Ij4 THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 



Ruminants with Horns. Although this general 

 term is used, it must not be supposed that the horns 

 of all the Ruminants are of the same character, for 

 they differ materially ; and it is therefore necessary 

 to divide them into two distinct classes ; namely 

 persistent, or such as endure with the life of the animal ; 

 and deciduous, or such as fall off and are renewed 

 annually. 



Animals with persistent horns are divided into : 



(1) Such as belong to the group called " cattle," includ- 

 ing Oxen, Sheep, Goats, . and Antelopes. These 

 horns are formed on a long core, in which arc cells which 

 communicate with the frontal bone of the head, and so 

 receive air into their structure ; this core is then covered 

 with a case, made of the substance called horn, which is 

 composed of hair-like fibres, and which increases by 

 layers which are continually growing ; these arc called 

 "hollow, horns." In the Antelope, however, there arc not 

 any cells in the bony core. 



(2) Such as the Giraffe, in which the horns are small 

 and straight, and consist of a bony core, which, instead 

 of being cased in horny matter, is merely covered with 

 the hairy skin of the rest of the head. 



(3) The deciduous horns arc such as are possessed by 

 the Stag family ; they are formed of solid bone, and are 

 called antlers, and arc covered with a soft skin called the 

 velvet. This velvet contains blood-vessels, which convey 

 nourishment to the bony protuberances, and this supply 

 goes on very rapidly and fast ; but at last the channels 

 become obstructed, and when no further nutriment can 

 reach the antlers they die and fall off, or the animal breaks 

 them off by striking them against a tree. In about 

 twenty-four hours the wound is covered by a very thin 

 skin ; this becomes the velvet of the new antlers, which 



jrow. This takes place every 





