430 WILD ANIMALS. 



In Blumembach's " Comparative Anatomy " (translated by 

 Messrs. Lawrence and Ooulson) there is the following remark : — 

 " The annual reproduction of horns constitutes in many points of 

 view one of the most remarkable phenomena of animal physiology. 

 It affords a most striking proof, first, of the power of the nutritive 

 process, and of the rapid growth which results from this process in 

 warm-blooded animals ; for the horn of a stag, which may weigh a 

 quarter of a hundredweight, is completely formed in ten weeks ; 

 secondly, of the remarkable power of absorption, by which towards 

 the time of shedding the old horn a complete separation is effected 

 of the substance which was before so firmly united with the frontal 

 bone ; thirdly, of a limited duration of life in a part of an 

 animal entirely independent of the life of the whole animal, which 

 in the stag extends to about thirty years ; fourthly, of change of 

 calibre in particular vessels ; for the branches of the external carotid, 

 which supply th.e horn, are surprisingly dilated during its growth, 

 and recover their former dimensions when that process has ceased ; 

 fifthly, of a peculiar sympathy which is manifested between the 

 growth of the horns and the generative functions." 



The reproduction of the antlers generally begins in the spring, and 

 the rapidity with which these massive bony structures are secreted 

 is almost marvellous. In the larger elk the budding horns are 

 several inches high in ten days, and in a month they are almost 

 fully formed, the magnificent antlers of a full-grown stag being pro- 

 duced in ten weeks. In the sockets from whence the old horns were 

 cast, which, though they may have bled at first, have become skinned 

 over, these new horns sprout. The blood then begins to flow 

 strongly to the head, the vessels at the root of the vascular horn 

 swell, and the horn itself pushes up, being protected while tender 

 with a delicate and velvety covering. The development increases 

 rapidly. Any one grasping these incipient antlers by the hand can 

 soon realize some idea of the work going on in their creation, for 

 they are startUngly hot, and seem to glow and throb — the very incar- 

 nation of natural reproduction. Then gradually the antlers appear, 

 and soon are fully developed in all their grandeur. The velvety 

 covering begins to fall off, or hang in ragged strips, which the animal 

 very quickly clears away by rubbing them against tree-trunks, rocks 



