CHAPTER IX 
ROE DEER 
We can fairly guess by the remains left to us of the Pleistocene mammals that they were in 
every respect liner than their descendants of to-day. Yet on overlooking the remains of 
roe found in the Norfolk forest-bed, the brick-earths of the Thames valley, the fens of the 
east coast, and certain caverns, the English animal of those days was certainly not superior to 
its descendants of to-day. Amongst their horns and skulls in the British Museum there is 
nothing that would pass as those of a first-class roe of to-day. This is certainly surprising 
when we consider how the red deer have deteriorated, and I certainly entertained till the 
year 1892 the belief that Pleistocene roe all over Great Britain were even inferior to modern 
roe, but in that year I obtained in the north of Scotland the single horn and part of the 
skull of a roe dug out of the peat moss at Alness, in Ross-shire (Fig. 4, p. 171), which 
indicated that it had belonged to a really larger type of animal. And again in 1894 I 
received from Perth a still more remarkable horn, attached to the skull in the same way. 
It had been found in the Tay valley, and evidently at a greater depth, though I could not 
obtain exact particulars (Fig. 5, p. 171). For the benefit of the student I give a photograph 
of these two fine horns, which are 11 and inches in length respectively, with the brow 
points of 5 and 6^ inches, together with what would be considered nowadays a good adult 
buck’s horn, as well as an exceptional Scotch horn, and one of the massive, big, coronated 
horns from Lissadell, Sligo, Ireland, which Sir Henry Gore Booth has kindly sent me. 
Curiously enough, the roe was unknown in Ireland during Pleistocene times. Nowa¬ 
days the only place where they are kept is at Lissadell ; here they are a recent introduction. 
There is little doubt that the mild climate and abundant feeding are entirely suitable to them, 
whilst the grass grown on a limestone formation has the effect of producing fine horn- 
growth. I shall refer further to their heads in the next chapter. Formerly there were roe 
at Colebrooke, but how they became extinct there I have not heard. 
In England there are still a few roe found in Cumberland and Northumberland, though 
they appear to be on the decrease. In Wales they were supposed to have lingered as late as 
the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and Mr. G. Assheton-Smith told me he had recently 
introduced them into Vaynol Park, but that he considered them delicate and hard to 
acclimatise. In Dorsetshire they were introduced into the Blackmoor Vale country by the 
