228 ANIMAL LIFE PAST AND PRESENT. 



beneath which the blood-vessels carry the blood to all 

 their parts. With the final completion of their growth, 

 and the cessation of the deposition of bony matter from 

 the blood over the greater part of the antler, there is 

 formed, however, at the very base, just above the point 

 where the antler joins the protuberance on the fore- 

 head from which it takes its rise, a rough prominent 

 ring of bone. This protuberant ring, which is 

 commonly known as the " burr," and is often used to 

 form the end of whip-handles, serves to constrict the 

 blood-vessels at this point, so that henceforth no blood 

 is carried over the antlers. In consequence of this de- 

 privation of blood, the " velvet " rapidly dries up, and 

 either peels off, or is rubbed off by the animal against 

 the stems and branches of trees. The antlers are then 

 complete, and their owner steps proudly forward from 

 the sequestered glades in which he has lain concealed 

 during the period of their growth as the " monarch of 

 the glen." 



This, then, is the mode of development of antlers ; 

 and after they have served their purpose as weapons of 

 offence during the fierce encounters which take place 

 between the males during the breeding season, the 

 living bone beneath the skin at the base of the burr is 

 absorbed, and the antler, or dead bone, is shed, to be 

 again renewed in the same manner as before. 



Another point in connection with antlers is, however, 

 noteworthy namely, that they gradually increase in 

 complexity as the age of the animal advances. Thus, 

 the head of the Fallow-Deer represented in Figure 78 



