THE RED DEER. 27 



separate from that which, for the sake of the 

 species, which is our own sake, we must not 

 kill. She crowns him with an oak-tree, towering 

 aloft, proclaiming from afar ' I am the noblest 

 beast of the chase ! These drab little creatures 

 with me are only hinds, unworthy of a worthy 

 hunter.' 



Thus by a system of wheels within wheels 

 Nature weaves her fabrics. We cannot tread even 

 upon the fringe of such theories without realising 

 the unfathomable depths that lie beyond ; but 

 of this we can be sure, that the purposeless and 

 wasteful belongs only to the works of man him- 

 self, and not to the creations of the wild. 



THE RUT. 



By early October the harts have reached the 

 zenith of their majesty, and now the lonely corries 

 begin to reverberate with the challenging echoes 

 of rival bulls. Some idea as to the strength of 

 the stag can be judged by the volume of his roar. 

 It is one of the most inspiring sounds in wild 

 nature. Under normal conditions it can be heard 

 at a distance of two miles ; but if the atmosphere 

 be favourable, and the stag below the listener, it 

 carries a considerably greater distance. 



In Scotland early frosts precipitate the rut, but 

 normally it begins early in October. The stags 

 then start to swell in the neck, and to roll rest- 

 lessly in peat-pools. The rut lasts about a week, 

 and later the older harts collect and go off to 

 places of seclusion, leaving the hinds to younger 

 bucks. 



Beautiful at any season, the stag is truly an 

 impressive beast when the glory of his purpose 

 reaches its height. He becomes hunched in the 



