DEER: 



THEIR HABITS AND MANAGEMENT. 



IT has been suggested to the writer that some obser- 

 vations on the habits and management of deer would 

 be acceptable to the general public, for although deer 

 are kept by a comparatively few persons, a great many 

 have the constant opportunity of seeing them in various 

 parks, and feel interested in and admire them. I do 

 not pretend to enter into the history of deer or deer 

 parks, but would refer the reader to a work by Evlyn 

 Shirley, M.A., recently published, wherein is a very 

 full and interesting account of the different parks in the 

 United Kingdom. I desire simply, as one who has 

 passed his life in a deer park, to give the reader the 

 result of much observation on the habits of deer, and 

 some plain directions for their management. I speak 

 more particularly of Fallow Deer, as they now exist in 

 this country, They are found here in a semi-artificial 

 state enclosed in parks ranging from 50 to 2,000 acres, 

 and in most cases the herd of deer is maintained with 

 success, though not without considerable care bestowed 

 in supplying them with winter food, for after November 

 the ordinary grass in a park is of small nutriment, and 

 after Christmas almost worthless ; moreover, in winter 

 the grass itself is frequently covered with hoar frost or 

 snow, and then the deer are entirely dependent on a 

 supply of artificial food. In their natural state fallow 

 deer are the tenants of woods, where they not only 

 have the shelter so much needed in winter, but have 

 also the browsings of various trees, most useful in the 



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