PREFACE 



THE National Collection of Heads and Horns represents an effort to build up a collection 

 that will adequately represent the big game of the world in general, and that of 

 America in particular. Such an undertaking is now rendered necessary by the rapid 

 disappearance of large mammalian life, all the world over. In 1906 a definite plan 

 was formulated by Madison Grant and William T. Hornaday, and laid before the New York 

 Zoological Society, proposing that a great collection be formed, that it be national in scope 

 and importance, that it be formed by sportsmen, and that it be owned and maintained perpet- 

 ually by the Society, in the New York Zoological Park. 



This proposal was at once accepted by the Zoological Society, and as a nucleus Mr. Horn- 

 aday presented his private collection, as described in Part I of this publication. Until a 

 special building is erected for it, the Society will devote to the heads-and-horns collection the 

 two picture galleries of the new Administration Building which is now under construction. 

 These galleries will very well suffice for two or three years, but in the near future a spacious 

 fire-proof building will be necessary. 



As already intimated, the object of this collection is to afford to the sportsman, naturalist, 

 and every other person interested in animals, a comprehensive and satisfactory view of the 

 big game of the world, with a wealth of detailed information and illustration. The first effort 

 will be to bring together materials for two complete series of heads and horns, one zoological, 

 the other geographical. In addition to these, it is desirable to form collections of horns and 

 antlers of specially important species, such as the moose, wapiti, mountain sheep and caribou, 

 to show their status in widely separated localities, and under varying conditions of food and 

 climate. For example: we now have moose heads from the Kenai Peninsula, the Atlin District 

 of British Columbia and from Green River, Wyoming, the farthest south of the species. We 

 must have, also, specimens representing New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, the Ottawa Country, 

 northern Minnesota and the farthest north of the moose. Such special collections surely will 

 be of real value to everyone who is interested in the species thus represented; and they will 

 form an important feature of the National Collection as a whole. 



While it is quite essential that every specimen accepted for the National Collection shall 

 serve some specific purpose, and serve it well, it is not to be expected that each object shown 

 shall be of an extraordinary character. Of the rare species we must accept small specimens 

 and make much of them until large ones are offered. The tape measure is not to be the sole 

 arbiter, but of common species it is necessary that a high standard should be maintained. 



Although this collection will be located in America, we hope that all sportsmen and natu- 

 ralists from abroad will enjoy it with us. The brotherhood to true sportsmanship is universal. 

 While we do not seek to impose upon foreign sportsmen any burdens in connection with this 

 undertaking, we do not hesitate to say that world-wide cooperation in the upbuilding of a 

 world-wide collection will be welcomed as cordially as we would welcome any brother-sports- 

 man to a seat at our camp-fire in a land of big game. 



W. T. HORNADAY, 

 MADISON GRANT, 

 Committee in Charge of the Collection. 



