THE MUSK DEER. 



567 



All its movements are quick; it runs like an antelope, leaps like a goat, 

 and climbs like a chamois ; it swims broad streams, and crosses, almost 

 without leaving a trace, fields of snow in which any dog will sink. 



In Siberia the chase of the Musk Deer is an important branch of in- 

 dustry ; the usual method is by fixing running nooses in places through 

 which the deer is driven. The flesh is uneatable by Europeans. It is 

 the musk-pouch which rewards the hunter. Official reports give the 

 numbers of Musk Deer killed in Siberia every year, as fifty thousand, of 

 which nine thousand are males. The best musk, however, is not from 

 Siberia, but from China. It is very much adulterated by the Chinese 

 dealers before it reaches the markets of Europe. 



GENUS HYDROPOLIS. 



This is a new genus, of one species, discovered by Mr. Swinhoe. It 

 inhabits China from the Yang-tse-Kiang northward. Its nearest affin- 

 ities are with MoscJius. Other new forms inhabiting North China are 

 Lophotragus, which is hornless, and Elaphodus, which has horns about an 



inch long. 



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