ANTLERS 



So much attention is nowadays paid to the study 

 of natural history, that there must be few people 

 who do not know, even if they do not quite under- 

 stand the process, that deer annually shed their 

 horns, and in this respect differ remarkably from 

 antelopes and other hollow - corned ruminants, 

 whose horns are persistent. A general statement 

 to this effect may be found in most books dealing 

 with the natural history of the mammalia ; but few 

 authors afford much information on the subject, or 

 describe with much clearness what takes place. 

 Even in so authoritative a work as Bell's British 

 Quadrupeds, some curious mistakes on this point 

 are made. It is stated, for instance, under the 

 head of "Red Deer" (p. 349), that "the annual 

 shedding takes place shortly after the pairing 

 season"; and, on the next page, that "about 

 February the old stags drop their antlers." But 

 this is not quite correct. The rutting season is in 

 September and October ; the antlers are not shed, 

 as a rule, until April or even May, the oldest stags 

 being the first to lose them. The exact time, in 

 fact, depends upon the age of the stag and the 

 temperature of the winter and early spring. 

 Should the winter be cold and spring protracted, 



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