278 STAG-HUNTING 



their worn-out teeth and other evidence to be of great 

 age, had quite small and shrunken frames. What be- 

 comes of the old deer? They are not all killed by the 

 hounds : a few may meet with foul play, but some must 

 die a natural death. Yet it is hardly ever that their 

 bodies are found. Those of young deer are met with 

 occasionally ; they get injured jumping fences in the 

 dark, or starved during a deep fall of snow, or catch 

 inflammation of the lungs after a severe chase in 

 cold weather ; for some reason these accidents 

 oftener occur to young male deer than to hinds, but 

 it is very seldom, if ever, that one hears of a real 

 old stag perishing in such ways. Probably, when 

 they feel their end is near, they go away and hide 

 themselves, as wounded animals do, and die in 

 solitude. But even then it is strange that their 

 decaying carcases do not attract attention in a country 

 where staghounds or foxhounds are through nearly 

 every cover every week. 



I have never heard any explanation that accounted 

 for this satisfactorily, for the hinds would not eat 

 carrion, though there seems little doubt that they will 

 eat both bones and shed horns. The time at which the 

 horns are shed is with us about May i, the old stags 

 first, and the velvet is lost between August 20 and 

 September 15, 



