ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



while the young bird contained in tlie other ap- 

 peared to lack vitality, and failed to emerge. 



The young emu stood about six inches high. 

 It was beautifully striped with white and brown 

 longitudinal bands, each dark one being cen- 

 tcx^d with a lighter zone. The legs were strong 

 and well-developed, and from the first the little 

 bird was able to run about actively. 



About this time, the male's dislike for the 

 presence of his mate became decidedly marked, 

 and it was necessary to remove her to another 

 enclosure. This step evidently had the full ap- 

 ]iroval of the father, which at once became much 

 more quiet and docile. 



Soon after hatching, the chick took its first 

 meal of finely chopped lettuce leaves. It was 

 not long before it accepted the addition of boiled 

 egg and ground zweibach, a diet on which it 

 throve mightily. When the youngster was 

 about six weeks old, the egg was omitted, and 

 Spratt's Game Food substituted for the zwei- 

 bach. a change which seemed perfectlv agree- 

 able. 



For the first two weeks of its life, tlie young 

 bird's chief ambition appeared to be to escape 

 from its enclosure, an object quickly achieved 

 by means of impassably small apertures. It 

 was necessary, therefore, to confine the one- 

 sided family in one of the inner cages of the 

 Yak House. At the end of this ]3eriod, the 

 father's control seemed better established, and 

 the odd pair was given the freedom of the pad- 

 dock. 



The youngster grew amazingly. Earlv in 

 .hily, feathers began to replace the thick down 

 of the head, rapidly spreading down the neck. 

 At this time, when the bird stood erect, its head 

 was at least two feet above the ground. 



The complete success of this experiment 

 seems assured and the haj)py result leads us to 

 iiope with confidence that a family of young 

 emus mav become a yearly feature of the Zoo- 

 logical Park. 



Prcpcning for Hoi Weather. — The shedding 

 ot our big Alaskan bears the present summer 

 was so i)ronounced that the animals were almost 

 devoid of hair. This was particularly marked 

 with Ivan, the largest bear in the collection, who 

 weighs more than a thousand pounds. Ivan's 

 mighty bulk has been a source of amazement to 

 visitors, but the complete shedding of the long 

 and shaggy winter hair from his massive frame 

 caused a surprise to us all. He appeared to be 

 fully a third smaller than during the cold 

 months. 



PART OF THE AXIS DEER HERD 



Ten specimens of these beautiful deer are offered 

 for sale. 



AXIS DEER FOR SALE. 



The Zoological Society offers for sale ten 

 head of Axis Deer {Cervtis axis), to reduce 

 the size of the Park herd. 



In the opinion of the undersigned, the Axis 

 deer is the finest of all deer for American parks, 

 either public or private, and there is no draw- 

 back to its maintenance that is at all serious. 

 The axis is the handsomest of all deer, being 

 beautifully spotted all the year round; and it 

 is physically so sound and strong that (here) 

 none ever die of disease. It is very prolific 

 and pacific. Rarely does it happen that a male 

 becomes so quarrelsome that he cannot be left 

 in the herd; and there is less fighting between 

 the members of this species than in any other 

 s}jecies we know. 



Our Axis deer are always fat and in fine 

 condition; and no one can resist their beauty. 

 The only drawback in their keep, in comparison 

 with the fallow, sika. and our native deer, is 

 the fact that in the three cold months of winter 

 tliey need in the centre of their barn a cheap 

 base-burner stove, and about two tons of coal, 

 to keep their shelter dry, and slightly warmed. 

 They need to run in and out freely all winter, 

 through a small and low door. 



A small herd of Axis deer is well worth all 

 the trouble that it costs to keep it. We have 

 for sale pairs of various ages, at the following 

 prices: one year old, .$75 each animal; two years 

 old, $100 each; three and four years old, ■$125 

 each; and orders will be booked in the order 

 in which they are received. 



W. T. H. 



