The Young Deer have a Marvellous Craft and Malice.

 

Chapter 17.

Of the Rut and Vault of Harts.

Harts commonly begin to vault about the middest of September, and their rut continues about two months; the older they be, the hotter they are, and the better beloved of the Hinds. 

The older Harts go sooner to vault than the young, and they are so fierce and so proud that until they have accomplished their lust, the young Harts dare not come near them; for if they do, they beat them and drive them away. The young Deer have a marvellous craft and malice; for when they perceive the old Harts are weary of the rut and weakened in force, they run upon them and either hurt or kill them, causing them to abandon the rut, and remain masters in their place. Harts much sooner kill each other when there is scarcity of Hinds; for if there be Hinds plenty, they separate themselves one from another, and hide themselves in one place or other.

It is a pleasue to behold them when they go to rut and make their vault; for when they smell the Hind, they raise their nose up into the air and look aloft, as though they gave thanks to Nature, which gave them so great delight. If it be a great Hart, he will turn his head, and will look if there be none other near to annoy or interrupt him. The young Deer, being not able to abide them, and seeing them make such countenances, will withdraw themselves from them and run away; but if there be any of equal bigness, they begin then both of them to vault, and to scrape the ground with their feet, shocking and butting one against another in such sort you shall hear the blows of their heads a good half mile off, so long til he which is master chases away the other. 

The Hind, beholding this pastime, never removes from her place; he which has the mastery will begin to vault and to bellow, casting himself with a full leap upon the Hind to cover her, and that quickly. 

They are very easy to be killed at such times, for they follow the paths and ways where the Hinds have gone, putting their nose to the ground to follow by the scent, and never look nor vent whether any man be there abouts who may annoy them or not. During the time of their rut, they live with small sustenance, for they feed only on such things as they see before them, and rather regard the track of the Hinds. Their chief meat is the red mushroom or toadstool, which helps well to make them piss their grease; they are then in so vehement heat, everywhere they pass and find water, they tumble and lie therein, and sometimes for despite they thrust their heads into the earth.

A man may easily know the old Hart from the young by hearing him when he bellows, for the elder they be, the greater and more roaring their voice is. Also, thereby you may know if they have been chased and hunted or not, for if they have been hunted, or be afraid of anything, they put their mouth against the ground and bellow softly, and yet with a great voice, the which the Harts at rest never do, for they raise up their heads, bellowing and braying aloud and without dread. 

Chapter 18.

In What Season the Harts mew and take them to the Thickets. 

In February and March, the Hart mews and casts his head, and commonly the old Hart much sooner than the young. But if there be any which have been hurt at rut, or by any other means, nature is not so strong in him to help him; for all his substance and nouriture cannot suffice to heal him and to drive out his head, by reason of the hurt he has. So are there some which losing their stones or pissles at rut, or otherwise, never mew; for you must understand, if you geld a Hart before he has a head, he will never bear head, and on that other side, if you geld him when he has his head or antlers, he will never cast or new it. In like manner if you geld him when he has a velvet head, for it will remain so always, and neither fray nor burnish. 

This gives us to understand there is great virtue in the stones, for through their occasion oftentimes many men who bear heads of a goodly beam, yet never mew nor cast them. When the Harts have mewed or cast their heads, they begin to withdraw themselves, and to betake them to the thicket, hiding themselves in some fair place where there is some good feed and water upon the border of some field, to the end they may go to some piece of wheat, pease or such like lusty feed. 

You shall note that young Harts never betake themselves unto the thickets until they have borne their third head, which is in their fourth year, and then they may be judged Harts of ten but very youngly. As also the Boars never forsake their routes until their third year, because they have not the courage, nor their tusks and arms are not yet sufficient to defend them. 

After the Harts have mewed, they begin in the months of March and April to thrust out their buttons, and as the Sun rises in his cricle or course, and their feed increases and waxes hard, their heads in like manner and their venison grow and augment, and by the middest of June their heads will be so made as much as they will bear all that year, at least if they be in good corn country, or where good feed is; as the season of the year increases the crop of the earth, so will their heads increase in all respects.