24 
THE STAG. 
p 
THE STAG. 
he Stag is the most beautiful animal of the deer species^ 
and is of so mild, innocent and tranquil a disposition that 
it seems as if it were created solely to adorn and animate 
the solitude of the primeval forests, and to occupy, remote from 
human habitations, the peaceful retreats of nature. The ele- 
] gance of its form, its flexible yet nervous limbs, its bold branch- 
I ing horns, which are annually renewed ; while its size, swiftness, 
j and strength places it pre-eminently before any other beast of the 
j forest. The age of the stag is known by its horns. The first 
j year exhibits only a short protuberance, which is covered with a 
j hairy skin ; the next year the horns are straight and single ; the 
J third year produces two antlers, the fourth year three, the fifth 
year four; and when arrived at the sixth year the antlers amount 
to six or seven on each side, but the number is not always certain. 
The stag begins to shed its horns at the latter end of Februaiy 
or beginning of March. Stags in the seventh year do not under- 
go the change till the middle or end of March; nor do those in 
