THE ROEBUCK. 95 



THE ROEBUCK. 



IN THE COLLECTION OF EARL DARNLEY, COBHAM HALL. 



This species of deer is now almost extinct in this country. It was formerly very common in Wales, 

 in the north of England, and in Scotland, but at present the species exists no longer in any part of 

 Great Britain, except in some of the remote parts of the Scottish Highlands. In France they are 

 more frequent ; in fact, the animal from which we have taken our present drawing is a native of that 

 country, having been presented to its noble owner by the Duke of Orleans. They are also found 

 in Italy, Sweden, and Norway, and, according to Bell, in some parts of Siberia. The first that are 

 met with in Great Britain are in the woods on the south side of Loch Rannock, in Perthshire ; the 

 last in the forest of Langwal, on the southern borders of Caithness ; but they are most numerous in 

 the beautiful forests of Invercauld, in the midst of the Grampian Hills. In Ireland they are totally 

 unknown. 



The roebuck is the least of the deer-kind, being only about three feet nine inches long, and two 

 feet three inches high before, and two feet seven behind. The weight averages from fifty to sixty 

 pounds. The horns are from eight to nine inches long, upright, round, and divided into only three 

 branches ; their lower part is fulcated likewise, and extremely rugged, and is made into handles for 

 knives, &c. — The horns of a young buck in its second year are quite plain ; in its third year, a branch 

 appears, but in its fourth its head is complete. The body is covered during winter with very long 

 hair, well adapted to the rigour of the Highland air ; the lower part of each hair is ash-colour ; near 

 the ends is a narrow bar of black, and the points are yellow. The hairs on the face are black, tipped 

 with ash-colour; the ears are long, their insides of a pale yellow, and covered with long hair; the 

 spaces bordering on the eyes and mouth are black. During summer, its coat has a very different 

 appearance, being very short and smooth, and of a bright reddish colour. The chest, belly, and legs, 

 and the inside of the thighs, are of a yellowish white; the rump is of a pure white ; the tail is very 

 short. On the outside of the hind leg, below the joint, is a tuft of long hair. 



The make of the roebuck is very elegant, and formed for agility. The eyes are more brilliant and 

 animated than those of the stag ; his limbs more nimble, his movements quicker ; and he bounds, 

 seemingly without effort, with equal vigour. He never wallows in the mire like the stag, but delights 

 in dry and elevated situations, where the air is purest. He is likewise more crafty, conceals himself 

 with greater address, is more difficult to trace, and derives superior resources from instinct ; for 

 although he has the misfortune to leave behind him a stronger scent than the stag, which redoubles 

 the ardour and appetite of the dogs, he knows how to withdraw himself from their pursuit, by the 

 rapidity with which he begins his flight and by his numerous doublings. He delays not his arts of 

 defence till his strength fails him, but as soon as he finds that the first eiforts of a rapid chace have 

 been unsuccessful, he repeatedly returns on his former steps, and often confounds, by these opposite 

 movements, the direction he has taken ; after intermixing the present with the past emanations from 

 his body, he rises from the earth by a great bound, and retiring to a side, he lies down flat on his 

 belly, and in this immovable situation, he allows the whole troop of his deceived enemies to pass very 

 near him. 



The roebuck differs from the stag and fallow-deer in disposition, temperament, manners, and almost 

 every natural habit. Instead of associating in herds, they live in separate families. The father, 

 25 2 c 



