HORNS OF THE DEER GESTATION. 265 



the deer indeed, the horns are deciduous, for which 

 singularity the following reason was formerly assigned, 

 " an impediment in the circulation the horns being 

 thence deprived of the juices by which they were 

 nourished, ' fall off like the leaves of trees in the au- 

 tumn. In about ten days or a fortnight after the 

 first horns are shed the new ones appear, at first 

 soft and hairy; they gradually grow hard, and the 

 hair wears or is rubbed off by the deer." The indi- 

 cation of age from the horns are as follows in the 

 third year of the heifer, and in the fourth or fifth of 

 the bull or ox's age, a ring appears encircling the 

 base of the horn ; but, if a heifer calve at three years 

 old, the horn had acquired its mark at two years. 

 Thence the period of gestation is rather indicated by 

 the mark than the age. In the course of the year 

 this ring moves, being pushed forward by another 

 which succeeds, and the process continues to the end 

 of the animal's life, its years being determinable by 

 the number of these rings upon the horns, three 

 years being reckoned for the first ring. It is com- 

 mon with cow-dealers to dress up the beast for sale, 

 fey shaving the horns, and thereby concealing the 

 age. Indeed the mouth remains as an index, but 

 who but an adept can adroitly lay hold of the ani- 

 mal's horns, and put its head in a posture proper for 

 inspecting the teeth ? Thence our advice to unpro- 

 fessionals, never to purchase without the presence 

 and assistance of a practical man. 



The period of GESTATION in the cow is, according 

 to an average, two hundred and eighty-seven days, 

 or forty-one weeks, with a bull-calf; a cow-calf comes 



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