Sept. ist, 1S87.] 



SCIENTIFIC NEVV^S. 



161 



ZOOLOGICAL NOTES AT THE AMERICAN 

 EXHIBITION. 



OF great zoological interest is the collection of mounted 

 heads and horns, etc., forming part of the American 

 Exhibition at Earl's Court, as it gives to the scientific zoolo- 

 gist and the collector a rare opportunity of making those 

 comparisons which are so necessary to estimate the relation- 

 ship of certain more or less fixed zoological characters ; for, 

 as is well known, it is only by the comparison of numerous 

 examples or specimens that it can be correctly ascertained 

 how far they can be relied upon for systematic purposes ; 

 if they vary, in which direction, whether by excess of 

 development in the case of very many pointed horns where 

 the normal type is simple, or bj' arrested growth (except by 

 accidents), as in the case of unequally developed horns, on 

 the same head. Such a collection as this enables us to 

 ascertain how far our museums (whose teaching value is so 

 tardily recognised) have fairly representative examples for 

 the purposes of comparison. We may also here obtain a 

 few additional notes as to the geographical distribution of 

 some of the species, methods of preparation and of preserva- 

 tion, as well as a case or two of comparative pathology. 



Our page illustration contains a selection of seven note- 

 worthy or representative heads, all drawn from the speci- 

 mens. Probably the most remarkable head which strikes us 

 on entering the room is the 



Elk [Alecs ntachlis), or moose, No. i, of which there are 

 eight or ten good examples, the finest being exhibited 

 by Mr. Otho Shaw. The weight of these gigantic horns 

 must indeed be very great, and proof is supplied to us by 

 the great development of the spinous processes of the 

 cervical vertebrae, to which are attached the strong muscles 

 which sustain the weight of head and horns. The length of 

 the horn from base to tip is 355 in. The circumference of 

 the beam is 8| in. ; extreme width, 395 in. Another re- 

 markable and unique Elk's head is that of Mr. Bierstadt's, 

 which has been specially sent across the Atlantic for com- 

 parison. The breadth and weight of these antlers is enor- 

 mous. The geographical range of the Elk is now almost 

 exclusively confined to Alaska, portions of N.E. United 

 States, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, though there are 

 abundant proofs of their range having been much wider. 

 A fine male Elk will attain six feet at the withers. There 

 are now alive at the Zoological Society's Gardens a good 

 male and female. 



The Wapiti [Cervits canadensis). No. 2.- — The Elk of 

 the American squatters. There are fifty fine heads of 

 this noble stag on view, and the critical acumen of the 

 judges must have been sorely taxed in selecting the best, 

 but as no head contains all the "points of beauty " they 

 have made a selection of twelve of the most remarkable and 

 magnificent Wapiti heads ever brought together, of which 

 accurate measurements are given. The two finest are Mr. 

 Cooper's and Mr. Baillie Grohman's. The length of horn in 

 the former specimen is 62^ in., circumference at base cSin. 

 In the latter specimen the length of horn is 60 in., and 7 J in. 

 at base; both have twelve points. Mr. Seton-Karr and Mr. 

 Tulloch exhibit superb heads, the latter specimen having no 

 less than twenty points. That these nobleanimals, in common 

 with others in the same room, are on the highway to exter- 

 mination is a matter for thought and of regret, but like all 

 other animals which have natural embellishments, they are 

 marked out by hunters, collectors, and others either as 

 trophies to prove their prowess or to supply an ever- 

 increasing " commercial " demand for horns and fur. The 

 Wapiti at present inhabits the mountain districts of 

 Pennsylvania, Virginia, Minnesota, Dakota, Oregon, and 



California, but not beyond 57? N. There is a fine pair now 

 living in the Zoological Gardens. 



The Cariboo, OR Woodland Reindeer {Rangifcr tarandus). 

 No 3. — Only a few examples of the horns of this interesting 

 deer have been obtained. Those exhibited by Mr. Norman 

 Lampson, from one of which our sketch was taken, are the 

 best. They do not attain to the massiveness or length of 

 the Wap'ti, but they have nevertheless points and character- 

 istics peculiarly their own. There is no one of the Cervidce 

 whose horns differ so much, not only individually but 

 collectively, as the horns of the Cariboo. Points spring out 

 from the palmated " brow " tine, and at the extremity of 

 the beam, which is also palmated, in an extraordinary, and, 

 to the zoologist, in a perplexing manner. One or other of the 

 brow tines in this species is invariably absent or developed 

 as a small snag only, the corresponding tine growing well 

 forward with a broad spatulate end, from which spring 

 lesser points. The females bear horns. There are now 

 living in the Zoological Gardens a very good pair of these 

 animals. 



White Rocky Mountain Goat (Haplocents mon/auiis), No. 

 4, of which there are three or four heads and three entire 

 mounted animals, is doubtless the rarest species shown in the 

 Exhibition. It is a little laiger than our domestic goat, with 

 a singular hump over the shoulders, long white hair, very 

 abundant about the neck ; the horns are black and short, 

 and slightly ringed at the base, but do not exceed 8^ in. 

 long. It inhabits the almost inaccessible crags and cliffs in 

 Western Montana, Idaho territory, and in British Columbia, 

 where it is said to be most plentiful. It has never been 

 brought alive to this country. 



ViRGiNL\N, OR White-tailed Deer {Cariaeusl'irginianus). 

 — The two smaller species of American Ccrvida' are here 

 well represented by good examples of heads and horns. 

 Of the Virginian deer (No. 5) there are seven or eight speci- 

 mens. The absence of the brow tine, and the singular for- 

 ward direction of the upper part of the antler, are charac- 

 teristic ; the horns are small, and the tines seem to grow 

 from the back of the main beam. 



Several examples have from time to time been obtained 

 by the Zoological Society, and a male is now living in the 

 Gardens. 



Pronghorn Antelope, or Prong BvcK(Antilocapra Aiiien'- 

 caiia). — This singular animal is well represented by about a 

 score examples. Our sketch (No. 6) gives a good idea of the 

 head and horns. Its habitat is Western United States — from 

 Mexico north to British Columbia. At one time it was very 

 common in California and Oregon territory. A fine head is 

 exhibited by Mr. Otho Shaw, of which the horns are 15 in. 

 long. A singular fact in reference to the shedding of horns 

 is that, though this animal is a hollow-horned ruminant, it 

 annually sheds the upper portion of its horn, like a solid- 

 horned deer. A good specimen was obtained alive by the 

 Zoological Society about five years ago. 



Big horn, or Mountain Sheep {Ovis monlana). — There 

 is a grand series of over thirty heads from which to 

 compare and make notes of Our sketch (No. 7) gives a 

 good idea of one of Mr. G. Buxton's. The horns in this 

 species do not curve so much as the Indian or European 

 species. They are, however, very massive and of great 

 weight. The Big-horn is excessively wary, and it needs in- 

 domitable pluck, endurance, and patience to get at them. 

 The length round the horn in the specimen drawn is 36 in., 

 and circumference of horn at base 14 in. "Big-horns" 

 are found in the mountainous districts of Upper Missouri, 

 Yellowstone, Mauvais Terres, and westward to Oregon and 

 California, and southward into some portions of Mexico. 



