1S94.J EST THE AXXLEES OF THE FALLOW DEER. 491 



this, however, which is pure speculation, a few notes on them seem 

 to be justified from the standpoint of the increasing interest in 

 Variation. 



They fall into three chief groups : — 



i. Antlers in which the abnormality or arrest is approximately 

 symmetrical on both sides. 

 36. 1N | 



29. j Belong to the same type as the first group of the College of Surgeons ; 

 35. ! they form short dags, often overgrown by exostoses, cancellous 

 24. f in structure, white in colour, and are probably covered by skin 

 26. throughout life. 



39. ; 



qo f Are compact rough dags, obviously burnished, growing backwards 

 40 i and downwards. This curious direction is taken in several 



[ specimens of the next group (cf. Roy. Coll. Surg. 1567). 

 3i.) 



_ ,-,' | These specimens increase in size and complexity, in something like 

 .q' I the order given. Beginning with no. 34, which exhibits a pair 

 " ! of simple burnished dags, measuring R. 4i-in., L. 7^ in. in length, 

 we reach, not by regular steps, but with increase in size corre- 

 sponding on the whole to increase in complexity, to no. 41, 

 which has brow, tray, and two points, and is 13i in. in length. 



3. 

 22. 

 16' 

 41J 



ii. Antlers of which the one is fairly developed and of more or 

 less normal growth, the other arrested at a lower grade and 

 frequently of abnormal form. 



These specimens are sufficiently interesting from the point of 

 view of " Continuous Variation " to justify more detail than has 

 been given of the previous group. The following Table exhibits 

 the relations of the shorter autler ; the lengths are given in 

 inches. No tray-tyne occurs in any specimen. 



The specimens are approximately arranged in the Table (p. 492) 

 according to their general development, together with that of the 

 corresponding antler ; not according to total length, brow, or points. 

 Still there is a fairly regular agreement among these, and the 



Pathological Series: — No. 1730 is the head of a Red Deer with the R. antler 

 less developed than the L., and 1731 the L. tarsal, &c, bones of the same 

 specimen, evidently severely broken during life, and covered by spongy new bone; 

 " it is supposed that the injury to the leg was the cause of the defective growth 

 of the antler." No. 1732 is a Left antler of imperfect development, "probably in 

 consequence of an injury to the right elbow-joint." I have italicized two words 

 in the citations from the Catalogue : fractures of the limbs are not uncommon 

 in deer, and, apparently, abnormality of the antler is not uncommon ; it is 

 natural therefore that they should occasionally coincide in the same animal, 

 These two cases relate to the opposite side. On the other hand, Scrope and 

 Whitaker both cite cases in which a wound, not apparently in the testis, pro- 

 duced abnormality in the antler of the 8ame side. This is merely one instance 

 of many which show how necessary is a renewed study of the whole question. 



1 The full reference numbers arc 50.2.5.36, 50.2.5.29, etc., of the Osteologic.il 

 scries of Mammalia. 



