DEER-STALKING. 11 % 



shew a horn having twenty-eight antlers ; while 

 Cuvier gives instances where a horn has had sixty- 

 two, and another sixty-three antlers. Colossal branches 

 are frequently found also in the Irish bogs ; indeed, 

 the wilds around the famed lakes of Killarney pro- 

 bably contain the finest family of red deer to be met 

 with in the British islands. 



About the beginning of April the stag sheds his 

 horns a process which commences according to the 

 animal's age; the young often carry their head till 

 autumn. According to Mr. Scrope, the modem Robin 

 Hood, " they carry their horns as long as the hind 

 carries her fawn, that is to say, eight months. Both 

 horns do not necessarily fall at the same time ; a day 

 or two, or even more, occasionally intervene. Soon 

 after the old horn has fallen off, a soft tumour begins 

 to appear, which is quickly covered with a down-like 

 leaden-coloured velvet. This tumour is seen every 

 day to increase, like the graft of a tree, and, rising 

 by degrees, shoots out the antlers on each side. The 

 skin renjains to cover it for some time, and it con- 

 tinues to be furnished with blood-vessels, which 

 supply the growing horns with nourishment, and 

 occasion the furrows observable in them, when that 

 covering is stripped off. The impression is deeper 

 at the bottom, where the vessels are larger, and 

 diminishes towards the point, where they are smooth. 

 When the horns are at their full growth they acquire 

 strength and solidity, and the velvet covering, or 

 skin, with its blood-vessels, dries up, and begins to 



