A HISTORY OF DERBYSHIRE 



century some of the wild red deer took re- 

 fuge in the woods of Foremarke where they 

 survived for several years (Nat. Hist, of Staf- 

 ford, p. 249). 



Most of the Peak Forest deer are said to 

 have perished in a great snow about the 

 beginning of the seventeenth century (Glover, 

 i. 132). 



Mr. J. Whitaker in 1892 estimated the 

 numbers of the three herds as follows : 



Chatsworth 6 1 



Average weight of stag 238 lb., hind 182 Ib. 



Hardwick Park 22 



Average weight of stag 196 Ib., hind 154 lb. 



Calke Abbey 30 



Average weight of stag Z35lb. (ma*. 280 lb., 

 min. 190 lb.), hind no lb. 



A few hybrids between the red deer and 

 wapiti are also kept at Osmaston Manor, 

 descendants of a herd of twenty of the 

 latter species imported from British Columbia 

 by Sir P. Walker. 



33. Fallow Deer. Cervus dama, Linn. 



At the present time there are about twelve 

 herds of fallow deer in different parts of 

 Derbyshire. The following particulars are 

 extracted from Mr. J. Whitaker's work on 

 deer parks : 



A few are also kept at Ashgate House, 

 Chesterfield. 



The Stanton herd consists entirely of the 

 black variety. At the present time the 

 largest herd is that at Calke Abbey, but 

 twenty years ago the Kedleston herd were 

 nearly 600 strong. The finest bucks are 

 those from Locko Park which average 115 lb., 

 but the heaviest killed at Calke Abbey 

 weighed 125 lb. 



No doubt many of these herds are de- 

 scended from the wild fallow deer which 

 existed in the Peak Forest, Sherwood Forest 

 and Needwood Forest. 



1 Black variety. 



158 



