ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



1535 



ous units frequently are assembled for regi- 

 mental drill's in the city armories. A regimen- 

 tal review of fourteen hundred men of the 

 Bronx took place on August 14, at the 22nd 

 Regiment Armory, and the balconies were 

 thronged with the men's relatives and friends. 

 Company A of the Zoological Park was given 

 honor place in the line, owing to smart appear- 

 ance during preliminary evolutions. The com- 

 pany was assigned to lead in both regimental 

 review and parade. The 23rd Regiment Band 

 and the Police Drum and Fife Corps officiated. 



Company A has been drilled in rifle practice 

 at an excellent range near Nepperhan, N. Y. 

 The men visit the range in squads, and are in- 

 structed in the use of the United States Army 

 rifle^ and the operation of standard targets. At 

 first the work consisted of operating the panel 

 targets from the pits, and preliminary practice 

 at 100 yards. When the work settled down to 

 firing at 200 yards, a number of our men made 

 excellent scores. Application has been made to 

 have the men of the Compan}^ listed in the 

 National Rifle Association, when this work on 

 the target range will include firing for scores 

 for which the Government awards medals for 

 sharpshooters and marksmen. 



Australian Reptiles. — Among various other 

 zoological eccentricities, the snakes of Australia 

 rival the strange mammals and birds of that 

 country. In most countries the majority of the 

 species are non-venomous. In Australia the 

 great majority of the snakes are poisonous. 

 Moreover, they are most deceptive in appear- 

 ance. Some of the most deadly among them 

 look precisely like the harmless snakes of other 

 regions. Several species of these strange and 

 interesting types are on exhibition in the Rep- 

 tile House. The deadly black-snake appears 

 much like the perfectly inoffensive black racer 

 of the United States. The brown snake, an- 

 other of the cobra allies, might readily be mis- 

 taken for the common coachwhip snake of the 

 southern United States. Another is the tiger 

 snake. It resembles a small, harmless water 

 snake. A showman in San Francisco was re- 

 cently so deceived in a collection of Australian 

 serpents that he declared the tiger snakes to be 

 nonvenomous, and expressed his willingness to 

 handle them. Before he could be prevented 

 from doing so, he endeavored to pick up a docile 

 appearing specimen, by the tail. The snake 

 turned like a flash and bit his finger ; and he 

 died a few hours later. 



Txvo-tailed Lisard. — A curious lizard has ar- 

 rived from California. It possesses two per- 

 fectly formed tails. This remarkable develop- 



ment has been previously illustrated in the Rep- 

 tile House, and attracted much interest. The 

 abnormality is produced by the characteristic 

 of lizards to grow an entirely new tail if the 

 original member is lost in fighting or escaping 

 from an enemy. The appearance of a second 

 tail is brought about by the original appendage 

 being nearly severed, but finally becoming firm- 

 ly attached by tissue developing about the in- 

 jury. The near loss of the tail excited the 

 growth of a new appendage, which persisted in 

 development^ despite the retention of the orig- 

 inal tail. The second appendage grows from 

 the seat of injury, and has pushed the first tail 

 to one side, producing a decorative and forked 

 appearance. 



Communal Szt'ans and Beavers. — An interest- 

 ing sight may be enjoyed any sunny afternoon 

 at the Beaver Pond. In our colony of nine 

 flourishing beavers there is a large female that 

 is particularly tame. A pair of mute swans 

 has been living in the beaver enclosure during 

 the past summer, warily guarding a lone young- 

 ster. The little swan is clad in soft, gray, downy 

 plumage in strong contrast to its parents. Its 

 several brothers and sisters were killed by large 

 snapping turtles that vmknown to us lurked in 

 the beaver pond, but now lurk there no more. 

 When the swans are fed uj^on the shore, the large 

 female beaver joins the grouja. The incongru- 

 ous gathering of the snowy adult swans, their 

 woolly, gray youngster and the big beaver, form 

 an unusual sight. 



Climate Affects Deer Antlers. — It appears 

 that the abnormal springy with its long con- 

 tinued cold and rain, and the long dry period 

 in August, sensibly affected the antlers of our 

 native deer. The ultimate effect, however, has 

 been to hasten the development of the antlers, 

 and most of the big bucks were "out of velvet" 

 by the latter part of August. The antlers usu- 

 ally continue growing through the month of 

 August, and the "velvet" is rubbed off about 

 the middle of September. This year our elk 

 were in fighting trim a month too early. The 

 condition brought discomfort to the deer as the 

 season of biting flies was still at its height, and 

 it was necessary to place the bucks in smaller 

 yards where their fighting propensities could 

 be kept in safe bounds. 



Elh Herd, Bests Flies. — During the summer, 

 the elk herd enjoyed especial protection from 

 the biting cattle flies by bathing in a pond ad- 

 joining their range. This lake is rightfully in 

 the range of the white-tailed deer. We tried 

 the experiment of permitting the elk to run 

 witli the smaller deer, and perfect harmonj'^ 



