The Descent of Man

[Fig. 64. Strepsiceros Kudu (from Sir Andrew
Smith's 'Zoology of South
Africa.']
Although the horns of stags are efficient weapons,
there can, I think be no doubt that a single
point would have been much more dangerous
than a branched antler; and Judge Caton,
who has had large experience with deer, fully
concurs in this conclusion. Nor do the branching
horns, though highly important as a
means of defence against rival stags, appear
perfectly well adapted for this purpose, as they
are liable to become interlocked. The suspicion
has therefore crossed my mind that they may
serve in part as ornaments. That the branched
antlers of stags as well as the elegant lyrated
horns of certain antelopes, with their graceful
double curvature (Fig. 64), are ornamental in
our eyes, no one will dispute. If, then, the
horns, like the splendid accoutrements of the
knights of old, add to the noble appearance of