92 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [No. 1, 



beam is trifid, the first or lowest snag being external and inclining 

 forward (representing the ' royal-antler'), beyond which the final divi- 

 sion is transverse to the axis of the body. Extreme length of horn 

 (measured by callipers) 13 in. ; greatest distance of pair apart (mea- 

 sured externally) 11 in. ; tips apart 7-f in. ; girth of beam, above 

 frontal snag, 2f in. ; length of skull, inclusive of lower jaw in situ, 

 lOf in. ; extreme breadth of orbits (posteriorly) 4| in. : upper series 

 of molars 3 in. 



There is a C. sika, Schlegel {Fauna Japonica, t. 17), from Japan, 

 cited by Dr. J. E. Gray (P. Z. 8. 1850, p. 228), and thus briefly 

 noticed by him. " Dark brown ; cheeks and throat rather paler ; 

 rump brown, without any pale spot ; tail pale, white beneath ; hair 

 harsh ; horns rather slender, with a basal and a medial snag, and a 

 subapical internal one." This description of the horn suits very well 

 the Formosan animal ; but the size is unnoticed, which could hardly 

 be were C. sika to be comparatively so small an animal as C. taotja- 

 htts, and it may be, judging from Dr. Gray's mode of describing the 

 horn, that the JElaphine type of ramification is a degree more deve- 

 loped in the Japanese species. He does not, however, mention the 

 age of the animal he describes ; and it is quite possible that it may 

 temporarily represent, at a certain age, the particular development of 

 horn which in C. taouanus is characteristic of maturity. The 

 colouring described may very well be that of the winter coat of the 

 little Stag of Formosa.* 



* Mr. Swinhoe since writes — " A Stag has just arrived here from the north, 

 and is in the possession of a gentleman next door to me. It stands nearly 3 ft. 

 at the shoulder, has a short head, and horns about 10 or 11 in. long, shaped 

 thus *** Its face and over the eyes are black, neck and ears blackish-grey. 

 Median line of back black, blending on the sides with blackish chesnut. Legs 

 black, getting grey towards the hoof. Tail and buttocks white." Pretty clearly 

 the Siberian Roe, Capeeolus pygaegus, (Pallas). But what is the so called 

 ' Roebuck' of the Amur territory, noticed in the ' Journal of the Royal Geogra- 

 phical Society,' Vol. XXVIII, 397 (1858) ?— Ceevus Wallichii, or a kindred spe- 

 cies ? " The Roe-buck," we are told, " is an animal resembling the Elk, but has 

 a smaller body, although the head is comparatively larger [!] Its flesh is savoury 

 and nutritious ; but the principal value of this animal lies in its horns, which 

 contain at a certain period of the year — -1 think in March — a marrow [!], of 

 peculiar medicinal properties, which is highly prized by the Chinese, who at the 

 best season of the year, pay as much as sixty roubles (91. 10s.) for a pair of good 

 horns," &c. &c. This animal is mentioned in addition to "the Elk," the common 

 Roe, and others. 



Further particulars of the Chinese Deer have again since been received from Mr. 

 Swinhoe, dated Dec. 8th, 1859. " The skull I sent you," he remarks, " was that 

 of an elderly buck, one of a pair in the possession of a gentleman here. It died 



