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the United States, however, is an intermediate form, as its horns are hollow, but are shed each year. The hollow horns are a modification of hair. Do solid or hollow bones branch? Which are possessed by both sexes? Which are pointed? Which are better suited for fighting? Why would the deer have less need to fight than the cattle? Deer are polygamous, and the males use their horns mostly for fighting each other. The sharp hoofs of deer are also dangerous weapons. The white-tail deer (probably the same species as the Virginian red deer) is the most widely distributed of the American deer. It keeps to the lowlands, while the black-tailed deer prefers a hilly country. The moose, like the deer, browses on twigs and leaves. The elk, like cattle, eats grass.

Fig. 392.—Rocky Mountain Sheep (Ovis montana). × 1/24.

The native sheep of America is the big horn, or Rocky Mountain sheep (Fig. 392). The belief is false that they