THE CANADIAN SPORTSMAN AND NATT'll A LIST. 



55 



It may lie taken then, that a " Royal bead," 

 is a very vague idea, and simply means a mag- 

 nificent head ol horns. There is a foolish 

 notion afloat, that a deer produces one spike for 

 every year of its age, but what I have already 



stated is pretty nearly correct. You may also 

 often see one horn with a spike less than the 

 other. But there is no accounting for irregu- 

 larities of this sort. All we can do is to accept 

 facts. Again, thesize ol a deer has very little 

 to do with the size of the horns. The largest 

 deer I ever shot was a two year old, a spike 

 buck, that weighed 2 1 2 lbs., and the largest and 

 finest antlers were on a buck of 157 lbs., both 

 clean meat, i. e., skin, &c, removed. I can- 

 not account for it hut it is true, that spike bucks 

 are generally very much larger than other 

 deer. For my own part I think it a pity to 

 shoot deer in the rutting season, bat the cus- 

 tom seems to obtain all over America. I would 

 rather have a venison steak in the end of July, 

 or beginning of August, than at any other sea- 

 son. The flesh is then verv juicy and tender, 

 and the full richness of the game is there. The 

 animal has fully recovered from its winter's 

 starvation, is plump and solid, with the new 

 flesh well made, but it has not yet began to lay 

 on its autumnal layers of fat. 



In Europe deer stalking begins on the 5th of 

 July, and formerly it commenced in Ontario 

 on the first of August. What practical use is 

 there in putting it back to the first of September. 

 The idea of destroying or "slaughtering?" 

 fawns in August is silly. Fawns are then quite 

 able to take care of themselves; besides they 

 are difficult to see and shoot on account of their 

 colour and the thick foliage. Would it not be 

 really more for the benefit of sportsmen to drop 

 hunting on the first November, to allow the 

 deer to rut in peace, and to commence stalking 

 on the first ot August. All other game are 

 protected in the breeding sea? on : why not deer ? 

 Another mode of hunting, I never practiced, 

 was using hounds. This 1 look on as misera- 

 ble pot-hunting, and the deer, when so driven 

 by these brutes, are either exterminated on their 

 run-ways, or chased from the section of country 

 so hunted. How different a sport is stalking 

 or still-hunting, which requires all the skill of 

 the true sportsman to come on the deer, and 

 then fairly bag his game by his own exertions. 

 I have always been opposed to hounding and 

 see no "sport" in hiding behind a cover and 

 shooting down the poor animals that are bound- 

 ing away for dear life. I mention a tact, that 

 at the last revision of the Ontario (lame Act, 

 using hounds in hunting deer was nearly pro- 



hibited,and I wish it was. in Michigan, hunt- 

 ing deer with hound- ha- been totally prohi- 

 bited, and ii"! one pound of venison can be 



taken out ..f the State. Some American 



butcherscame to Muskokalasl year and killed 

 and sent a large number ol deer to their mar- 

 kets. Canadian Sport-men -hi.ul. I rise and 



protesl againsf such destruction and unmanly 

 slaughter. Will some other brothers of the 



gentle craft give us their opinions of these mat- 

 ters, not excluding " carpel " sportsmen. In 

 conclusion, I may remark, that a " Royal 

 head" was a term applied to the full-grown 

 antlers ot the Red deer of Scotland, which may 

 yet he found in both England and in the wilds 

 of Gonnemara, in Ireland, and it had twelve 

 tines or spikes on both horns. Sir Walter 3 

 often mentions them, and in the " Portal • 

 Nigel," a characteristic description may be 

 found. King James the First, said he could 

 die happy when he killed a Luck with " twelve 

 tines." I do not see how our common deer can 

 have their horns compared at all to those of 

 the majestic Red Deer ot the Highlauds. The 

 Wapiti, or American stag, Cervus Canadi 

 approaches very nearly to the Red Deer, and 

 there is a great comparison between stag's horns 

 and a common deer's. I cannot see how the 

 term " Royal " can be applied to the Virginian 

 deer's antlers, with any propriety. 



.1. H. Gakxikk, M.D., 

 Lucknow, June 23rd, 1881. 



P.S. — One of your Correspondents, " Ham- 



merless Greener," in your late issue amused 

 me very much by a sly fling in a P. S.. about 

 my shooting robins. T do not retract one word 

 I said about robins, otherwise. American 

 Fieldfares, being a very dainty dish. Now, it 

 " Hammerless Greener" is man enough to put 

 his name to it. and write sensible remarks 

 against a dish so much esteemed in the neigh- 

 boring republic, I shall be glad to read gentle- 

 manlike reasons oi' dissent, w iich >voiild be 

 preferable to aboyish sneer. 



J. 11. G. 



Note. — We publish Dr. Garnier's opinions 

 on deer's heads, although we cannot exactly 

 agree with him. Doctors will differ, and it is 



possible that there are sportsmen who are not 

 doctors who will disagree with his conclu- 

 sions as to what constitutes a " Royal or 

 King Ruck." We have made the growth of 

 deer horns a study tor years ; so did the late 



