20 WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS chap. 



great havoc in plantations of hard wood. As fast as the young 

 oak trees put out new shoots the roe nibble them off, keeping 

 the trees from growing above three or four feet in height by 

 constantly biting off the leading shoot. Besides this, they peel 

 the young larch with both their teeth and horns, stripping them 

 of their bark in the neatest manner imaginable. One can 

 scarcely wonder at the anathemas uttered against them by 

 proprietors of young plantations. Always graceful, a roebuck 

 is peculiarly so when stripping some young tree of its leaves, 

 nibbling them off one by one in the most delicate and dainty 

 manner. I have watched a roe strip the leaves off a long 

 bramble shoot, beginning at one end and nibbling ,off every 

 leaf. My rifle was aimed at his heart and my finger was^ on 

 the trigger, but I made some excuse or other to myself for not 

 killing him, and left him undisturbed — his beauty saved him. 

 The leaves and flowers of the wild rose-bush are another favourite 

 food of the rofe. Just before they produce their calves the 

 does wander about a great deal, and seem to avoid the society 

 of the buck, though they remain together during the whole 

 autumn and winter. The young roe is soon able to escape from 

 most of its enemies^ For a day or two it is quite helpless, and 

 frequently falls a prey to the fox, who at that time of the year 

 is more ravenous than at any other, as it then has to find food 

 to satisfy the carnivorous appetites of its own cubs. A young 

 roe, when caught unhurt, is not difficult to rear, though their 

 great tenderness and delicacy of limb makes it not easy to 

 handle them without injuring them. They soon become per- 

 fectly tame and attach themselves to their master. When in 

 captivity they will eat almost anything that is offered to them, 

 and from this cause are frequently destroyed, picking up and 

 swallowing some indigestible substance about the house. A 

 tame buck, however, becomes a dangerous pet ; for after attain- 

 ing to his full strength he is very apt to make use of it in 

 attacking people whose appearance he does not like. They 

 particularly single out women and children as their victims, 

 and inflict severe and dangerous wounds with their sharp- 

 pointed horns, and notwithstanding their small size, their 

 strength and activity make them a very unpleasant adversary. 

 One day, at a kind of public garden near Brighton, I saw a 

 beautiful but very small roebuck in an enclosure fastened with 



