THE ETJMINANT OEDEE. 297 



Gardens of London, however, generally manage to keep a few 

 specimens. 



The Elk Genus {Aloes). — The Elk, like the Reindeer, is charac- 

 terised by the peculiar form of its horns. They do not spread out 

 into branches either at the base or middle part ; but from their burr 

 or commencement they widen out into a large palmated surface, 

 which is terminated by a series of rather deep jags or notchings. 

 These horns are solid, and are consequently very heavy ; in adults, 

 their weight attains occasionally to as much as eighty pounds. 

 To support a mass of this kind a strong and thick-set neck 

 is necessary ; in fact, when an Elk is examined, the shortness 

 and thickness of this part of the body cannot fail to attract the 

 observer's notice. It is the largest member of the family of 

 Ruminants which shed their horns, its size being not inferior 

 to that of the Horse. There is a deficiency of grace in the 

 shape of this animal, for the fore-quarters are much higher than 

 the hinder ones. Its large head is terminated by an elongated 

 upper lip, perforated by somewhat wide nostrils. This lip is 

 mobile, and constitutes a very delicate organ of touch and pre- 

 hension. This peculiaritj^ of organisation formerly gave rise to the 

 belief that the Elk could only crop grass when going backwards. 

 Its coat, which is composed of coarse, rough, and brittle hair, rises 

 into a small mane on the nape of the neck, and along the dorsal 

 spine. The long black hair under the throat forms a kind of 

 beard, and in the male animal covers a considerable protuberance. 

 The general colour of the coat is brown, varying in shade according 

 to the season. Its speed is very great, and its endm-ance wonderful : 

 but the pace is generally a trot, seldom a gallop. 



The Elk (Fig. 117) is, like the Reindeer, an inhabitant of the 

 northern regions of the Old and New Worlds ; but it does not 

 roam so far north, and wanders farther south ; and is not found 

 inside the polar circle. In Europe, it is distributed over a part 

 of Scandinavia, Prussia, Poland, and Russia. It formerly lived m. 

 aU parts of Germany, and Julius Cassar spoke of it as existing in 

 the immense Hyrcanian forest, of which the limits were not then 

 known. Siberia, Tartary, and the north of the Chinese Empire, 

 are the Asiatic countries in which it is met with in greatest 

 abundance ; and in America it is found in Canada, and the adjacent 

 northern parts of the United States. 



