IO DEER : THEIR HABITS 



the sensitiveness of deer in this respect is very 

 astonishing, I have seen them in Scotland when cross- 

 ing- a hill that myself and a companion had passed 

 over nearly half-an-hour previously, suddenly come to 

 a halt, and then the leading hind with head erect and 

 every sense alive to danger, gradually led the herd by 

 a circuitous path, avoiding as much as possible the 

 tainted track ; and though in parks it is deer stalking 

 on a small scale, yet here the herd seem to object even 

 less to the sight of a stranger than to the smell of one. 

 As the bucks are always shot in the head, presenting 

 but a small mark to the rifle, it requires much practice 

 and skill to be successful, and those who are unac- 

 quainted with the subject, would be astonished to see a 

 buck go away after having had a couple of bullets 

 through his head just missing fatal parts. But we will 

 suppose a fine seven-year-old buck to have fallen to 

 the crack of the rifle, and lying dead at our feet, a 

 noble creature, and as we say sometimes, it seems a 

 pity to kill him ; however, it is taken off in the cart or 

 across the horse to the venison house, after having 

 been properly blooded, when he is skinned, and this is 

 an operation that requires much care, as the venison 

 fat, or bark, abounds on the outside of the meat and is 

 very tender, so that the appearance of the venison is 

 spoilt if the skin is not carefully removed. Great 

 attention should be paid to the dressing, or " breaking 

 up" as is the keeper's phrase, in order to secure the 

 keeping of the meat. The weight of the deer varies 

 much according to the quality of the land of which the 

 park is composed; but fourteen or fifteen stones is a 

 good average weight for a grass buck, reckoning 81b. 

 to the stone. Buck venison is never better than at 

 the end of July or beginning of August ; about the 

 1 6th of August the velvet begins to peel off; this is 

 termed burnishing, and about a month from this time 

 the bucks gradually show symptoms of the approach 

 of the rutting season, the first symptom being a drowsi- 

 ness which is often noticed at the end of August or 



