THE RED DEER. 21 



besides which, the inner structure of the antler is 

 exceedingly porous or cellular. " Soon ripe, soon 

 rotten," is a north of England proverb that has a 

 bearing in this case.' 



The same convincing explanation may be satis- 

 factorily applied as regards the antlers of red deer in 

 this country, and what appeals to me as infinitely 

 more extraordinary is that the carcasses of deer 

 that die from natural causes or wounds are so 

 rarely reported to be found by man. The carcass 

 of so large an animal would naturally advertise 

 its whereabouts ; yet who has ever found a" dead 

 deer ? Occasionally the bodies of deer that have 

 been killed by blizzard or avalanche, or that have 

 died of starvation, are found by foresters ; but how 

 many foresters can recall ever having found the 

 body of a deer that was not suddenly overcome 

 by misfortune ? Hundreds of deer die naturally, 

 and doubtless, like many beasts of the forests and 

 hills, they creep away and hide when the lassitude 

 of death falls upon them. Elephants, of course, 

 have their recognised burial-grounds ; the caribou 

 are believed by the Indians to wander off into 

 some distant range, unknown to their kind, when 

 death is drawing near ; the eagle is said to fly out 

 to sea in pursuit of the sunset as the shadows close 

 upon its native hills ; but we have neither fable nor 

 fact concerning the closing scene of the red deer's 

 life when it be spared to die by the kindly hand 

 of Time. 



To return to the subject of antlers for a time 

 the stag carries two red, raw patches at the points 

 from which the old horns have dropped, but at the 

 end of about ten days the points swell up and the 

 new horns are projected. At this time the stag 

 is probably living a quiet and secluded life. He 



