There were many things that the huntsman of old had to learn regarding the stag before he could be considered as more than an apprentice--for instance, how to speak of a hart in terms of venery. The terms used were considered of the greatest importance, even to the manner in which the colour of the stag was spoken of, brown, yellow, or dun being the only permissible terms to distinguish the shade of colour. Special terms are given for every kind of head, or antlers, a stag might bear. The huntsman spoke of the stag's _blenches_ and _ruses_ when alluding to the tricks of a deer when trying to rid himself of the hounds, of his _doubling_ and _rusing to and fro upon himself_ when he retraced his steps, of his _beating up the river_ when he swam up-stream, and of _foiling down_, when he went down-stream, or of _going to soil_ when he stood in water. When the deer lay down he was _quat_, when he stood still in covert he was _stalling_. When he was tired he "_cast his chaule" i.e._ drooped his head, a well-known sign when the deer is done, as was his closed mouth when dead beat. The hart was _meved_ or moved, when he was started from his resting-place; he was _quested_ or hunted for, and _sued_ or chased; his resting-place was called his _ligging_ or _lair_, his scent of line of flight, his _fues_. He was spoken of as _soule_ or _soile_ (F. _seule_) if unaccompanied by other deer, and in "_herd with rascal and folly_" if keeping company with lesser deer. Besides many other quaint terms of venery the following were the designations given to the hart according to his age by:-- Twici, "Boke of St. Blome; Cox's "Master of Game." Albans," Manwood, "Gentleman's Turbervile. Recreations." 1st yr. A calf. A calf. A hinde-calf or calf. 2nd " A bullock. A brocket. A knobler or knobber. 3rd " A brocket. A spayer, spayard, or A brocket or brocke. spayd. 4th " A staggart. A staggart or stag. A staggard. 5th " A hart of ten. A hart. A hart. Until he was a hart of ten our text tells us he was not considered a chaseable or warrantable deer. By the above one will see that the "Master of Game" is exceptional in calling a deer of the second year a bullock, brocket being the usual term. In old French literature we occasionally find the word _broches_ used for the tines of a deer's antlers; brochet would be the diminutive, _i.e._ a small tine, and hence perhaps brocket, a young stag bearing small tines. Any stag of ten or over if hunted by the king became a Hart Royal, and if hunted and not taken, but driven out of the forest, a proclamation was made to warn every one that no person should chase or kill the said hart, and he was then a "Hart Royal proclaimed" (Man., p. 180).