ROE BUCK , 219 
f er contribute to their nourishment and growth. 
Vlien these fall, and new ones begin to appear, 
the roe buck does not retire as the stag to the co- 
vert of the wood, but continues its usual haunts, 
only keeping down its head to avoid striking its 
horns against the branches of trees, the pain of 
which it seems to feel with exquisite sensibility. 
The stag, who sheds his horns in sinmmer, is 
obliged to seek a retreat from the flies, that at 
that time greatly incommode him ; but the roe 
buck, who sheds them in winter, is under no such 
necessity ; and, consequently, does not separate 
from its little family, but keeps with the female 
all the year round. 
As the growth of the roe buck, and its arrival 
at maturity, is much "Speedier than that of the stag, 
so its life is proportionally shorter. It seldom 
is found to extend above twelve or fifteen years ; 
and, if kept tame, it does not live above six or 
seven. It is an animal of a very delicate constitu- 
tion, requiring variety of food, air, and exercise. 
It must be paired with a female, and kept in a 
park of at least a hundred acres. They may easily 
be subdued, but never thoroughly tamed. No arts 
ca i teach them to be familiar with the feeder, 
much less attached to him. They still preserve a 
part of their natural wildness, and are subject to 
terrors without a cause. They sometimes, in at- 
tempting to escape, strike themselves with such 
force against the walls of their inclosure, that 
they break their limbs, and become utterly dis- 
abled. Whatever care is taken to tame them, 
they are never entirely to be relied on, as they have 
capricious fits of fierceness, and sometimes strike 
at those they dislike w ith a degree of force that is 
very dangerous. 
The cry of the roe buck is neither so loud nor 
so frequent as that of the stag. The young ones 
