Hartshorn

Hartshorn, the term given in pharmacy to the antlers of the Red Deer or Cervus elaphus. Its composition is very different from that of persistent horns, as those of the ox, for example, and is identical, or nearly so, with that of bone. The products of its distillation, containing among other things, ammonia, were formerly much used in medicine, under the titles of oil of hartshorn, volatile salt of hartshorn, spirits of hartshorn, &c.; but they are now replaced by a solution of ammonia and carbonate of ammonia, the sal volatile of the shops. See AMMONIA, LINIMENTS.