THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
to put the tape over his horns, and observed the beauty of the head, I 
realized that I had secured one of the best trophies that has ever fallen to 
my rifle. 
When hunting in the autumn I have never heard the stags call in the 
middle of the day, but only in the early morning and late evening, some- 
times so late that there is no chance of a shot before dark. On this account 
I consider the morning the best time, as if the stag is roughly located then 
by the sound, one can watch the spot for the rest of the day on the chance 
of his showing himself. 
The protection of hinds does not seem to have resulted in their increase 
to a sufficient extent to cause any deterioration in the quality of the 
stags’ heads, which is sometimes the unfortunate result of attempting 
game preservation. Perhaps the leopards, of which there are a good 
many, find a hind easier to kill than a stag, and thus maintain the balance 
of Nature. 
110 
