THE DEER, 185 
across the wall, and, in spite of all its plunging, is unable to obtain a foothold 
sufficiently firm to enable it to leap out of the treacherous cavity into which 
it has fallen. The pitfalls which are intended for the capture of the hippopo- 
tamus and the rhinoceros are furnished with a sharp stake at the bottom, 
which impales the luckless animal as it falls ; but it is found by experience 
that, in the capture of the Giraffe, the transverse wall is even more deadly 
than the sharpened spike. 
The Giraffe is generally found in little herds, sometimes only five or six 
in number, and sometimes containing thirty or forty members, the average 
being about sixteen. These herds are always found either in or very close 
to forests, where they can obtain their daily food, and where they can be 
concealed from their enemies among the tree-trunks, to which they bear so 
close a resemblance. 
The flesh of the Giraffe is considered to be good when rightly prepared, 
and its marrow is thought to be so great a delicacy that the natives eagerly 
suck it from the bones as they are taken from the animal. When cooked 
itis worthy of a place on a royal table. The flesh is well fitted for being 
made into jerked meat. The thick, strong hide is employed in the manufacture 
of shoe-soles, shields, and similar articles. 
DEER. 
FROM the Antelope the DEER are readily distinguished by the character 
of the horns ; which only belong to the male animals, are composed of solid 
bony substances, and are shed and renewed annually during the life of the 
animal. The process by which the horns are developed, die, and are shed, 
is a very curious one, and deserves a short notice before we proceed to 
consider the various species of Deer which will be noticed in the present 
work. Fora familiar instance, we will take the common Stag, or Red Deer 
of Europe. 
In the beginning of the month of March he is lurking in the sequestered 
spots of his forest home, harmless as his mate and as timorous. Soon a pair 
of prominences make their appearance on his forehead, covered with a 
velvety skin. In a few days these little prominences have attained some 
length, and give the first indication of their true form. Grasp one of these in 
the hand and it will be found burning hot to the touch, for the blood runs 
fiercely through the velvety skin, depositing at every touch a minute portion 
of bony matter. More and more rapidly grow the horns, the carotid 
arteries enlarging in order to supply a sufficiency of nourishment, and in 
the short period of ten weeks the enormous mass of bony matter has been 
completed. Such a process is almost, if not entirely, without parallel in 
the history of the animal kingdom. 
When the horns have reached their due development, the bony rings at 
their bases, through which the arteries pass, begin to thicken, and by 
gradually filling up the holes, compress the blood-vessels, and ultimately 
obliterate them. The velvet now having no more nourishment, loses its 
vitality, and is soon rubbed off in shreds against tree-trunks, branches, or 
any inanimate object. The horns fall off in February, and in a very short 
time begin to be renewed. These ornaments are very variable at the 
different periods of the animal’s life, the age of the Stag being well indicat- 
ed by the number of “tines” upon its horns. 
THE MooSE or ELK is the largest of all the Deer tribe, attaining the 
