THE MANAGEMENT OF DEER FORESTS 93 



cealment, ijj the account of the two drives in Scrope 

 they were apparently fired at from all sides. When 

 the sportsman had done with them, dogs were slipped 

 after the herd, who probably thought they had seen 

 the last of their tormentors and were free to push on 

 to some more hospitable country. Thus, besides the 

 shooting and the shouting, the tainted air and the 

 suspicious dots on the skyline, this immense herd, 

 comprising, perhaps, half the deer in the forest of 

 Atholl, had finally to escape as best they could from 

 the attack of the savage dogs, while from every glen 

 in that part of the forest resounded the deep bay of 

 one or other of their relentless foes. 



The scenes here described no doubt filled the 

 lords and ladies who were the guests of the Duke of 

 Atholl with delight and admiration, but one would 

 like to see the expression on the countenance of the 

 present owner of the forest, and to hear his remarks, 

 were a suggestion made to him that a similar per- 

 formance should be enacted for the entertainment of 

 his friends. 



At the present day ' driving ' is rarely resorted to. 

 Even in the large forests where the practice formerly 

 prevailed, it has now been generally abandoned. In 

 Atholl, of which I have just been speaking, the 

 forest is never driven more than once in the season, 



