154 



RECREATION. 



A LAMB-KILLING RABBIT. 



A pet white rabbit is about the last creat- 

 ure one would suspect of being likely to 

 develop a taste for bloodshed and murder. 

 Ordinarily a white rabbit is about as dan- 

 gerous as a dove. The truthfulness of the 

 following item, copied from the Shelby 

 (Ohio) " News," is vouched for by one of 

 Recreation's correspondents at Shelby- 

 ville, Dr. R. D. Pratt. 



Another strange freak is reported by Mr. J. L. Zaring, 

 who lives on the Smithfield pike, and its truthfulness is at- 

 tested by him as well as by all his neighbors. 



For some time he had noticed the devastation wrought 

 among his young lambs and had attributed it to foxes. He 

 instituted a watch and was dumfounded when he dis- 

 covered the lambs were being killed by a pet white rabbit, 

 belonging to his little son. It would attack the lambs by 

 throwing them down, biting them in the side and tearing 

 them to pieces. It killed 10 of the lambs before being dis- 

 covered. 



Dr. Pratt writes: 



" Mr. Zaring is a truthful man and I have 

 not only his assurance that the story 

 •is true, but his wife also vouches for it. He 

 got the rabbit from his brother-in-law, and 

 it was given to him because of its destruc- 

 tiveness of its own kind, it having killed a 

 good many other pet rabbits. This par- 

 ticular rabbit Mr. Zaring gave to a friend, 

 after he discovered it was killing his lambs, 

 and it was accidentally killed. 



" I regret I could not get possession of 

 it and keep it under observation." 



A SINGING COWBIRD. 



That really valuable bird, the cowbird, 

 is not popular but he certainly has intelli- 

 gence. He and his flock follow the cattle 

 and are not over choice as to food. He is a 

 polygamist, and the ladies of his family 

 have simply no character at all, living aban- 

 doned lives and laying their eggs in the 

 nests of other birds. Yet the cowbird de- 

 stroys many undesirable insects, and a re- 

 cent incident shows that he has unsus- 

 pected vocal powers. 



M. A. G. Towle, of Chicago, has been 

 interested in a ranch near Niobrara, Neb., 

 and has spent some time there. He noted 

 the great number of cowbirds following the 

 herds and one day saw a single specimen 

 fluttering about on the ground, with a 

 broken wing. He took the bird to the 

 house where its wing soon healed, though 

 the bird remained unable to fly. It was 

 placed in a large cage, hanging near that 

 of a canary. A few weeks later the family 

 was one day astonished by hearing the cow- 

 bird attempt to sing, evidently in imitation 

 of the canary's notes. This effort continued 

 until a fair degree of proficiency was at- 

 tained. Is not this an isolated case? 



Stanley Waterloo, Chicago. 



The measurements first given, of my big 

 buffalo head, are incorrect, owing to a lack 

 of knowledge on the part of the gentleman 

 who made them. He did not understand 



just how to go about this work. For my 

 own satisfaction, for the benefit of your 

 readers who wish to know just how large 

 the head is, and in order to set myself right 

 with my fellow sportsmen who want things 

 correct, I have had an expert measure the 

 big buffalo head and the following figures 

 are correct. 



Circumference at base, right horn, 14^4 

 inches. 



Circumference at base, left horn, 15 

 inches. 



Length of right horn 19 inches. Length 

 of left horn 21 inches. 



Spread of horns, at tips, 30^ inches. 

 Spread of horns at widest point 41^ inches. 



Nose to top of skull 28^ inches. Nose 

 to base of horn 22 inches. 



These measurements were made by Mr. 

 Benjamin Batchelor, taxidermist, of this 

 place. 



As above stated they are absolutely cor- 

 rect and he, as well as other reliable men 

 here will certify them at any time if de- 

 sired. J. Gunther, Middletown, N. Y. 



In your May number, G.S.G., Meadow 

 Creek, Montana, gives measurements of a 

 deer head, the spread of which is stated as 

 32> l / 2 inches, with 15 points. He inquires 

 who has a larger head? R. & W. Gilfort, 

 Orange, N. J., have several heads which 

 compare favorably with the Meadow creek 

 deer, and which possibly surpass it. They 

 have the skull and horns of a mule deer, 

 killed in Idaho, the horns of which meas- 

 ure scant 2>ZVa inches and have 40 points. 

 This specimen is a perfect one and has not 

 horns of abnormal growth. 



Another, larger in spread than G.S.G.'s, 

 if not in points, is a mule deer killed in Sis- 

 kiyou County, California, which measures 

 34^2 inches scant spread, and has 10 points. 



Two other specimens measure 32^ inches 

 and 32y 2 inches and have, respectively, 18 

 points and 21 points. 



Messrs. R. & W. Gilfort have 900 speci- 

 mens of horns alone, and their collection 

 represents specimen horns of nearly every 

 animal on the globe. Messrs. Gilfort are 

 readers of Recreation and are anxious to 

 have G. S. G. bring his measuring rod to 

 Orange. 



E. H. E., Newark, N. J. 



A friend and I were strolling through the 

 woods, one morning last spring, when we 

 met a hunter and his dog. We joined them 

 and were making our way through some 

 bushes, bordering a small stream, when a 

 fox darted out from them. The dog was a 

 fox hound, and he immediately went in hot 

 pursuit. The hunter did not have a chance 

 to get a shot at the fox, and when we 

 emerged from the brush the fox was not to 

 be seen; but the dog was scratching and 

 nosing around what seemed to be a rabbit 

 burrow. 



