Horn is a general term applied to all hard and pointed appendages of the head, as in deer, cattle, etc, but as a term denoting a particular kind of substance nothing should be called horn which is not derived from the epidermis or outer, layer of the integument, whether on the trunk, hoofs, or head.
Horn is a tough, flexible, semi-transparent substance, most liberally developed in the horns of bovine animals, but also found in connection with the 'shell' of the tortoise, the nails, claws, and hoofs of animals, the beak of bird and turtle, etc
Horn is softened very completely by heat, so as to become readily flexible, and to adhere to other pieces similarly softened. True horn consists principally of an albuminoid principle, keratin, with a small portion of gelatine and a little phosphate of lime. In some species of animals the males only have horns, as for instance the stag. In cattle both male and female have horns, though there are also hornless cattle.
Horns differ widely in the case of different animals. Thus the horns of deer consist of bone, and are deciduous; those of the giraffe are independent bones, with a covering of hairy skin; those of oxen, sheep, and antelopes consist of a bony core covered by a horny sheath. The horns of the rhinoceros alone consist exclusively of horny matter. The horns of oxen, sheep, goats, and antelopes are never shed, except in the case of the prong-horned antelope. The number never normally exceeds four, and in the case of deer the horns are branched.
The various kinds of horns were formerly employed for many purposes. The principal formerly used in the arts are those of the ox, buffalo, sheep, and goat. Deer horns were almost exclusively employed for the handles of knives and of sticks and umbrellas. Those which furnish true horn can be softened by heat (usually in boiling water), cut into sheets of various thickness, which sheets may be soldered or welded together at the edges so as to form plates of large dimensions, and were formerly polished and dyed so as to imitate the much more expensive tortoise-shell. The clippings of horn may be welded together in the same manner, and were formerly made into snuff-boxes, powder horns, handles for umbrellas, knives, forks, etc. As horn has the valuable property of taking on and retaining a sharp impression from a die, many highly ornamental articles were also turned out. Combs for the hair were made from the flattened sheets, and out of the solid parts of buffalo horns beautiful carvings were made. Research Horn
A parfleche is an early form of leather carrying case. It is made from a single sheet of untanned buffalo hide or other skin which is moulded while fresh and wet, drying hard and waterproof. They were used by nomadic North American Indians as a form of suitcase for carrying dried food and clothing. Research Parfleche
The term Wild West refers to the frontier society of 19th-century USA. Around the masculine, saloon-bar world of the gold rushes and the cowboy cattle-drives of Texas, California, and the largely unsettled western territories there early developed a mythology. Bandits such as Billy the Kid and Jesse James were romanticised, as were General Custer and his 'last stand'. An early perpetrator of the myth was Edward Z. C. Judson, who, under the pseudonym Ned Buntline, wrote penny (dime) novels romanticising the exploits of his friend W. F. Cody as 'Buffalo Bill'. The latter in turn organised 'Wild West Shows' from 1883 onwards, which included the appearance of the Indian Chief Sitting Bull and which travelled as far afield as Europe.
There is no evidence that the West was much less law-abiding than the rest of the USA. Nonetheless, the 'Wild West' was no purposeless myth; it suggested an arena in which individuals struggled to make order out of chaos and to progress through individual effort and moral worth. The North American continent had had a succession of 'Wests', as its frontiers receded, and that known as the Wild West was the last. It disappeared after 1890, with the end of Indian hostilities, the decline of the long-distance cattle drives, the building of the railways, and the steady growth of population. Research Wild West
The anoa (Anoa depressicornis) is a mammal closely allied to the buffalo, about the size of an average sheep, very wild and fierce, inhabiting the rocky and mountainous localities of the island of Celebes. The horns are straight, thick at the root, and set nearly in a line with the forehead. Research Anoa
The aurochs was a species of wild bull or buffalo, the urus of Caesar, bison of Pliny, the European bison, Bos or Bonassus Bison of modern naturalists. This animal was once abundant in Europe, but by 1900 it was extinct in the wild except for a few herds in the forests of Lithuania afforded the protection of the Emperor of Russia, and shortly afterwards it became extinct. Research Aurochs
The Buffalo-Berry (Shepherdia argentea) is a shrub of the oleaster family, a native of the United States and Canada, with lanceolate silvery leaves and close clusters of bright-red acid berries about the size of currants, which are made into preserves and used in various ways. Research Buffalo-Berry
The buffalo is several species of large wild cattle distinguished by their horns being flattened at the base and triangular in section. The typical African Buffalo (Synceros caffer) inhabits open bush country generally near rivers all over Africa south of the Sahara.
The common or Indian buffalo (Bubalus Buffelus or BosBubalus) is larger than the ox and with stouter limbs, originally from India, but now found in most of the warmer countries of the Eastern Continent. A full-grown male is a bold and powerful animal, quite a match for the tiger. The buffalo is less docile than the common ox, and is fond of marshy places and rivers. It is, however, used in tillage, draught, and carriage in India, Italy, etc. The female gives much more milk than the cow, and from the milk the ghee or clarified butter of India is made. The hide is exceedingly tough, and a valuable leather is prepared from it, but the flesh is not very highly esteemed.
Another Indian species is the arnee (Bubalus. ami), the largest of the ox family. The name buffalo is also applied to wild oxen in general, and particularly to the bison of North America. Research Buffalo
The Dwarf Buffalo or bush-cow is an African variety of buffalo, red in colouration, standing about one metre tall and inhabiting the Congoforest. Research Dwarf Buffalo
Gadfly is a name commonly applied to various insects, a large number of which belong to the great Linnaean genus OEstrus, while others belong to the genusTabanus. OEstrus bovis or ox gadfly (the Hypoderma bovis of some naturalists) is about 7 lines in length with a yellow thorax, with a black band; white abdomen; fulvous terminal segments and dusky wings. This species attacks the horse also, the female depositing her eggs in the skin of these animals in considerable numbers. In a short time the eggs are matured, and produce a larva or worm, which immediately pierces the skin, raising large lumps or tumours filled with pus, upon which the larva feeds.
Oestrus equi (the Gastrophilus or Gastrus equi of some naturalists) deposits its eggs upon such parts of the skin of horses as are subject to be much licked by the animal, and thus they are conveyed to the stomach, where the heat speedily hatches the larvae, well known under the name of botts.
Oestrus ovis (also called Cephalomyia ovis) deposits its eggs in the nostrils of sheep, where the larva is hatched, and immediately ascends into the frontal sinuses, attaching itself very firmly to the lining membrane by means of two strong hooks situated at its mouth. Other species infest the buffalo, camel, stag, etc. Even rhinoceroses and elephants are said not to be altogether exempt from their attacks.
The characteristics of the genusTabanus are two enormous eyes, usually of a greenish-yellow colour rayed or spotted with purple, antennas scarcely longer than the head, the last joint with five divisions. These insects suck the blood of horned cattle, horses, and sometimes people. The Tabanus bovinus, or larger gadfly is common in Europe. It is about 25 mm long, brown above and grey below. Its larva live on the ground, and its metamorphosis takes place under the earth but close to the surface. Research Gadfly
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Horn
