302 STAGHUNTING WITH THE 



but the chief test of age in the stag's head and 

 the safest one to go by is the length of the 

 brow antlers. If these be only long enough, 

 whether they be thick and massive, or thin 

 and pointed, the deer is sure to be an old one, 

 no matter though the rest of him may be small 

 and the surmounting beam be attenuated. 



Occasionally deer have been killed with 

 heads of three atop each side which were 

 diminutive throughout, the deer themselves 

 being small and probably far past their prime. 



Long upright horns are not to be despised, 

 as thev are often carried by old deer of 

 great weight, and inasmuch as they are 

 deer which owing to their lack of points are 

 likely to escape pursuit they should when 

 identified be specially marked out as objects 

 of the chase. 



The same may be said of nott stags, on 

 account of their liability to be mistaken for 

 hinds, but once the eye has fully realised the action 

 and gait peculiar to old and heavy stags, there 

 is little fear of their being mistaken for their 

 long necked consorts, except in dit^icult cir- 

 cumstances of light and distance. This one of 

 distance occurs only too often, for warrantable 

 deer are well aware of the danger of showing 

 themselves for any longer period than they 

 are absolutely obliged, and it is only when 

 the tufter's attention become really pressing 



