152 



KNOWLEDGE. 



[July, 1901. 



of a fox iL'cently exhibited by the piescut writer before 

 the Zoological Society. In the case of this animal, which, 

 by the way, was killed during the past winter by the 



Fig. 2. — Antlers of French Bed Deer, with Duplication on the Eight 

 Side. From a specimen in the collection of Tiscount Powerscourt. 



ijouth Oxfordshire hounds, there are two complete 

 canines on each side of the upper jaw, one behind the 

 other, giving a most remarkable appearance to the head. 

 As already said, the complete duplication of the upper 

 canine may quite possibly be an extreme development 

 of the imperfect fission noticeable in the College of Sur- 

 geons' specimen : btit. on the other hand, it may be due 

 to the growth of a stipplemental germ which exists at 

 the root of most mammalian teeth, but, as a rule, remains 

 dormant throughout life. 



To return to our sheep. It has now to be mentioned 

 that the development of two or more additional horns in 

 these animals is by no means the only abuormality 

 which not unfrequently makes its appearance in con- 

 nection with these appendages. There is, on the con- 

 trary, an equally marked tendency to " sport " in the 

 opposite direction, that is to say to the coalescence of 

 the normal pair so as to give rise to what are practically 

 tmicorn sheep. 



These unicorn sheep have a much more restricted 

 habitat than their mauy-liorned cousins, being 

 apparently confined to a ceiiaiu portion of the Hima- 

 laya or Tibet, although they are not referred to by Brian 

 Hodgson in his paper '■ On the Tame Sheep and Goats 

 of the Sub-Himalayas and Tibet. " already quoted. 

 . Tliree specimens of the horns of this remarkable breed 

 of sheep are known to be preser\'ed in England, two of 

 them being in the British Museum (to which they were 

 presented by Hodgson), while the thii-d is in the Museum 

 of the Royal College of Surgeons, as the gift of Colonel 

 Finch, in 1830. The latter is described in the Museum 

 Cat.alogue in the following words : -^'^ The horns have 

 grown parallel to each other, and are firmly united 

 throughout their whole extent, producing the appearance 

 of a single horn, the extremity of which has been sawed 

 oflf, probably to relievo the animal of the inconvenience 

 of its pressure upon the neck.' 



Precisely the same description, inclusive of the sawing 

 off of the top of the amalgamated horns, would applv to 

 the two skulls of this breed in the British Museum. 



In the case of the many-horned breed of sheep it 

 would seem that the redundancy in horn-development 

 is mora probably a disadvantage than a benefit to the 

 animals in which it occurs. And if, as seems to be the 



case, the amalgamated horn in the '" unicorn ' sheep 

 tends to run into the neck of the owner so as to neces- 

 sitate the amputation of the tip. the abnormality is 

 altogether harmful : so that if it occurred in a state of 

 nature it would probably soon disappear. 



This amalgamation of the horns in the unicorn sheep 

 presents a curious analogy to the so-called solid-hoofed 

 pigs, which have been known from a very eaily period. 

 " From the time of Aristotle to the present time. ' 

 wrote Darwin, " solid-hoofed swine have occasionally 

 been observed in various parts of the world. Although 

 this peculiarity is strongly inherited, it is hardly pro- 

 bable that all the animals with solid hoofs have de- 

 scended from the same parents ; it is more probable that 

 the same peculiarity has re;ippeared at various times 

 and places. " The peculiarity is produced by the welding 

 together of the hoofs of the middle pair into a single 

 lai-go hoof. 



Although we mav at present be unable to explain the 

 curious variations displayed by different organs among 

 animals under domestication, this is surely no reason why 

 we should neglect to study them at all. 



THE STARS NEAR NOVA PERSEI. 



Foe the accompanying photographs of Xova Persei and 

 the surrounding stars we are indebted to Mr. A. Stanley 

 Williams, of Brighton. Both were taken with a Grubb 

 4i inch portrait lens of about 20 inches equivalent 

 focus, and have been enlarged to a little more than 

 twice the original size. Mr. Williams has kindly fur- 

 nished the following particulars with the photographs. 



" No. I. was taken on February 20th, with an ex- 

 posure of 47 minutes; No. II. on February 28th. w-ith 

 an exposure of 10 minutes. The latter is not a veiy 

 good photograph owing to mist and fogging by moon- 

 light, but, notwithstanding this, the apparition of the 

 new star looks rather startling. Unfortunatel}^, owing 

 to cloud and moonlight it was impossible to secure a 

 better one until the star had faded to a great extent. 

 Although dated February 28th, the second photogiaph 

 may be considered without serious error to show the 

 appearance of the new star at the time of its discovery 

 by Dr. Anderson on the morning of Februar}' 22nd 

 (civil date). 28 hours after the first one was taken. 



■■ The original negative of Februaiy 20th shows stars 

 down to about 12th magnitude. The fainter stars are 

 necessarily lost in reproduction, though in a successful 

 copy stars down to about 11th magnitude ought to 

 appear. 



■■ The bright little star just above (north of) the new 

 star, and almost exactly in the centre of the ' photo- 

 gi-aphs. is 9th magnitude. It is BD. -)- 43° 739." 



To tliis it may be added that the bright star near the 

 edge of the field, on the right, is 30 Persei (magnitude 

 5.55). and that below it to the left is 32 Persei (magni- 

 tude 5.0). The bright star just below the north point 

 of the field is 36 Persei (magnitude 5.55). The mag- 

 nitudes quoted are on the Oxford scale. 



CONSTELLATION STUDIES. 



B)' E. Walter Maunder, f.r.a.s. 



VII.— THE SOUTH CIRCUMPOLAR STARS. 



There is a strange, unforgettable sensation in the first 

 voyage from our high northern latitudes to the 

 southern hemisphere. Night after night the old 

 familiar stars, the constant occupants of our sky at 



