THE STAG. 107 



as merely to make the first slot somewhat larger than 

 it was originally. Thus, unless you are very careful, 

 you may mistake such mark left by an insignificant 

 animal for tlie slot of a noble hart. Nevertheless by 

 observing two or four steps more, if they are to be 

 seen, all error will be avoided. (Blenden.) 



13. If in such " Uebereilen " the impression of the 

 hind hoof be so far in advance of the front one as to 

 leave distinct impressions of the two rounded parts of 

 each hoof, — thus presenting four concave impressions, 

 — you may be sure the slot is that of a stag when the 

 rounded impressions of the one hoof are as deep as those 

 of the other. If those left by the hind hoof are flat and 

 less deep, it is a hind that has made them, and not a 

 stag. (Vierballen tritt.) We have an exemplification 

 of this in drawing m. Had this been the slot of a 

 male animal, the impressions of the balls of thfe hind 

 hoof would have been deeper, and thus all four con- 

 cavities would have been visible. All the character- 

 istics of a hind are seen in this slot. 



14. A stag will tread with his hind foot so exactly in 

 the slot left by the fore foot, that the impression looks 

 like the result of a single footstep. Drawing l gives 

 an example of this. A hind cannot well do this, or if 

 she can it very rarely happens. The drawing i repre- 

 sents such " Schlusstritt " of an old hind. (Schkisstritt.) 



15. Having treated of the form of the slot, attention 



