312 UNITED STATES. 



Horns. The female has no horns. The appear- 

 ance of the horns of the fawn exactly resembles 

 those on the head of the principal figure (opposite 

 page 18) given by Mr. Pennant. The males drop 

 their horns annually, in May, then leaving a pith 

 about four inches in length, v^hich is soon covered 

 and protected by velvet. In eight weeks the horns 

 begin to grow again. The animals free their horns 

 from it when wild, by rubbing them against trees. 

 Now they derived the same aid from the posts, &c. 

 of their stable ; and the proprietor occasionally as- 

 sisted them. 



The horns of the elk, instead of being palmated 

 as are those of the moose, consist of three principal 

 divisions : 



1. The brow antlers, which the hunters call the 

 altars, 



2. The two middle prongs, called Ji^hting- 

 horns. And, 



3. The horns^ properly so called. 



The two first retain their simplicity ; the last in- 

 creases in complexity every year. They do not, as 

 those of the moose are said to do, acquire a new 

 branch every year, though something analagous ac- 

 tually occurs. When the animal enters his third 

 year, a single prong or point comes out on the inside 

 of the left horn ; the next year a similar point on the 

 inside of the right horn ; and so alternately. Four 

 short points, called pikes^ were now apparent, one 

 on each brow antler, and one on each fighting-horn ; 

 they seldom exceed an inch in length. 



The following measurements were made of the 

 horns of one of the male elks. They were some^ 



