102 
British Deer and their Horns 
which teaches them that assimilation to surroundings is their greatest protection. In deer 
forests where peat lands predominate, the majority of stags have dark-coloured horns, 
for if they allowed them to remain in their ordinary drab-coloured tones, which properly 
assimilate to trees and grass, the chances of detection would be increased. The deer know 
this, and take precautions. 
The effect of plunging their horns in peat, as four out of six Highland stags do sooner 
PALMATED AND ORDINARY TYPES, WARNHAM COURT, 1 89 5. (PARK) 
The left-hand figure was a very light-coloured stag with light-coloured velvet. The right-hand figure was a very dark-coloured stag with dark-coloured velvet. 
Both these deer rubbed clean the same day (29th July) on the same material (wooden boards placed against trees), and at the end of one week, when killed, 
were as above. 
or later during the season, is to stain them dark at once, the points only being worn light by 
constant friction. 
Many Highland stags wallow in their peat baths at once , but the majority wait till the 
approach of the rutting season before taking the regular course of bains de marais. When 
once this immersion has taken place the stags’ horns remain dark for the rest of the season, 
peat being a regular dye. 1 
1 Since the above was written the discussion on this subject in the Field has closed. I quite agree with Allan Gordon 
Cameron in all he says as to colouring of antlers. The eventual character of the horns is undoubtedly due to the nature of the 
