THE VIRGINIA DEER. 



"And there at their head, at brief advance, 

 I see a stately stag in career, 

 A stag that bounds, that struggles for life, 

 The proud, the hunted, the frantic deer. 



The best known and most widely distributed 

 species of tlie deer family in America is the com- 

 mon red deer, or Virginia deer, which is to be 

 found at the present time in nearly every state 

 of the Union. Although the common deer is 

 nature shy and timid, it does not wholly 

 ^' ^ /^^^^//ilPi^rsake the haunts of civilization, as proved b}' 

 '4jie fact that deer hunting is still a popular pastime 

 in Pennsylvania, 'dVvA New York state, in the wilderness and mountainous 

 country not far from the large towns and agricultural districts. 



Of the characteristics and methods of hunting this highly prized 

 variety of game much has been written, but no better practical treatise 

 exists than the admirable book entitled " The Still Hunter," by Mr. T. S. 

 Van Dyke. Nearly half a century ago a most attractive little volume, 

 "The Deer Stalkers," by Frank Forester, was published for the enter- 

 tainment of American sportsmen and the work is still eagerly read, but in 

 view of the fact that it is a sporting romance, with instruction as an 

 incidental feature, it cannot in this latter respect bear comparison with the 

 former volume. 



Still hunting or deer stalking is by far the most prevalent and popu- 

 lar method of pursuit. In several states the use of hounds or any other 

 kind of dogs is prohibited in deer hunting, as many believe that hounding 

 practically drives the deer out of the section where the custom is common. 

 In the Eastern states the favorite localities for deer hunting are in the 



io8 



