THE MATIONAL COLLECTION OF HEADS 

 AND HORNS. 



NOTWITHSTANDING the existence of game laws, and the 

 constant efforts of many persons who beHeve in the protec- 

 tion of wild life, it is an undeniable fact that, in nearly all parts 

 of the world that yet are inhabited by large animals, the creatures 

 of horn, hoof, and claw are rapidly disappearing. In Alaska, 

 the finest hunting ground possessed by this nation, we regretfully 

 admit that the existing game law appears to have availed very 

 little in checking the appalling slaughter of moose, caribou, and 

 mountain sheep. 



Although in Africa the English are doing their utmost to con- 

 serve their remaining stock of large hoofed mammals, in the best 

 game districts it is practically certain that the various species are 

 being killed more rapidly than they breed. 



But for the timely and thoughtful efforts of the Duke of Bed- 

 ford, Pere David's deer, of Alanchuria, would have been com- 

 pletely exterminated, actually before our eyes, five years ago. 

 To-day, not one living specimen remains save in the \\''oburn 

 Park herd of His Grace. 



In view of facts such as the above, it has seemed to the Secretary 

 of the Society, and the Director of the Zoological Park, the im- 

 perative duty of American sportsmen, zoologists, and taxider- 

 mists, that a complete and perfect collection of the heads and 

 horns of the world's ungulates should be formed in America, 

 without delay. In viewing the whole situation, it has seemed 

 desirable that the Zoological Society should accept the ownership 

 of such a collection, in case it is formed, and assume the duty of 

 maintaining it acceptably and in perpetuity. 



Accordingly, the creation of a great collection, to be national 

 in the scope of its founding, has been seriously proposed ; and the 

 title chosen for it is "The National Collection of Heads and 

 Horns." It is believed that the sportsmen and naturalists of 

 America will be found willing to form the collection : and the 

 New York Zoological Society, by a formal resolution adopted on 

 December 20, 1906, by the Executive Committee, has decided 

 to accept, maintain, and suitably exhibit the collection. On the 

 date mentioned, ]Mr. Hornaday presented to the Society, as a 



