THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 273 



thirty-three years, the number slain was more than two hundred and 

 fifty million, or about eight million each year; a record which has few 

 parallels. Ten or twelve years ago there were very few American chil- 

 dren who had ever seen a bison. Just a few years ago, we all began to 

 realize that if a single bison was to be left, effective means must be 

 started to put a stop to the indiscriminate slaughter. The few remain- 

 ing bison, under care and protection have thrived remarkably well, and 

 increased their numbers considerably. The American Bison Society 

 has recently taken the census of the bison, and reports that all told, 

 there are twenty one hundred and eight of them distributed among three 

 government herds, besides various private ones. 



On account of the fact that the alligator is a native of the extreme 

 southern part of this country, many people are uninformed as to the 

 rapid decrease which the demand for 'gator skins has made upon the 

 numbers of alligators in Florida and other southern states. Twenty 

 years ago it was a common occurrence to find alligators of great size in 

 many of the streams of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, 

 Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana. In all of these states excepting 

 Florida and Louisiana, the saurian representatives are comparatively 

 scarce. Florida has the greatest number now, not because of any 

 legislation or special effort for their protection, but because the ever- 

 glades and the mild climate constitute the natural habitat of the alli- 

 gator. To-day Florida has laws for the protection of the alligator, and 

 is making every effort to have them enforced. They were being killed 

 in such great numbers that, with a few more years of the " pot hunter " 

 and skin collector, the alligator would have been listed among " those 

 which had been." A few figures will suffice to show to what extent the 

 killing of alligators has gone. Between 1880 and 1890, three million 

 eight hundred thousand alligators were killed in Florida alone; and 

 during the year 1908 twenty thousand were killed. In the majority of 

 cases the skin was taken off, and the rest of the body wasted. It was not 

 until 1885 that the demand for the skins was so great, when suddenly 

 fashion decreed that, satchels, pocket books, music rolls, etc., made of 

 alligator skins were just the style; and the above figures show how it 

 affected the number of alligators. 



From reports, which represent practically the entire area of the 

 United States, gathered by Dr. Hornaday, of the New York Zoological 

 Garden, one can state without any fear of contradiction that the follow- 

 ing mammals, in the wild state, are practically extinct or are rapidly 

 becoming so. Among the ruminants or cud-chewing animals, the bison 

 of course holds first place, with the wapiti or American elk (Cervus 

 canadensis) , moose (Alces americana) and woodland caribou (Rangifer 

 caribou) good seconds. Notable among the smaller ruminants are : the 

 Virginia or white tailed deer (Cariacus virginianus) , mule deer (Cari- 



VOL. LXXIX. — 19. 



