44 THE MUSK ANIM A L. 



consumed in Europe alone, we can hardly believe that 

 one animal of this species is able to afford a sufficient 

 supply. We are told by some authors, that the musk 

 is often deposited upon large stones and the bark of 

 trees ; and that when the bag is so full as to be uneasy 

 to the animal, by rubbing against those the substance 

 is forced out. Others assure us, that the creature 

 must be killed before any of the treasure can be obtain- 

 ed ; and as the musk is always brought over to Europe 

 in bags, the latter opinion chiefly prevails. Many of 

 the bags are thought to be counterfeit, and filled with 

 some portion of the animal's coagulated blood, impreg- 

 nated and mixed with the musk that is genuine ; as the 

 quantity which is merely imported into Europe, seems 

 too great to suppose the species could supply. It comes 

 to us from various parts of the East, China, Tonquin, 

 and Bengal ; but that of Thibet obtains the preference, 

 and always sells for a much higher price. 



CHAP. VI. 



ANIMALS OF THE DEER KIND. - 



THE STAG. 



THE stag is one of those innocent and peaceable ani- 

 mals that seems calculated to embellish the forest, and 

 animate the solitudes of nature. The easy elegance of 

 his form, the lightness of his motions, those large 

 "branches that seem rather made to ornament than de- 

 fend his head, added to his size, beauty, and swift- 

 ness, render him one of the most elegant, if not one 

 of the most useful, animals in the creation. 



The stag or hart (whose female is called a hind, and 



