22- DEER: THEIR HABITS AND MANAGEMENT. 



curious to relate, retained their velvet till the end of 

 November, when it peeled off, and the horns are as near 

 as can be like a buck, only there is no burr to the horn, 

 and the base of it presents the same appearance as if 

 it had been violently snapped in two. This deer was 

 castrated with the view of making him a hard-headed 

 full-head, and consequently it has been a most success- 

 ful experiment. It has been noticed that hard-headed 

 full-heads are finer in their coats, fatter in the fore- 

 quarter and altogether more like a buck in the carcase. 

 It is the belief of the writer that this mode of castrating 

 bucks is peculiar to his family, and it originated in the 

 idea that the nearer these artificial practices could be 

 brought to the nature of the animal, sufficiently to 

 retain the venison without venery, the better. The 

 undermentioned fact has been furnished by Mr. Sawyer 

 at Dalkeith Park. An old buck caught in winter and 

 castrated for a full -head was put into a pen, as is usual 

 after the operation, and he shed his horns in about 

 fourteen days from that time, when he put up a pair of 

 horns of average growth ; these he shed in April and 

 put up another pair, making three pairs of antlers in 

 two seasons. This is the only instance I have heard 

 of. This full-head was killed a fat deer in the follow- 

 ing autumn. The object of making haviars is to have 

 venison at all seasons of the year. They are remark- 

 ably sensitive, and lose the natural courage of the buck. 

 When hard run by a dog they seldom bay but spend 

 their last breath in endeavouring to escape, and have 

 been found to give a pack of harriers a famous run. 



JUDU ANJ) GLASS, PHGSNIX 1'KINTING WOKKS, DOCTOU8 COMMONS, B.C. 



