FISHERIES, GAME AND FORESTS. 



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All full antlered bucks have what are called brow antlers. These are short, upright 

 prongs which rise from the lower part of the beam near its junction with the head. 

 The lower part of the horn, near the skull, for a distance of four or five inches, has a 

 corrugated or wrinkled surface, which furnishes the "buck-horn" material used for 

 handles of hunting knives or large clasp-knives. 



The elevation of the frontal bone in which the base of the antler rests is called the 

 pedicel; and the short cylindrical part of the antler which fits into the pedicel is called 

 the burr. This burr is round, white, of the 

 color and apparent texture of lump salt, 

 but perfectly hard. It is about three-eighths 

 of an inch in length and of about the same 

 diameter as the antler. The circular rim or 

 shoulder just above the burr fits closely to 

 the skull, this rim being formed by a slight 

 flaring at the base of the horn. 



The number of prongs on a buck is sup- 

 posed by many to indicate his age. This 

 is true to some extent. A five-pronged, or 

 ten-pointed, buck may be assumed to be 

 six years old. But most bucks fail to add 

 any prongs after their fifth year, beyond 

 which their age is indicated by the size of 

 the beam and spread of the horns rather 

 than by the number of points. In the Cats- 

 kill Deer Park, where the State maintains 

 a large herd of deer for breeding purposes, 

 there is a large buck, nine years old, which 

 has not had over four prongs on each antler 

 since his fifth year. A photograph of this 

 buck, taken from life, appears in the report 

 of the State Forest Commission, for 1893. 



The females of the Adirondack or Virginian deer have no horns, their absence 

 forming one of the distinguishing features of the species. Still, does have been 

 found with small antlers — rarely, it is true, but often enough to furnish several well 

 authenticated instances of this abnormal feature. A doe's head with a single spike- 

 horn may be seen at " Lon " Wood's hotel, Fourth Lake, Fulton Chain, N. Y. The 

 head was "mounted" and is hanging on the wall in the hotel office. In 1892, Mr. 

 Edwin C. Angle, of Schenectady, N. Y., shot a doe that had two short antlers, with 



PALMATED HORNS. 



