HORN-STRUCTUEES IN THE UNQULATA 137 



the higher reptiles and mammals, be lodged in sockets in 

 the bone of the jaw. In Owen's definition of '^ Horns," 

 which I have just read, the one-pronged horn of the prong- 

 buck is compared with the antlers of the deer, but, as Mr. 

 Caton has noticed, the prong consists of horny matter only 

 and contains no bony core, and is therefore unlike the 

 " tines " of the deer's antler. The Indian muntjac or 

 kakar, which is a true deer, has a one-pronged antler which 

 is mounted on a long bony pedicle covered by hairy skin, 

 and therefore at first sight seems much to resemble the 

 horn of the prong-buck. 



It seems evident, however, from Mr. Caton's description, 

 that the horn of the prong-buck is a less perfect form of 

 horn than that of most other antelopes, and that the horn 

 seems more a mere aggregation of hairs, as he remarks, and 

 that the horny matter is less removed from the condition 

 of hair, which may account for the fact which he mentions, 

 that many of the loose fibres which he noticed inside the 

 shed horn are simply hairs. Again, it will be seen in the 

 prong-buck that when the old horn is shed the bony 

 core remains, whereas in the case of the deer both the hairy 

 skin, or " velvet," and the bony core are in turn shed after 

 the full completion of the antler. In the more specialized 

 deer horn no true horny matter is formed, but when the 

 velvet has dried and become detached it is only the bony 

 skeleton or core which then forms the fighting weapon of 

 the stag. When this weapon is no longer required, first 

 the projecting " burr," or ring at the base, by its growth 

 stops the circulation of blood in the skin, which then dries 

 and becomes detached, leaving the uncovered bony core 

 exposed, which in its turn, by a process of absorption just 

 below " the burr," becomes cut cleanly off, and the antler 

 falls, leaving the animal defenceless and timid, with all his 

 pugnacity gone. 



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