ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



1489 



flee whenever he heard it. Once it had killed 

 his ideal of an elk^ once it had killed two of his 

 companions at his side^ and near the base of 

 one of his horns was the hole made by the bul- 

 lets that had sought his life. 



This made him very shy and wary, and 

 though he was often seen for several hunting 

 seasons, no hunter succeeded in laying him low. 



The experiences set forth above are such as 

 happen to every perfect male elk that reaches 

 full maturity. It shows the dangers that beset 

 them on every side, and the gauntlets they must 

 run for existence. 



Through it all the plan of nature is plain: 

 First, the males will not breed till the new 

 horns are fully matured. This causes the calves 

 to be born about June first. One month earlier, 

 the calves would perish during the cold spring 

 storms ; and one month later, the calves would 

 succumb the following winter, because they 

 would be too immature to stand both the sever- 

 ity of the weather and the shortage of food. 

 Naturally the strongest, most robust males keep 

 the decrepit bulls and the immature males from 

 the herd during the mating season. 



The physically weak and imperfect animals 

 are culled out by the rigors of winter, and thus 

 the deteriorations of the herd is prevented. The 

 young and helpless fawns are endowed with 

 protective coloring to blend with their surround- 

 ings, and born without scent, to save them from 

 predatory animals. 



Bondinf/ Company Pays. — The members of 

 the Society will recall, no doubt, the serious 

 damage by water to the walls of the Elephant 

 House through the faulty construction of the 

 roof, shortly after the building was completed. 



It was found necessary to replace the flat, 

 tarred roofs entirely, and to remove over one- 

 half of the tiles from the main building, tar that 

 portion and lay the tiles again, at a cost to the 

 City of $2,250 which was paid for by a special 

 appropriation. It is interesting to note that the 

 City at last has received this sum from the 

 Surety Company that was on the bond of the 

 contractor. 



This is the only instance within our knowl- 

 edge wherein a bonding company or bondsman 

 has made good to the city a loss incurred 

 through imperfect work on the part of a con- 

 tractor. 



Crosshreedincj American Bison in Sweden. — ■- 

 The Director of the Government Museums Eth- 

 nographic Department, Professor C. V. Hart- 



men, has secured from Germany, for the Muse- 

 um, a herd of nine American Bison, recently 

 landed in Stockholm. 



Experiments are to be made in crossing them 

 with native cattle so as to create a hybrid form, 

 valuable for draught purposes and as beef 

 cattle. 



The herd has, during the period of one 

 month, been housed in a suitable spot near 

 "Hassel backen" assigned by the Government; 

 thence, in the spring to be conveyed to a wooded 

 island off the coast, rich in hill and meadow 

 land and well inclosed by stout fencing. 



This place has been allotted to the herd by a 

 prominent personage belonging to Sweden's 

 castled gentry. — Swedish Nordstjernan, New 

 York. Translated by Palmyre de C. Mitchell. 



Wanted! An Automobile. — For the use of 

 the Zoological Society in the Zoological Park, 

 a medium sized five or seven passenger open 

 touring car is much needed. The Society's car- 

 riage horse is no longer living, and it is not ad- 

 visable that the former arrangement of horse- 

 and-coupe shall be continued. 



On account of its many obligations and ex- 

 penditures, the Society cannot be asked to pur- 

 chase an automobile of a size and kind suitable 

 for the needs of the Park. The fund once avail- 

 able has been spent in arousing and equipping 

 Company A of the Zoological Park Guards. 



In this extremity, the very least that we can 

 do — and possibly the most, also, — is to inform 

 the members of the Society of the existing 

 need, in the hope that some good friend will dis- 

 cover himself, or herself, in possession of a 

 "used" Cadillac, a Studebaker, a Hudson, a 

 Reo, or some car of similar size and cost, which 

 could without too great a sacrifice be bestowed 

 upon the Society. 



A large and heavy car would not be quite the 

 thing for our needs ; because we are forced to 

 practise economy in the cost of maintenance. 



W. T. H. 



WAR STOPS TROPICAL STATION WORK 



The work of the Tropical Research Station 

 will be abandoned temporarily. 



Because of the uncertainty of maritime travel, 

 the Society does not deem it wise to risk the 

 lives of any of the men necessary to the con- 

 tinuance in the wilderness of the Station duties. 



Funds are available, and at the first oppor- 

 tunity tlie activities of the Tropical Laboratory 



