MUSK, or MUSK DEER (OF., Fr. muse, from Lat. niuseus, front Gk. mosehos, from Ar., Pers. musk, musk, from Skt.
testicle, mouse, from to steal). An aber rant deer of the subfamily Moschime, which dif fers from ordinary deer in the lack of antlers; in the possession by the male of long upper canines, which. project downward outside the lips; and in certain anatomical features. Hence there has been much discussion whether the animal should he included in the Cervidte. There is only one spe cies, Nosch us utoschiferus, of the high Hima layas. Tibet, and Eastern Siberia—a small ani mal, which stands about 20 inches high and has a clumsy form. its favorite haunts arc the tops of pine-covered mountains, but its summer range extends far above the region of pines. Its habits are nocturnal and solitary, and it is extremely timid. It is much pursued by hunters on ac count of its odoriferous secretion, which has been known in Europe since the eighth century, and is Innch valued as a perfume.
Music. This secretion is produced in a glandu lar pouch situated on the hinder part of the abdomen of the males, and its natural use seems to he that of increasing sexual attractiveness. The musk-bag, or 'pent,' is formed by an infolding of a portion of the skin of the belly, within which a number of membranes are contained, and be tween these membranes are glands by which the musk is secreted. When newly taken from the
animal, musk is soft and almost resembles an ointment ; it is reddish-brown. and has an excess ively powerful odor. Very little of it reaches Europe unadulterated. Musk is usually imported either in the form of 'grain-musk.' that is, the musk which has been collected chiefly from stones upon which it has been deposited by the animal, in which state it is a coarse powder of a dark-brown color: or in the 'pod.' dried with the musk inside. Of both kinds the annual im portations to the United States are about 15,000 ounces, chiefly from China and India. Small quantities are used in medicine, but the greater part is employed by perfumers. The kinds gen erally known in trade are the Tonquin or Chinese, and the Carbardine, Kabardine, or Siberian, which is inferior. Genuine musk has the valuable property of adding to the permanency of other odors. On account of its properties as a stimu lant and antispasmodic, it is also used to sonic extent in medicine. See PERFUMERY.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. Lydekker, Deer of II nds Bibliography. Lydekker, Deer of II nds (London, 189S) : Flower, a monograph in Pro ceedings of the Zoiilogiral goeirt y of London, 1S75. See Plate of DF.ER, MUSK. ETC.