62 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 
and his assistants captured and purchased an important series 
of mammals, birds and reptiles for the Park. The total of these 
shipments amounted to the following: 
WUE 90) 100) Reape ae ent ia 8 nike eR grree soviet, Sal 
Repmtilesthcs.ceet Macy «tree cer ns Ble al ake aa lye 
Bids ers oes 8 den) ict PRY oem NET Ae ee oe et 154 
ashes sas ee a Raw Aa a Se aed Seen iz 
Slowly, but surely, the American wild animal market is 
adjusting itself to the new conditions created by the war, and 
new channels for supplies are being opened. It is perfectly evi- 
dent that the German dealers will, at the close of the war, find 
very many of their old hunting grounds closed to them, and for 
a long period. It is more than likely that from this time hence- 
forth, English dealers will possess the animal trade with India, 
the Malay Settlements outside of the Dutch East Indies, German 
East Africa and very much more of the Dark Continent. Here- 
after Frenchmen will control the wild animal trade of the French 
Congo, and there will be few regions left to the German dealers 
that are well stocked with big game. 
In view of this certainty, it is well for all Americans who 
need, or who ever may need, wild animals, to take thought for 
the morrow. 
One of the first results of the present situation will be the 
establishing of direct communications with Africa. The close 
of the war quickly will be followed by the inauguration of a 
regular line of passenger steamers between South Africa and 
New York. But for the war, such a line would to-day be in 
operation! 
It needs no effort of the imagination to picture the possibili- 
ties in a direct line from Cape Town or Durban to New York of 
importing animals by a short haul along the line of least resist- 
ance. With the co-operation that we may reasonably expect 
from the Union Castle Line, which surely will do as well in 
freight rates on wild animals as the Hamburg-American Line 
has for years done by the Hagenbecks, our African animals 
should cost us about thirty per cent. less than we have all these 
years been paying the German dealers for animals shipped first 
from Africa to Central Europe, and thence to America. 
Last summer we invited the Zoological Society of Philadel- 
phia and the National Zoological Park of Washington to join us, 
