306 
it in February and in 9 months he has a set 
of horns with 3 prongs. 
J. H. Berry, L. A. S. 4451, Newberry, Pa. 
ANSWER. 
.The antlers you saw illustrated and de- 
scribed in RECREATION are not those of a 
deer, strictly speaking, but of an elk. It 
is difficult to answer your question as to 
what makes horns grow. so fast, but they 
do all the same. If you cut off a horse’s 
tail, close to the bone, it will grow out again 
to the length of 3 feet within 2 or 3 months. 
The same law of nature which causes the 
hair to grow so fast as this causes elk 
horns and deer horns to grow to their full 
length in 7 or 8 months. The same law of 
nature that regulates these growths on ani- 
mals causes a corn stalk to grow to the 
height of 6 to 12 feet in 3 months. 
The men who say deer, elk and moose do 
not shed their horns every year do not know 
what they are talking about. If you will 
go in any zoological garden in January 
and again in February, you will find that 
probably all the deer and elk there have 
dropped their horns. If you go there again 
in April and May you will see new horns in 
course of growth with velvet or short hair 
all over them. Undoubtedly some of your 
people visit New York occasionally, and it 
would be well to ask them to go to the 
Bronx Zoological Park and examine the 
deer and elk, so they can report to you per- 
sonally.—EpITor. 

WHO CAN NAME IT? 
The other day, at noon, I noticed a 
strange bird light in a tree, and stopped 
to watch it. What most attracted my 
attention was the brilliant reddish pur- ° 
ple color under the wings, conspicuous 
while the bird was flying. It was exactly 
the shape of a dove. The breast and un- 
der part of the body were a shade lighter 
than those of the dove. On the sides and 
thighs were a few bars of black, and the 
upper parts of the wings were black pen- 
ciled. I should have thought it a young 
dove had it not been for the red under 
the wings. It had the same alert, quick 
motions as the dove when _ disturbed. 
Though it kept bobbing its head and act- 
ing as if it intended to fly, it allowed me 
to approach within 15 feet. When it flew, 
it alighted again in the same tree, and began 
cooing like a dove, but lower in tone and 
not so clear. It was evidently a grown 
bird, but was only about 2-3 the size of a 
dove. Will some reader of RECREATION 
tell me what it was? 
J. E. P., Round Rock, Tex. 
NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 
Some 4 years ago Mr. Cuppy, of Avoca, 
Iowa, owned a beautiful herd of deer, num- 

RECREATION. 
bering over 20. During the summer they 
escaped and since that time have been 
at large. It is a pretty sight to see them 
in the pastures and fields. Since they 
escaped from confinement the herd has 
largely increased. Efforts will be made 
this winter to recapture them. 
One morning last July a resident of 
Avoca on going into his yard in the morn- 
ing found the ground under a tree liter- 
ally covered with dead sparrows. Some 
of them were still hanging in the branches 
of the tree. During the night there had 
been a heavy rain with some lightning. 
There were 150 dead birds under the tree 
What killed them? There were no wires 
near the tree, and the tree was uninjured 
either by wind or lightning. I shall be 
glad to hear some explanation from read- 
ers of RECREATION. 
Dr. Chas. W. Hardman, Laton, Cal. 

A family of wrens built their nest and 
reared their young in a ball of manila 
binder twine suspended by a wire from the 
rafters in an old workshop on our place 
last summer. It formed a snug home, and 
the paternal pair would vigorously resent 
any intrusion on what they considered their 
lawful domain. A pair of wrens were also 
observed inspecting the inside of a wooden 
_ pump, in search of a suitable nesting site. 
Their attempt at home making was baffled 
by the frequent use made of the pump. Sev- 
eral pairs of wrens occupied houses put up 
for that purpose. 
H. H. Birkeland, Roland, Ia. 

In September REcREATION there is an ar- 
ticle on the fish hawk which says that a 
family consists of 3 birds, 2 males and one 
female. Do you know this to be a fact? 
I have consulted 2 or 3 local ornithologists 
and they all question the statement. I can 
find no mention of this habit in either Coues, 
Chapman or Samuels. 
The Natural History department of your 
magazine is exceedingly interesting. I wish 
you could have more in it on bird life. 
Arthur R. Hanks, Needham, Mass. 
Will readers of RECREATION please ans- 
wer ?—EDITor. 

The Women’s Club of the 6th district of 
Iowa in convention here, passed _ res- 
olutions and signed a pledge never to wear 
any millinery or hats trimmed with birds, 
or feathers from song birds or sea gulls 
J. E. Fleener, Oskaloosa, Ia. 
This is Congressman Lacey’s district, and 
Oskaloosa is_ his home. Who says a 
prophet is without honor in his own coun- 
try ?—EDITor. 
