THE TAIL.— THE FOOT. 35 



time, while in all other cases the whole life of the animal is 

 devoted to the growth of the horn, which is regular and approxi- 

 mately nniform, though slower in advanced life than earlier. 



The only exceptional feature observed about the source of this 

 cell growth, which manifests such extraordinary activity at 

 times, is the very unusual size and great irregularity of the 

 papillee, from which the cells originate and receive their nourish- 

 ment. It is at this precise point we are to look for this wonder- 

 ful phenomenon, having no parallel in the animal economy. 

 Nature has provided something in these papillte which produces 

 it, and if we knew better how to look for this something, or per- 

 haps would more critically compare these papillfe with those of 

 other portions of skin, t\\e peculiarity might be detected which 

 produces this remarkable result, if we may not attribute it to the 

 increased size of the papillce. 



THE TAIL. 



The tail of the Prong Buck bears no resemblance to that of 

 any of the smaller species of deer, but remotely approaches to 

 that of wapiti. It is very short, not more than three inches in 

 length, and is covered with coarse hairs which are a little shorter 

 on the under side than on the upper. It is nearly round, and 

 maintains its size to near the end, where it terminates with a 

 blunt point. It is usually carried closely depressed for so short a 

 member, and is never seen erected to a vertical position. When 

 the animal is excited or animated the tail may be seen raised to a 

 horizontal position or a little above it, but that is all the change 

 in its position observed under any circumstances. It is useless 

 as a weapon for defense against the attacks of flies and mosqui- 

 toes ; from which, however, it does not suffer nearly so much as 

 the deer, probably because of the odor with which it always sur- 

 rounds itself. 



THE FOOT. 



The feet of the Prong Buck are bifurcous, considerably smaller 

 than those of the deer, slim and sharply pointed, strongly convex 

 on top, having the outer edges slightly concave. In general they 

 resemble the feet of the antelope gazelle, though the latter are 

 considerably longer and more pointed, the points inclined to cross, 

 or one to overlap the other. I may remark here, once for all, that 

 the habits of all these animals have a decided influence on the 

 form and the size of the foot, for which allowance must be made 



