THE ANTLERS. 



199 



Elk, procured in Berlin, whicli with those shown on page 195 

 and on the animal shown hereafter under the head " Congeners," 

 will give a fair idea of the proportions of palm and tines of the 

 antlers of that animal, and so they may be compared with the 

 several antlers of the Moose shown in the illustrations. That on 

 page 193 is an extreme specimen, showing a greater proportion 

 of palm than is usual with the Moose, and I have never seen any- 



Swedish Elk, from Berlin. 



thing approaching it on the Scandinavian Elk. I think enough 

 has been shown to verify the conclusion that the palm contains 

 a larger proportion of the antler on the American variety than 

 on the European variety. Still, for all this, they are specifically 

 identical, as we shall hereafter see. 



We shall better understand the comparisons by next examin- 

 ing the antlers of the Reindeer, which are the only other species 

 whose antlers are decidedly palmate as a constant characteristic. 



Of the antlers of the Woodland Caribou, Dr. Gilpin, in the 

 paper from which I have already quoted, says : " Both sexes 

 have horns, the doe comparatively small, with great irregularity of 



