110 FOREST CREATURES. 



marked slot in the snow, the stag in passing may have 

 thrown out of his hoofs clods of snow which have collected 

 there, and on these will be found the thread-like ridge 

 (Fadlein), and the long rounded elevation (Burgstall) 

 above mentioned. Or, should the ground in summer be 

 so hard that no tracks are visible, signs of the stag's 

 presence may be found in the wood. He will have 

 rubbed his antlers against the stems of the trees, and 

 the older the stag: the higher will he have reached with 

 his horn, and the thicker the stems which he has chosen. 



In passing young coppices he will also break off the 

 twigs with his antlers and leave them hanging down with 

 theii^ leaves reversed. 



In returning before dawn from the pasture to the 

 forest, the stag frequently " doubles :" that is, instead 

 of entering at once, he retraces his steps, and describing 

 a circle, then only seeks the shelter of a thicket. Thus, 

 near its border, on the dewy grass you will see traces as 

 though two stags had crossed the meadow, while in 

 reality one only has entered the wood. It is therefore 

 necessary to follow such track its ivhole length, in order 

 to be siu'e whether it be the doubling of one sole animal 

 or the returning path of more than one. Without this 

 precaution, you might calculate on finding several stags 

 in a coppice where there was but a single one. 



Nor must another peculiarity be omitted here. The 

 fewmets of the stag and hind are, throughout the year, 



