270 LABRADOR 



perished in the brooks and thickets. We also lost two deer 

 by dogs during the year, and found one doe shot with buck- 

 shot, so that exactly one year after arrival, our two hundred 

 and fifty numbered four hundred and five. Among these 

 deer the fawns were so large by October, when the rutting 

 season came on, that some, at least, were covered by the 

 stags ; but with what result we are yet unable to tell. 



All summer long the deer had chosen the high green- 

 covered hills close to the sea, greatly enjoying and rapidly 

 fattening on the salty food. They ate mostly the young 

 grass and new green leaves, apparently making little dis- 

 crimination, except that as they did not seem to use the 

 moss on which they must rely in winter, one might have 

 suggested (probably untruthfully) that they were specially 

 saving that for consumption when nothing else would be 

 available. 



The magnificent antlers on the older stags proved a 

 danger to others, and after one had been killed by a bad 

 wound in the side, we dehorned the rest, with the exception 

 of their brow antlers, which we considered sufficient to 

 enable the deer to keep up their courage and spirit of play. 

 After the fawns had run six full weeks with their mothers, 

 that is, by the beginning of August, the herd was driven by 

 the dogs every day into a large corral built for the purpose, 

 and sixty does were milked each time. While suckling their 

 fawns, we could not expect to get very much milk at best 

 from each. They gave us, however, a pint of a very rich, 

 creamy milk per head. This tasted more like cow's milk 

 than anything I know of, and had none of the flavour 

 familiar to that of the goat. I have unfortunately no 

 analysis of its component parts with me, but would judge it 



