CERVUS. 



the vfnegar being' poured off as it loses 

 its acidity, and fresh qualities being suc- 

 cessively added. The liquors thus pro- 

 cured are then evaporated nearly to the 

 consistence of honey ; and on cooling, 

 masses are formed, consisting of a con- 

 geries of needle-like prisms. From the 

 account given by Pontierof the manufac- 

 ture of this salt, it appears that it is also 

 formed by exposing plates of lead to the 

 action of distilled vinegar and of the at- 

 mospheric air : the plates, as they are in- 

 crusted with oxide at the surface of the 

 vinegar, are plunged to the bottom, until 

 this oxide is dissolved, and are again raised 

 to the surface. The acid is thus at length 

 saturated, and, by evaporation, the solu- 

 tion is brought to crystallize. 



CEliVUS, the deer, in natural history, 

 a genus of Mamm-iiia of the order Peco- 

 ra. The generic character : horns solid, 

 and while the animal is young covered 

 with a hairy skin, growing from the top, 

 annual, branched and naked : eight front 

 teeth in the lower jaw : no canine teeth. 

 Tlvre are twelve species, of which we 

 shall particularly notice the C. Aces, or 

 the elk. This animal sometimes attains 

 the height of seventeen hands, and the 

 weight of twelve hundred and thirty 

 pounds ; but such cases are somewhat 

 extraordinary. It is larger in Asia and 

 America than in Europe. It abounds in 

 the cold countries of Sweden, -iberia, and 

 Canada, and in the last is called also the 

 moose deer. Its principal food is derived 

 from the boughs of the forest trees in these 

 desolate regions, and the night is gene- 

 rally preferred for its repasts. Its man- 

 ners are extremely gentle and inoffen- 

 sive ; it will however defend itself with 

 great courage and dexterity, both with its 

 horns and fore feet, and has been known, 

 with a single blow from the latter, to de- 

 stroy a wolf. Among the North Ameri- 

 can Indians the hunting of the elk is an 

 employment of considerable interest and 

 preparation One party is occupied in 

 surrounding a large tract of country near 

 the lakes or rivers, and, by means of their 

 dogs, in rousing the elks contained in it, 

 who, finding all escape from danger im- 

 practible by land, press onwards to the 

 water. Here, however, they are received 

 by another party of enemies, whose ca- 

 noes, extending in a crescent form, in- 

 close a considerable space, and reach 

 from shore to shore, and who destroy 

 their victims by clubs and lances. They 

 are often taken also by snares, into which 

 they are driven by the noises and alarms 

 efthe Indians, and in which thev are in- 

 VOT,. JIT. 



extricably entangled amidst slips of raw 

 hides, or confined within so small a com- 

 pass, that they become sure marks for 

 the arrows of their adversaries. It is re- 

 marked of the elk, that when first dis- 

 lodged, he drops on the ground for a few 

 seconds, as if labouring under a complete 

 prostration of strength, occasioned, 'pro- 

 bably, by the influence of fear. This is the 

 moment invaluable to the hunter, who, if 

 he miss this opportunity, frequently fails 

 in every other, as the animal, after a very 

 short pause, is roused to the most vigor- 

 ous flight, which he continues, without 

 suspension, for a progress of twenty or 

 thirty miles. 



In the bogs of Ireland, as well as in 

 America, horns have been repeatedly dug 

 up of an enormous size, which apparently 

 belonged to an animal of the deer kind, 

 but are far superior in dimensions to those 

 of any animal now known by naturalists, 

 Their length has sometimes been of eight 

 feet, and the distance from the tip of one 

 to that of another has extended to four- 

 teen feet. These are justly considered 

 as most curious specimens in the collec- 

 tion of natural productions, and the idea 

 of their annual reproduction is well calcu- 

 lated to excite astonishment. Mammalia 

 Plate VII L. fig. 1. 



C. tarandus, or the rein deer. When 

 full grown, this animal is about the height 

 of four feet six inches, and both sexes 

 are furnished with horns, those of the 

 male, however, being much larger than 

 the females. It is found more abundantly 

 than any where else in Lapland and Nor- 

 way. It is met with in the north of Asia 

 so far as Kamschatka, and in America so 

 far south us Canada. With the Laplander 

 the rein deer is a complete substitute for 

 the horse, the cow, the sheep, and the 

 goat. He possesses two breeds of this 

 animal, the wild and the tame. The for- 

 mer of these are by far the most vigor- 

 ous, but are also of'en extremely obsti- 

 nate and not a little ferocious, turning 

 upon their drivers with dangerous, and 

 sometimes fatal, fury. The tame rein 

 deer, therefore, is almost universally pre- 

 ferred. It is trained when young to draw 

 the sledge, which is the common vehicle 

 of the country, which is made extremely 

 light, and covered with tiie skin of a young 

 deer. The deer is fastened to this car- 

 riage by a strap, which passes round his 

 neck, and comes down between his legs, 

 and is guided by a cord, tied round his 

 horns, and held by the driver, whose 

 cheering voice is perpetually exerted to 

 encourage the animal on his progress, 



It 



