Download Full PDF - 15.78 MB - The Society of Irish Foresters
Download Full PDF - 15.78 MB - The Society of Irish Foresters Download Full PDF - 15.78 MB - The Society of Irish Foresters
12resistance to the invaders became good politics and was pressed on apace.The iron smelting initiated about 1610 was approved as an aider andabettor of this process.Round about 1750 we find that Red Deer were on the verge ofextinction in the Knockmealdown mountains and another record showsthat a few Red Deer survived in the Galtee mountains and Glengariffuntil after 1830. While travelling in the West in 1834, William Thompsonrecords that there were still 13 deer in Connemara and 12 in the baronyof Erris. An exceptionally heavy snow in 1834 seems to have led to theextinction of the Erris herd although, and this will be of interest toWestern foresters, it is also stated in a somewhat contradictory mannerthat the last specimen was shot near Nephin Beg in 1830.Meanwhile, from about 1750 the landlords were planting trees in theirdemesnes, building walls and introducing species of deer within theseenclosures. Various strains of Red Deer were imported from Scotlandand England. However, a statement made in 1900 that" descendantsof the Irish Red Deer only survive among the wooded mountains thatadjoin the Killarney lakes and on the estate of Lord Fitzgerald.Wexford," is generally accepted as being correct. The Wexford herd inthe Deerpark of Johnstown Castle, now a school and soil research stationfor the Department of Agriculture, was broken up about 1914 but somefine specimens have been preserved in the National Museum, Dublin. Itis now generally agreed that Killarney is the only remaining districtwhere the descendants of the original natural Irish Red Deer are to befound. There is, however, considerable doubt as to whether the purenative strain is still in existence.Besides the Red Deer, the earlier introduced and later augmentedFallow Deer became widely established and introductions in the latterpart of the century gave us the Japanese Deer and the Roe Deer.LIFE HISTORY AND CHARACTERISTICSIt would be quite impossible here to deal adequately with the complexitiesof the life and habits of deer species known in this country asthese not only vary from species to species but also within each speciesaccording to the part of the country in which they live. The accountoffered here, therefore, attempts at no detail but aims mainly atconveying the important facts of a deer's form apd habits in a generalway to those who may have very little knowledge of these animals.There is one characteristic which the name" deer" suggests to mostand that is the antlers. These are the horny growths which sweep andbranch upwards with poise and nobility from and around the foreheadsof most species of deer. To the huntsman and deer stalker the size and "formation and ramifications of these antlers are criterion of quality and 'Iof achievement after a successful kill. To many poets they have beenan inspiration and to the ordinary person they make the deer the notable
13animal it is. The male deer or stag bears these antlers, the female deer,hind or doe has none. The form of these antlers varies from species tospecies and is one of the most obvious means of identification, at least inthe case of the male. The development of these horny growths isinteresting. When deer are about ten months old horns start to developon the young male deer and from this to the second year they appearonly as two spikes a few inches long. In the third year they develop,growing upwards and forming off-shoots. In the fourth year furtherheight growth and stronger formation with additional branching occurs,and so on until the fifth or sixth year when the horns are regarded as fullydeveloped. These stages of development are illustrated in Illustration II.The spikes or horny points on a stag's antlers are generally knownas points or tines. To the deer-stalker or hunter achievement is thekilling of an animal with finer antlers and more points than normal. Thepointed off-shoots from the main beam of the antler are also named.Thus the brow tine is the forward and upward off-shoot from the mainbeam immediately above the forehead or where it emerges from thehead. The second outward and upward branch from the head is knownas the" Bay or Bez" tine and the third branch as the" Tray or Tres "tine. The top set of points is known as the crown or coronet.These points are illustrated and indicated in Illustration I which isa drawing of the head of a Red Deer stag with a fine set of antlershaving 12 points. (See Illustration overleaf).The Antlers are always solid and not hollow as in cattle and theyweigh very heavily and require considerable building up so that in areaswhich are overstocked or the type of food poor, the antlers become quitedegenerate on the stag. In certain areas it is said that the stags eat the-cast antlers in order to contribute to the bone building of the new antlers.Added to this development but almost as a separate phenomenon isthe casting of the antlers or horns which occurs each year quiteindependently of any other development. In short a buck or stag loosesits antlers or horns completely at a certain time of the year and thenproceeds to grow them again and this ~vent takes place each year in thelife of the deer. In this country the phenomenon occurs betweenFebruary and the end of April with most deer and so the stag or buckstarts off at once to grow a new set which goes on until about Augustwhen the horns or antlers are fully developed. When growing, the antlersare covered with a furry skin called velvet, and when the stage of fulldevelopment is reached, the deer rubs off this velvet until the hard hornis completely bared. This is accomplished by rubbing off the velvet ontree branches or other stiff objects.Towards the end of August and through September, the preliminariesto the mating or rutting season take place and in most species this takes• the form of battles between the fully grown stags for possession of groupsof does and the result usually is that the strongest stags take overpossession of numbers of does and hep company with them in a most
- Page 1: IRISH FORESTR YVol. IX. No. 1 SUMME
- Page 4 and 5: SOCIETY OF IRISH FORESTERSPresident
- Page 6 and 7: 4Need I dwell on the complexities i
- Page 8 and 9: 6Division. The final report is form
- Page 10 and 11: 8The picture I have painted of Dari
- Page 12 and 13: 10I am sure you have all been menta
- Page 16 and 17: 14RED DEER HEAD.BEZ TINE12 POINTS.I
- Page 18 and 19: 16In Wicklow the strain is not nati
- Page 20 and 21: 182nd YEAR3rd YEAR4th YEAR5th YEAR6
- Page 22 and 23: 20JAPANESE DEER.ANTLERS.FRONT VIEWS
- Page 24 and 25: 22This little animal is a lover of
- Page 26 and 27: 24neck reaching to the leaves in th
- Page 28 and 29: 26principally on measures of contro
- Page 30 and 31: PINUS CONTORTA as a Forest Tree In
- Page 32 and 33: 30any blanks resulting from frost t
- Page 34 and 35: 32humus may acctlerate podsolisatio
- Page 36 and 37: TENTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGTHE Ten
- Page 38 and 39: 36with satisfaction that the rate o
- Page 40 and 41: 38The vote of thanks to the speaker
- Page 42 and 43: COVER PHOTOGRAPHOur cover photograp
- Page 44 and 45: .:-................................
- Page 46 and 47: IRISH FORESTRY is fully served by:-
- Page 48 and 49: Felling and Cross-CuttingTREESCAN B
- Page 51 and 52: Benjamin Reid & fjO.20 HADDEN STREE
13animal it is. <strong>The</strong> male deer or stag bears these antlers, the female deer,hind or doe has none. <strong>The</strong> form <strong>of</strong> these antlers varies from species tospecies and is one <strong>of</strong> the most obvious means <strong>of</strong> identification, at least inthe case <strong>of</strong> the male. <strong>The</strong> development <strong>of</strong> these horny growths isinteresting. When deer are about ten months old horns start to developon the young male deer and from this to the second year they appearonly as two spikes a few inches long. In the third year they develop,growing upwards and forming <strong>of</strong>f-shoots. In the fourth year furtherheight growth and stronger formation with additional branching occurs,and so on until the fifth or sixth year when the horns are regarded as fullydeveloped. <strong>The</strong>se stages <strong>of</strong> development are illustrated in Illustration II.<strong>The</strong> spikes or horny points on a stag's antlers are generally knownas points or tines. To the deer-stalker or hunter achievement is thekilling <strong>of</strong> an animal with finer antlers and more points than normal. <strong>The</strong>pointed <strong>of</strong>f-shoots from the main beam <strong>of</strong> the antler are also named.Thus the brow tine is the forward and upward <strong>of</strong>f-shoot from the mainbeam immediately above the forehead or where it emerges from thehead. <strong>The</strong> second outward and upward branch from the head is knownas the" Bay or Bez" tine and the third branch as the" Tray or Tres "tine. <strong>The</strong> top set <strong>of</strong> points is known as the crown or coronet.<strong>The</strong>se points are illustrated and indicated in Illustration I which isa drawing <strong>of</strong> the head <strong>of</strong> a Red Deer stag with a fine set <strong>of</strong> antlershaving 12 points. (See Illustration overleaf).<strong>The</strong> Antlers are always solid and not hollow as in cattle and theyweigh very heavily and require considerable building up so that in areaswhich are overstocked or the type <strong>of</strong> food poor, the antlers become quitedegenerate on the stag. In certain areas it is said that the stags eat the-cast antlers in order to contribute to the bone building <strong>of</strong> the new antlers.Added to this development but almost as a separate phenomenon isthe casting <strong>of</strong> the antlers or horns which occurs each year quiteindependently <strong>of</strong> any other development. In short a buck or stag loosesits antlers or horns completely at a certain time <strong>of</strong> the year and thenproceeds to grow them again and this ~vent takes place each year in thelife <strong>of</strong> the deer. In this country the phenomenon occurs betweenFebruary and the end <strong>of</strong> April with most deer and so the stag or buckstarts <strong>of</strong>f at once to grow a new set which goes on until about Augustwhen the horns or antlers are fully developed. When growing, the antlersare covered with a furry skin called velvet, and when the stage <strong>of</strong> fulldevelopment is reached, the deer rubs <strong>of</strong>f this velvet until the hard hornis completely bared. This is accomplished by rubbing <strong>of</strong>f the velvet ontree branches or other stiff objects.Towards the end <strong>of</strong> August and through September, the preliminariesto the mating or rutting season take place and in most species this takes• the form <strong>of</strong> battles between the fully grown stags for possession <strong>of</strong> groups<strong>of</strong> does and the result usually is that the strongest stags take overpossession <strong>of</strong> numbers <strong>of</strong> does and hep company with them in a most
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