CHAP. XXIII 
THE DEER 
239 
when I delighted in that forest, as a boy. I 
believe a few still remain, but the fallow-deer can 
no longer be accepted as a wild animal of Great 
Britain. 
It is a beautiful species, and, as it is park-fed, 
and better sheltered during winter than the red-deer 
of Scotland, the horns have not deteriorated. 
These are very elegant in shape, being palmated, 
with many points. There is a difference of opinion 
respecting the quality of the venison as compared 
with that of the red-deer. I prefer that of the 
fallow-deer, but it is almost a crime to declare this 
in Scotland. 
The third variety of British deer is the roe 
(C. capreolus). This small deer is about the size 
of an ordinary goat. Although the horns have only 
two tines, the quality is exceedingly dense, and the 
exterior is rich in small knobs ; the roughness makes 
it particularly handsome. It exists in considerable 
numbers in Scotland, being generally found in thick 
woods where the ground is covered with very high 
heather. This animal is not gregarious, but is 
generally associated with one female, or is quite 
alone. The female carries her young for between 
five and six months, and has seldom more than 
one or two at a birth. The flesh is esteemed 
in Central Europe, where it is well larded with 
bacon, and prepared in a different manner from that 
in England ; but I have always regarded it as dry, 
and most inferior game. It can hardly be classed 
as a sporting animal, as the shooting of a roe-deer 
