294 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



our visitors concerns tlie difference in confij<uration 

 between the venomous and harmless snakes. It 

 seems there is a persistent idea that the dangerous 

 reptile always may be distinguished from the in- 

 nocuous one by the stout body of the former. Our 

 Elapine representatives (the cobras) are a surpris- 

 ing contrast to this common proverb. 



A feature of particular interest is the grouping of 

 the local reptiles. This installation is provided 

 with large printed labels, containing liberal details. 

 Of the fourteen species of serpents — two venomous 

 — found in the vicinity of New York, each is on 

 e.xhibition. The school-children take particular 

 interest in this collection. It is a surprise to many 

 to discover the fact that a beautifully colored and 

 very dangerous serpent, the Copperhead Snake, 

 may be encountered within a mile and a half of the 

 residential section Of upper Manhattan Island. 

 And there are many little snakes found hereabouts 

 that appear to be quite unknown to the greater 

 portion of our visitors. Some of these are ver\' 

 secretive and, naturally, are seldom seen when wild. 

 Among the local species e.xhibited are the Ribbon 

 Snake, Garter Snake, Water Snake, Black Snake 

 and others, illustrating how rich is the reptilian 

 fauna of this vicinity. 



Following this scheme of grouping the local 

 reptiles, we have arranged a series of the batrach- 

 ians, provided with the same type of descriptive 

 labels. Here may be found the extremes in size 

 among the frogs and toads, from huge bull-frogs, 

 each weighing about a pound, to specimens of 

 Pickering's Tree Toad, a mature example of which 

 is barely larger than the nail of a man's forefinger. 

 Combined with the frog exhibit is a series of jars 

 containing the tadpoles of the respective species. 

 All of these are from eggs that have been collected 

 by the keepers of the Reptile Department during 

 the early spring. 



Among other reptiles exhibited collectively are 

 the members of the Boid<c — the family of great 

 constrictors, and dwarf ones as well. Here may 

 be found the great Ular Sawa, or Regal Python, 

 represented by specimens twenty feet long and each 

 weighing over two hundred pounds; the Black- 

 Tailed Python and the African Python, as well as 

 such New World species as the Anaconda, the 

 Boicuacu, {Boa constrictor) and the Mexican Boa, 

 these representing the largest of the Boidrc. But 

 in adjoining cages are creatures showing how 

 ' wrong is the prevailing idea that members of the 

 boa and python family are necessarily gigantic. 

 We find the slender Tree Boa, characterized by 

 the heart-shaped head; the beautifully tinted 

 species of Ungalia, no thicker than one's little 

 finger, and finally, half buried in the sand, some 

 diminutive, stumpy little snakes known as Sand 

 Boas — all of these included among the Boid(C. 



\\'q believe that in our arrangement of the col- 



lection in the Reptile House, the preparation of 

 descriptive labels and the like, we have been met 

 with a hearty interest on the part of an appreciative 

 and intelligent public, and that a subject which 

 has been little known, yet unjustly maligned, may 

 now be regarded in actuality. For our labors we 

 feel generously rewarded by the interest of teachers 

 and in the increasing number of classes which 

 visit the collection. Certain it is that this instal- 

 lation is second to no other in the Park in point 

 of popularity, and we now feel convinced that our 

 many visitors come to see reptiles as they really 

 are, and not prompted by a morbid curiosity in- 

 spired by weird "snake stories." R. L. D. 



THE POSITION OF THE NE\\' YORK 

 ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



Ix Referen'ce to the Auto\i.\tic Shotgun 



One of the objects of the incorporation of the 

 Zoological Society was the protection of animal life; 

 a large number of our members are earnestly in- 

 terested in the preservation of both the mammals 

 and the birds of North America; we have received 

 some funds to be especially devoted to this purpose. 

 The Executive Committee have no option, therefore, 

 but to endea\'or in every legitimate way by co- 

 operation with other societies and through legisla- 

 tive influence to promote the cause of game preser- 

 vation. 



During the past year we have done our best to 

 secure the passage of laws prohibiting the use of the 

 automatic shotgun. This is not done tlirough any 

 ill-will toward the manufacturers, but from convic- 

 tion that this gun is unsportsmanlike, that it is a 

 most deadl\' and destructive weapon, that in the 

 hands of market hunters especially it is certain to 

 lead to the rapid destruction and elimination of 

 manv kinds of birds. We have been credibly in- 

 formed that the sale of this gun has been particular- 

 ly among hunters for the market. We have the 

 authority of sportsmen who have experimented with 

 it that it is a particularly destructive weapon. In 

 our opinion it is to be classed with such means of 

 destruction as the seining and dynamiting of 

 streams, that it is a weapon which should not be 

 used by any true sportsman, and that since it is com- 

 mercially v^aluable to those who are hunting for 

 purel}' mone_\-making purposes regardless of the 

 real interests of the country, strong legislative 

 measures must be taken against it. 



In January, igo6, bills were introduced through 

 the agency of the Society in the legislatures of the 

 States of New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Mississippi, 

 and Rhode Island, and in the Congress of the 

 United States, to prohibit the use of the automatic 

 gun. The manufacturers of this gun were fullv in- 



