THE MUSK. 323 



Jittle curled, especially on the back and belly. On each 

 side of the lower jaw, under the corners of the mouth, 

 there is a tuft of thick hair, which is short and hard, and 

 about three quarters of an inch long. The hair, in general, 

 of this animal, is remarkable for its softness and fine tex- 

 ture ; but what distinguishes it particularly are the tusks, 

 which are an inch and a half long, and turn back in the 

 form of a hook ; and more particularly the bag which con- 

 tains the musk, which is three inches long, two broad, and 

 stands out from the belly an inch and a half. It is a very 

 fearful animal, and, therefore, it has long ears ; and the 

 sense of hearing is so quick, that it can discover an enemy 

 at a great distance." 



After so long and circumstantial a description of this 

 animal, its nature is but very little known; nor has any 

 anatomist as yet examined its internal structure ; or been 

 able to inform us whether it be a ruminant animal, or one 

 of the hog kind ; how the musk is formed, or whether those 

 bags in which it comes to us be really belonging to the 

 animal, or are only the sophistications of the venders. 

 Indeed, when we consider the immense quantities of this 

 substance which are consumed in Europe alone, not to 

 mention the East, where it is in still greater repute than 

 here, we can hardly suppose that any one animal can fur- 

 nish the supply ; and particularly when it must be killed 

 before the bag can be obtained. We are told, it is true, 

 that the musk is often deposited by the animal upon trees 

 arid stones, against which it rubs itself when the quantity 

 becomes uneasy ; but it is not in that form which we 

 receive it, but always in what seems to be its own natural 

 bladder. Of these, Taverner brought home near two thou- 

 sand in one year ; and, as the animal is wild, so many 

 must, during that space, have been hunted and taken. But 

 as the creature is represented very shy, and as it is found 

 but in some particular provinces of the East, the wonder 

 is, how its bag should be so cheap, and furnished in such 



