THE MUSK DEER 367 



feature in the Bovine family ; it has a simpler form of brain 

 than in any other Deer ; and the musk, from which the 

 animal derives its name, is secreted in an abdominal pouch, 

 technically named the pod. When it is first removed from 

 the animal the odour is so overpowering that the dealers 

 are obliged to envelop their nostrils in cloths, lest bleeding 

 at the nose should ensue. The musk is not only valuable 

 for perfumery purposes, but it also possesses useful 

 medicinal qualities. 



The dentition of the Musk Deer calls for notice, in that 

 the canine teeth of the upper jaw are so greatly developed 

 that they remind the 

 observer somewhat of 

 those of the young wal- 

 rus, being sometimes 

 three inches in length. 

 At one time it was be- 

 lieved that these tusks 

 were intended to insure 

 the animal's safety, and SKULL OF THE MUSK DEER . 



that when it was hunted 



and could not escape from the hounds it sprang into the 

 boughs of the nearest tree, hooked its tusks upon a branch, 

 and hung there until the hounds had passed by and lost 

 the scent. With increasing knowledge this pretty fiction 

 became entirely exploded. 



The feet of the Musk Deer are quite distinctive, the hoofs 

 being widely cleft, while the large lateral hoofs are almost 

 equal to claws. The animal is almost, if not quite, as sure- 

 footed as the chamois, ascending and descending the most 

 frightful precipices with the greatest ease. It inhabits 

 the loftiest mountain ranges, its favourite haunts being the 

 pine forests, although in summer it goes much higher than 

 the region of pines. It is nocturnal in habit, in addition 

 to which it is exceedingly timid. Little wonder that before 

 the invention of long-range rifles the capture of an adult 

 male was an event in a hunter's life. 



Standing from twenty to twenty-four inches in height, the 

 Musk Deer is about the size of the Roe Deer, but it is much 

 more clumsily built. It is covered with long, coarse brittle 



