THE GAME BREEDER 



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BOOK REVIEWS. 



The Moose Book; Facts and Stories 

 from Northern Forests. By Samuel 

 Merrill. E. P. Button & Co., 1916. $3.50. 

 Pp. 366. 



Although the moose is the largest of 

 our American game animals, and is the 

 giant of the deer family, we have never 

 before had a book devoted solely to its 

 natural history as viewed by the sports- 

 men. The book treats not only of the 

 American moose but also its old world 

 relative, where it is known as the elk. 

 The first and larger part of the volume is 

 devoted to our American form and that 

 of the old world less fully. The moose is 

 discussed from almost every standpoint, 

 as indicated by chapters on its history, 

 its geographic range (illustrated by a 

 map), habits, methods of hunting, hunt- 

 ing equipment, heads and horns, moose 

 meat as food, future prospects of the 

 moose, names, mythology and supersti- 

 tions. The account of the old world elk 

 is handled in a similar manner. It was 

 an excellent idea to discuss the species 

 as a whole. There are so many interest- 

 ing items in a book of this character that 

 it is difficult to select, some for mention. 

 Several recipes are given for cooking 

 moose meat. The muffle, the large nose 

 and upper lip is a rare dish, known mainly 

 to a few fastidious hunters. Merrill 

 states : "Like the beaver's tail it is a 

 useful substitute for a hand, and like the 

 beaver's tail it is the choicest tidbit which 

 the animal can furnish for the table." 

 The author calls attention to the desir- 

 ability of some one making a weekly pho- 

 tographic record of the development of 

 the antlers, and a full record from youth 

 to old age. One writer claims that the 

 food influences the character of antler 

 growth. We are told that the full grown 

 bull moose is "six feet or more in height 

 at the withers." Very little reliable in- 

 formation is recorded of the live weight 

 of mature animals. Moose are thought to 

 live for 18 or 20 years. The cows usu- 

 ally produce one or two calves, rarely 

 three. The moose feeds upon twigs, 

 leaves, bark, moss, lichens and in the 

 summer on various water plants, or 

 fresh water "salads." Burnt over land, 

 with one or two seasons of fresh growth, 



is a favorite feeding ground. That sev- 

 eral kinds of deer may be kept in the 

 same forest is advocated as follows : "^e 

 (the moose) consumes little of the forage 

 on which the white tail subsists, and still 

 less of the moss and other things which 

 support the caribou. The three species 

 of deer live in harmony in the same 

 woodland home, practically ignoring each 

 other's existence" (p. 224). Very little 

 success has attended the efforts made to 

 breed moose in captivity. It is to be 

 hoped that renewed efforts will be made 

 to make this a success. 



The book bears evidence of careful 

 preparation and accuracy and for that 

 reason it seems strange to meet with the 

 reverie where the bear (during the hiber- 

 nating season) attacks the moose when 

 harassed by deep snows. The author 

 states that on Isle Royale, Lake Supe- 

 rior, a few moose are found, but he does 

 not state on what authority. When the 

 reviewer was upon the isle in 1905 he did 

 not learn of its certain presence there. 

 The book is a valuable one and will find 

 a welcome in the libraries of many 

 sportsmen. 



Charles C. Adams, 

 N. Y. State College of Forestry, Syra- 

 cuse, N. Y., U. S. A. 



Camouflage — The Art of Make Up, 



The use of this word in connection 

 with military affairs has tended to cre- 

 ate the impression that it has a hidden 

 military meaning. This is contrary to 

 the facts, as it is simply slang, borrowed 

 from the French stage. Its real meaning 

 is "make up." In its original use it 

 applies where 



"Little grains of powder. 

 Little dabs of paint, 

 Make a girl of forty 

 Look like what she ain't" 



— Du Pont Magazine. 



Something for Senator. 



Senator James Hamilton Lewis was 

 telling somebody that he had half a no- 

 tion to cut oflf his famous whiskers. 



"I suppose," suggested John Sharp 

 Williams, "that you'll get a taxidermist 

 to mount them for vou." 



