19S 



THE farmers' cabinet. 



VOL. I, 



essayist on brute diseases, but to point out 

 the proper course for those who may wish 

 to pursue the subject. With a view to pro- 

 mote inquiry, I propose to make some re- 

 marks on the anatomical structure, physio- 

 logical uses, and pathological states of the 

 horns of domestic cattle. This may lead 

 into occasional digressions respecting the 

 horns of some other animals, and will ne- 

 cessarily involve the consideration of other 

 organs connected with them- 



Anatomical Structure of the 

 Horns of Animals- 



Horn — in a general sense, denotes a cal- 

 lous protuberance growing from the heads 

 of certain kinds of animals. Horn — in its 

 strict signification, means, a peculiar fibrous 

 substance, which forms the exterior covering 

 of the horns of the ox, sheep, goat,&c. 



The horns of animals differ in many re- 

 markable particulars, some of which, it may 

 be proper to notice. They may be divided 

 into four several sorts. 



I. Such as consist entirely of a solid mass 

 of horny, fibrous matter. Horns of this 

 description are found in the Rhinoceros. — 

 Instead of occupying the usual position on 

 the OS fruntis, they are placed on the ridge 

 of the nasal bones, below the eyes. Some- 

 times there is only one, as in the R. unicornis, 

 or one horned rhinoceros — sometimes two, as 

 in the R. bicornis, or two horned rhinoceros. 

 In the latter case, they are both placed in a 

 vertical line on the ridge of the nose. 



II. Such as are composed of an outside 

 horny shell and an interior cavernous bone. 

 These horns are found in the ox, sheep, goat, 

 and some kindred genera. At a very early 

 period, a small bony tubercle may be felt, 

 easily moveable, under the skin ; which 

 gradually enlarges, and protrudes, the skin 

 covering its extremity. This skin, at length, 

 becomes callous, loses its vitality, dries, and 

 falls off— leaving the bone covered with a 

 casing of horn. During the development 

 of the horn, its bone becomes anchylosed, 

 or united with the os frontis, and a commu- 

 nication formed from the inside of the horn, 

 into the cells of the skull. '1 he core is 

 nourished by the periosteum, or skin which 

 covers it, and lines the skull. The skull, or 

 true horn, continues to grow from the root, 

 in the same manner as hair, hoofs, nails, &c. 

 The great peculiarity of this sort of horns 

 is the hollow, or cavernous structure of the 

 bony interior. In order to elucidate the 

 subject, of which I propose to treat, ii will 

 be necessary to examine this structure more 

 minutely. 



If a horn be sawed across, in its middle, 

 or larger portion, so as to exhibit a transverse 

 section, it will present the following suc- 

 cession of parts, viz. 



1. The outside shell or horny covering. 

 This is composed of an assemblage of deli- 

 cate hair-like fibres, which run from the root 

 to the apex of the horn, and are agglutinated 

 together, so as to form a compact mass. — 

 These fibres appear to grow out, collectively, 

 from a vascular pulpy root, in the same man- 

 ner that hairs do individually. The hoofs 

 and claws of animals, and the nails of the 

 fingers, are produced in the same manner. 



2. Immediately within the skull, we ob- 

 serve the periosteum, surrounding the bony 

 pith. This is a tough membrane, amply 

 supplied with blood vessels for the nourish- 

 ment of the bone. A similar structure ac- 

 companies bone in almost every instance, and 

 is designed for the same purpose — to nourish 

 it. 



3. We now come to the core, pith, or bone 

 of the horn. When the shell and perios- 

 teum are removed from the pith, it presents 

 an exterior form, very similar to that of the 

 entire horn, only shorter, and less pointed. 

 Its structure is soft, and spongy, but it pre- 

 sents no appearance of being hollow. When 

 sawed through, in the manner I have men- 

 tioned, it, however, appears as a thin, bony 

 shell, containing a very large cavity. The 

 interior is rendered extremely irregular by 

 variations in the thickness of the bone, and 

 still more, by numerous ridges and partitions 

 of bone, which run lengthwise of the cavity. 

 The sides are found to vary from less than 

 one-eighth, to more than half an inch, in 

 different parts of the same horn. Although 

 the cavity seems to be divided into smaller 

 cells, yet they are all found to have a free 

 communication with each other. These 

 plates, or partitions, of bone, add greatly to 



Fiff. nc. 



