shrubs. It is this fact that led to their nominal extermination
in the New Forest and other places. By nature they are woodland
animals--although their greater prevalence to-day in the Highlands
might give us a different impression--and in the winter especially do
great damage to the plantations of young trees. Agricultural lands in
their vicinity also suffer greatly, a whole field of turnips being
ruined in a night by a visit from a herd of Deer. They also destroy
wheat, potatoes, and cabbages; and in the woods consume many toadstools,
acorns, and chestnuts.
In spring and summer whilst his horns are growing the Stag lives apart
from his kind, but in the early autumn when these are well-developed and
hard, we may in suitable localities hear his "belling" call to the
Hinds, or in defiance to some rival.
"The wild buck bells from ferny brake,"
as Sir Walter Scott puts it. There is a good deal of furious fighting
when two jealous Stags of similar age and strength meet in the vicinity
of the hinds. He is then in the prime of condition, his neck and
shoulders clad in a thick mantle of long brown hair, and his head
adorned with the noble pair of antlers that reveals his age. Those that
decorated and armed him last autumn and winter were shed bodily about
March, and a new growth started soon after from the burred frontal knobs
that were left. It is important to notice the difference between these
solid though temporary growths and the mere shells that permanently
decorate the heads of oxen, sheep, and goats. In the Deer they are what
biologists term secondary sexual characters; they are possessed by the
males only, and cast in their entirety at the end of each breeding
season with its frequent contests between the Stags. The history of
these antlers is strangely like that of a tall perennial herb whose
stems and branches die down to the rootstock each winter--that is, after
the plant's breeding season--and start into more vigorous growth each
spring. The "rootstock" of the Stag's horns makes its appearance at
an early age, and its annual growth is more numerously branched each
succeeding year. The growth of the Stag's horns is said to keep pace
with the growth of the bracken among which he rests.
When the male Deer-calf is a few months old he becomes distinct from the
female by the appearance of two knobs ("bossets") on the front of the
head; he is then a _knobber_. Next year these become longer and pointed
("dags") and he becomes known as a _brocket_. The third year a branch
appears forward--the brow antler--and he becomes a _spayad_. The fourth
year a second forward antler--the bez tine or bay--is produced at about
a third from the summit of the now long horn; and he is known as a
_staggard_. The tray (_très_) or royal antler appears near the summit in
the fifth year, and this entitles the young Deer to the title of _Stag_:
he has come of age. From the sixth year, when the crown of antlers
begins to form at the summit by the production of tines in several
directions at the same height, he becomes a _Hart_ or _Stag of Ten_;
and in former days he could advance beyond that dignity by escaping with
his life after being hunted by the King, thereby earning the rank of a
_Stag Royal_. If he lives long enough he may wear a pair of antlers each
having as many as forty-eight points. He is considered, by the way, to
live for forty years.
The antler has a core of solid bone covered by a continuation of the
soft skin of the head, which bears a close pile of short hair and is
known as the velvet. When the core has attained to its proper solidity
and hardness, the growth of the rough burr at its base, pressing on
the blood vessels and stopping their further supply to the velvet
above, causes the death of the latter; and the Deer by rubbing the new
structure against tree trunks and branches, tears off the velvet in
strips, and is then able to do battle with his peers. The ensuing period
of sexual unrest having been passed through safely, the whole structure
down to the burrs is parted with, and a finer set of antlers begun. The
whole process of antler growth occupies about ten weeks, and during this
period the Stag is always in poor condition, and seeks solitude. What
becomes of the dropped antlers is somewhat of a mystery, as few of them
are found, and these usually odd ones.
If one were seeking to judge the habits of the Red Deer from a finely
stuffed specimen in, say, the Natural History Museum, standing erect
with fully developed antlers, one would feel justified in saying, as
many have said--"This is a creature of the open mountain-side and the
moorland, where there are no trees whose branches could entangle these
branching horns. No adornment could be better fitted for keeping the
noble beast out of the woods." Yet the Deer can actually run through
dense woods with ease, and we know from its habitats in other countries
where it is still plentiful, that it is a true woodland animal. The
explanation is evident if, during a Stag hunt, we see the hunted seek
refuge in a wood. The Stag throws his head back so that his antlers lie
along each side and protect his body from many a bruise that might
otherwise be inflicted by the branches as he rushes through the
undergrowth. The antlers may be used with deadly effect in self-defence,
and many a hound is killed by a Stag at bay. Their function appears to
be mainly protective against carnivorous beasts; they are seldom if
ever effective against those of their own kind.
The mating of the Red Deer, as we have indicated, takes place in the
autumn; and in the spring the Hinds separate, each retiring to a lonely
spot among the bracken where her single calf (rarely two) is born about
the end of May. The little deer is already covered with fur, and its
back and sides are dappled with white after the manner of the Fallow
Deer, though unlike the livery of that species the spotting of the
Red Deer is not retained beyond calfhood. The calf is born with some
intelligence also. Mr. St. John tells how, one day in the Highlands, he
"was watching a Red Deer hind with my glass, whose proceedings I did not
understand, till I saw that she was licking a new-born calf. I walked up
to the place, and as soon as the old deer saw me she gave her young
one a slight tap with her hoof. The little creature immediately laid
itself down; and when I came up I found it lying with its head flat on
the ground, its ears closely laid back, and with all the attempts at
concealment that one sees in animals which have passed an apprenticeship
to danger of some years, whereas it had evidently not known the world
for more than an hour, being unable to run or escape. I lifted up the
little creature, being half inclined to carry it home in order to rear
it. The mother stood at the distance of two hundred yards, stamping with
her foot, exactly as a sheep would have done in a similar situation. I,
however, remembering the distance I had to carry it, and fearing that it
might get hurt on the way, laid it down again, and went on my way, to
the great delight of its mother, who almost immediately trotted up, and
examined her progeny all over, appearing, like most other wild animals,
to be confident that her young and helpless offspring would be a
safeguard to herself against the attacks of her otherwise worst enemy."
[Illustration: _Pl. 78._ _I 128._
*Fallow Deer Buck.*
Cervus dama.]
[Illustration: _Pl. 79._
*Alpine Hare.*
Lepus timidus.]
[Illustration: _Pl. 80._
*Red Deer Hind.*
Female Deer have no indication of antlers.]
[Illustration: _Pl. 81._ _K 129._
*Roe Buck.*
Capreolus capraea.]
It is in the localities described by the author just quoted that we have
still the best chance of studying the Red Deer under natural conditions,
though there have naturally been some changes since his classic
"Wild Sports of the Highlands" was first published in 1845. But the
southerner, as we have hinted, has still a prospect of meeting with the
noble beast on Exmoor and in Hampshire, to say nothing of the tamer
herds in parks. To get a good view of these, they should be approached
with a pretence of unconcern: they can often be well observed from a
road at a few yards' distance without arousing their suspicions, whereas
a few steps towards them on the greensward will cause them to bolt.
Respecting the large numbers of Deer that formerly existed in the south,
there is an illuminating reminiscence mentioned by Gilbert White. He
says that an old keeper assured him on information from his father,
head-keeper of Wolmer Forest, "that Queen Anne, as she was journeying
on the Portsmouth road, did not think the forest of Wolmer beneath her
royal regard. For she came out of the great road at Lippock, which is
just by, and, reposing herself on a bank smoothed for that purpose,
lying about half a mile to the east of Wolmer Pond and still called
Queen's Bank, saw with great complacency and satisfaction the whole herd
of Red Deer brought by the keepers along the vale before her, consisting
then of about five hundred head. A sight this worthy the attention of
the greatest sovereign!" Even more striking is the confession of a
notorious deer-stealer in the New Forest, who assured the Rev. William
Gilpin, author of "Forest Scenery," that in five years he had killed on
an average "not fewer than a hundred bucks a year."
It should be stated that the British examples of the Red Deer are
considered to constitute a geographical race known as _scoticus_. The
European range of the species extends from the Mediterranean to central
Sweden and central Norway.
*Fallow Deer* (_Cervus dama_, Linn.).
The Fallow Deer is recognisable at a glance as distinct from the Red
Deer by the entirely different character of the antlers. Those of the
Fallow Deer are flattened and expanded in all the branches of the upper
part, though the main stem or "beam" is rounded as in the Red Deer. With
the exception of the equivalents of the brow antler and the bez tine the
antler forms a broad curved plate whose margins run out in a number of
flat points. It is known as a palmate antler, comparable to the palm of
the hand with its finger prolongations. These horns are shed annually,
like those of the Red Deer, but slightly later. There are no canine
teeth in either sex.
The Fallow Deer is smaller than the Red Deer, the Buck standing only
a little more than three feet at the shoulders, and the Hind somewhat
less. It differs in colour, too, from the Red Deer, being a paler red
or reddish-yellow above spotted with white, and yellowish-white on the
under parts. The tail is longer than that of the Red Deer, and is kept
in constant motion from side to side. The vertical white stripe on
either side of the rump shows up strongly when the animal is in retreat.
In winter the fur darkens; and some of the tame herds in parks show this
dark coloration at all seasons. This has been explained by the statement
that they are descended from a darker, hardier race introduced from
Norway by James I.; but Harting says this variety was in Windsor Park
as far back as the year 1465. It is this dark form that is met with in
Epping Forest. It may also be seen in Richmond Park, where, however, the
lighter form is in the majority.
In this connection it should be mentioned that it is believed the Fallow
Deer was introduced to Britain by the Romans, though fossil remains
found here show that it was a true native originally. One is inclined to
be somewhat suspicious of these introductions attributed to the Romans.
It is quite possible that in their desire to enjoy all their continental
luxuries they may have brought with them much that was indigenous to the
soil. It is possible, too, that they were more proficient as conquerors
than as observers of Nature. Cæsar, for example, has left it on record
that, when he hewed his way through the dense forests between the south
coast and London, there were no beech trees growing, whereas every
botanist who has devoted attention to the origin and distribution of
our flora is convinced that the invasion of southern England by the
beechwoods of the Continent took place ages before great Cæsar was born,
and before the separating English Channel was more than a river valley.
Men who could overlook so majestic and plentiful a tree as the beech on
our chalklands, were capable of not seeing the shy Fallow Deer, which
has a wonderful power of vanishing silently among the bracken. However,
modern authorities are of opinion that the Fallow Deer is native only
in the Mediterranean region of Europe and Asia Minor; elsewhere it has
been introduced by man.
In addition to the marked difference in the form of the horns in these
two species of Deer, there is also a distinction in the development of
these ornaments. During its first year the Fallow fawn gives no sign of
such a growth, but in its second it produces a pair of short unbranched
prongs, which gives the fawn its name of _pricket_. The next year there
is a great advance, for each simple prong is succeeded by a horn that
bears two forward tines, and the extremity of the beam is slightly
expanded and flattened, and its margin indented. In the fourth year the
form is similar but more developed, the flat portion of the beam being
much larger and its outer margin more regularly toothed or snagged. The
fifth year shows further advance along the same lines, and the animal
becomes known as a _buck of the first head_. In later years the
additions are merely an increase in the number of spillers or snags
to the flattened beam.
During the breeding season and throughout the winter Fallow Deer may be
encountered in mixed herds of both sexes; at other times in parties of
Bucks _or_ Does. Like the Red Deer it is a great enemy to the forester,
and in winter time is not content with browsing on the young shoots of
the trees, but utterly kills many by destroying their bark. They also
eat acorns, chestnuts and horse-chestnuts. By reason of their feeding
more in the lowland woods, where the diet is more liberal, the venison
of the Fallow Deer is considered more tender and of finer flavour.
The Fallow fawns are born in May or June in a close retreat far in
among the bracken. Though mostly there is only one at a birth, there
are frequently two, and rarely three. The fawn is capable of taking
care of itself when only a few hours old. As illustrating this point,
we may quote an incident narrated by Mr. John Watson, who has written
intimately of the wild life of Westmorland. He says: "Once we came
suddenly upon a pretty little soft-eyed creature, evidently only a few
hours old. It squatted closely as we stood over it, but when aware that
it was observed, feigned death in the most amusing manner, only with the
softest and most wide-open eyes imaginable. As we stooped towards it,
with half a dozen bounds it cleared the brake, and as a rapid stream
stopped its further progress, jumped in, and, after swimming about
twenty yards, came quickly ashore. It then trotted back to its bed
among the fern; and yet it is probable that this fawn had not previously
used its legs, and had certainly never seen water."
[Illustration: _Pl. 82._ _K 132._
*Fallow Deer Hind.*
The hind is smaller than the Buck, and of more slender build.]
[Illustration: _Pl. 83._ _K 133._
*Roe Deer Fawn.*
Watching for its mother from its birthplace.]
The name Fallow is the Anglo-Saxon _fealewe_, and indicates the gilvous
colour of the lighter race. Gray in 1843 separated the species from the
Linnean genus _Cervus_ under its species name of _Dama_. The modern
effort to get back to original species names under the rules of priority
has caused this Deer to be dubbed _Dama dama_ in the newest catalogues.
We have preferred to retain the Linnean _Cervus dama_, but our readers
can say _Dama dama_ if they like it better.
*Roe Deer* (_Capreolus capraea_, Gray).
A third species of Deer, the Roe, is now to be found only in our
northern mountain woods. It is the smallest and prettiest of our native
species, and appears to have been formerly the most widely distributed
of the three (though never an Irish species), but to have been driven
further and further north by the advance of population and cultivation
in the south. Even so, quiet ramblers in the thicker woods and
plantations of the New Forest have a slender prospect of seeing it.
About the beginning of the nineteenth century, Lord Portarlington
introduced Roe to the woods of Milton Abbas, in Dorset, where they
prospered and increased. In the year 1876, or thereabouts, it is said
that some of these made their way across country for twenty-five miles
and settled in the New Forest. There are very few of them, and this fact
combined with their cleverly elusive movements in the dense coverts they
affect, makes the chance of seeing them very remote, more particularly
as the Roe is nocturnal in its habits.
The Roe stands only about two and a quarter feet at the shoulders. Its
colour in summer is bright red-brown, the coat short and smooth; but
in winter it becomes long and brittle, and the colour changes to a
warm grey. The tail is so short as to be scarcely visible among the
surrounding hairs which, as well as the under parts and the inner sides
of the thighs, are white. The ears are relatively larger than those of
the other species, covered with long hairs and whitish inside. It has a
white chin and a white spot on each side of the dark muzzle. A mature
buck weighs from forty to fifty pounds. There are no signs of horns
in first year fawns; in the second year they make their appearance as
simple unbranched prongs. The third year the horns are forked, a short
tine pointing forwards; those of the fourth year have an additional
tine directed backwards, and this marks the full complication of their
structure. In later years they have the same general design, but, of
course, are each year larger; at their maximum they are only eight or
nine inches long, and are nearly upright. Small and primitive though
these horns are, they are very effective weapons, and there have been
occasions when they were used with fatal effect against human victims.
They have no canine teeth.
Roe Deer never congregate in large herds, but form small family
groups. In spring the hind retires deep into the covert, where her two
(sometimes three) spotted fawns are born; and when they are about a
fortnight old, she brings them out into the more open parts. Charles
St. John, who, in the first half of the nineteenth century, had full
opportunity for a close study of the natural history of the Highlands,
has much to say of Roe Deer and their habits. He remarks that, "The
greatest drawback to preserving Roe to any great extent is, that
they are so shy and nocturnal in their habits that they seldom show
themselves in the daytime. I sometimes see a Roe passing like a shadow
through the trees, or standing gazing at me from a distance in some
sequestered glade; but, generally speaking, they are no ornament about
a place, their presence being only known by the mischief they do to
the young plantations and to the crops. A keeper in Kincardineshire
this year told me that he had often, early in the morning, counted
above twenty Roe in a single turnip-field. As for the sport afforded by
shooting them, I never killed one without regretting it, and wishing
that I could bring the poor animal to life again. I do not think that
Roe are sufficiently appreciated as venison, yet they are excellent
eating when killed in proper season, between October and February, and
of proper age. In summer the meat is not worth cooking, being dry and
sometimes rank."
[Illustration: _Pl. 84._ _K 134._
*Common Lizard.*
Not necessarily a family party.]
[Illustration: _Pl. 85._ _K 135._
*Common Lizard female.*
Lacerta vivipara.]
The Roe is a good swimmer, and often crosses rivers, probably in order
to get a change of food, though sometimes there is no reason apparent.
On this point St. John tells us: "For some unknown reason, as they do it
without apparent cause, such as being hard-hunted or driven by want of
food, the Roe sometimes take it into their heads to swim across wide
pieces of water, and even arms of the sea. I have known Roe caught by
boatmen in the Cromarty Firth, swimming strongly across the entrance of
the bay, and making good way against the current of the tide, which runs
there with great rapidity. Higher up the same firth, too, Roe have been
caught when in the act of crossing. When driven by hounds I have seen
one cross Loch Ness."
The dentition is the same as that of the Fallow Deer.
LIZARDS AND SLOW-WORM
*Common Lizard* (_Lacerta vivipara_, Wagl.).
There are still two small groups of backboned animals to be described,
representing the classes Reptilia and Batrachia. To the average man
they are all Reptiles, and he has this justification for so regarding
them--that until recently they were so classified by the great
naturalists. Modern biologists, however, dealing with structure and
organisation rather than with external form, find that this association
of the scale-clad Lizards and Serpents with the soft-skinned Frogs,
Toads, and Newts cannot be defended, and they have separated them into
the two classes named. The reasons for this separation will become
manifest in our descriptions of the several species, so that a
preliminary dissertation on the subject is not necessary.
Sitting on a sunny, heather-clad hillside it will not be long, probably,
before we see the active little Common Lizard peeping at us from under
cover or leaping swiftly over the crowded plants. Its movements are
so rapid that it is not at all easy to follow them in detail, or even
to catch one for closer examination. It can run nimbly enough with a
gliding motion, for the body and tail are scarcely lifted from the
ground; but the principal mode of progression is to shoot forward
horizontally from one tuft of herbage to the next. They run with as much
facility over the shoots of heather or heath, and their long, delicate
fingers and toes secure them as sure a landing as that of the Squirrel
leaping from branch to branch. When we have hit upon a spot where we
have seen several Lizards thus active, a good plan is to sit down
quietly for a time, and keep our eyes on a patch of sand that is fully
exposed to sunshine. In a little while a Lizard, maybe two or three
Lizards, will appear from under the heather or other plants and bask in
the sun.
So seen, we note that they are about five inches in length, which is
only an average size. The maximum attained by males is six inches, and
by females seven inches. The females are not merely longer, they are
altogether of larger proportions; but the male is the more graceful of
the two, his tail tapering gradually from the slender body to the very
fine tip. Though the tail is in both sexes equal in length to the head
and body, that of the female appears shorter owing to its sudden
tapering beyond the thick basal portion.
The colour is some tint of brown, varying considerably in different
individuals from yellow-grey to purple-brown, as a ground tint,
upon which is laid variable dark spots forming more or less broken
longitudinal lines. There is sometimes a blackish line or band following
the course of the backbone to a little behind the hips, and a dark band
along the sides edged with yellow. On the underside the males are
orange or red, spotted with black; the females, orange, yellow, or pale
greenish, with or without black spots, or a few small grey dots. They
appear to moult, or "slough," in patches, though entire sloughs are
found occasionally.
[Illustration: *Skeleton of Lizard.*]
The limbs of the Lizards agree structurally with those of the Mammals,
each ending in a well-formed hand or foot with five long and slender
digits, each with a curved claw--those of the hand worn short and blunt
by their use in scraping the earth.