200 The American Antelope, or Prong Buck. (April, 
the flattened section, where its width is increased to about three 
and a half inches, terminating in a sharp point ; so we may sa 
the prong is one inch in length. But in this different specimens 
vary considerably. 
The horn appears as if constructed of a mass of longitudinal 
fibres, even presenting a striated appearance, especially the lower 
part, and is roughened by a great number of small tubercles be- 
low the prong to near the base. Many hairs occur on the lower 
portion of the horn, some of which often remain till the latter is 
shed. In color the horn is a deep black, except the extreme tip, 
which is generally a translucent yellowish-white, sometimes for 
half an inch or more. 
If we now confine ourselves to the horn on the adult, we shall 
the better’ understand it. Soon after the rut-time is passed, we ob- 
serve the horn, the shell which envelops the persistent core, lifted 
from its seat and each day carried up higher and higher, and be- 
coming more and more loose till presently it is thrown off. Then 
it is revealed to us how this has been done. We look inside the 
cast-off horn and see that the cavity does not extend above the 
prong, which is scarcely half-way up the horn. We see that 
the core was laterally compressed, broad and thin, presenting an- 
teriorly its sharpest edge. The illustration shows the form and 
extent of this core better than I can describe it in words; and so 
of the horn itself, I represent the side of the horn cut away s0 
as to show the entire core. As we proceed in our examination 
we see that when the old horn was thrown off the new horn 
had already made considerable progress in its growth above the 
end of the core, and that it was this new growth of horn which 
had dislocated the old one, completely detached it from the core, 
and so permitted it to drop off. From the hardenetl point down 
to the core, the new horn is warm and slightly elastic and flexible, 
least so towards the hardened point. To watch the growth of 
the horn henceforward is exceedingly interesting. It extends in 
length pretty rapidly, and towards the upper end assumes the 
posterior curvature as the hardening process, which converts it 
into true horn, progresses downward. Meanwhile the skin which 
covered the core, and which was rather sparsely set with long, 
coarse, lightish - colored hairs, shows no unusual activity. But 
when the perfected horn reached the top of the core, the upper 
section of this skin, for an inch perhaps, showed unusual activity, 
and became thicker, its upper part becoming hard and insensible 
and finally assuming the consistence of true horn, conforming in 
