HORN 



779 



the buse, and the whole outer surface in tunooth 



;ui.l Kiiin.lf.l. Tin- horn is nn-iliii.il in position and 

 symmetrical in *ha|M>. In tin- female it in usually 

 snorter and Hiualler. When a second horn is 

 present it is usually shorter and Hinaller in -i/-. 

 and is situated In-hind the !ir-i one and on the 

 t'r.iiiial hone>. If we imagine the rough part of 

 the IHHII- mnli-iiK-aili and the vascular ti--m- im- 

 iin-iliately over it growing ii|>\vunls into the epi- 

 dermal horn an. I hollowing it out, we have the 

 Heuond kind of e|)idernml horn the hollow horn 

 found in the Cavicornia (Bovidie, Ovidse, Ami 

 lopidte). In the case of these horns the bony part, 

 or horn core, is developed as an outgrowth from 

 the frontal l>one ; in tne Bovidie and Ovidte the 

 cores are hollow or spongy, and their spaces com- 

 municate with the air-spaces in the frontal bones, 

 while in the Antilopidie the cores are solid or only 

 slightly excavated at the hose. Hollow horns are 

 usually unbranched and persistent, but in the 

 Prong-horn Antelope (Antilocapra americana) the 

 horny sheaths are shed annually while the bony 

 cores grow and their vascular coverings persist 

 and give rise to the new horns ; these horns show, 

 after the first year, a -small branch or snag analo- 

 gous to the brow-antler of the deer. In the 

 Chickara (Antilope [Tetraceros] quadricornis), an 

 Indian species of antelope, two pairs of horn cores 

 are developed from the frontal bones. The gigantic 

 extinct antelopes Bramatherium and Sivatherium 

 had two pairs of horns like the Antilope quadri- 

 cornis, and the hinder pair possessed the branched 

 character now exhibited only by the Prong-horn. 

 Hollow horns are found usually in both sexes, but 



Front View of the Skull of the Ox, with the right 

 Horny Sheath detached from the Core. 



in some genera of antelopes ( Tragelaphus, Cervi- 

 capra, Cephalophus, &c. ) only in the male. In 

 the Prong-horn the horns of the female are almost 

 hidden in the hair of the head ; they are small, 

 short, and unbranched, as in the yearling buck. 

 (6) Bony horns or antlers (see ANTLERS, and DEER) 

 are of two kinds, exemplified by the horns of the 

 deer and giraffe respectively. In these the horns 

 are developed from membrane bones which grow 

 up covered by the skin, and nourished by vessels 

 from it. In the giraffe thev grow just over the 

 junction of the frontal with the parietal bones, 

 and become united to them by means of cartilage. 

 The integument over the antler is terminated by a 

 tuft of coarser hair, and is persistent. Honis are 

 present in both sexes, and the young giraffe is 

 the only animal l>orn with horns. The antlers of 

 the deer differ from those of the giraffe in that the 

 membrane bones become firmly united by bony 

 growth to the frontal bones, the integument oV 

 velvet does not persist, and the horns are shed 

 annually. 



(2) True horny tissue is a modified form of epi- 

 dermic tissue. The term includes not only true 

 horn, as noted above, but also hoofs, nails, claws, 

 hair, wool, beaks of animals generally, the carapace 

 of tortoises, the scales of the pangolin, the spines 

 of the hedgehog and the quills of the porcupine, 



the feathers of birds, the 'castors' of homes and 

 other iiiiimiils, and other epidermic thickening* and 

 growth**, whether occurring normally as the callosi- 

 ties over the l>n-a-il>oni- of camels and the hips of 

 some monkey- or pathologically 

 as the corns ' and ' horns ' of the 

 human subject. This tissue largely 

 consists of an albuminoid sub- 

 stance termed ' keratin,' which is 

 composed of carbon (from 50 '3 to 

 52'5 percent.), hydrogen (from 6*4 

 to 7 per cent.), oxygen (from 20-7 

 to 25 per cent.), nitrogen (from 

 16*2 to 17*7 per cent.), and sulphur 

 ( from '7 to 5 per cent. ). Keratin 

 may be obtained from the struc- 

 tures above enumerated by the 

 successive act ion of boiling water, Cellular Structure 

 alcohol, ether, and dilute acids, of Horn, 

 and is probably a compound 

 body that has not yet been resolved into it.- com- 

 ponents. Viewed under the microscope, horny 

 tissue is seen to consist of numerous parallel bundles 

 of fine threads. These threads, under the action 

 of a concentrated solution of caustic potash or soda, 

 unfold into small plates which gradually expand 

 into regular nucleated epidermic cells shown in the 

 figure. 



Cattle are frequently dishorned to prevent them 

 from constantly goring and injuring each other 

 when confined in open courts ; the whole or part 

 only of the horn and horn core may be removed, but 

 the usual method is total dishorning by sawing off 

 the horns close to the head, at their junction with 

 the skull. If the operation is skilfully performed, 

 and if proper precautions be taken to prevent in- 

 flammation following, the operation is affirmed bv 

 many to be by no means a very painful one (much 

 less so than many others, sucn as branding), the 

 skin being the most sensitive structure involved. 

 It should not therefore, it is argued, be considered 

 within the category of cruelty to animals forbidden 

 by law. In 1889, however, the Queen's Bench 

 division decided against this view, the judges 

 denouncing the practice as cmel and demoralis- 

 ing. The Scottish Court of Session in 1890 came to 

 uu opposite conclusion, which was appealed from. 



HORN MANUFACTURES. The horns of the ox, 

 buffalo, sheep, goat, and antelope are hollow, tough, 

 and capable of being split into flexible slices. 

 Rhinoceros horn, though solid through nearly its 

 whole length, resembles that of the ox in its nature. 

 From the most remote ages the horns of animals 

 have been employed by man for various purposes. 

 Numerous examples of poniards, handles, pick- 

 axes, dart-heads, ' batons of authority,' and imple- 

 ments of unknown use made of reindeer and red- 

 deer boras have been found in river-gravels among 

 other prehistoric remains of the Neolithic period. 

 But the most remarkable of the productions of 

 Neolithic man which have yet been found are 

 pieces of reindeer horn and mammoth tusks with 

 carvings or etchings of animals upon them. 



Horns of the ox, as well as those of the sheep and 

 goat, can be split up into sheets or plates after they 

 nave been soaked and boiled. ^ hen made very 

 thin such plates were at one time used for window- 

 panes, for the construction of lanterns, and for 

 covering Hornliooks (q.v.). Two pieces of horn 

 can also l>e welded together at the edges by steep- 

 ing them, in hot water and applying pressure. 

 Another valuable property of horn is that when 

 heated it can be pressed into a die or mould. In 

 this way it is formed into ornamental handles 

 for knives, forks, umbrellas, and walking-canes; 

 also into drawer-knobs, spoons, 1>oxes, buttons, and 

 many other useful articles. The manufacture of 

 combs from horn is already described under COMB. 



