46 Oh fervn lions on the I^IL 



fijppofed by him to anfuer the piirpnfe of facilitating free 

 rcfpiration, in the Cervine antelope, (antelope bubalis of 

 Pallas.) See Encyclopiedia, art. Capra. 



The ufe of this opening is differently explained by the pro- 

 prietor of the animals here defcribcd. He alVures us that the 

 elk poffefles the power, by flrictly clofing his noftrils, of for- 

 cing the air through thefe apertures in fugh a manner as to 

 make a noife which niav be heard at a great diftance ; that 

 he has feen the wild animals do this frequently ; and that the 

 defign of it is to alarm each other when they fufpeA any 

 clanger near. He has tauglit thofe in his poifeffion to make 

 a fimilar noife; but it was too feeble to caufe any obfcrvable 

 dilatation of the (lit. 



If the above explanation of the keeper of thefe elksbejuft, 

 it will probably lead us to a more accurate notion of a cir- 

 cumrtance related concerning the Rupri Capra, or Chamois 

 of the Alps, of whom it is fald, that' " when he fmells or 

 hears any thing which he cannot fee, he trhijlles, or blows, 

 with fuch force that the forefts and rocks re-echo with the 

 found." — See Encvclopaedia, art. Capra. 



Horns. — The female has no horns. The appearance of 

 the horns of the fawn exaftly rcfembles thofe on the head 

 of the principal figure (oppoilte p. 18.) given l)y Mr. Pen- 

 nant. — ^The males (as the keeper informed us) drop their 

 horns annually, in Mav, then leaving a pith about' four 

 inches in length, which is foon covered and proterted bv 

 velvet. In eight weeks the herns began to grow again. In 

 the animals we faw, they had been growing about eight 

 weeks. On our tirll viiit, the horns were uniformly covered 

 wlih a fmooth velvet. About ten days after, the velvet was 

 roniing oft' in narrow ilrips, leaving the horns bare. By the 

 middle of September they were entirely free from it. The 

 keeper informed us, that the animals freed their horns fr^im 

 it, when wild, bv rubbing them againil trees. Now thev 

 derived the fame aid from the pofts, 8cc. of their flable; and 

 the proprietor occafionallv aililied them. It was obfcrvable 

 that a fmall oozing of bloody lymph i'omctimcs facceedcd the 

 removal of a lirip of the covering. 



The 



