162 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. 



length. The whole surface of the horn is covered by a soft 

 hairy* membrane, which, from its resemblance to that substance, 

 is called velvet, and the horns are said to be ' in the velvet' 

 until the month of August, by which time they have attained 

 their full size. After the horns are entirely formed, the mem- 

 brane becomes entirely detached, and this separation is hasten- 

 ed by the animal, who appears to suffer some irritation, or 

 itching, which causes him to rub the horns against trees, &c. 



" Almost all who have written upon this species, have dwelt 

 upon the peculiar apparatus, situated beneath the eye, at the 

 internal angle, which the French naturalists call larmiers or si- 

 nus lacrymales. This apparatus is a slit or depression, obliquely 

 placed below the inner angle of each eye, and lined wilh a na- 

 ked membrane, which secretes an unctions matter, not unlike 

 the ceramen or wax of the ear. Dr. Smith, in the paper we 

 have above referred to, says that ' the huntei's assure us that 

 the Elk possesses the power, by strictly closing the nostrils, of 

 forcing the air through these apertures in such a manner as to 

 make a noise which may be heard at a great distance.' 



" This, however, is inaccurate ; it is true that the Elk, when 

 alarmed, or his attention is strongly excited, makes a whistling 

 noise at the moment that these lacrymal appendages are opened 

 and vibrated in a peculiar manner. But having dissected these 

 appendages in an Elk, recently dead, we are perfectly assured 

 that there is no communication between the nostril of the ani- 

 mal and these sacs. The bone behind these appendages is 

 cribriform, or reticular, but we could discover no duct nor pas- 

 sage by which air or any fluid could find its way. The pecu- 

 liar use or importance of this structure is still unknown ; it 

 exists in several species of the genus, as already indicated in 

 the generic characters, and nothing but a close and careful exa- 

 mination of these animals in a state of nature will lead us to a 

 correct understanding of their purpose. Barton's notion that 

 'it seems in these animals to serve the purposes of an auxi iary 

 breathing apparatus, and of an organ of smelling,' is a'toffether 

 speculation, founded upon a 'conjecture' as to tlie structure of 



