210 MEMOIRS of the 
length of the head from the back of the Ic nil to the tip of the 
nole, or rather the extremity of the upper jaw-bone N C), 2 foot^ 
the breadth of the ikull where largclt, PQj was a foot 5 there 
were two holes, near the roots of the horns, that looked like 
eyes, but were in reality larae open paiTages, near an inch in 
diameter, in the bone ot the forehead, to give way fo great blood- 
velTels, that here ilTue out of the head- and pals between the 
furface of the horn, and the fmooth hairy ikin that covers them, 
whilft they are growing, commonly called the velvet, to lupply 
the horns with lufficient nouniliment, whilll they are Ibfr, and 
till they arrive at their full magnitude, fo as to become ^x*rfe6tly 
hard and folid; thefe veffels, by realbn of their largeneis and 
turgency, whilft the horn is Iprouting and pliant, make deep and 
conipicuous furrows all along the outfide of it, where they pals, 
which may be plainly leen, after the horn is bare, and come to 
ns full growth, at which time all theie veins and arteries, with 
the external velvet fkin ihrivel up and leparate from the horn, and 
the animal affe£ts to tear them off in great ftripcs againll the 
boughs of trees. 
It is not to be queflioned, but thefe large horns, like others 
of the deer-kind, were naturally cad every year, and grew again 
to their full fize in about the Ipace of four months j for all fpecies 
of deer, yet known, do certainly drop their horns yearly, pro- 
bably owing to the fame caule, that trees annually cait their ripe 
fruit, or drop their withering leaves in autumn 5 that is, becaufe 
the nourilhing juice is ftopped, and flows no longer, either on the 
account, that it is now deficient, being all fpcnt, or that the hollow 
pafTages, which convey it, dry up, lo as the part having no lon- 
ger any communica^tion therewith, mud of neceiliiy, by degrees, 
lever from the whole, but with this ditVcrcnce, that horns, by 
realbn of their hard and llrong compofiticn, Itick fait to the head 
by their root leven or eight months, after all their nourilhment is 
perfectly Ipent^ whereas leaves and fruit, confiding of a much 
more tender fubilance, and a finer texture of parts, drop Iboncr, 
when once the lupply of ufual nouriihment is oblirucied- this 
analogy, obferved by nature, in the cafting the horns of beads, 
and the dropping the fruits of trees, will appear much more 
evident to any one that will obferve the end of a dalk, from 
which a ripe orange, or any large fruit, has been lately levered, 
and the but-end of a cad horn, where it is fadened to the Os 
Frontis-^ for by comparing them together, we Aiall find lb great 
acongruity in the lliape ot both, that it will be apparent, nature 
works according to the lame mcchanifm in one as in ihe other. 
Several 
