The Red Deer 9 







it) ; hence a six-pointer has brow, tray, and the end of the beam on 

 each horn. 



An eight-pointer is seldom made up of brow, bay, and tray, 

 but of brow, bay, and a fork at the tip of each horn. 



I have shot a stag, a six-pointer, which was very old and had 

 his horns almost parallel, only three inches apart at the top of 

 the beam ; there are also stags with one horn bent forwards or 

 backwards (see page 7). 



A good head has the horns at first diverging, and then 

 bent inwards towards each other ; at any rate this is the case 

 when there are not very many points, but if the points are very 

 numerous the horns do not as a rule first diverge and then 

 incline towards each other, but assume a V-form. 



In judging points in a horn-exhibition account is taken not 

 only of the number of .points, but of the amount of "pearl" at 

 the base of the horn, the roughness and thickness of beam and 

 points, length and spread, regularity, etc. 



Shed horns do not generally show the dark brown colour seen in 

 those of a shot stag, especially if the stag has been amongst 

 peat, or oak trees ; and it is not permissible to colour horns 

 artificially, or whiten the points by sand-paper or any such 

 means. 



If stags are kept in a paddock there is danger of their wear- 

 ing and spoiling their horns by rubbing them against the fence, 

 especially if there be another stag or hinds in an adjoining 

 paddock, when they keep charging and rubbing against the 

 partition to try to get at each other. It is also important that 

 the shed, if they are provided with one, should have a very wide 



