HOENED ANIMALS. 
It may be nearer the mark to say horned mammals, 
because there are many animals called horned that I have 
no intention to include in this notice beyond saying there 
are birds called horned tragopans, horned screamers, and 
among reptiles, horned vipers, horned frogs, etc. My 
intention is to confine these observations principally to 
the class of ruminants comprising the bovine and cervine 
families. It has often struck me when reading the state- 
ments of very intelligent and trustworthy explorers and 
travellers, what a lamentable want of knowledge of Natural 
History is so often displayed ; for instance, a traveller in 
the interior of Africa describes seeing a large herd of deer, 
the unfortunate writer not being aware that no deer exist 
in the interior or the South or West of Africa, and to see 
them is an utter impossibility, the fact being that only one 
species of deer exists, and that in North Africa only. 
This one kind has a very limited range, is, in truth, only a 
local variety of the European red deer, but it has received 
a specific name. Barbary deer {Germis Barlarus), having 
been obtained from that locality. 
The truth is, that all these so-called deer met with 
throughout Africa are antelopes, and belong to very 
distinct genera, and I will endeavour shortly to point out 
the most ready means of distinguishing between these 
genera. All antelopes (and the species are very numerous) 
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