bez-tine short, ^^^ Antlers 



whilst the fourth point is particularly developed. 



Abnormal heads are, I have noticed, more common than anywhere 



else, and broadly palmated tops occur frequently, as well as points 



directed backwards. I see no reason to apply the denomination of 



viaral to the Caucasian deer. The latter is a Persian word, meaninof 



deer in general, just as ollen is its Russian equivalent. Moreover, 



