106 DEER-STALKING 



tenant ought not to have paid so much rent for it. 

 There are of course exceptions, but in most cases of 

 sheep-ground stalking the deer found there are bred 

 in the neighbouring forest, are preserved, and may be 

 fed in winter by its owner ; and, seeing that there are 

 rarely any watchers on the sheep -ground, and that it 

 is disturbed on almost every day of the year by shep- 

 herds, it is evident that, were it not for the adjoining 

 forest, 'getting his number' would be a difficult matter 

 even if our sportsman remained on the ground from 

 August i to the end of November. The owner of 

 the sheep-ground should also remember that he gets 

 two rents for it one from the farmer, and another 

 from the shooting tenant. Under these circumstances 

 it does not seem unfair to ask him to do what, by 

 the way, is my own practice viz. fix a date, as nearly 

 as possible identical with that which is prevalent in 

 the district, after which stags must not be killed ; and, 

 having done this, he is no doubt entitled to ask as 

 high a rent as he thinks he can get. 



The quality of the stags in a forest may be im- 

 proved both as regards heads and bodies by a change 

 of blood. This can be effected either by importing 

 from a park two or three stags in the spring when 

 their horns are shed, and they are more easily trans- 

 ported placing them in an enclosure during summer, 



