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190 central point of ossification; these peduncles are enveloped in skin. It is not until the spring or beginning of the second year, that the first pair of horns begin to make their appearance. At this epoch a new process commences; the skin enveloping the peduncles swells, its arteries en-

SPECIMENS OF STAG'S HORNS, IN SUCCESSIVE DEVELOPMENT.

large, tides of blood rush to the head, and the whole system experiences a fresh stimulus. The antlers are now budding; for on the top of these footstalks the arteries are depositing layers of osseous matter, particle by particle, with great rapidity: as they increase, the skin increases in an equal ratio, still covering the budding antlers; and