WILD ANIMALS. 293 



give a sudden and very rapid upward stroke. A 

 newspaper was ripped to pieces with one loud report 

 or crash. If used in this way against another animal, 

 be it a wolf or a rival buck, these hooked horns must 

 inflict a terrible wound. 



It is said that the chamois eats during the Summer 

 a great quantity of a plant which grows in the Alpine 

 region. This does not mingle with the other food 

 and digest, but forms a compact mass, which remains 

 in the stomach of the animal until the Winter, when 

 it serves as a store in the absence of other food. The 

 hunters call this small aromatic plant " Genepie." I 

 succeeded in obtaining a piece, and found it to be a 

 species of Artemisia (A. mutellina, see Gillet et Magne, 

 Flora). The natives attribute valuable properties to 

 this little herb. I believe that in some parts of 

 Switzerland the term Genepie is applied to an 

 Achillea. 



