THE EUMINANT 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 peculiarity 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 endurance wonderful : 
but the pace is generally a trot, seldom a gallop. 
The Elk (Eig. 117) is, like the Reindeer, an inhabitant of the 
northern regions of the Old and Hew 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 in 
all parts of Germany, and Julius Caesar 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. 
