172 THE PROTECTION OF WOODLANDS. 



British deer-forests are mostly heathery wastes, the damage 

 done is seldom extensive ; but where woods are open to the 

 deer the trees can easily be very badly injured (e.g., as at Inver- 

 cauld). Prevention of damage can only be ensured by enclosure 

 and fencing to a height of at least 5J ft. 



Fallow -Deer (Dama vulgaris) eat acorns and beech -nuts, 

 nibble buds and shoots, and use young poles as fray ing-stocks 

 in August and September, but rarely strip the bark even in 

 deer-parks, and not at all in open woods. 



Roe-Deer (Cervus capreolus) can do a great deal of damage in 

 young woods and nurseries, and in some parts of Scotland 

 (especially in the Highlands) are almost as destructive as rabbits, 

 through biting off the buds and shoots of young trees during 

 the winter and the early spring, and using young saplings as 

 fraying-stocks from April to June, and in their rutting time in 

 July and August. Both for browsing and for fraying they 

 prefer the more valuable trees interspersed throughout planta- 

 tions, such as Larch, Silver Fir, Acacia, Oak, and Ash, and 

 other soft-barked kinds. Where only a comparatively small 

 number of such young trees have to be protected, this can be 

 done by smearing in late autumn the buds of their leading- 

 shoots with some ill-smelling substance (the use of tar being 

 avoided, as it prevents the buds from opening in spring), or by 

 tying small square pieces of newspaper round the cluster of top 

 buds of Conifers, or by fixing a small, thin, and very cheap tin 

 crown with sharp points specially made for this purpose, and 

 so soft as not to hinder the sprouting of the buds in spring. 

 Otherwise young plantations and nurseries have to be pro- 

 tected by wire-fencing about 5 to 5J ft. high. Seed-beds and 

 nursery-lines can be protected by laying poles over them, or 

 hanging feathers, pieces of broken looking-glass hung on strings, 

 &c. ; but a high fence is by far the best protection. 



Ground Game. Both hares and rabbits are very destructive 

 in nurseries and young plantations by biting through young 



