ANIMALS OF THE 



are composed, begins to harden at the bottom, 

 while the upper part remains soft, and still conti- 

 nues growing ; from whence it appears that the 

 horns grow differently in deer from those of sheep 

 or cows, in which they are always seen to increase 

 from the bottom. However, when the whole head 

 has received its full growth, the extremities then 

 begin to acquire their solidity ; the velvet cover- 

 ing, or bark, with its blood-vessels, dry up, and 

 then begin to fall ; and this the animal hastens, 

 by rubbing its antlers against every tree it meets. 

 tlu this manner, the whole external surface being- 

 stripped off by degrees, at length the whole head 

 acquires its complete hardness, expansion, and 

 beauty. 



It would be a vain task to inquire into the cause 

 of the annual production of these horns ; it is suf- 

 ficient to observe, that if a stag be castrated when 

 its horns are fallen off, they will never grow 

 again ; and, on the contrary, if the same opera- 

 tion is performed when they are on, they will 

 never fall off. If only one of his testicles is 

 taken out, he will want the horn on that side ; 

 if one of the testicles only be tied up, he will 

 want the horn of the opposite side. The in- 

 crease of their provision also tends to facilitate 

 the growth and the expansion of the horns ; and 

 M. Buffon thinks it possible to retard their 

 growth entirely, by greatly retrenching their 

 food.* As a proof of this, nothing can be more 

 obvious than the difference between a stag bred 



* Button, vol. xi. p. 113. 



