pulate twenty times together; and that this turn arifes from their feeding on a certain herb, which has most invigorating

powers.

When taken young, they may easily be made tame: but if caught when at full age, are fo wild and fo obftinate as to refuse all food. When they die, their nofes are quite flaccid.

They are hunted for the fake of their flesh, horns, and skins, which are excellent for gloves, belts, &c. The huntfmen always approach them against the wind, leaft they should smell their enemy: they alfo avoid putting on red or white cloaths, or any colours which might attract their notice. They are either shot, or taken by dogs; or by the black eagle, which is trained to this fpecies of falconry.

No animals are so subject to vary in their horns; but the colour and clearness will always point out the animal to which they belong.

This probably was the animal called by Strabo zonos, found among the Scythe and Sarmatæ, and an object of chace with the ancient inhabitants. He fays it was of a fize between a stag and a ram, and of a white colour, and very swift. He adds, that it drew up fo much water into its head, through its noftrils, as would ferve it for feveral days in the arid deferts: a fable naturally formed, in days of ignorance, from the inflated appearance of its nofe.'

We fhall next prefent our readers with the account of the elk, or moose-deer.

A male of this fpecies, and the horns of others, having been brought over of late years, prove this, on comparison with the horns of the European elk, to be the fame animal. But the account that Joffelyn gives of the fize of the American moose has all the appearance of being greatly exaggerated; afferting, that Tome are found twelve feet or thirty-three hands high. But Charlevoix, Dierville, and Lefcarbot, with greater appearance of probability, make it the fize of a horfe, or an Auvergne mule, which is a very large fpecies; and the informations allo that I have received from eye-witneffes, make its height from fifteen to feventeen hands. The writers who speak of the European kind, confine its bulk to that of a horfe. Thofe who fpeak of the gigantic moofe, fay, their horns are fix feet high; Joffelyn makes the extent from tip to tip to be two fathom; and La Hontan, from hearfay, pretends that they weigh from 300 to 400lb. notwithstanding he fays, that the animal which is to carry them is no larger than a horfe. Thus these writers vary from each other, and often are not confiftent with themfelves. It feems then that Joffelyn has been too credulous, and taken his evidence from huntsmen or Indians, who were fond of the marvellous; for it does not appear that he had feen it. The only thing certain is, that the elk is common to both continents; and that the American, having larger forefts to range in, Vol. LII. Dec. 1781. Ff and

and more luxuriant food, grows to a larger fize than the European.

In America they are found, though rarely, in the back partsof New England; in the peninfula of Nova Scotia, and in Canada; and in the country round the great lakes, almost as low fouth as the Ohio. In Europe they inhabit Lapland, Norway, Sweden, and Ruffia; in Afia, the N. E. parts of Tartary and Siberia, but in each of thefe continents inhabit only parts, where cold reigns with the utmost rigour during part of the year.

• They live amidst the forefts, for the conveniency of browzing the boughs of trees; by reafon of the great length of their legs, and the fhortness of their neck, which prevent them from grazing with any fort of eafe, they often feed on water-plants, which they can readily get at by wading; and M. Sarrafin fays, they are fo fond of the anagyris foetida, or stinking bean trefoil, as to dig for it with their feet, when covered with fnow.

They have a fingular gait; their pace is a high fhambling trot, but they go with vaft fwiftnefs; in old times thefe animals were made ufe of in Sweden to draw fledges; but as they were frequently acceflary to the escape of murderers and other criminals, the ufe was prohibited under great penalties. In palling through thick woods, they carry their heads horizontally, to prevent their horns being entangled in the branches. In their common walk they raife their fore-feet very high; that which I saw stepped over a rail near a yard high with great ease..

They are very inoffenfive animals, except when wounded, or in the rutting-feafon, when they become very furious, and at that time fwim from ifle to ifle, in purfuit of the females. They ftrike with both horns and hoofs. Are hunted in Canada during winter, when they fink fo deep in the fnow as to become an eafy prey when first unharboured, fquat with their hind parts, make water, and then go off in a moft rapid trot: during their former attitude, the hunter ufually directs his fhot.

The flesh is much commended for being light and nourishing, but the nofe is reckoned the greateft delicacy in all Canada: the tongues are excellent, and are frequently brought here from Ruffia: the skin makes excellent buff leather: Linnæus fays, it will turn a musket-ball: the hair which is on the neck, withers, and hams, of the full-grown elk, is of great length, and very elaftic; is used to make matreffes. The hoofs were fuppofed to have great virtues in curing epilepfies. It was pretended, that the elk, being fubject to that difeafe, cured itfelf by fcratching its ear with its hoof.

The elk was known to the Romans by the name of alce and machlis: they believed that it had no joints in its legs; and, from the great fize of the upper lip, imagined it could not graze without going backward.

Before I quit this fubject, it will be proper to take fome notice of the enormous horns that are so often found foffil in Ireland,

and

and which have always been attributed to the moofe deer: I mean the moofe deer of Joffelyn; for no other animal could pof fibly be fuppofed to carry fo gigantic a Head. These horns differ very much from thofe of the European or American elk; the beam, or part between the base and the palm, is vastly longer: each is furnished with a large and palmated brow antler, and the fnags on the upper palms are longer. The measurements of a pair of thefe horns are as follow: from the infertion to the tips, five feet five inches; the brow antlers eleven inches; the broadeft part of the palm, eighteen; distance between tip and tip, feven feet nine: but these are finall in comparison of others that have been found in the fame kingdom. Mr. Wright, in his Louthiana, tab. xxii. book III. gives the figure of one that was eight feet long, and fourteen between point and point. These horns are frequent in our Museums, and at gentlemen's houfes in Ireland: but the zoologift is still at a lofs for the recent animal. I was once informed by a gentleman long refident in Hudfon's Bay, that the Indians fpeak of a beaft of the moofe kind (which they call wafkeffer) but far fuperior in fize to the common one, which they fay is found 7 or 800 miles S. W. of York Fort. If fuch an animal exifted, with horns of the dimenfions juft mentioned, and of proportionable dimensions in other parts, there was a chance of feeing Joffelyn's account verified for if our largest elks of feventeen hands high carry horns of fcarcely three feet in length, we may very well allow the animal to be thirty-three hands high which is to fupport horns of 3 or 400 lb. weight. But from later enquiries, I find that the walkeffer of the Indians is no other than the animal we have been defcribing.'

From Mr: Pennant's accurate and extenfive knowledge of natural history; and from the information which he has received, not only from preceding writers on that fubject, but from printed voyages of the beft authorities, and from living voyagers, foreign and English; not to mention the Briti Museum, or that of Sir Afhton Lever, fo highly applauded by this ingenious naturalift; from all thofe confiderations, the prefent work may be justly confidered as the complétet fyftem of the hiftory of quadrupeds, hitherto published: and to render it the more ufeful, as well as pleafing, it is enriched with a great number of beautiful engravings.

Uncertainty of the prefent Population of this Kingdom; deduced from a candid Review of the Accounts lately given of it by Dr. Price, on the one Hand, Mr. Eden, Mr. Wales, and Mr. Howlett, on the other. 8vo. 6d. Richardfon and Urquhart. 'HE author of this pamphlet founds his opinion upon a review of the accounts lately given by Dr. Price, on one hand; and by Mr. Eden, Mr. Wales, and Mr. Howlett, on

THE

Ffz

the

the other, refpecting the population of this country. According to Dr. Price's eftimate, the inhabitants of England and Wales must be fhort of five millions; but the other writers on this fubject make the number much more confiderable. Mr. Howlett, in particular, fuppofes it to amount to between eight and nine millions. The author of the present pamphlet expreffes a ftrong fufpicion of the accuracy of many of the articles in Mr. Howlett's tables of total and returned houfes. That this apprehenfion is well-grounded, the very proportion, between the houses faid to be returned, and the total number, renders it, he thinks, extremely probable. For this proportion is not greatly different from that between the number of houfes charged at the tax-office, and the whole number returned there; the former being to the latter confiderably lefs than as three to four.

Now, admitting, fays he, that fome of the articles in Mr. Howlett's tables are correct, authentic, and rightly ftated, as they probably are; the proportion, with respect to the remainder, would, I fancy, be nearly the fame as that now mentioned.

This ftriking analogy, however, is not my only ground of fufpicion. I have difcovered, with regard to one place, that the fact is really as I have hinted. The number of houses faid to be returned in the parish alluded to is 96, the total 198. A correfpondent, on whofe veracity I can fafely depend, affures me, that thefe 198 are all in the parish duplicate, and that the 96 are those which are charged or affeffed. As Mr. Howlett has fuffered, either his precipitation or his inattention to mislead him in one inftance, and as ftrong marks of fufpicion accompany many of his other articles, he will, I prefume, readily excufe me, if I either do not admit his very fanguine and flattering conclufions, without great caution and confiderable deductions; or if I deny that he has, in particular, here evinced, that our prefent numbers are between eight and nine millions, or that their increase has been more than one-third fince the Revolution.'

The following remarks on the register-evidence, which was adduced by Mr. Howlett, are worthy of attention.

With refpect to the proofs of either abfolute or relative population derived from parish regifters, which are generally deemed fo decifive and fatisfactory, they appear to me, of all others, the moft precarious and uncertain. The degrees of mortality prevalent at different æras, the number of diffentients or feparatifts from the ftate religion, the correctness and fidelity with which the registers themselves are kept; must all be well afcertained before their information can be at all de

pended

pended upon. The varying ratio of mortality alone may fometimes render all comparifon ufelefs for the purpose in question. When the peftilence raged quite over Europe, and, in the course of a year or two, fwept almost half its inhabitants into the grave, had the annual average amount of births and deaths for ten or fifteen years been taken, and a judgment thence formed of its actual population, we must have concluded it to have been vaftly greater than it was fifty years before or after; whereas it is indubitably certain that it was on the contrary, prodigiously lefs. Should we examine the parochial records of mortality in our own country for ten years, in that part of the last century, in which near fiftythousand perfons died of the plague in our metropolis alone, and the fame dreadful diftemper fent death into every quarter of the nation, we should be led to imagine that our inhabitants were more numerous than before or fince; as not only the burials were vaftly augmented, but, for obvious reafons, the baptifms likewife. But allowing the ratio of mortality at the two periods between which we want to draw a parallel to remain nearly the fame, yet a further difficulty ftill arises from the different number of feparatifts from the established worship, who are feldom entered in the parochial registers. Carry this refearch into France. You will, perhaps, find the Protestants ot a third part fo many as they were at the Revolution; and I am ftrongly inclined to believe, that that increased population the French writers, with fuch colour and plaufibility, fo much boast of, is a mere deception, owing very much, if not entirely, to this circumftance alone. Bring the enquiry back into England; the Papifts are incomparably fewer at prefent than a hundred years ago; and as to the Diffenters, their diminution is fo great and ftriking, that it is even among them-felves a common topic of complaint and lamentation; and with regard to the carelefs inaccuracy with which the registers were formerly kept, every one that confults them will be immediately convinced.'

One of the arguments advanced by Mr. Howlett, in favour of the rapid progrefs of population in the northern counties, was the vast number of chapels of eafe, which have been erected within thefe thirty years. But this author affirms, on what he confiders as the most authentic intelligence, that, in confequence of this multiplication of chapels, it is no uncommon thing for baptifms (and fometimes perhaps burials) to be entered twice; firit in the chapel-regifter, and afterwards, for greater fecurity, in that of the mother church. Hence the aftonishing excefs of the baptifms over the burials in fome parishes, frequently even to more than double.