388 PEOr. M. WATSON AND DE. A. H. YOUNG ON 



deer* rather than the cylindrical form which they present in the 

 majority of the Cervidae. Shallowness of its cells characterizes 

 for the most part the Cervine reticulum ; and in respect of this 

 division of the stomach, the Elk agrees with the majority of Deer, 

 includiag the E-eindeer, in which, according to Professor Owenf, 

 the cells are extremely shallow. The laminae of the psalterium in 

 the majority of Deer are, according to Prof. Grarrod, quadruplicate ^ 

 and to this general observation the Elk forms no exception ; at the 

 same time it is to be observed that in this animal the smallest 

 laminae are represented by rows of papillae, an arrangement which, 

 according to the tables of the author just named, is also met with 

 in certain species of the genus Gervus, but which is by no means 

 so common as that in which the papillae have completely coalesced 

 to form continuous laminae. The greatest divergence from the 

 Cervine type, so far as the alimentary canal of the Elk is concerned, 

 is to be found in the comparative lengths of the small and large 

 intestines. According to Meckel J the small intestine in the Cer- 

 vidae as a rule measures more than twice the length of the large, 

 an observation which is substantiated by a reference to the tables 

 of Prof. Garrod§, whereas in the Elk the large and small intestines 

 are of nearly equal lengths. In this respect the Elk agrees more 

 closely with the Camelidae, in which, according to Meckel, the 

 small and large intestines are of equal length, than with other 

 members of the genus Cervus, only one species of which (Oervus 

 elapJius) at all approaches these measurements, and in it the 

 length of the small intestine exceeds that of the large by one 

 third. 



With regard to the comparative lengths of the caecum and large 

 intestine, as well as the absence of a gall-bladder, Alces agrees 

 with the Cervidae in general. 



Passing now to the generative organs, we find that Leuckart || 

 figures in the Stag vesiculae seminales which are almost the coun- 

 terpart of those we found in the Elk ; and the resemblance between 

 the genitals of the two animals is further borne out by the ab- 

 sence of a prostate gland in both. According to Pittardlf and 

 Murie**, it is possible that these vesiculae may represent the pros- 

 * Owen's 'Anat. of Vertebrates,' p. 471. 

 t Ibid. p. 472. 



\ Cyclopasdia of Anatomy, Oobbold, art. Euminantia. 

 § Log. cit. p. 5. 



II Cyclopaedia of Anatomy, art. Vesicula prostatica. 

 ^ Cyclopaedia of Anatomy, art. Vesicula seminales. 

 ** Proceed. Zool. Soc. 1870, p. 352. 



