1894.] IN THE A3TTLEBS OE THE EALLOAV DEER. 487 



many later books. Owen's views are as follows : — " If a Fallow- 

 buck, v\ith antlers, be castrated, they are shed earlier than usual \ 

 and by a more active absorbent process, which leaves an 

 irregular concavity at the base 1 ; the antlers that are subsequently 

 developed are small, seldom branched 2 , retain the ' velvet' longer 

 than usual 2 , and become thickened by irregular tuberculate masses 

 of bone. If a young buck be castrated before it has ' put up ' 

 antlers, it does, afterwards, in some cases develop them, but of 

 reduced size and abnormal shape, retaining them with their forma- 

 tive covering longer than usual 3 . Occasionally, though rarely, 

 they are shed and renewed ; but such shed antlers of a ' heavier ' 

 or castrate deer are characterized by the excavation of their base " 4 

 (Coinp. Anat. Phys. Vert. 1868, vol. iii. p. 631). A footnote to 

 this passage states that Sir Philip Egerton's experiments yielded 

 "in the main" these results, and I have given references above to 

 the specimens, of which the Catalogue-record confirms the state- 

 ments of Owen. 



Since, so far as I know, none of these specimens have been 

 figured, and some of them are not included by the passage quoted 

 above, I append a brief description of the series, and outlines of 

 the more interesting specimens, by the kind permission of the 

 Council of the College of Surgeons. 



E. Cell. Surg., Ost, Ser. 



1555. Castrated at birth. The skull exhibits slender frontal processes, about 

 two inches in length, resembling those of a Giraffe. They are stated to 

 have been covered during life by a hairy skin rather than true velvet. 

 Texture, hard and bony. 



1556. Castrated at birth (lig. 1). The frontlet shows somewhat similar Giraffe- 

 like frontal processes, of more cancellous texture. They have a distinct, 

 though slight, burr, and measure respectively two aud four inches. 



1563. " One of a pair that were put up by a castrated buck and retained." 

 This is a dag still attached to the frontal bone, six inches in length, 

 covered by coarse irregular exostoses. 



1560. A similar specimen to the former two, but with longer processes covered 

 by very coarse exostoses. The specimen was figured iu Knight's 'English 

 Cyclopaedia of Natural History,' i. 844 (1854), art. CervicUe, as " the 

 horns of a Fallow Deer that were not shed at the usual time iu conse- 

 quence of the castration of the animal." 



All these specimens exhibit a single short stem or " dag," such 

 as is first put up by a buck, and all are still attached to the frontal 

 bones. 



1566. No statement of age at castration. The frontlet carries antlers which 

 show a rudimentary brow-tyne ; both it and the beam are very short, 

 and are covered by huge exostoses. They are stated to have been 

 retained long after the usual lime for shedding. 



This differs from the previous specimens only in showing signs 

 of a brow-tyne. It is possible that all these specimens were 

 castrated at birth, and that the antlers of this type are not shed 



1 R. C. S. Osteol. specimen 1560. 

 - B. 0. S. Osteol. specimen 1565. 

 : ' K. 0. S. Osteol. specimens 1555, 1556. 



4 R. C. S. Osteol. specimens passim. 



32* 



