234 



RECREA TION. 



large enough to give the dogs opportunity 

 to roll completely. In all probability dogs 

 do this to drive away fleas — at least I can 

 think of no other good reason. Dogs fre- 

 quently roll on the ground or floor, ap- 

 parently to produce a reaction of the skin, 

 and to get relief from fleas, and in my opin- 

 ion they roll in carcasses for the same pur- 

 pose. 



R. M. Allen, Ames, Neb. 



Noting Mr. E. S. Thompson's inquiry 

 as to whether or not others had noticed 

 the habit which wolves have of scenting 

 themselves, by rolling in carrion: I have 

 not had the opportunity to observe the 

 habits of wolves in this respect; but it is 

 common to nearly or quite all dogs, wheth- 

 er of high or low degree. 



I have also observed the same habit in 

 cats; but in only a few instances. From 

 the action of the animal while engaged in 

 rolling in the carrion I believe the motive 

 is one of personal gratification, as they 

 seem to enjoy the odor and exhibit every 

 sign of pleasure during the action. 



F. C. Koons, Louisville, Ky. 



THOSE DROOPING HORNS. 



San Diego, Cal. 



Editor Recreation: It is of record in 

 Holy Writ that " The Preacher " in Ec- 

 clesiastes, commonly held to be Solomon, 

 the wise son of David (on both of whom 

 be peace), maintained that " The thing that 

 hath been, is that which shall be; and that 

 which is done is that which shall be done; 

 and there is no new thing under the sun." 

 It is the purpose of this screed to put in 

 evidence an odd instance of the accuracy 

 of this solemn dictum of the aforesaid Sol- 

 omon, wisest of mortals, youngest son of 

 David and Bathsheba, and remote progen- 

 itor of Christ, according to Matthew, but 

 not according to Luke (on all of whom be 

 peace). 



In June Recreation there is a picture of 

 a lophorned antelope. A note accompany- 

 ing the illustration states that, previous to 

 his reduction to the last common denom- 

 inator of the deer family, viz. venison, the 

 former and original proprietor of the head 

 had the strange habit of walking backward 

 while feeding; being compelled to do so 

 by his long, drooping horns. 



To refresh my memory in the matter of 

 antelope horns, I have before me the heads 

 of 2 antelope bucks. These animals I as- 

 sassinated on the high mesa at the head of 

 the Arroyo Grande, some 400 miles South- 

 east of San Diego, in the Mexican Terri- 

 tory of Baja California, 4 or 5 years ago. 



Now it seems to me these head orna- 

 ments constitute' Nature's most successful 

 attempt to set up, in horn, an interroga- 

 tion point. There is a snag half way up, 

 as if the maker of the horn had been af- 



flicted with a hiccough, in the middle of 

 his job; but all the same the horns are 

 right good marks of inquiry. Nor could 

 any other shape be half so aopropriate; for 

 probably no creature that wears horns is 

 so incurably addicted to idle curiosity. So, 

 on its ever inquisitive noddle it carries its 

 points of interrogation. But the above- 

 mentioned freak, in Laramie, is just the op- 

 posite of all this. He appears to have lost 

 his curiosity before his horns started. Pos- 

 sibly he sneezed when they were freshly 

 put on, and still warm. 



And to think this unique beast was un- 

 der compulsion to do all his feeding, as 

 the Parthians were said to do most of their 

 fighting, " on the retreat." Remarkable? 

 Very! Something entirely new? Well-hard- 

 ly — if we hold opinion with Solomon. 



It is true Solomon is a back number. 

 Nearly 27 centuries have flitted since he 

 inflicted grief, or at least mourning, upon 

 his thousand widows, by passing over to 

 that New Jerusalem whose single portal is 

 the grave. 



But Herodotus, the clear-headed old 

 Greek, has something to say that substan- 

 tiates Solomon's proposition. Herodotus 

 is also a " has been ";■ but not so far back 

 among the dead yesterdays as Solomon, by 

 more than 5 centuries. This is what the 

 venerable " Father of History " says in 

 Book IV. (Melpomene); paragraph 183, 

 while speaking of the Lotophagi: " Among 

 them the kine that feed backward are met 

 with; they feed backward for this reason: 

 they have horns that are bent forward, 

 therefore they draw back as they feed; for 

 they are unable to ^o forward, because 

 their horns would stick in the ground." 

 The genial old story teller joined the in- 

 numerable silent majority 424 years before 

 the birth of Christ. Mav the clods rest 

 lightly on his dust, for he deserved well of 

 his kind. The reading of his quaint pages 

 will afford instruction and delight to myr- 

 iads yet unborn. R. J. Gregg. 



RECORD BUFFALO HEADS. 



Bozeman, Mont. 



Editor Recreation: In the interest of 

 science, and for the benefit of sportsmen, 

 I herewith enclose the certified and sworn 

 measurements of 3 buffalo bull heads, to 

 be placed on record. All of them exceed 

 Mr. Sheard's record-breaker, in point of 

 circumference of horn. The largest is 1724 

 inches and the greatest length of horn 22 

 inches. 



The measurements were made by J. M. 

 Robertson, a civil engineer and surveyor, 

 and at present under sheriff of Gallatin 

 county, Mont., in the presence of several 

 witnesses. He used a new tape line, which 

 had been carefully tested and found cor- 

 rect. These measurements were taken 



