3§4 



RECREATION. 



would have scouted as being the veriest 

 nonsense. 



Does any other reader of Recreation 

 know of rabbits eating flesh? 



A. C. Thatcher, Urbana, O. 



THE GROWING AND SHEDDING OF ELK 

 HORNS. 



Elk here shed their horns the latter 

 part of March or fore part of April. I 

 have known bulls to shed in February, but 

 such cases are rare. When one horn drops 

 off, the bull will adopt violent measures to 

 rid himself of the other. I have several 

 times found a freshly shed horn sticking up 

 with the points driven in the ground by 

 force, or tangled in a bunch of brush. In 

 most cases the horns of a pair will be found 

 near one another. 



The new horns must begin to grow al- 

 most immediately, as by May 15 they 

 have a good stock. By August 15 they 

 are full grown, and in some cases stripped 

 of the velvet. Elk do not, as generally 

 supposed, have a point on their horns for 

 each year of their age. Their first horns 

 are spikes about 12 inches long; their sec- 

 ond horns have 4 points; their third horns, 

 5 points or 6 small ones ; their fourth horns 

 and all later have 6 points. Sometimes 

 freak horns are seen with as many as 9 

 points or even more. 



There are now 3,000 elk in this valley. 

 They seem to be in good shape and doing 

 well,. S. N. Leek, Jackson, Wyo. 



DO BIRDS WHISTLE OR SING? 

 It has often been cause for astonishment that 

 an animal so remote as a bird in the line of de- 

 velopment from man should be the only creature 

 capable in the least degree of imitating the human 

 voice. A talking horse has from time to time 

 been advertised; but for practical purposes man's 

 only mimic is the bird. An American naturalist 

 has recently written to prove that birds are not 

 singers, but whistlers; that is to say, that the 

 notes are produced through the tube known as 

 the glottis, not by the help of vocal cords; but 

 the whole distinction is beside the point. Anyone 

 who has seen a bird singing will have seen both 

 the vibrations of his throat and the variations in 

 the extent to which he opens and closes his beak 

 or mandibles; and given these accompaniments, to- 

 gether with the production of an articulate lan- 

 guage, whistling and singing become identical, in 

 spite of technical terms suggesting a distinction. 

 People are accustomed to the idea that only a 

 few species of birds, such as the parrot and the 

 jackdaw, can be taught, but in wild life almost 

 all birds are mimics to some extent, and probably 

 more of them than people realize could be taught 

 to imitate human sounds. The starling has as- 

 tonishing skill in taking off other birds; and even 

 the raucous jay can produce a song, or a whistle, 

 if the word is preferred, which would do justice 

 to a thrush. — London Globe. 



NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 

 I do not think porcupines are respons- 

 ible for the disappearance of deer antlers. 

 In Southern Michigan there are but few 



porcupines and many deer, yet I never 

 found a shed antler. I have found a num- 

 ber of skulls with antlers attached. If 

 porcupines ate the shed horns, they would 

 have eaten the others. When in Northern 

 Michigan I found an antler apparently 

 buried or rather trampled into the mud 

 by a deer, as there were tracks all around 

 the place. I asked an old trapper about it. 

 He said the buck buried it so it would 

 become soft, and would return and eat it. 

 That seemed the belief of all Indians and 

 trappers that I inquired of, but I do not 

 know why they believed it. Should like to 

 hear from some one who knows. 



C. Ribler, Litchfield, Mich. 



In August last, while camping with other 

 members of a club at Florence Heights, 

 15 miles from Trenton, N. J., I caught an 

 eel on a hook and line. In cleaning the 

 eel I found it contained spawn. Such an 

 occurrence has never been known in this 

 part of the country before. If any other 

 reader of Recreation has ever had a simi- 

 lar experience I should like to hear from 

 him and to learn particulars. 



A. T. Stewart, Trenton, N. J.. 



As to what becomes of the horns : Three 

 years ago, while in the Adirondacks, I saw 

 2 mice working on a horn in the woods. 

 Two years ago, in the same country, I saw 

 a red squirrel running with a queer looking 

 object in his mouth. I fired, causing him 

 to drop what proved to be a piece of deer 

 horn. Any and all rodents will and do 

 eat shed horns wherever found. 



G. G. Piatt, M.D., Wavland, N. Y. 



I have seen grouse standing on the edge 

 of a sap trough picking drops of maple 

 sap from the end of the spile. I have 

 seen them picking dew from leaves when 

 there were pools of clear water all around. 

 I studied their habits closely when they 

 were abundant and before so-called sports- 

 men made them wild, but have never seen 

 them drink. 



C, Riblet, Litchfield, Mich. 



I subscribe for your valuable magazine. 

 I used to buy it from my news dealer, but 

 the demand became so great that unless I 

 was on hand when they came in I could not 

 get a copy, as they were sold at once. 

 Recreation has been the means of reform- 

 ing many heretofore game hogs, myself in- 

 cluded. As soon as read, I pass my copies 

 around among my friends, who like to read 

 it, and I am sure it will do them no harm. 

 W. C. Green, Searights, Pa. 



