OCR Text |
Show HOW AN ELK CHANGES HIS HORNS. Tea Werka Rrquirixt to Grow Naw I'alr or Antlara. Those who take an interest in tbe study of natural history may bo pleased to know that in a few weeks the stag elk in the deer glen in the park will undergo a decided change. He will soon bo shorn of the royal antlers that have made him for the last year tho pride of the glen. With the loss of the antlers the ftsg will change his disposition entirely and become as docile -and tractable s a lamb. He will show an inclination to court public petting rather than avoid it. He will remain in this condition of temper until the beginning of March, when he will show a disposition to lurk in sequestered spots of the glen and timidly avoid tho presence of all, even of his kind. During this period, on the spot w here the late antlers were, a pair of protuberances will make thoir appearance, appear-ance, covered with a soft, dark, vel- i velv skin. These will attain a considerable consid-erable growth in a few days. The ca rot ill arteries of these protuberances will enlarge with them in order to sii-ply sii-ply a sullicieiicy of nourishment. When the uew antlers have attained their full growth, which will bo in ten weeks after the old ones have been shed, the bony rings at the base through which the antlers pass will begin to thicken, and gradually tilling up will compress the blood vessels and ultimately obliterate them. Tho velvety vel-vety 3k i it that surrounds the bone, being be-ing thus deprived of nourishment, will lose its vitality and will be rubbed off in shreds by the stag on the edges of rocks or other hard substances. As soon as the full size of the antlers is attained tho docile disposition of the elk will disappear and ho will become ouce more for the year the lieroe aud unfriendly king of the glen. Tho age of the elk. according to writers on natural history, is computed com-puted by tho number of points on the antlers. At the present time there are six. Tho next set will bear seven, showing that seven summers have passed since the date of his birth. San Frarwisco Chronicle. |