54 



THE CANADIAN SPORTSMAN AND NATURALIST. 



belltown was, during the summer months, 

 crowded with strangers who came to angle in 

 those waters, now the village is nearly deserted 

 by that class of tourists. 



At this age everything that tends to restrict 

 the liberties of the general public tor the benefit 

 of a few, will be put down with a strong hand. 

 All Salmon rivers that are of easy access to the 

 public, such as the Restigouche, Matepedia, 

 Cascapedia, &c, instead of giving the Govern- 

 ment, as they do now, a mere pittance, should 

 yield a revenue of several hundred dollars a 

 week during the open season. Unless this evil 

 is soon remedied there will be serious trouble, 

 for the feeling here against it is strong and 

 deep, and will sooner or later show itself on 

 the surface with a power that will sweep all 

 opposition before it. 



' Stakstead. 



Eestiguuche, N.B., July 9, 1881. 



DEER'S HORNS— A ROYAL HEAD. 



Every hunter has heard disputes regarding 

 what may be termed a full-grown, or " Royal " 

 head. The fact is, a deer's age is known like 

 sheep, viz : by the teeth, so that a practical 

 butcher is a better judge on this point, whereas 

 I am only an expert. The horns of our com; 

 mon deer (Cariacus Virginianus) take three 

 seasonato come to maturity, so that in its fourth 

 autumn or fall, they are as large as that animal 

 is likely to produce them. In the first fall there 

 are no horns, although I have once or twice 

 seen little nubs one inch or so in length, and it 

 is foolish to look to the size of the horns as a 

 criterion of his age. It is similar to guessing 

 the age of a game cock by the length of its 

 tail feathers. In the first growth, or second 

 tall, the horns are very variously produced. 

 Some bucks have merely a long, single prong, 

 and hunters then call them " spike," or 

 " prong " bucks, and they are often represented 

 as a distinct species. This is not so, as no one 

 has seen the doe of the spike buck. Some- 

 times there are two branches ow\j without a 

 pointlet, or there may be three, but I never saw 

 more than four. The first growth horns are 

 always small, and look diminutive on the 

 crown in proportion to the size of the buck, 

 In the second growth, or third year, they are 

 neaily as long and large-looking as they will 

 attain, but thinner and more slender; and in 

 the third growth, or fourth year, they become 

 as large as they are generally; solid and mas- 

 sive. Occasionally there may be five, or even 



six spikes, and I have seen various spikes with 

 one, two, or even three spikletsof them, giving 

 a grand and imposing aspect to the antlered 

 head. But this is merely chance, and may 

 depend on various causes. Particular locali- 

 ties, seem to have a great influence. For in- 

 stance, in the County of Bruce, deer are found 

 with antlers having long, straight prongs, and 

 generally five, with very few spikelets. There 

 is first the frontlet, then three full spikes gra- 

 dually decreasing in length, and the terminal 

 spike of the main branch, making five pointed 

 extremities. I describe this from a full grown 

 head, at this moment on my table, and I may 

 add that the lesser heads are also here. In the 

 Counties of Essex and Kent, and along Lake 

 Erie, horns are more spiked and have quite a 

 different aspect from the more northern forms. 

 Spring opens there two or three weeks earlier 

 than in Bruce. The feed is very different. The 

 soil is low clay,and the water stagnant, and sur- 

 face water. In the north, the county is a rolling 

 sandy soil, with magnificent rills, that come 

 from pure limestone springs, and formerly 

 there was not one of these but had numerous 

 beaver dams all over them. Into these open 

 spaces deer came, especially in the evening, to 

 feed and get rid of mosquitoes, black flies, 

 horseflies, et hoc genus omne; and I have been 

 lucky to drop many a fine buck when in the 

 beaver dams. 



Now there is another point sportsmen seem 

 entirely to overlook, viz : the singular effect of 

 peculiar seasons on the size and proportions of 

 the horns. This, Mr. Editor, is no imaginary 

 matter, but a fact. I have observed for years 

 that when there is a warm early spring, with 

 plenty of good succulent herbage, that next fall 

 larger deer are procured, with finer heads ; alto- 

 gether they are fatter and heavier. The reason 

 is thus explained: In spring, when there is 

 not much food, the deer are invariably ema- 

 ciated, and they have to wander continually 

 for it, consequently there is a corresponding 

 consumption of strength, and a systematic 

 weakening, requiring time to recuperate. This 

 naturally retards the growth of the horns, and 

 after they are fairly in the velvet form, a 

 frosty night takes great effect on them. It 

 seems to stunt their growth, and to a certain 

 extent, inflame them. An old hunter in re- 

 ferring to a head I once had, said that when 

 the horns were a particular size, probably a 

 keen frost took effect on them. I knew this by 

 the rough thick nubs on a particular part. I 

 may mention, that these horns were small, but 

 thick and massive with little elegance of shape. 



