DAMAGE CAUSED BY ANIMALS. 91 



where cultural operations have been carried out in strips or bands. 

 On hill-sides and undulating ground they prefer to follow the 

 horizontal lines formed by the strips on which sowing has taken 

 place ; and when once a run has been frequented by -a herd of deer 

 for any length of time, the damage done may be very considerable. 

 And last of all, great damage is done in many places by deer 

 stripping or peeling off' the bark of trees, a process that, on 

 account of its special peculiarity and its importance, will be treated 

 of in a section by itself (vide 51). 



(b) Fallow-deer (Dama vulgaris) do somewhat similar damage 

 to that committed by red-deer in biting plants, devouring Oak 

 and Beech mast, and rubbing off bark when cleaning their antlers 

 and when rutting ; but, on the other hand, they only exceptionally 

 peel off* the bark with their teeth when the head of game is very 

 strong in deer-parks, whilst in the freedom of the open woods 

 they do not indulge in it at all. 



(c) Roe-deer (Cervus capreolus) also nibble and browse on the 

 buds and tender shoots of many species of trees, and devour 

 acorns and beech-nuts, but never strip off the bark for food. 

 Eoe-buck, however, do a good deal of damage by cleaning off the 

 velvet from their horns, and in doing so exhibit a very stong 

 preference for the species of trees of more infrequent occurrence, 

 selecting Larch, Silver Fir, Weymouth Pine, Acacias, &c., that 

 have been interspersed among other ruling species, or planted along 

 the fringe of compartments, drives, green lanes, and the like. 

 Where a strong head of roe- deer is maintained, the rearing of these 

 subordinate species of trees is often only possible when special 

 measures are adopted to secure them against the bucks. 



(d) Wild-boar (Sus scrofa) are particularly fond of acorns and 

 beech-mast, as well as of seedlings with the cotyledons attached, 

 and of the succulent rootlets ; but they also often do very consi- 

 derable damage in young seedling crops and plantations, especially 

 of the broad-leaved species, whilst breaking up the soil with their 

 snouts in quest of insects and grubs. By thus destroying the 

 larvse and chrysalides of insects in the soil, they at the same time 

 do a considerable amount of good, and particularly in coniferous 

 forests, which are most exposed to attacks from dangerous insect 

 enemies. The breaking-up of the soil by wild-pigs here and there 

 in certain crops not infrequently indicates to the observant forester 

 the presence of injurious insects in the ground. 



