MAMMALS OF ARRAN. 315 



14. Red Deer (Cervus elaphus, LINN.) Martin, in his 

 curious Description of the Western Islands, writes of 

 Arran in the beginning of the last century : " The highest 

 Hills of this Island are seen at a considerable distance from 

 several parts of the Continent and North-west Isles, and they 

 serve instead of a forest to maintain the deer, which are 

 about four hundred in number, and they are carefully kept 

 by a forester to give sport to the Duke of Hamilton, or 

 any of his family, that go a hunting there. For, if any of 

 the natives happen to kill a deer without license, which is 

 not often granted, he is liable to a fine of <20 Scots for each 

 deer. And when they grow too numerous, the forester grants 

 licenses for killing a certain number of them, on condition 

 they bring the skins to himself." After this they became 

 scarcer, for Pennant says, in 1772, that "the stags, which 

 used to abound, are now reduced to about a dozen." The 

 original breed was never exterminated, however, and in 

 February, 1859, an importation of fresh blood from the 

 mainland was made, with the best effect. Mr. Halliday now 

 estimates the number of red deer in the island at about five 

 hundred head. Being little disturbed, save in the season, 

 they frequent the woods and cultivated ground more than 

 is usually the case in Scotland; and in consequence, doubtless 

 of the good feeding, their horns are often very fine. A stag, 

 shot by the Duke of Hamilton, in 1867, weighed 22 imperial 

 stones, and carried a very symmetrical head of fourteen points; 

 another with fifteen tynes was killed in the same year. The 

 roe appears never to have been found in Arran. 



