304 R. J. GOSS 



gether with a loss in correlation between antler and reproduction 

 cycles. 



Antlers are shed earlier in older deer than in younger ones. De- 

 layed by pregnancy, shedding coincides with the calving season in 

 female caribou and reindeer. Castration of deer with mature, dead 

 antlers induces precocious shedding and subsequent regrowth of 

 antlers that remain permanently in velvet. Castration-induced antler 

 loss is precluded by injections of testosterone, estrogen, Enovid, or 

 norethvnodrel, but not by cortisone. In normal deer, antler shedding 

 could not be induced by repeated injections of chorionic gonado- 

 tropin or of pituitary or parathyroid preparations, nor by abrupt 

 cessation of testosterone injections. Hypophysectomv, however, ap- 

 pears to prevent antler growth. 



Acknowledgments. Original investigations by the author were sup- 

 ported by a research grant (B-923) from the National histitutes of Health, 

 United States Public Health Service. 



I am indebted to Mrs. Sally Hoedemaker for valuable technical assist- 

 ance, and to Messrs. Daniel and Justin Southwick of the Southwick Animal 

 Farm, Blackstone, Massachusetts, for their generous cooperation in the 

 acquisition and maintenance of experimental deer and for the many cour- 

 tesies without which my investigations could not have been so successfully 

 pursued. 



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