Extinct British Deer 7 
constant practice he is enabled to tell from the ring of the metal exactly what kind of 
substance the rod has come into contact with. A different sound is emitted when a stone, 
bone, or horn is struck, and, I am told, so delicate is this expert’s hearing that he can tell 
whether it is the horn of a large or small animal. Writing to me on this subject, Mr. 
Williams says : “ The man who searches for the megaceros heads uses a rod about 60 
feet in length. First of all he takes a survey of the bog, and from long experience knows 
where to commence his probing in what seems a likely spot. Should the iron strike stone 
SHOWING MODE OF FINDING THE HEADS, THEIR POSITION, AND THE STRATA IN WHICH THEY ARE GENERALLY EMBEDDED 
7 
G- C. [ . (3 uioCt 
"Peat. 
Oak(A*-v«.t h«°h 
Blue Clay. 
Lac VSTf^Ne sk([ I'l or! . 
Blue Clay 
l u~t !( k SL([(rCX/s.| /oacj 
- 
- 
- lo^t 
-llfj. 
4 
or gravel, he knows by the gritty feel, whilst horn gives a dull thud, and by turning the rod 
round and round the searcher is able to tell of what nature is the substance he has struck. 
Many a time a day’s digging only produces a head not worth lifting, owing to its being 
broken in many pieces, or perhaps it is only a dropped antler.” 
The coexistence of prehistoric man with this animal is an interesting point of 
discussion. In Ireland there is no certain proof of their having lived at the same time, 
though in 1862 Mr. J. R. Usher brought forward strong evidence that such was the case 
by exhibiting before the Dublin Geological Society long bones of the gigantic Irish deer 
