238 DEER AND DEER PARKS. Ch. XL 



winter.' Sheds are often erected in deer parks, for the purpose of feeding 

 the deer in winter, and for the purpose of counteracting the natural de- 

 ficiencies of the situation,, as to covert and shelter; but these expedients 

 partake too nauch of an artificial character to be in good keeping with 

 the habits of what our ancestors called ' wild beasts,' and which are still 

 considered to be ferze naturae. 



Before we consider the question of fences, it may be well to remember 

 that parks, however wild and uncultivated, must not be wet and marshy. 

 Deer, like sheep, will not thrive in a bog, and, like sheep, are apt to be 

 affected by foot-rot, if left altogether in wet and undrained pastures : dry, 

 and even poor land, is preferable to rich and valuable pastures, though the 

 union of both, is much to be desired in a large and well-conditioned park. 

 With regard to fencing, I confess to a prejudice in favour of the old 

 English upright oak paling, with transverse bars at top, which is by far the 

 most picturesque, and perfectly adapted to its purpose ; it has but one 

 defect — its expense — though that is surpassed by its rival, the stone or 

 brick wall. A wall is, of course, the most durable; a good oak fence, 

 however, will last for a century, and even after that period, some part of it 

 will probably work up again, and be fit for further service. A paling, 

 moreover, has the advantage of allowing the traveller to peep at the park 

 within; for I think, with Washington Irving,' that parks should not be kept 

 solely for the selfish gratification of the owner, and rejoice in seeing a 

 public footpath across one of those ancient and aristocratic enclosures, 

 where all may admire the scenery and the deer. Where oak, as in many 

 places, cannot be had for the whole fence, a substitute may be found as 

 follows : the posts only oak, the rails and pales ash, or other timber, and 

 the whole set in a whitethorn hedge ; if the hedge is entwined with the pales, 

 and kept constantly clipped, it makes an excellent and permanent fence, 



' Evelyn, in his Memoirs, tells us that in the year of the great frost, 1684, many parks of deer 

 were entirely destroyed. 



^ Sketch Book, vol. ii. 2nd ed. p. 194. 



