168 MARVELS OF THE ANIMAL WORLD 



The horns or antlers of deer differ from those of 

 any beast we have so far reviewed (with the excep- 

 tion of the giraffe), on account of their being solid 

 throughout, and not receiving support from a 

 bony core, although, as previously mentioned, they 

 arise from a bony process or pedicel situated at 

 their bases. All species of deer, with the exception 

 of the musk-deer and the Chinese water-deer, possess 

 horns ; but their presence is confined to the bucks, 

 except in the case of the reindeer, in which they are 

 carried by both the males and the females. During 

 their growth they are covered with a hairy skin 

 which is extremely tender and feels quite warm to 

 the touch because of its being very freely supplied 

 with blood-vessels. They are then known as being 

 in the ' velvet.' When their development is com- 

 pleted, a ring-shaped and bony deposit or ' burr ' 

 forms at the junction of each antler and its pedicel, 

 thereby causing a constriction in that region and 

 stopping the flow of blood to the investing skin of 

 the antlers, with the result that the velvet dries up 

 and is ultimately dispersed by the animal rubbing 

 it against the trunk of a tree or some other suitable 

 object. The antlers are then composed of what may 

 be termed dead bone, inasmuch as they are quite 

 insensitive. In due course an absorption takes 

 place in the living bone situated beneath the burr, 

 and the antlers eventually fall off, either by being 

 knocked or by their own weight. Most deer shed 

 them every year, but the sambur deer of India 

 will often carry them for several seasons on end. 



The shape of the horns varies considerably in 



