STAG, HIND, AND CALF. 117 



artificially separated by the appearance of the bone 

 below the burr, which is slightly coniform in shape 

 and seemingly porous in substance. 



The new horn in its early stages has been described 

 as a mass of inflammation ; and, indeed, it is so hot 

 that its heat may be felt at a distance of several inches 

 without need of touching it. Not that the tamest 

 deer would permit it to be touched even if that were 

 desired, for the substance is so soft and tender that 

 the lightest contact with anything means pain, and 

 the least blow an injury that will show itself in the 

 developed horn. The growth of the horn (quotes 

 Dr. Collyns) is assisted by a temporary enlargement 

 of the external carotid arteries, which thus carry the 

 great flow of blood necessary for the production of 

 bone. The horn itself is cased in the velvet (" a 

 plexus of blood-vessels"), a substance whereof the 

 appearance is explained by its name. About the 

 end of August the horns attain their full develop- 

 ment ; and it is rare to see a deer with the velvet on 

 after the first ten days of September. The 20th of 

 August and 14th of September are the earliest and 

 latest dates of shed and unshed velvet respectively in 

 the records of the last thirty years. As soon as the 

 horn is full grown the velvet peels off in strips ; and 



