I America.

often, if not always, of a foot diameter, on the hinder part of the buttocks round the tail ; its gait a trot, and attended with a rattling of the hoofs : but diftin- guiflied from that decifively by its horns, which are not palmated, but round and pointed. This is the animal defcribed by Catefby as the Cervus major Americanus, the flag of America, le Cerf dc I'Amerique. But it diiFers from the Cervus as totally, as does the palmated elk from the dama. And in fa6t it feems to ftand in the fame relation to the palmated elk, as the red deer does to the fallow. It has abounded in Virginia, has been feen, within my knowledge, on the eaftern fide of the Blue ridge fince the year 1765, is now common beyond thofe mountains, has been often brought to us and tamed, and its horns are in the handg of many. I fhould defignate it as the < Alces Americanus cornibus teretibus.' It were to be wilhed, that naturalifts, who are acquainted with the renne and elk of Europe, and who may hereafter vifit the northern parts of America, would examine well the animals called there by the names of grey and black raoofe, caribou, original and elk. Monf. de Buffon has done what could be done from the materials in his hands, toward clearing up the confufion introduced by the loofe application of thefe names among the animals they are meant to defignate. He reduces the whole to the renne and flat horned elk. From all the information I have been able to collefl, I ftrongly fufpe£t they will be found to cover three, if not four diftindl fpecies of animals. I have feen Ikins of a moofe, and of the caribou : they differ iBore from each other, and from that of the round horned elk, than I ever fawtwo (kins differ which belonged to different individuals of any wild fpecies. Thefe differences are in the colour, length, and coarfenefs of the hair, and in the fize, texture, and marks of the Ikin. Perhaps it will be found that there is, I. the moofe, black and grey, the former being faid to be the male, and the latter the female. 2. The caribou or renne. 3. The flat horned elk, or original. 4. The round horned elk. Should this laft, though poffeffmg fo nearly the charafters of the elk, be found to be the fame with the Cerf d'Ardennes or Brandhirtz of Germany, ftill there wi'A remain the three fpecies firft enumerated.