NATURAL HISTORY. 



7* 



THE NEW YORK WORLD'S 

 " MOOSE." 



Judging from things seen and heard, it 

 may be said that in spite of all the efforts 

 of Recreation, many American editors are 

 fast losing all the grip on zoology they ever 

 had. Not long since, a certain magazine 

 published a picture of a saw-fish, and called 

 it a " sword-fish." Now comes the New 

 York World, with a scare-head description 

 of the " Antlers of a Moose King," giving 

 elaborate measurements and a picture la- 

 beled " The King of the Moose," but the 

 picture shows the head of — a caribou! 



In the latest Sportsmen's Exposition, an 

 enterprising taxidermist handed out thou- 

 sands of copies of a beautifully printed 

 pamphlet containing, among other illustra- 

 tions, a fine picture of a Virginia deer head 

 legended " Black-tail Deer." 



But mistakes will happen. Once upon a 

 time a man I know (who even then thought 

 himself a bit of a naturalist), superintended 

 the making up of an Exposition pyramid 

 of big game, and when the workmen put 

 the (adjustable) antlers on the moose, with 

 the right antler on the left side, and the left 

 on the right, neither the naturalist, nor any 

 other man. noticed it for a whole week! 



I note your comment on the report of 

 the musk ox hide which C. F. Periolat, of 

 Chicago, received. He says it was killed 

 near the mouth of the Yukon ri^er, Alaska, 

 and that it took 6 months' trave. 1 to get it 

 out. It is strange that men will make such 

 statements in this enlightened age. Boats 

 from the mouth of the Yukon reach here in 

 20 days, instead of in 6 months. So fai as 

 known, there never was a musk ox killed 

 or seen in Alaska. The skin Periolat re- 

 ceived came down on a whaler from the 

 mouth of the Mackenzie river, to San Fran- 

 cisco, and was bought by C. D. Ladd of 

 that city, who in turn sold it to Periolat. 



I bought 35 musk ox skins that came 

 down on the same vessel. 



W. F. Sheard, Tacoma, Wash. 



I certainly agree with J. C. D., Jr., Steam- 

 boat Springs, Colo., who writes in Rec- 

 reation, differing from Dr. Merriam re- 

 garding the cry of the mountain lion. My 

 experience, as reported in " Science," 

 March 20, 1896, is that the cry, if not ex- 

 actly blood-curdling, is most decidedly 

 " unpleasant," as J. C. D. expresses it, and 

 when once heard, in close quarters, will not 

 soon be forgotten. 



Meriden S. Hill, Tacoma, Wash. 



In the May number of Recreation, on 

 page 381, G. S. G. gives measurements of 

 deer horns. I have a pair which I secured 



.iear the Black canyon of the Gunnison, 

 which spread 36 inches. They are smooth 

 and even and have 5 points on each side. 



I also secured a pair in the velvet, which 

 had 15 points on one, and 17 on the other. 

 They were the heaviest deer horns I ever 

 saw and spread about 32 inches. 



J. D. S., Argentine, Kans. 



In reply to N. H. H.'s question as to the 

 biggest coon — I would say that of 30 or 

 more I have caught each season, for the 

 last 4 or 5 years, the heaviest one I have 

 weighed, tipped the scales at i8y^ pounds. 

 Had this one been caught 6 weeks later he 

 would probably have weighed 4 or 5 pounds 

 more. A friend of mine claimed to have 

 captured one that weighed 26 pounds and 

 several that went better than 20 pounds. 

 G. W. C, Rushville, N. Y. 



I do a great deal of coon hunting around 

 here, having caught 20 coons last fall. 

 There was but one large one among them. 

 It was a buck and he weighed 30 pounds. 

 I caught him in September and he was 

 poor. Game is scarce around here. There 

 are a few quails and pheasants and plenty 

 of gray squirrels and rabbits. 



H. P., Wellsville, O. 



The way you roast the game hogs is 

 simply great. Give it to them, as often and 

 hard as you can. I hope those Wisconsin 

 slaughterers will come to their senses and 

 never again lend themselves to such con- 

 temptible work, much less boast of it after- 

 ward. Success to you and to the only 

 sportsmen's magazine in the country. 



B. F. C, Jr., Brooklyn, N. Y. 



On May 1, a Urge moose visited the 

 farm of J. C. Haivey, Fort Fairfield, Me. 

 When first seen he was within a few rods 

 of the buildings, but on being discovered 

 he trotted leisurely across the field, lightly 

 skimmed a wire and picket fence and dis- 

 appeared ir? the woods. 



Will Shawantum please inform us in 

 what part of the United States female gray 

 squirrels are heavy with young " late in the 

 fall." S. F. D., Amarillo, Texas. 



" Men are so strange." 

 " Yes." 



" George used to raise Cain when he had 

 to walk the floor with baby " 



;;weii?" 



" But now that he is raising chickens he 

 turns out at 4 o'clock to look after the in- 

 cubator, without a murmur." 



