DEER-STALKING. 5 



they be at a distance, great caution is necessary, as 

 if one hind gets a glimpse of the crouching enemy, 

 the whole herd, stags and all, are sure to scamper 

 away, amidst the bitter execrations of the forester 

 upon its hornless head. 



" The next best time for a shot at a fine old stag, 

 after they have become wild, is about the beginning 

 of October, when each lot of hinds is sure to contain 

 a good hart. The chances may then not often be so 

 good, but, from the stags being dispersed, there are 

 more of them. If deer are feeding forward, it re- 

 quires very nice calculation, when at a distance, to 

 know the point they will arrive at by the time you 

 have neared them, especially as a gust of wind or a 

 shower of rain will quicken their motions. But if the 

 stalker is not far from the herd, which is feeding up 

 to his place of concealment with a favourable wind, 

 he should not grudge waiting ; for, by sending round 

 drivers to the windward of the deer, they are often 

 apt to turn and face them. I can't say that driving, 

 under any circumstances, gives half the pleasure that 

 stalking does : for my own part, I would rather kill 

 one stalked hart than several driven. 



"Driving, however, upon a large scale, has a most 

 imposing effect ; and although it cannot be otherwise 

 than injurious to a forest, yet the exhilarating nature 

 of the whole proceedings, in which so many friends 

 may join, often makes the proprietor overlook the 

 consternation and panic it creates among the wild 

 and timid herd. Some part of the forest is selected 



A3 



