CHAPTER IX. 



HARBOURING AND TUFTING. 



Stag-hunting begins in the second week in August, 

 and ends about the loth of October; begins, that is to 

 say, when the horns of the stag are approaching per- 

 fection, and ends at the beginning of the rutting 

 season. It was formerly the custom to give the deer 

 a fortnight's respite before beginning to hunt the 

 hinds, but the numbers of the deer have rendered this 

 impossible for several years past, and hind-hunting 

 now begins directly stag-hunting comes to an end. 

 How long it may continue depends on the weather 

 and the number of deer that it is desirable to kill. 

 Formerly hind-hunting ceased in December and re- 

 commenced in April, this latter being termed spring 

 hind-hunting ; but the feeling against persecuting the 

 hinds when heavy in calf grew so strong that Mr. 

 Bisset, himself one of those most strongly opposed to 

 it, abolished spring hind-hunting some twenty years 



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