Leonardslee, is one of the finest recent heads I have seen. Sir Edmund killed the stag late
one evening at a distance o f 300 yards, and though in falling over a precipice the horns
were torn away from the skull, they were fortunately uninjured.
Old sportsmen may sneer as they like at the fine heads o f the present day as the result
o f excessive artificial feeding (there are always plenty o f these laudatores temporis acti), but
they forget that a hundred years ago, when deer were only about one-fiftieth o f their
present number, they enjoyed advantages unknown to most of our existing herds. They
had practically an unlimited range, good feeding, and (what is at least o f equal importance)
good winter shelter. However severe the weather, there were the woods to cover them,
but only in about one half o f our forests do we find any such protection now. It is a crying
THAT CONFOUNDED GROUSE
shame that deer should be so treated, left too (as they often are) without sufficient food
when the pasturage falls short, for none o f them are hardy enough to stand this treatment
without suffering, and in the limited ranges o f to-day they cannot forage for themselves.
Lord Burton, who was one o f the first to introduce a proper system o f feeding in his forest
at Glenquoich, has done more than any other owner to improve the deer o f the north-west
o f Scotland. Mr. William Macleay (now, alas ! departed) used to call him “ the stalker’s
benefactor,” for not only are the Glenquoich deer about the best in the North, but they
have undoubtedly improved the stock in the neighbouring forests. '
It is interesting to notice the curious effects o f bullets on a stag, particularly when the
animal is shot right through the heart. Every stalker knows how differently deer act under
the shock o f this particular shot. One animal will drop almost dead on the spot, while
others will run any distance up to 300 yards. As a rule the stag bolts off at full speed, and
as the heart is unable to force the blood |p; the extrijfiities. o f the body— the head and the
fore and hind: legs— these gradually give way and become paralysed. Occasionally one hears
Of extraordinary results, such^p paralysis- o f only obis part. The present Lord Tweedmouth
was stalkijgj one fa y with James Grant in I,arig Dochart (Black Mount)- a great open
Carrie ending, in a cut de sac, where the wind is alwayS'S’ k it t l^ ' The stalkers had made
jfaur distinct moves after a particularly wide-awake stag, and on each occasion had been
ggmpletely baffled. However, lit. the evening the stag threw the game into his pursuers’
“ SPEAKS, a n d , in a c c en ts disco n so la te, a n sw er s t h e w a il o f t h e f o r e s t ”
hands by walking up to them and presenting a nice broadside at yards. A t the shiH
the stag’s hind quarters fell, and hef§truggled along on his fore feet like an animal
“ haunched. “ Weel,” .said Grant, “ I think, Mr. Marjerrybanks” (the stalkers always
pronounce the family name like that), “ that’ll jest be five shullens to the butcher.” Now
Lord Tweedmouth is one o f the best rifle-shots in Scotland, and he naturally supposed there
must be something wrong,, as he knew he had not pulled off) and that the shot was a good
one. T h e stag was still standing up in front as they ran up, but almost immediately fell
over and died. The bullet, it was found, had passed right through the centre o f the heart,
and Grant, who told me this, said he had never seen or heard o f a similar instance.
Taking the whole o f the stags killed in Scotland, the average weight in any one season