EXAMINING THE GROUND, SIGNS, ETC. 29 



hooked with horns, or the bark of small trees frayed 

 by the rubbing of horns against it, the nipped-off 

 shoots and twigs of brush, etc. Of these the only re- 

 liable signs by which to judge of the number of deer 

 about are the tracks, droppings, and beds. All else 

 you need not consider at present. The fraying of 

 bark is only where the buck has rubbed the velvet 

 from his horns. As this is done late in the summer it 

 is of no use to you now. The hooked brush indicates 

 the commencement of " running-time;" of which here- 

 after. It will, however, give you some idea of the 

 number of bucks about; though one energetic buck 

 will fight a great many bushes in one night. The 

 same is true of pawing and scraping places, except 

 where snow is pawed up to get at acorns. 



Having reached the ridges, pass on from ridge to 

 ridge, noting carefully the quantity of tracks and 

 droppings, and especially the size of both. It is a 

 common mistake, into which hunters of some experi- 

 ence often fall, to count, unconsciously often, a deer 

 to every sign or two. The beginner especially is 

 almost certain to estimate the number of deer from 

 six to ten times too high. The age of both tracks and 

 droppings is quite as important to be noted. As it is 

 nearly impossible to describe the difference between 

 a stale track or dropping and a fresh one, this point 

 must be left to your common-sense aided by experi- 

 ence. Staleness is, however, as easy to detect with 

 the eye as it is hard to capture with the pen. 



As there may be two or more deer of the same size, 

 you may of course underestimate the number of deer. 

 But there is little danger of this. Nearly all the dan- 

 ger lies in overestimating their number. 



Little can be determined, however, from a small 



