Part 17

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."

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."

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."

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.

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.

Their principal food is furnished by the various tribes of insects--flies, beetles, moths, and caterpillars, though spiders are greatly appreciated. Unless they are very small, caterpillars do not appear to be swallowed, but rather chewed and the skin rejected. The name vivipara refers to the fact that the female retains her eggs until they are fully developed and ready to hatch, so that the young are born free from the egg-membrane, or the egg breaks in the act of oviposition or immediately after. They are deposited anywhere: there is neither nest nor concealment, and the mother exhibits no interest or concern in her progeny. These number from six to twelve, and are nearly black. They remain motionless where they were born for several days. They are about an inch long. They start life so well nourished that they take no food for several days, then start hunting for small insects, such as Aphides and other soft-bodied species. The teeth are very small and conical, and unfitted to deal with hard substances; and as the two halves of the lower jaw are firmly connected there can be no distension of the small mouth to accommodate large parcels of food, as happens with the Snakes.