DEVELOPMENT OF DEER-HORNS. 



225 



natives eagerly suck it from the bones as they are taken from the an- 

 imal. When cooked it is worthy of a place on a royal table. The 

 flesh is well fitted for being made into jerked-meat. The thick, strong 

 hide is employed in the manufacture of shoe-soles, shields, and similar 

 articles. 



DEER. 



From the Antelope the Deer are readily distinguished by the cha- 

 ncter of the horns, which belong only to the male animals, are com- 

 posed of solid bony substances, and are shed and renewed annually 

 during the life of the animal. 

 The process by which the 

 horns are developed, die, and 

 are shed is a very curious 

 one, and deserves a short no- 

 tice before we proceed to con- 

 sider the various species of 

 Deer which will be noticed 

 in the present work. For a 

 familiar instance we will take 

 the common Stag or Red Deer 

 of 'Europe. 



In the beginning of the 

 month of March he is lurk- 

 ing in the sequestered spots 

 of his forest home, harmless 

 as his mate and as timorous. The Deer. 



Soon a pair of prominences make their appearance on his forehead, 

 covered with a velvety skin. In a few days these little prominences 

 have attained some length, and give the first indication of their true 

 form. Grasp one of these in the hand and it will be found burn- 

 ing hot to the touch, for the blood runs fiercely through the velvety 

 skin, depositing at every touch a minute portion of bony matter. More 

 and more rapidly grow the horns, the carotid arteries enlarging in order 

 to supply a sufficiency of nourishment, and in the short period of ten 

 weeks the enormous mass of bony matter has been completed. Such a 

 process is almost, if not entirely, without parallel in the history of the 

 animal kingdom. 



When the horns have reached their due development, the bony rings 

 at their bases, through which the arteries pass, begin to thicken, and by 

 gradually filling up the holes compress the blood-vessels, and ultimately 

 obliterate them. The velvet, now having no more nourishment, loses 

 its vitality, and is soon rubbed off* in shreds against tree-trunks, branches, 

 or any inanimate object. The horns fall off in February, and in a very 



