wood or a precipice, it generally lies in wait upon a branch or some high cliff, and springs down upon the first animal that comes within its reach. Sometimes also it steals unawares upon its prey, and suddenly bounding upon its back, kills it by a single bite in the neck. Many fables worthy of Münchhausen have been told about its voracity; for instance, that it is able to devour two reindeer at one meal, and that, when its stomach is exorbitantly distended with food, it will press itself between two trees or stones to make room for a new repast. It will, indeed, kill in one night six or eight reindeer, but it contents itself with sucking their blood, as the weasel does with fowls, and eats no more at one meal than any other carnivorous animal of its own size.

Besides the attacks of its mightier enemies, the reindeer is subject to the persecutions of two species of gad-fly, which torment it exceedingly. The one (Estrus tarandi), called Hurbma by the Laplanders, deposits its glutinous eggs upon the animal's back. The larvæ, on creeping out, immediately bore themselves into the skin, where by their motion and suction they cause so many small swellings or boils, which gradually grow to the size of an inch or more in diameter, with an opening at the top of each, through which the larva may be seen imbedded in a purulent fluid. Frequently the whole back of the animal is covered with these boils, which, by draining its fluids, produce emaciation and disease. As if aware of this danger, the reindeer runs wild and furious as soon as it hears the buzzing of the fly, and seeks a refuge in the nearest water.

The other species of gad-fly (Estrus nasalis) lays its eggs in the nostrils of the reindeer; and the larvæ, boring themselves into the fauces and beneath the tongue of the poor animal, are a great source of annoyance, as is shown by its frequent sniffling and shaking of the head.

A pestilential disorder like the rinderpest will sometimes sweep away whole herds. Thus in a few weeks a rich Laplander or Samojede may be reduced to poverty, and the proud possessor of several thousands of reindeer be compelled to seek the precarious livelihood of the northern fisherman.

The elk or moose-deer (Cervus alces) is another member of the cervine race peculiar to the forests of the north. In size

THE ELK OR MOOSE-DEER.

23

it is far superior to the stag, but it cannot boast of an elegant shape, the head being disproportionately large, the neck short and thick, and its immense horns, which sometimes weigh near fifty pounds, each dilating almost immediately from the base into a broad palmated form; while its long legs, high shoulders, and heavy upper lip hanging very much over the lower, give it an uncouth appearance. The colour of the elk is a dark greyish brown, but much paler on the legs and beneath the tail.

We owe the first description of this gigantic deer to Julius Cæsar, in whose times it was still a common inhabitant of the German forests. But the conqueror of Gaul can hardly have seen it himself, or he would not have ascribed to it a single horn, placed in the middle of the forehead, or said that both sexes are perfectly alike, for the female is smaller and has no antlers.

At present the elk is still found in the swampy forests of East Prussia, Lithuania and Poland, but it chiefly resides in the more northern woods of Russia, Siberia, and America. It is a mild and harmless animal, principally supporting itself by browsing the boughs of willows, asps, service trees, and other soft species of wood. It does not, like the reindeer, seek a refuge against the attacks of the gad-flies, by wandering to the coasts of the sea, or retreating to the bare mountains, where it would soon perish for the want of adequate food, but plunges up to the nose into the next river, where it finds, moreover, a species of water-grass (Festuca fluitans) which it likes to feed upon. Though naturally mild and harmless, it displays a high degree of courage, and even ferocity when suddenly attacked; defending itself with great vigour, not only with its horns, but also by striking violently with its fore feet, in the use of which it is particularly dextrous. It is generally caught in traps, as it is extremely shy and watchful, and finds an easy retreat in the swamp or the forest. The only time of the year when it can be easily chased is in the spring, when the softened snow gets covered during the night with a thin crust of ice which is too weak to bear the animal's weight.

Though not ranging so far north as the reindeer or the elk, we find in the Old World the red-deer (Cervus elaphus),

in the vicinity of Drontheim in Norway, and along with the roebuck beyond Lake Baikal in Siberia, while in America the large-eared deer (Cervus macrotis), and the Wapiti or Canada stag (Cervus strongylo-ceras), extend their excursions beyond 55° of northern latitude. The latter is much larger and of a stronger make than the European red-deer, frequently growing to the height of our tallest oxen, and possessing great activity as well as strength. The flesh is little prized, but the hide, when made into leather after the Indian fashion, is said not to turn hard in drying, after being wet-a quality which justly entitles it to a preference over almost every other kind of leather.

One of the most remarkable quadrupeds of the high northern regions is the musk-ox (Ovibos moschatus), which by some naturalists has been considered as intermediate between the sheep and the ox. It is about the height of a deer, but of much stouter proportions. The horns are very broad at the base, almost meeting on the forehead, and curving downwards between the eye and ears until about the level of the mouth, when they turn upwards. Its long thick brown or black hair hanging down below the middle of the leg, and covering on all parts of the animal a fine kind of soft ashcoloured wool, which is of the finest description and capable of forming the most beautiful fabrics manufactured, enables it to remain even during the winter beyond 70° of northern latitude. In spring, it wanders over the ice as far as Melville Island, or even Smith's Sound, where a number of its bones were found by Dr. Kane. In September it withdraws more to the south, and spends the coldest months on the verge of the forest-region. Like the reindeer, it subsists chiefly on lichens and grasses. hills and rocks with great ease. of a very analogous species, have been discovered in Siberia : at present it is exclusively confined to the New World.

It runs nimbly, and climbs Its fossil remains, or those

In the Rocky Mountains, from the Mexican Cordilleraplateaux as far as 68° N. lat., dwells the wild sheep (Ovis montana), distinguished by the almost circular bend of its large, triangular, transversely striped horns, from its relative the Siberian argali (Ovis argali), which is supposed to be the parent of our domestic sheep, and far surpasses it in size and delicacy of flesh. Both the American and the Asiatic

wild sheep are in the highest degree active and vigorous, ascending abrupt precipices with great agility, and, like the wild goat, going over the narrowest and most dangerous passes with perfect safety.

Among the carnivorous quadrupeds of the northern regions, many, like the lynx, the wolf, the bear, the glutton, and other members of the weasel tribe, have their head-quarters in the forests, and only occasionally roam over the tundras; but the Arctic fox (Canis lagopus) almost exclusively inhabits the treeless wastes that fringe the Polar ocean, and is found on almost all the islands that lie buried in its bosom. This pretty little creature, which in winter grows perfectly white, knows how to protect itself against the most intense cold, either by seeking a refuge in the clefts of rocks, or by burrowing to a considerable depth in a sandy soil.

It principally preys upon lemmings, stoats, polar hares, as well as upon all kinds of water-fowl and their eggs; but, when pinched by hunger, it does not disdain the carcases of fish, or the molluses and crustaceans it may chance to pick up on the shore. Its enemies are the glutton, the snowy owl, and man, who, from the equator to the poles, leaves no creature unmolested that can in any way satisfy his wants.

The lemmings, of which there are many species, are small rodents, peculiar to the Arctic regions, both in the New and in the Old World, where they are found as far to the north as vegetation extends. They live on grass, roots, the shoots of the willow, and the dwarf birch, but chiefly on lichens. They do not gather hoards of provisions for the winter, but live upon what they find beneath the snow. They seldom prove injurious to man, as the regions they inhabit are generally situated beyond the limits of agriculture. From the voles, to whom they are closely allied, they are distinguished by having the foot-sole covered with stiff hairs, and by the strong crooked claws with which their fore feet are armed. The best known species is the Norwegian lemming (Lemmus norwegicus), which is found on the high mountains of the Dovrefjeld, and further to the north on the dry parts of the tundra, where it inhabits small burrows under stones or in the moss. Its long and thick hair is of a tawny colour, and prettily marked with black spots. The migrations of the lemming have been grossly exaggerated by Olaus

Magnus and Pontoppidan, to whom the natural history of the North owes so many fables. As they breed several times in the year, producing five or six at a birth, they of course multiply very fast under favourable circumstances, and arc then forced to leave the district which is no longer able to afford them food. But this takes place very seldom, for when Mr. Brehm* visited Scandinavia, the people on the Dovrefjeld knew nothing about the migrations of the lemming, and his enquiries on the subject proved equally fruitless in Lapland and in Finland. At all events it is a fortunate circumstance that the lemmings have so many enemies, as their rapid multiplication might else endanger the balance of existence in the northern regions. The inclemencies of the climate are a chief means for keeping them in check. A wet summer, an early cold and snowless autumn destroy them by millions, and then of course years are necessary to recruit their numbers. With the exception of the bear and the hedgehog, they are pursued by all the northern carnivora. The wolf, the fox, the glutton, the marten, the ermine, devour them with avidity, and a good lemming season is a time of unusual plenty for the hungry Laplander's dog. The snowy owl, whose dense plumage enables it to be a constant resident on the tundra, almost exclusively frequents those places where lemmings, its favourite food, are to be found; the buzzards are constantly active in their destruction; the crow feeds its young with lemmings; and even the poor Lap, when pressed by hunger, seizes a stick, and, for want of better game, goes out lemming-hunting, and rejoices when he can kill a sufficient number for his dinner.

Several birds, such as the snowy owl and the ptarmigan (Lagopus albus), which can easily procure its food under the snow, winter in the highest latitudes; but by far the greater number are merely summer visitants of the Arctic regions. After the little bunting, the first arrivals in spring are the snow-geese, who likewise are the first to leave the dreary regions of the north on their southerly migration. The common and king eider duck, the Brent geese, the great northern, black and red throated divers, are the next to make their appearance, followed by the pintail and longtail ducks

* Illustrirtes Thierleben.' Hildburghausen, 1865.