THE HORNS. 27 
and well polished, and is black, except that the top is frequently 
of a white or dull yellowish shade. The lower part, which is 
hollow, is flat, thinnest anteriorly, is striated and rough, with 
more or less hairs on the surface till they are worn off. No 
annular ridges, as is usually observed on the hollow horns of 
other ruminants, are observed. These ridges result from the 
growth of the horn being principally at the base, while, as we 
shall see, the growth of the horn of this animal commences at 
the top and proceeds downward to the base. Whoever will 
carefully study the process of the growth of this horn will readily 
understand why it is striated in structure instead of annular. 
The older the animal is the earlier in the season does the horn 
mature, and the sooner it is cast off, in obedience to a universal 
law which governs the growth and shedding of the antlers of the 
deer, although there are occasional exceptions, as to the time of 
the shedding in individual cases in some of the species of deer, 
and possibly more extended observations would show exceptions 
in this animal. The aged specimens usually cast their horns in 
October, while the kid carries his first horns till January. Indeed 
on late kids the horns are but slightly developed the first year, 
and are frequently carried over and grow on to maturity the 
next year, when they become larger than when they mature the 
first season, and are cast earlier. 
The horn of this animal is situated just above the eye, directly 
upon the super-orbital arch; it rises nearly in a vertical posi- 
tion, or at an angle of about one hundred degrees to the face, 
so far as the core extends, when soon commences a posterior cur- 
vature, growing shorter towards the point, where it much re- 
sembles that on the chamois. The horn of the female cannot be 
detected on the kid, on the yearling it can easily be felt; later I 
have found them half an inch long, and less than that in diameter 
at the base, and it is only on the fully adult female that the 
horn appears above the hair. I have never met one more than 
one inch long, but others have found them three inches long. 
The female is less cornuted than the females of hollow horned 
animals which are persistent, while, with one exception, females 
of those species which have deciduous corneous members are en- 
tirely unprovided with these weapons. When looking for some- 
thing intermediate between these two great families of ruminants, 
this feature may be referred to at least as a make-weight in the 
argument. 
I will first describe the superficial occurrences which are man- 
