46 



CHAPTER IV. 

 THE CERVID,, OR ANTLERED RUMINANTS : THE ELK, ELAPHINE, SUB-ELAPHINE, AND KUSINE DEER. 



The Deer Tribe Distinguishing Characters Exceptions to the rule The Musk (Deer) and Chinese Water Deer Other 

 Characters of the Cervidze Antlers, their Nature, Growth, and Shedding The Knob" Velvet "Getting rid of the 

 " Velvet " Full equipment Contests Interlocking Antlers Distribution Classification Development of Antlers 

 in the Common RED DEER Explanation of the various stages Splendid "Heads " Simple and Complex Antlers 

 Types of Antlers THE ELK, OR MOOSE DEER Appearance Antlers Habits Hunting THE ELAPHINE DEER THE 

 RED DEER Distribution Appearance Hunting THE WAPITI Acting of the Fawns THE PERSIAN DEER, OK 

 MAHAL THE CASHMERLAN DEER, OR BAHASINGHA Habits and General Appearance BARBARY DEER SUB-ELAPHINE 

 DEER THE JAPANESE, FORMOSAN, AND MANTCHURIAN DEER THE FALLOW DEER Peculiarity of its Antlers THE 

 PERSIAN FALLOW DEER THE RUSINE DEER THE SAMBUR, OR GEROW Habits Species of Java, Formosa, Sumatra, 

 Borneo, Timor, Ternate, and the Philippines THE HOG DEER THE Axis DEER PRINCE ALFRED'S DEER THE SWAMP 

 DEER SCHOMBURGK'S DEER ELD'S DEER, OR THE THAMTN Description Habits Hunting Shameful havoc. 



THE Deer tribe, known scientifically as that of the CERVID.E, is more circumscribed, and therefore 

 better defined, than are the BOVID^E, or hollow-horned ruminants. Their best distinguishing 



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character is that in the males there is each year developed a pair of antlers which is shed at the end of 

 the season to be reproduced in the following spring. The females do not carry antlers, except in the 

 case of the Reindeer, in which, although these elegant appendages are of the same form as in their 

 mates, they are constructed upon a much smaller scale. There are, however, one or two Deer in which 

 not even the males carry antlers, and these are the only members of the family with reference to 

 which there is any serious doubt on the subject of affinity. The Musk (Moschus moschiferus) may 

 be taken as an example. In this pretty creature, which is more fully described on pages 42 3, 

 there are no antlers and no horns. Nevertheless, other peculiarities in its organisation have led 

 most naturalists to include it among the Cervidse, a position which is, however, so doubtful that it is 

 quite possible that it may be an aberrant member of the bovine section, as we have for several reasons 

 thought best to consider it. 



A more certain Deer without antlers is the Water Deer of China, the flesh of which has formed 



an article of food among the natives of 

 Shanghai for years. This small Deer 

 has lengthy tusks, as has the Musk 

 Deer, and nearly every member of the 

 family in which the antlers are diminu- 

 tive. Its very existence was not known 

 in Great Britain until the year 1862, 

 when Mr. Swinhoe, then our consul at 

 Shanghai, described it, which shows 

 how ignorant we still may be of the 

 creatures which inhabit the mighty 

 Celestial Empire. 



In most other respects the Deer 

 closely resemble the hollow-horned 

 ruminants. Their complicated stomach 

 does not differ from that of the Ox, and 

 their other organs are constructed upon 

 the same plan, except the liver, which, 

 like that of the Giraffe, lacks a gall- 

 bladder, this reservoir being present in 

 nearly all the Bovidse. Their general 

 proportions are also much the same. 

 The Red Deer and the Fallow Deer are 

 those best known to most of us, as 

 both are to be found living in Great Britain, as is the Roebuck in the north of Scotland. 



The nature, growth, and shedding of the antlers deserve special consideration. In the commence- 

 ment of the spiing a pair of knobs is to be seen upon the forehead of the adult male animal. This is 



HEAD OF RED DEER, IN WHICH THE GROWING ANTLEKS AKE SEEN 

 COVERED WITH " VELVET." 



