Buffon's Natural History. Volume 06 (of 10): Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals, &c. &cBuffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de
History
Buffon's Natural History. Volume 06 (of 10): Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals, &c. &c
Buffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de
Natural history
There is a small kind of stag at l'Ecole Vétérinaire, which I have
seen, and which is said to have come from the Cape of Good Hope. It
was spotted with white, somewhat like the axis, and was called the hog
stag, merely, as it should seem, because its legs were shorter, and it
was not so agile as the common kind. The length of this from the muzzle
to the extremity of the body, was only three feet four inches; its legs
were short, and its feet and hoofs small; it was yellow with white
spots, black eyes, and black hair on the upper eyelid; the nostrils
were also black, as were the corners of the mouth; the head was nearly
of the same colour as the belly, and it had large ears, white on the in
and yellow on the outside. Its horns were above eleven inches long and
ten lines thick. Its back was dark brown, its tail was yellow above and
white beneath, and its legs were of a brownish black. From all which it
appears this animal approaches nearer to the species of the stag than
to the fallow-deer.
_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
[Illustration: FIG. 56. _Female Fallow Deer._]
[Illustration: FIG. 57. _Fallow Deer._]
_Published Oct: 29, 1791 by I.S. Barr._
THE FALLOW-DEER.[F]
[F] In Greek [Greek: pròx]; in Latin _dama_; in French _le daim_; in
Italian _daino_; in Spanish _daino_; in German _damhirsch_; in Swedish
_dof_, _dovhjort_; in Polish _lanii_.
No two animals can make a more near approach to each other than the
stag and the fallow-deer, and yet no two animals keep more distinct,
or avoid each other with more fixed animosity; they never herd or
intermix together, and consequently never give rise to an intermediate
race. It is even rare, unless they have been transported thither, to
find fallow-deer in a country where stags are numerous. They seem to
be of a nature less robust and less rustic than the stag; are less
common in the forests, but are kept in parks, where it may be said
they are half domestic. They abound more in England than in any other
country in Europe; and there the people are extremely partial to their
venison. The dogs also prefer the flesh of this deer to that of all
other animals; and having once tasted it, they will quit the chase of
the stag or roe, when they come across the track of a fallow-deer.
There are some of them in the neighbourhood of Paris, in some provinces
of France, Spain, and Germany, as also in America, where probably they
have been carried from Europe. It seems to be an animal formed for a
temperate climate, for there are not any in Russia, and are rarely met
with in Sweden, or any other northern country. Stags are much more
generally diffused. They are found throughout Europe, even in Norway,
and over all the north, Lapland, perhaps, excepted; in Asia, especially
in Tartary, they are numerous, as well as in the northern provinces of
China. They are likewise found in America; for those of Canada differ
only from ours in the height of their horns, and in the direction of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account