Heads- and Horns 9 



'Flint American sportsmen and travelers should unite in forming here a 

 collection of heads, horns and records worthy of this great continent, surely 

 is not too much to hope for. For several years past, Mr. Madison Grant, 

 Secretary of the New York Zoological Society, and the writer have desired 

 that the Society should possess and exhibit in its Zoological Park a fine col- 

 lection of heads, horns and records which should be of practical value. That 

 desire has finally crystali/ed in a plan for a national collection, as herein 

 briefly described. 



As evidence of an interest in the matter, the writer has presented to the 

 Zoological Society his collection of more than one hundred heads and horns, to 

 serve as the nucleus of the proposed national collection. In offering a few 

 notes regarding the "nucleus" itself, an outline of the greater collection is 

 naturally suggested. 



THK MOUNTAIN SHEEP 



It is only those who make systematic collections who can realize the keen 

 pleasure that is derived from the possession of a complete, or nearly complete, 

 series of important zoological objects.. We have observed that even the most 

 indifferent observer of animals is aroused by the sight of a group of heads 

 and horns which embraces fine specimens of the finest species of a given genus, 

 and that represent localities scattered all over the habitable globe. By way of 

 illustration, take the mountain sheep in the "nucleus collection." 



As many persons are already aware, wherever it is found, a mountain 

 sheep, no matter what its species, is an intelligent, keen-eyed, bold-hearted 

 and nimble-footed animal, which is at home only amid the grandest mountains 

 it can find. Its successful pursuit means great physical exertion and good 

 marksmanship, amid the grandest aspects of nature as expressed in mountain 

 forms. To my mind, the pursuit of mountain game is as far above the hunt- 

 ing to be found in forests and plains as the rifle is above the revolver; and 

 there are no animals which so powerfully appeal to the hunter's inmost soul as 

 do the crag-climbing wild sheep, goats, and ibexes. 



Of the specimens in the "nucleus collection," the most remarkable is a 

 colossal pair of horns from the great Siberian Argali, or Ovis ammon (Plate 

 II) . This animal is the largest of the world's mountain sheep, and its home and 

 center of distribution is the Altai Mountains of western Mongolia. The fully 

 adult male Argali stands about 48 inches in shoulder height, but for its body 

 to be in fair proportion to its enormous horns, it should be five feet high. 



