44 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE RED DEER 



continental deer.' ('Zoologist,' 1887, p. 324.) Red 

 deer vary little in the direction of leucotism or albinism 

 in a wild state, while pied varieties appear to be 

 unknown even on the Continent. But white and 

 cream-coloured stags, and hinds also, are well known 

 to occur in parks in England as well as in Germany. 

 No white deer have ever been known to occur in 

 Martindale ; but Gowbarrow Park, anciently called 

 ' Wethermlake,' on the opposite side of Ulleswater, 

 boasts of such a distinction. Mr. Henry Howard of 

 Greystoke Castle wrote to me four years ago, to 

 inform me that ' The white stag came (to Gowbarrow) 

 from Mr. Petre or Lord Petre, who used to keep 

 staghounds. I believe the breed originally came 

 from Germany. He lived a long time at Gowbarrow, 

 and was killed eventually when very old (between 

 1860 and 1870), by the other stags setting on him 

 and killing him. There are still several white deer, 

 descendants of his, left at Gowbarrow.' Pure white 

 red deer have been turned out on one or two 

 Scottish forests ; but they are seldom met with 

 outside English parks. No doubt their peculiar 

 appearance exposes them to dangers from which 

 other deer are shielded by their protective coloura- 

 tion. 



