Heads and Horns :< 



ivceivcd in time for entry in its proper place, it would have been number two 

 in a total of eight. The antlers of this speeies (C'crrntt schomburgki) are the 

 most numerously branched of all antlers possessed by living deer. They go 

 far beyond the double bifurcation of the antlers of our Mule Deer, and in 

 general effect they are decidedly tree-like. They remind one of the branches 

 of an English oak in winter. The brow tine is long and elk-like. 



The fine pair of antlers in this collection have a length on the outside curve 

 of :50'j inches, with 10 points on the right and 12 on the left. Each antler 

 branches xeren I i in ex, and the tree-top effect is very marked. They are massive 

 and heavy, but the shoulder height accredited to the adult animal is the same as 

 that of our mule deer 41 inches. These antlers were obtained through the 

 visit of a friend to Siam. bearing a special request for such a specimen. 



The antlers of the Thameng, or Eld's Deer (Plate VIII, Fig. 7), of 

 Burma, are more common. Occasionally they can be purchased in New York 

 of Mr. Fred. Sauter; but they are so odd in form they are quite as interesting 

 as if they were more difficult to obtain. In form, the main beam and the ex- 

 tremely long brow tine taken together describe an almost complete semi- 

 circle. The animal itself is no larger than a fallow deer, and in proportion 

 to its size its antlers are the largest of all the deer. Four living specimens 

 may now be seen in the Zoological Park, and very shortly there will be others. 



How many persons are there in North America who could write one thou- 

 sand words regarding the deer of South America as a group? Possibly 

 twenty-five ; but probably no more. And, yet, the Cervidae of South America 

 are well worth knowing. Thus far two representative species, the large Marsh 

 Deer and the small Swamp Deer, have been brought alive to New York and 

 exhibited in the Zoological Park. Unfortunately, both those species by na- 

 ture are ill-adapted to life in captivity, and they do not long survive. 



A fine pair of antlers of the Marsh Deer, received from Argentina, ade- 

 quately represent that interesting species. In form they are absolutely peculiar, 

 i. e., unlike all other antlers of deer. The antlers of the Chilian Guemal are 

 only 4 r> 8 inches in length. 



Of the Wapiti group of round-horned deer, the collection includes three 

 specimens which, taken together, make an important series. The first in inter- 

 est is a very large pair representing the Altai Wapiti (Plate VIII, Fig. 9), 

 of central Asia. In size, in form, and general appearance they are so perfect 

 a counterfeit of the head weapons of our own Wapiti, or American Elk, that 

 no observer has ever detected their identity! There are absolutely no points of 



