NATURAL HISTORY. 



321 



AN ELK HEAD FOR THE GERMAN EMPEROR. 



Hans Leiden, the German consul of 

 Netherlands, and director of the Zoological 

 Garden of Cologne, has recently shipped 

 to the Emperor of Germany an elk head 

 which probably bears the largest pair of 

 horns in the world. They measure 11 feet 

 7^ inches from tip of beam to tip of beam, 

 across the skull, and have a spread of 62 

 inches. They were mounted by Prof. Gus 

 Stainsky of Colorado Springs, Colo. 



They have a beam length of 67 and 67^/2 

 inches, respectively, and the longest prongs 

 are from 22 to 23^4 inches in length. There 

 are 12 of these prongs, in all, and, including 

 beams, they have a total length of nearly 30 

 feet. The elk was killed in the White river 

 country, Colorado, by a hunter named 

 Monjeau, who was in the employ of Pro- 

 fessor Stainsky. 



RABBITS CAN SWIM. 



Until March of last year I entertained the 

 common belief that rabbits could not 

 swim. During a rabbit drive, which oc- 

 curred in that month, a few miles from 

 Fresno, I saw a rabbit swim across a pond 

 more than 100 feet wide. 



In April of this year, during the progress 

 of a drive, over substantially the same 

 ground swept by last year's drive, I saw 

 several rabbits take to the water and swim 

 across a pond nearly 200 feet wide. 



I now know that rabbits — jack rabbits at 

 least — can swim, and will swim — though I 

 do not consider them amphibious animals. 

 Nor do I think they would ordinarily take 

 to the water with any more readiness than 

 would the harmless and necessary cat. 



The July number of Recreation came 

 to-day and hits the spot. It is easily the 

 best of its class. 



MacCurdy, Fresno, Cal. 



NOTES. 



I am an interested reader of the Natural 

 History department of Recreation, and 

 will give you an item from our farm. 



We have a large number of chickens, 

 among which are about a dozen Plymouth 

 Rock roosters. A hen made a nest in an 

 old straw stack and after 2 or 3 days one 

 of the old roosters concluded to sit on the 

 eggs and raise some chicks. He drove all 

 the old hens away, took possession of the 

 nest and sat on it until night came. Then 

 he went to the hen house to roost. A large 

 Thomas cat, in looking for a good bed to 

 pass the night in, found the now vacant 

 nest which he promptly appropriated. And 

 it came to pass that the rooster sat on the 

 nest during the day, the old cat went on 

 duty about sunset and between them they 

 never allowed the eggs to get cold. After 

 keeping this up for about 2 weeks they both 

 got disgusted and dissolved partnership by 



mutual consent. Had they kept the e 

 warm another week I am confident they 

 would have hatched, but as it was the labor 

 of the cat and of the rooster was thrown 

 away. W. B. Cuckler, Athens, O. 



I notice in July Recreation a communi- 

 cation from Mr. John E. Brock giving size 

 of an antelope head. I have a larger one, 

 which measures as follows: 



Length of left horn 13^4 inches. 



Length of right horn 13J/2 " 



Spread at tip 8^ " 



Spread at widest point i2 l / 2 



Circumference of horns... 6^4 " 



This antelope was shot at by me, and 

 killed by Mr. Milo Burke, of Ten Sleep, 

 Wyo., a ranchman and guide whose name 

 appears among those given in your direc- 

 tory. 



I am glad to be able to add my testimony 

 to that you already have, that Mr. Burke 

 is a perfectly competent and reliable guide, 

 as well as a pleasant companion for a hunt- 

 ing trip. 



C. S. Myers, Omaha, Neb. 



I have an unmounted antelope head here 

 that measures as follows: 



Length of left horn 15M2 inches. 



Length of right horn 15 



Spread at tip or horns 2 



Widest spread of horns. .. . io*4 

 Circumference at base.... $y 2 " 

 Gus Stainsky, Colorado Springs, Col. 



Seeing a request by John E. Brock, for 

 reports on the largest antelope heads, I 

 give you msasurements of one I killed in 

 Jackson's Hole, Wyo. 



Length of horn 13 inches 



Around curve 16 



Spread, in widest place 12^/2 



Circumference of horn 6% 



M. P. Dunham, Woodworth, Mont. 



As well as I like Recreation, there is 

 one criticism I should like to make in re- 

 gard to Mr. Angus Gaines' article on the 

 brown thrush, in your June number. In 

 describing its eggs, he says they are of a 

 delicate light blue, with perhaps a light 

 shade of green, but free from all spots and 

 markings. This is phenomenal. I was 

 raised where the brown thrush was one of 

 our most common birds, and have exam- 

 ined hundreds of their eggs, in the nests: 

 but never saw one without markings, and 

 in all the works at my command, the eggs 

 are described as speckled. 



I am not seeking a controversy, but if I 

 am mistaken, I should like to hear from 

 others, for the brown thrush (Harporhyu- 

 cus rufas), varies as little in its egg mark- 

 ings as any bird I know. 



C. E. Pleas, Clinton, Ark. 



