THE RUMINANT ORDER. 
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Large Stag of Canada, or Wapiti ( Cervus canadensis). This 
animal bears some resemblance to the Elk, whose name the 
ignorant gave it. It is easily tamed, and soon becomes used to 
confinement. The North American Indians catch it in snares 
when young, and rear it with care. At maturity they harness it to 
their sledges during the winter, and its powerful frame enables 
it to draw heavy loads. Their flesh, which is excellent, forms a 
large portion of the Red Man’s sustenance. 
The Virginian Deer ( Cariacus virginianus) is common in the 
United States. There it is the favourite animal of chase. It is 
larger than our Fallow Deer, and is excessively abundant in 
some portion of that country ; but so many of them are annually 
slaughtered that, before a hundred years are past, says Audubon, 
this animal will have become an extraordinary rarity. Thus, on 
the part of man, we always find the same thoughtlessness and the 
same abuse of the good gifts of Providence ! Their death is 
generally accomplished by the hunter stalking on them unawares, 
when they are shot, or driving them from cover when their 
favourite passes, which are easily distinguished by the expe- 
rienced, are guarded by marksmen. 
The Indian continent and Malay Islands produce several very 
remarkable species of Stags. First let us mention the Samboo, or 
Aristotle Deer (Rasa Aristotelis ), so called (Fig. 119) because it was 
first described by that celebrated philosopher of antiquity ; then 
the Axis (Axis maculata ), a very elegant animal with a fawn- 
coloured coat speckled with white, and horns furnished with only 
two branches ; and lastly, the Porcine Deer (Hyelaphus porcinus ) , 
which owes its name to its small size and massive shape. 
In Bengal, these two last-named species are reared in a domesti- 
cated state, and fattened for the table. They readily reproduce 
their kind in the warm and temperate parts of Europe, as has been 
proved by the various specimens which are how living in the 
Jardin des Plantes. It would be a very desirable thing if they 
could be acclimatised in some of the European forests, and made 
to furnish food for the people. 
The Fallow Deer (Rama vulgaris ), Fig. 120, holds a middle 
place in size between the Red Deer and the Roe. Its height, at the 
withers, is little more than ten hands. It may be easily recog- 
nised by its horns, which are round at the base, and palmated 
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