Characters 53 



the withers varying from 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet 6 inches. 1 Antlers with 

 a very short beam and the palmation so developed as frequently to obliterate 

 almost all traces of the primitive form, with the exception of a remnant of 

 the cleft of the first fork. Nasal bones of skull extremely short, and the 

 premaxillas not extending sufficiently far upwards on the front edges of the 

 maxilla? to articulate with the nasals. Hair long, coarse, and rather brittle, 

 longest about the neck. General colour varying from yellowish gray to 

 deep blackish brown, generally darker in American than in European 



Fig. 1 1. — Upper view ot Skull and Antlers of Elk. From an American specimen in the possession of 

 the Duke of Westminster. This appears to be the largest on record, the maximum span being 

 6 feet ii inches. 



examples ; lower portion of limbs whitish ; forehead dark chestnut ; face 

 below the eyes nearly black, but reddish gray near the muzzle. 



The winter coat, which in America first makes its appearance in 

 September, is darker than the summer pelage ; and it is when first assumed 

 that it is darkest, its colour gradually fading till the spring change. More- 

 over, it is only in animals of the second or third year that the winter coat 

 attains its deepest sable, growing gradually lighter each succeeding year, 



1 The late Prof. Garrod, CasseWs Natural History, vol. iii. p. 51, gives the height at 8 feet ; the tallest 

 specimen definitely recorded is a Canadian one shot by General R. S. Dashwood, which measured 6], ft. 



