a-RiL IS, 1905.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
293 
Havier Deer* 
iitor Forest and Stream: 
I have been reading with the greatest interest the very 
od article in your issue of March 11, by Dr. Morris J. 
:wis, of Philadelphia, on the havier moose, for unques- 
)nably that is what the animal really was. To my mind 
e accompanying photograph shows every appearance 
d indication of this condition. 
To make this article quite clear, I may say that haviers 
castrated deer, and undoubtedly the operatipn would 
ve the same effect on the systems of all varieties of the 
er tribe. It would be a thing impossible for a healthy 
tire buck or stag to retain the velvet much after the 
ual time of shedding it; and, on the other hand, it 
juld be quite as impossible for haviers to clean their 
tiers of the velvet. 
I have spent a whole life with game and deer, as did 
o my father before me ; and within the past forty years 
have killed and dressed some thousands of deer, and I 
ve also castrated many red, fallow and Japanese deer, 
d I have never yet seen a havier make the slightest 
iempt to shed the velvet or clean his antlers of it. Wc 
ve a herd of Japanese deer in this park, and in the 
mmer months they are uniform in color, but as winter 
proaches, the haviers become much paler; so much so 
at one would hardly know that they were of the same 
ecies as the entire deer. In my opinion, it is a mistake 
castrate deer during the fall of the year; for if the 
leration is cleanly performed, which it should be, the 
tiers will be shed within about twenty-one days after- 
ird. I have known them to drop off in seventeen days 
ter the operation, but they never retain them longer 
an twenty-one or twenty-two days, and the deer begins 
once to grow a fresh head. The horns are thus in full 
ogress during an' unseasonable time of year, and the 
tender growths are forced to encounter all the cold of 
winter, which must be exceedingly trying to the deer and 
injurious to it. Certainly it must require an extreme 
effort on the part ©f nature to perfect a head of horns in 
so limited a period of about sixteen weeks; and it must 
be a still greater strain on the system if she is forced 
to carry it out during an unsuitable season of the year. 
I have always found the month of March the best time 
of year to make haviers, as their horns then drop at the 
usual time, and the new heads mature toward the end of 
summer, as nature intended they should do. A buck grows 
one more head after the operation of castration, and that 
head is permanent, so long as the animal lives, and the 
process of shedding the horns annually ceases. Fawn 
haviers- — called by some keepers spotted haviers — should 
be operated on within three weeks from birth, and when 
castrated at this age, horns never develop in any way 
whatever. They always have the appearance of a doe, 
but of course are much larger, and when fully grown 
they bear a feminine appearance generally. 
To those of your readers who fail to comprehend why 
deer need to be castrated, I may explain that the opera- 
tion is necessary if eatable buck venison is to be provided 
throughout the winter months. In this country entire 
deer at the longest arc only in season from May to Sep- 
tember, after which time buck venison becomes strong 
and unfit for the table. 
I have seen stripes of white on the horns of haviers, 
but it is not usual ; they are generally uniform in color. 
I am quite convinced your correspondent's New Bruns- 
wick moose was a havier, and the operation had been 
cleanly performed, although in all probability by an acci- 
■ dent. The dense, leather-like skin described by your cor- 
respondent as covering the antlers of the moose, is noth- 
ing more or less than the velvet, long retained, possibly 
for years after the ordinary time of shedding. The velvet 
on the horns of a havier is not quite like that of au entire 
deer. It seems to lose the velvet-like appearance, and in 
time looks more like a kind of leather' than velvet. 
Your correspondent does not say if his moose was in 
extra good condition for that season of the year. Haviers 
generally carry more fat through the winter months than 
entire deer, and their hair is longer and softer. 
H. HiCKMOTT, 
Head keeper to C. J. H. Tower, Esq., 
Weald Park, Brentwood, Essex, Eng. 
The "Widgeon is the Thief. 
Buffalo, N. Y. — Editor Forest and Stream: Mr. H. 
H. Thompson, in his article in Forest and Stream, 
March 25, on "An Ohio Ducking Club," is in error 
when he says, "The redhead is an arrogant thief who 
does not dive and pluck the celery roots for himself, 
but relies upon what he can filch after the celery pulled 
by his enforced partner has floated to the surface." The 
redhead dives for the roots of the celery as well as the 
canvasback, which is the partner referred to above, and 
it seems that Mr. Thompson has the widgeon confused 
with the redhead. The widgeon profits from both the 
canvasback and the redhead tO' the extent of eating the 
celery brought to the surface by them. 
DiXMONT. 
[But is it the widgeon? The old books say so, but 
a friend, who has spent much time watching with a 
glass canvas and widgeon feeding together, declared 
that he has never seen -a widgeon steal from a canvas- 
back, but that the widgeon seems to feed on the grass 
stems which the canvasback rejects after eating the 
root of the vallisneria. Who knows anything about 
this?] 
Getting Half. 
iitor Forest and Stream: 
What in the world has become of the Blunt Old Man? 
e disappeared so suddenly. Yet there has been no 
3tice of his demise in Forest and Stream. Can it 
that he has fallen asleep somewhere and been 
watted" on the sly by some evildoer? 
He was going to tell us a great deal more, but, I 
fppose, if we get half of what we expect in this world, 
e should be grateful. 
Cabia Blanco has told us about hunting the wild 
jffalo in company with the wild Indian. The Spec- 
tor came on earth too late to see the wild buffalo. 
It has seen the wild Indian — a child one moment and 
wild animal the next. By all accounts, buffalo hunt- 
g resembles the rounding up of cattle, except that 
le cattle are not shot; and The Spectator believes that, 
aving romance out of the consideration, the hunting 
the one would be about as exciting as hunting the 
her. 
A correspondent of Forest and Stream asked some 
its readers for information about filling the eleven 
3ttles of an emergency medical case, which he pos- 
;ssed. A discussion by medical experts followed, pur: 
DTting to determine the fewest remedies a trained ex- 
ert could use to advantage in the woods, but the ques- 
on, how a non-medical man could fill his eleven bottles 
ith useful remedies he could use, was not answered, 
robably the two most useful remedies are whiskey and 
3ium, but, could the layman use them to advantage? 
Is it not true that if we get half of what we expect, 
e should be grateful? The Spectator recalls the case 
■ a woman in the mountainous parts pf- North Caro- 
na, whose daughter had been ill a long while. "She 
in't got no linin'," she said, and then added: ^ "The 
id man ain't got no linin', either, and' I ain't got no 
ain', and we ain't none of us got no linin'." Meaning, 
course, constitution. Poor old woman! She never 
cpected much, never got much, and I assure you, is 
ippy- 
Some of your correspondents seem to consider a 
medy for snake bites essential. Although The Spec- 
itor has ridden many miles on the prairies of New 
exico and Western Texas, he has never seen a wild 
ittlesnake, and has been forced to conclude that to the 
gn, "Come in and try our new whiskey," may be at- 
ibuted a large part of the snake scares one hears about, 
he Spectator was once told in all seriousness by a 
Dwboy that a rattlesnake's head attracfs; a pistol ball, 
nd that, whereas he often missed other objects, he 
Duld count on removing a snake's head with certainty. 
Receiving less than one expects, reminds The Spec- 
itor of an incident that took place in New Mexico 
uring the latter half of the '90's. The small bore 
!mokeless rifle had proved a success for military pur- 
< oses, and a special type— the .30-30 Winchester— was 
eing introduced for sporting purposes. Its lightness, 
heapness and novelty, together with the catchword, 
liirty-thirty, made it rapidly popular — so much so, that 
very tenderfoot in the Territory hastened to procure 
ne. The Spectator was witnessing the trial of one of 
ihese rifles one day by its enthusiastic owner, who 
■ roudly showed him how it could punch holes in an 
1 plate. 
But you don't use soft-nosed bullets, do you?" was 
sked. "Sure!" he replied, producing a cartridge, which, 
ke all others, proved to contain metal-patched bullets. 
Vlien he was shown this a look of disappointment 
nnie over his face, and he said, "Well! I asked my 
rother to send me soft-nosed bullets." But brother 
n't done so; and if this enthusiast had been a cor- 
Tondent of Forest and Stream, what startling 
ies he would have had about the wonderful striking 
ers of the uew .30-30, using soft-npsed bullets I, 
The Spectator is reminded of another case of re- 
ceiving less than half of what one expected; but in this 
case the receiver cannot be said to have been grateful. 
In the remote parts of northern New England the black 
bear is still looked upon with dread by many persons. 
Its sudden appfearance frightens especially school 
teachers and children. On the sudden appearance of 
such a creature in a place we need not mention, the 
ladies and children became greatly alarmed, and our 
friend X. declared he would have that bear and end all 
further trouble. 
Now, it happened also that a certain farmer, Smith, 
had a blooded black mare, which he thought the world 
of, and which he was accustomed to turn out to pasture 
at night. While X. was returning home one evening, 
all in readiness should he encounter the bear, he sud- 
denly came upon something black, and, supposing it 
to be the bear, fired. Of course, the soft-nosed bullet 
took deadly effect, and the mare was killed. 
Early next morning X.'s father-in-law called on 
farmer Smith and introduced the subject in the following 
manner: 
"My son-in-law has taken a great fancy to that black 
mare of yours and would like to know what you would 
be willing to take for her?" 
Now farmer Smith belonged to that class of Blunt 
Old Men one sometimes encounters in the rural dis- 
tricts of New England. He never resorted to the 
subtle evasions of the diplomat and never referred to 
a spade as an agricultural implement. "You nor your 
son-in-law," said he, "ain't got money enough to buy 
that black mare." 
What followed would not interest the reader — the ex- 
planations of the one, the comments of the other. Com- 
ments we need not, dare not repeat. 
If the reader shall have gotten half what he expected, 
The Spectator will be grateful. 
The Spectator. 
Some Queer Experiences of a 
Foxhunter* — L 
I HAVE an uncle who has dwelt for the sixty-odd 
years of his life in the same spot among the Sandwich 
(N. H.) Mountains, and who has doubtless spent as 
much time in sport with the gun as any man of his age, 
save the professional hunter. His favorite game was 
the red fox, which was formerly abundant in that sec- 
tion. He always kept from two to half a dozen of the 
best of hounds, and his house was for many years a 
popular resort of city sportsmen fond of following this 
game, and who, aided by his good dogs, his thorough 
acquaintance with the best lunways and of fox nature 
in general, could safely reckon on finding good sport. 
The infirmities of increasing years now render it im- 
possible for him to engage in his favorite pursuit, but 
he delights in recounting his numerous exciting experi- 
ences with Reynard, and the stories he can tell (true 
stories, too, for his veracity is unquestioned), illustrative 
of the animal's shrewdness, cunning and endurance, and 
the infinite variety of luck under which he has followed 
him, would fill a large volume, of which I append a 
few examples: 
"Toward the close of a hard day's chase" — to use as 
nearly as may be my uncle's own words — "I had sta- 
tioned myself at a runway toward which the fox 
seemed making. The dogs were only about a mile 
distant, and as the running was of the best, I ex- 
pected the game would soon come in sight, but was 
surprised to have their steady, confident roar sud- 
denly change to the broken, uncertain yelps that 
meant trouble. They had hung up at a point near 
where this same fox, as I believed ^ it to be, had 
slipped them several times before earlier in the sea- 
son. Now that there was snow on the ground I 
thought they would soon be able to straighten out the 
kinks by which he had deceived them,' so I kept to my 
post and listened. But it was no use. It seemed that, 
as hitherto, they had tracked the fox into a certain 
field, but were unable to find where, he left it. I wel- 
comed the chance to solve a mystery over which I had 
pondered not a little; for with six inches of fresh snow 
on the ground to record t?he fox's movements it would 
be impossible, I believed; for him to play any trick 
that would fool me long. Always before he had had the 
bare ground on his side, and rack my brains as I might, 
his method of eluding the dogs at this particular point 
was as much of a puzzle to me as to them. 
"When I got within sight of the dogs, I found them 
as I had expected, circling about the open field with 
low yelps, almost pitiful in their expression of per- 
plexity. The track was so fresh that every now and 
then they would start up with a rush and roars of con- 
fidence, but only to slacken the next minute as they 
found themselves turning in the same old circle again. 
"'We'll soon settle this thing,' I said to myself, as 
I started around the field a little distance outside the 
well-beaten path made by the hounds. But when I got 
round to my starting point I had only added to my 
bewilderrnent. I had easily found where fox and dogs 
had come out of the woods into the field, but not the 
slightest sign of a trail could I discover leading out 
of it. 
"I glanced searchingly over the field. It presented to 
my view simply a smooth, white surface, broken only 
at intervals by a rock or tree. Not a place so far as I 
could see where a fox could hide away from a man, 
to say nothing of such strong noses as ray dogs had 
oil more ■ than one occasion shown themselves to 
possess. Night was fast coming on and it looked as if 
I was to be baffledv again. , 
"Simply because I could think of nothing better to' 
do, I set off around the field again, calling to my dogs 
in the hope of getting them to range over the ground 
a little beyond me. They were circling around a large 
Ijoulder on the further side of the field, and seemed loath 
to leave. , It occurred to me that one of them had hung, 
about this same spot almost constantly since my ap- 
pearance. Thinking there might be some sort of cleft 
in the rock in which the fox had taken refuge, I made 
my way toward it, but paused within about thirty yards, 
as I saw that it was evidently as sound as an acorn. 
'Come on, good dogs,' I called, 'there's nothing for 
you here.' But they seemed to realize that I was equally 
puzzled with them, and did not heed me. Just beyond 
the boulder was a group of some half dozen trees. One 
of these, a big oak, had been broken off near the butt 
by the wind, and had lodged in one of the others at a 
sharp angle. For the reason that I was scanning every- 
thing within reach I glanced into this, and almost in- 
stantly my eye caught a patch of familiar red among 
the bent and mangled branches. The next moment my 
gun spoke, and at the report L witnessed the novel 
spectacle of a fox falling from a tree. The sly fellow's 
secret was solved at last. Investigation showed that 
his scheme had been to circle the field several times 
after entering it, then by a long bound to spring upon 
the boulder, which was swept bare of snow by the wind, 
and thence to the leaning tree-trunk, ascending it to 
his snug hiding place among the branches. From this 
point of vantage he had doubtless often watched me 
and the dogs in our hitherto fruitless efforts to fathom 
his trickery." Templar. 
Cornish, Maine. 
Grover Cleveland, of Princeton, and his friend, Dr. 
Joseph D. Bryant, of New York, are fishing at Stuart, 
Fla. 
