HEADS AND HORNS 



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between i8 and 19. These may, however, be 

 dismissed as places where independent prongs 

 might have developed, but unfortunately did not. 

 Maximum palmation may be measured at either 

 A or B. " Circumference of beam " is the minimum 

 circumference of the heavier beam. 



The usual standards of comparison in the case 

 of moose antlers are very insufficient. Many 

 sportsmen consider spread the only test of quality; 

 some merely count points. But spread has in some 

 instances been increased by splitting the skull with 

 a saw, and mounting the two halves at a fictitious 

 angle. Furthermore, Hornaday's definition of a 

 point'' as "any pointed projection of sufficient 

 length that a watch can hang upon it without falling 

 off" leaves much to be desired, in view of the variety 

 of shapes which prongs assume. A better single test 

 would be weight, but this is impracticable when the 

 antlers are not removed from the skull, or when a 

 head is to be judged after being mounted. A test, 

 sometimes resorted to in Germany in the case of 

 smaller animals, of displacement in water, would be 

 excellent, save for the difficulty of ascertaining the 

 displacement with precision, in the case of antlers 

 so large as those of the American moose. 



"Up to this time, moose antlers have been ranked by their spread 

 alone, but I think that is a mistake. In my opinion, area of palmation 

 should be regarded a; the leading feature, for it is that which is most 



