From Fox's Earth 



all the gamekeeper is represented. Where are 

 deer forests are occasional depredations, es- 

 pecially when the demands of the aerie are 

 insatiable. 



From some lofty perch, the eagle watches where 

 the calf is hidden for the day. With a quick, 

 feminine instinct the hind ere she turns the 

 bend of the hill to join the herd looks back. 

 And her heart stands still, because of that double 

 speck in the air. The eagle ascends dragging 

 something aloft, as though bearing a second 

 Ganymede. It opens its claws. A quivering 

 mass falls through the air ; and so it kills the 

 calf. With a low whimper, the hind speeds back 

 too late. Such tragedies are in the wilds ; 

 such intense moments and breathless incidents. 

 Others see, and are wroth that a royal head has 

 gone. On the Argyll estates is no deer forest. 



For the rest of the year, and even in times of 

 stress, the eagle prefers a mountain hare. It is 

 not quite so heavy to lift, and may be carried to 

 some convenient perch, far from the reach of 

 disturbance. Fur is the favourite food for feather. 

 Where are plenty of hares, other forms of life are 

 fairly safe. In deer forests, the loss is incon- 

 siderable. With a tendency to over-increase 

 so that an annual slaughter of the hinds takes 

 place each December two or three calves can 

 scarcely be missed. 



Perhaps Argyllshire is not a sporting county 



16 



