THE ANTLERS. 



215 



Hungary were niiicli the largest antlers, and not easily distin- 

 guished from the antlers of our Elk, of which there were a num- 

 ber in the collection. There were several specimens, whicli I 

 was at a loss to determine whether they were grown in America 

 or Europe. I must say that the typical indicia of the antlers of 

 both these varieties are precisely alike. 



I present upon the next page (Fig. 18) an illustration of trip- 

 let antlers on the same head, from a Red Deer, which I saw in 

 Rosenburg Castle, Copenhagen, said to have been killed by the 

 king several centuries ago. Each, it will be observed, has a dis- 

 tinct and independent pedicel. The right antler is thirty-two 



From a California Elk. 



inches long. The upper left antler is twenty- nine and a half 

 inches long, and the lower left antler is twenty-five inches in 

 length. A similar abnormal growth occurred in this State (Illi- 

 nois) some years since, on an American Elk, only the extra ant- 

 ler was between the other two, nearer to one than the other, 

 and was relatively smaller than tlie European specimen. It had 

 a distinct pedicel, and seemed to grow quite independently of 

 the other antlers. The specimen was in the collection of Dr. 

 Velay and was destroyed in the great Chicago fire in 1871. I 

 have never heard of an instance where triplet antlers have grown 

 upon any other species of deer. 



On both our Elk and the European Stag, those antlers which 

 spread the most are usually the longest, are the most symmetri- 

 cal, and are the most admired. 



