MOSCHUS MOSCHIFERUS. 3 



with long white hairs, blended with others of a greyish tinge, and, 

 externally, with hairs of a reddish black, mixed with grey. The 

 upper jaw, in the male, is provided with two very long canine 

 teeth, projecting from the mouth, curved inwards, and sharp on 

 the inner side ; at the angle of the gape are two tufts of stiff" hair. 

 The fur is coarser than that of the stag, varying at different seasons 

 of the year, and different periods of life. The prevailing colour of 

 the hair on the body is dark brown, cinereous at their origin, with 

 brown, ferruginous, or blackish tips, presenting different hues, ac- 

 cording to the position in which the creature is viewed. The 

 hoofs are deeply cloven, slender and black ; the succentorial ones 

 are likewise very long, serving the animal to grasp the edges of 

 rocks, in climbing or descending, in the same manner as the 

 Chamois. In the male, behind the naval and before the prepuce, 

 there is situated an oval bag, flat on one side and convex on the 

 other, about three inches long and two broad, projecting, with a 

 very small orifice, beset with short hairs. In the young animal, it 

 is empty; but, in the full-grown individual, it contains from one 

 to two drachms of a soft unctuous brown substance, of the most 

 powerful and penetrating smell, which is the genuine musk. The 

 female has two mammae ; is smaller than the male, and not only 

 wants the long projecting canine teeth, or tusks, but the follicle. 

 Le Peyronie has given in the Receuil de l'Acadamie des Sciences, 

 an anatomical description of the Musk Deer, made probably from 

 the individual in the menagerie at Versailles. The drawing, on the 

 annexed plate, was made from a specimen in the British Museum ; 

 and, Figs. 1. and 2, are intended to represent different views of 

 the musk bag, from Buffon. 



The Musk is an inhabitant of the alpine tracts of Central Asia, 

 particularly those which divide Thibet from India, where it is 

 called Kustura. It is also found in the kingdoms of Bontan and 

 Tonquin, in several of the Chinese provinces, in Chinese Tartan:, 

 and even some portions of Russian Tartary, as about the lake Baikal, 

 and the rivers Jenesi and Argun, from lat. CO to 45°, but seldom 

 so far south, except driven by great falls of snow to seek for food 

 in more temperate climates. Its favourite haunts are the tops of 

 mountains covered with extensive forests of pine trees, where it 

 delights to roam in places of the most difficult access, springing 



