The Wapiti and his Antlers. 59 



wide head (see illustration), which he bought many years ago in 

 Colorado. When I first saw it hanging on the walls unfortunately 

 rather high up in the very interesting and complete museum at 

 Leonardslee, I had to take two good looks before I realised the 

 extraordinary outside spread of this head, which is no less than 6iin. 

 Being also very massive, though not of great length, its weight 

 (42lb.) approaches that of my heaviest pair of antlers, which I 

 believe could claim to be the record weight, i.e., 481b. This head, 

 owing to house-moving and absence, Sir Edmund could not 

 exhibit at the Trophy Show in 1887. The American Trophy Show 

 of 1887, at Earl's-court, contained also heads acquired by purchase 

 or gift. 



The head which was pronounced to be the most beautifully 

 shaped wapiti at this exhibition was shown by Mr. W. A. Tulloch, 

 who obtained this grand twenty-pointer from a professional 

 hunter (Dick Binningham) in Montana. It was killed in 1883, 

 the year in which was perpetrated such wanton slaughter in 

 the " Bad Lands " of Montana. The "pearling" and shape of this 

 pair of antlers were as near perfection as any I have ever seen. 



A British collection, containing the best show of wapiti antlers 

 acquired by purchase, is Lord Powerscourt's well-known Sammlung 

 at Powerscourt, his beautiful country seat near Dublin. It contains 

 some very remarkable wapiti heads, one, the longest in England, 

 being 64^ inches in length, and another 55 inches in width (outside), 

 as well as some very fine Continental red deer antlers. To-day 

 this collection is without question the best one of its kind in this 

 country, where, as a matter of fact, antler collecting has hitherto 

 been strangely neglected. Lord Powerscourt has travelled much 

 on the Continent, and few men know the unrivalled Austrian and 

 German collections, on the lines of which he has shaped his own, 

 better than he does. Some of the rare ancient trophies of the 

 chase mounted on curious carved heads could not be bought to-day 

 at any price. 



An interesting pair of wapiti antlers, which Caton pronounced to 

 be the longest pair known to him, is in possession of Messrs. Parker 



