182 HABITS OF DEER. 



are so common among the hills. That they were so 

 employed he has abundant proof, for more than once, 

 after thus disturbing the deer, he has gone to the spot, 

 and discovered the remains of horns, half buried and 

 broken up, the fragments bearing the marks of teeth 

 upon them ; and though it may be thought that the 

 horns are of a substance too hard for this, yet the jaw 

 of the deer is very powerful. Another consideration 

 which seems to make this the more probable is, that 

 scarcely ever are the horns of a young stag discovered, 

 being of course, from their size, more easy of destruc- 

 tion than the antlers of a full-grown stag. 



Secondly, as regards the formation of a herd. A 

 hind's young do not, as in the case of many other 

 animals, desert their mother when they cease to suck, 

 but continue to attend her as long as she lives ; and as 

 they in their turn i.e. the females among them soon 

 rear each of them a progeny to themselves, she is often 

 accompanied by many successive generations, who con- 

 tinue to resort together to the same haunts and parts 

 of the forest for many years. Thus is a herd formed, 

 and this herd is invariably headed by some patriarchal 

 stag, whose powers, yet unimpaired, support the dignity 

 conferred by years. The young stags put forth a pair 

 of small horns at the age of two years, at first but a 

 few inches long. *The brow antlers are the first branch, 

 an extra point appearing generally every year up to 

 six, and occasionally seven, though some never acquire 

 more than four or five. After a certain age the horns 

 begin to dwindle, and grow shorter every year. But 

 no rules can be of universal application. A full- 

 grown stag is sometimes seen with no branches but 

 the brow- antlers. A head of this kind is called a 

 " cabar slaht," or rod-like antler, and, though not so 



