178 



Dr. J. Murie on the Horns, Viscera, 



niously adjusted, to effect which is one of the intents of this 

 communication. 



1. Early and late Stages of Groivth of the Lateral and Median 



Horns. 

 All writers have been unanimous in according to the giraffe 

 possession of two short elevations from the summit of the 

 head, which in general have gone by the name of horns, 

 though covered with hairy skin, like other parts of the body. 

 To the early naturalists their nature was conjectural; but ulti- 

 mately, when critically examined, their more or less soli"' 

 bony structure became evident. 



Fiff. 1. 



Sketch of the posterior horn of the young (2 months) male giraffe, seen 

 from the outside and with the skin removed, of natural dimensions : 

 h, the osseous elongation or horn ; sk, portion of the skull. 



The question then arose whether they were most like the 

 antlers of deer or the core of the horns of antelopes, goats, 

 and oxen, &c. Towards the former, objection was raised 

 that they were persistent and not annually deciduous ; to- 

 wards the latter, that they were not porous or canaliculate, 

 neither was their covering horny. Hence, separated from 

 either class, the problem arose, what was the relation of the 

 giraffe's horns to the bones beneath. A few naturalists pro- 

 mulgated the idea that the pair of posterior prominences were 

 prolongations of the frontal bone ; but more accurate observers 



