No. V.] 



ZOOLOGY. 



665 



is a beautiful soft white fur, which makes the skin of the animal in that state an 

 object of commerce; near 10,000 of these were imported from Hudson's Bay, last 

 season. The animal is very rarely sent to England in its summer state, from these 

 northern regions, but a specimen was received from Dr. Richardson, from Cum- 

 berland House, in the spring of 1820, of which the following is a description: 

 — length, one foot four inches ; hind legs, ten inches long ; head, narrow, dark 

 above, lighter brown on the sides, and ash-coloured below ; ears wide, edged with 

 white, on back and tips brown; back very dark; sides inclining to ash colour; inside 

 part of the neck slightly ferruginous; belly white; tail small, dark above, white below, 

 the under part turned up ; legs having a greater quantity of white hairs than dark 

 ones ; nails on hind and fore feet, sharp-pointed, narrow and nearly straight. Has 

 much greater resemblance, both in size and colour, to the Common Rabbit, than to the 

 Common Hare, but its long hind legs differ from those of the Common Rabbit. 



CERVUS. STAG AND DEER. 



The various Cervi, which are found in North America, are at present very inaccu- 

 rately known ; the information acquired by the Expedition, has added to the stock of 

 knowledge, respecting them, yet not sufficiently to enable us at present to place them 

 under distinct names > with positive reference to separate species. An enumeration 

 of all the different kinds mentioned by writers or travellers, will probably contribute 

 to the attainment of greater certainty respecting them hereafter. First, the Moose 

 Deer of the English settlers, the Orignal of the French Americans, and the Black 

 Moose of the United States, has been correctly referred ot the Cervus Alces, the Elk 

 of Europe ; it, however, is not the animal which is commonly called the American Elk 

 but it is the Flat-horned Elk, of some Trans-atlantic writers, and is called Mongsoa by 

 the Cree Indians. Second, the Rein-deer, (Cervus Tarandas,) the Caribou of the French 

 settlers. Dr. Richardson thinks there are three varieties of this species: 1st. the 

 Rein-deer of the woods, which confines itself to parts where trees abound. 2nd. A large 

 kind, living on the Rocky Mountains, possibly the Mule Deer of Lewis and Clarke 

 mentioned below. 3rd. A smaller kind, which supports itself, on the barren grounds 

 and migrates in summer to the Islands of the Polar Sea. It is this last animal from 

 which the descriptions of the Rein-deer have usually been made by naturalists ; it is 

 known to the Cree nation by the name of Attehk. Third, the Stag, or Red-deer of North 

 America, which is also called the Grey Moose, in the United States, has been taken for 

 the Red-deer (Cervus Elephas) of Europe, but that species is smaller in size, and seems 

 not to be native in the new world. Gmelin made the American stag a variety of 

 Cervus Elephas, with the sub-denomination of Canadensis, which has been adopted 



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