36 THE RED DEER. 



spot where he rolls himself is called his soiling pool, 

 and it is not a very pleasant place. His breaking- 

 place over an enclosure is called his rack ; when he 

 goes to water he is said to be going to soil. A 

 hunted stag that turns back suddenly is said to 

 have blanched ; a wounded stag is said to be cold. 

 When a hunted stag goes to water and lies down, 

 or hides under the roots in a pool, he is said to 

 have sunk himself. 



The terms vary, of course, according to locality, 

 and in many places most of the old technical 

 phrases have gone out of use. 



Normally a deer runs up-wind, so that it is 

 forewarned as to what it is approaching; but a 

 stag pursued by hounds generally runs down- wind 

 if there is any chance, so that he can scent the 

 hounds, while they cannot scent him. When he 

 goes to his harbour he goes down-wind, then lies 

 with his nose 'watching' his back tracks, and his 

 eyes in the opposite direction. 



Above all things the red deer is a master of 

 woodcraft, and it can hardly be questioned that 

 deer-stalking is the finest and noblest sport our 

 island offers. 



