THE HORNS. 29 



firmly attached to the horn, and many of them, towards the 

 lower part, passing quite through it. We see the core of the 

 horn is covered with a thick vascular skin, which is pretty well 

 covered with the same kind of hairs as those seen \n the cavity 

 of the horn. We now appreciate that these hairs grew from the 

 skin, and more or less penetrated the shell' or horn, and when 

 this was removed some were torn from the skin and others from 

 the horn. 



We observe, further, that the new horn had commenced its 

 growth a considerable time before the, old one was cast, for the 

 new horn was extended several inches above the top of the core, 

 nearly in a vertical direction, thougli with a slightly posterior in- 

 clination. The top of this, for nearly half an inch, is already 

 hardened into perfect horn. Below this it is softer, and a little 

 way down it has lost the horny texture, but is a pretty firm and 

 somewhat flexible mass down to the core and around it, at the 

 upper part of which, however, it has rather the appearance of 

 thick, massive skin, of a high temperature, showing great activity 

 in the blood-vessels permeating it. As we pass lower down, the 

 skin is thinner, and shows less excitement or activity. Upon 

 this skin enveloping the core, we find the hairs already described. 



This was the condition of the new development when the old 

 horn was cast off. It shows that the new horn had already made 

 considerable upward growth from the top of the core, which only 

 extended up into the old horn a little above the snag, or about 

 half its length ; all above this, of the old horn, was solid, and 

 was not intersected by the hairs as it was below. 



Now it is perfectly manifest that as the new horn was extended 

 in length above the core, it must have carried with it the old 

 horn which it detached from the core, and tearing out the hairs, 

 the roots of which were in the skin, and many of which extended 

 into or through the old horn. Until these were mostly torn 

 asunder, or were withdrawn from the canals by which they had 

 penetrated the shell, they served to prevent it from being easily 

 lost ; but finally, when these were all or nearly all severed, it fell 

 off, as a favorable position occurred, or some slight violence as- 

 sisted the removal. I have never observed the animal to assist 

 this process by rubbing its horns against convenient objects, but 

 my opportunities have not been such as to authorize the state- 

 ment that they do not sometimes do so. 



When the old horn was cast off, the new one, as we have 

 already seen, had made a considerable growth above the core. 



