Ohftrvatiom on the EIL 47 



- The horns of the elk, inltead of being pahnated, as are 

 thofe of the moofc, confifl of three principal divifions : — ■ 

 T. The brow antlers, which the hunters call the altars-, 



2. The two middle prono;-^, called ihit jighthig -horns ; and 



3. The horns, properly fo called. The two lirll retain their 

 iiiftplictty, the lafl increafcs in complexity every year.. They 

 do not, as thofe of tlie moofe are faid todo, acquire a new 

 br.'inch • every year j ■ though fomething analogous aclually 

 occur.-.' When the anima'l enters his third year, a fingle 

 pfohg or point comes out on the iufidc of the left horn ; the 

 next vear, a fimilar point on the infide of the right horn; 

 and fo alternately. Four ihort points, called pikes^ were 

 now apparent, one on each brow-ant Icr, and one on each 

 fi<^tin<r-horn. Thev fcldom exceed an inch in length. 



The following meafurements were made of tlie horns of 

 one of the male elk^. They were foniewhat longer than 

 thofe of the other, nolwithftanding an inch or two had ac- 

 cidentally broken off tnnn the end of one of them. 



' ' ' F. Inch. 



Diftancc between the roots or origin of the horns, o 4 

 Brow-antlers - - - - I 6 



• Fiohtinc-horn?, not meafured, but about the fame. 

 Longelt horn - - - - 3 ° 



From the tip of one horn to that of the other a 6 



I recollect to have feen, in the Mufcum of Yak College, 

 New- Haven, Connecticut, fome years ago, a remarkable pair 

 of horns, fuppofcd to have belonged to a moofe or elk. They 

 were not palmated ; and though I had not at that time de- 

 voted any attention to fubjecls of natural hillory, yet, from 

 the general idea which I retain of their llgure and compofi- 

 tiun, I am perfuaded that they mull, at fome period, have 

 ornamented the head of an elk. If I am right in, this par- 

 ticular, it will aiFord us fome notion of the fize to which the 

 horns of this animal attain. The horns in the Mulcum of 

 Yale College, if I do not inifremember, were faid to weigh 

 S5 or 56 pounds. 



Size. — As the animals now dcfcribcd had by no means 



attained their full growth, it is impofliblc to give any precife 



8 iiiformaliorx 



