344 
UNGULATES. 
a bez-tine, and a nearly cylindrical beam, splitting up into two or more points at the 
summit. The tail is short, and the buttocks are marked by a light-coloured disc¬ 
like patch, which includes the tail, while the rest of the hair is uniformly coloured. 
All the members of the group are of large size, and their young are spotted. 
The red deer is characterised by the surroyals of the antlers of 
Red Deer. ^ 
the adult having at least three points, and thus forming a cup in the 
middle of the crown; the total number of points being not less than twelve. Such 
a stag is called in Scotland a Royal Hart. The number of points in the crown may, 
however, be greatly increased, as shown in the 
accompanying figure of an antler dug up many 
years ago in an Irish bog. In the stag to which 
this antler belonged, the total number of points, if 
the two antlers were symmetrical, would have been 
thirty; but instances are recorded where there are 
as many as forty-five and even sixty-six points. 
The latter number must, however, be regarded as 
abnormal. At the present day no Scotch stag ever 
has antlers of the complexity of the one shown in 
the woodcut, and it would indeed be very doubtful 
if that specimen could even be matched among the 
living deer of Eastern Europe, where the heads 
are considerably finer than in Scotland. Such 
antlers, and even larger ones, were, however, not 
uncommon on the Continent a few centuries ago; 
many magnificent examples are preserved in some 
of the old German castles, the collection at Moritz- 
THE RIGHT ANTLER OF A RED DEER, 
from an irish bog. burg being especially rich. 
A fine specimen of the red deer will stand fully 
4 feet at the shoulder. The hair on the throat forms a long fringe, most developed 
in the pairing-season. During summer the general colour of the pelage is a 
bright reddish brown, the head and legs being somewhat greyer, the throat pale 
grey, and the patch on the buttocks yellowish white. In winter, when the fur 
becomes longer and softer, the colour tends to a brownish grey. Wild stags are 
occasionally found white; the tendency to albinism increasing in the domesticated 
state. A fine Scotch stag will weigh some 280 lbs. (20 stone), but they range up 
to 420 lbs. (30 stone), and a stag was killed at Woburn, in 1836, which weighed 
476 lbs. (34 stone) as it stood. These weights are, however, exceeded by the stags 
of Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. The large pair of antlers mentioned above 
have a total length of 68 inches, and examples have been obtained from Eastern 
Europe and Asia Minor, varying from 46 to 48J inches in length. The antlers of 
Scotch and Irish stags rarely, however, exceed 33 inches, although some of the 
latter may reach 35 inches. A Devonshire stag with antlers of over 38 inches 
is on record. 
Distribution. 
The red deer has a wide distribution in the temperate regions of 
Europe and Asia, but its eastward extension in the latter continent is 
not yet fully ascertained. Formerly it was probably found throughout the forest- 
