146 THE WILD SHEEP OF WESTERN KANSU 



(Moschus sifanicus}. These little animals stand 

 about twenty inches at the shoulder, and are called 

 by the natives hsiang. The Kansu variety have 

 only recently been discovered. They resemble the 

 Himalayan species in general characteristics, but 

 the ears are longer and differently coloured. The 

 value of the musk-gland was at one time very high, 

 but I believe of late years it has decreased. 



He also shot a couple of machi, a large species 

 of pheasant with a handsome tail. The four tail- 

 feathers were formerly in great demand for the 

 hats of military officials ; since the adoption of a 

 Western style of dress the demand has died out to 

 a great extent, though we saw many of these 

 birds kept in captivity for the sake of the feathers. 

 They are caught in traps by the natives. The trap 

 is a pit, over which a lid of brushwood fits. Some 

 grain is fixed to a fine thread inside the pit, the 

 other end of the thread being tied to a prop, which 

 supports the lid. When the bird pecks at the 

 grain the lid falls, and he is a prisoner. The tame 

 ones provide three lots of feathers a year, which 

 are much superior, as might be expected, to those 

 grown by the wild birds. They are sold for two 

 taels a set. The price of the wild birds' feathers 

 varies, being so low at times as one hundred cash 

 for the four. The crops of those which George 

 shot were full of iris roots and dirt. 



