DEVELOPMENT OF STAGS' HORNS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14927, 1 September 1910, Page 8

DEVELOPMENT OF STAGS' HORNS.

Sir,—A statement made by Mr \V. Telford at Friday's meeting of the council of tho Otago Acclimatisation Society should not bo ollowcd to fto unchallenged. He is reported to have said, " He considered that no deer under a 12-pointer should be killed. Its age would bo then: about three and ahalf years. A 10-pointer would be two and a-lialf years old." This is an entirely erroneous idea, so far as it rjjlates to the North Otago herd of red deer, and no doubt Mr Telford is basing his theory upon tho results obtained in his own private breed of red deer. It is a well-known fact that with well-fed park deer abnormal development of horn can be 6ecured. Scottish red deer, under natural conditions, are probably the slowest of all the largo strains of red deer to develop their horns, and the North Otago stags, which are of pure Scottish blood, develop their horns much the same as they do in Scotland. For the last 10 years I have made a special study of this, and one can easily note the stages, of horn development as well as &ize of body up to four years. ' Beyond that it is difficult to say how old a stag may be, though his teeth or his hoens may shovy if ho is an aged animal past his "prime: The first five stages that a. stalker can thus note on the opening of the stalking 6eason on April 1 are-(l) The calf, four months old; (2) the knobbcr, 16 months old, with home sis t<> sever* or gigbfc inohes in

length; 0) tho 6piker, two years • and four months • old, with holms. 12ul to '15in in length, i£ a well-grown animal the two tines may be developed; (4) stag, at three yearn and-four moaths old, with five or sis points; (5) .stag at four yeans and.four months old, with seven. or eight points. A stag at the latter , age is not full-grown or filled out, and can easily bo distinguished from a fully-matured stag that is not carry-' ins more than eight points. It will thus be seen that a North O'ago stag haG to be Jit least five years old before ho carries 10 points, and 9ix before he has 12 points. Of course, there n,ay be exceptions to this rule in such country as. tho Hunter and Maliarora, where there is good bush feed for the stags in the spring, when they are growing their new set of horns. In th-a Dingle, which may bo taken as the av,--i-a!;c deer country for f-r-e:I and quality of heads, boing between the poorest and the best feeding grounds, thero is only a small proportion of royals or better to bo seen. The- great majority of fully-matured stags are 10-pointers, and through .degeneration eights and nines ana on the increase, a,nd this last season a number of fully-grown stage were seen carrying only si* points. Eleven etalfcure in the Dingle this last season shot only six royals, and saw only two others; small chanos, therefore, tbey would have had of making bags if they had been restricted to 12-pointers. Two of the finest heads shot in the Hunter this last scasoaii were 10-pointers. and both were stags in their prime.- When I have had time t-r complete tho set of young Btags' heads, showing tho horn development at different ages, which the Otago Society kindly gave me permission to secure for the Christehurch Mmemn, probably Mr -Telford may bo convinced that his theory does not apply, to this hard.—l am, etc '< . ,E. Haedcastle. Chnstchurch, August 29.