THE BED DEER. 17 



foes, and therefore, by nature's order of things, 

 has ceased to live. But that the wolf and the bear 

 are gone, a stag that had been driven out by 

 younger stags owing to its age would be singled 

 out for the special attentions of its animal foes, 

 and having no friends at hand to help, would perish. 



In Scotland we have no technical names in 

 common use to distinguish deer of various ages, 

 but confined deer are designated as follows : 



Males and females less than one year old are 

 called Calves. 



The male after one year old is called a Brocket. 



A male at three is called a Squire, at four a 

 Staggart, at five a Stag, and at six a Warrantable 

 Stag. He may afterwards be called a Hart. 



The female between one and three is called a 

 Hearst; at three she aspires to being a Young 

 Hind, and thereafter a Hind. 



Immature males are recognised by their antlers. 

 A Brocket has only upright knobbers, with occa- 

 sionally small brow antlers. A Squire has good 

 brow antlers and upright. A Staggart has brow, 

 bay, tray, and two uprights. At five a stag is 

 complete with all the above, and the cup is well 

 formed ; at six there may be a third upright 

 branch from the cup, and thereafter the heads 

 vary considerably. 



ANTLERS. 



This difficult subject has been dealt with so fully 

 by numerous students so much better qualified 

 than is the present writer that he has decided 

 to deal only passingly with this most absorbing 

 question of the red deer's history. 



The antlers of deer are very closely associated 

 with matters appertaining to sex, though in just 



W.A. b 



