NATURAL HISTORY. 



465 



would have a beard at least 6 inches in 

 length. 



The picture looks to me that of an ante- 

 lope. The only point of resemblance to an 

 ibex is the hair on the back. An ibex has- a 

 narrow streak of darker coat from head to 

 tail, which, however, does not stand up. 



The color of an ibex is a distinct brown, so 

 commonly seen in the domestic goat. I 

 have never seen either an Asiatic or an 

 African ibex that could possibly be called 

 ashy gray. 



B. Cotton, Orlando, Fla. 



If there were an American ibex it might 

 be entirely different from any of the 

 Asiatic or African types. — Editor. 



SQUIRRELS RARELY' MOLEST BIRDS. 

 I was much interested in Inkie's letter in 

 February Recreation. I want to tell you 

 why I killed a few of Inkie's cousins. My 

 home is surrounded by fruit and shade 

 trees, with several butternuts and hickories 

 among them. These trees are the home of 

 numbers of song birds ; also of several pine, 

 or red squirrels. The little fellows had be- 

 come quite tame, and we had become much 

 attached to them, and watched them with 

 pleasure. One day we heard a commotion 

 among the birds and looking in the direc- 

 tion of the noise we saw a number of rob- 

 ins flying around a nest. In the nest sat 

 Mr. Squirrel, in the act of eating an egg. 

 That explained a mystery to me, as we had 

 found several eggs and many bits of egg- 

 shells under the trees. To make myself 

 doubly sure that the squirrels robbed the 

 birds' nests I watched them, and saw them 

 at it again; so in justice to the birds I had 

 to end the life of our little squirrels. The 

 pine, or red, squirrel is not protected, yet 

 they are numerous. I should like to know 

 if the larger squirrels rob the nests of birds. 

 John H. Browne, Penfield, Pa. 



The grey squirrels in this city are pro- 

 tected by law and have become abundant 

 and tame. Some citizens question the wis- 



dom of protecting them, claiming that they 

 destroy the nests and eggs of birds. As we 

 have many fine shade trees, birds are prob- 

 ably more useful to us than are the squir- 

 rels. Please tell me what you think about 

 it. 



D. L. Floore, D.D.S., Columbus, Wis. 



ANSWER. * 



As a rule squirrels do not molest birds 

 at all. Wild animals and birds have per- 

 sonal characteristics just as human beings 

 have. It is possible that some squirrels are 

 vicious enough to disturb birds' nests, but 

 in all my study and observation of the squir- 

 rel I have never known a case of that kind. 

 At any rate they are certainly very rare. — 

 Editor. 



BREEDING BUFFALOES. 

 Mr. James Phillips, who owns a large cat- 

 tle ranch near Fort Pierre, S. D., has about 

 60 full blood buffaloes in domestication. 

 He has tried crossing these with native 

 cattle, but says the result is not at all desir- 

 able or profitable; so Mr. Phillips is con- 

 fining himself to breeding pure buffaloes. 

 He considers this a good investment, as 

 the robes and heads of mature animals 

 bring good prices. He says he recently 

 sold one head in New York City for 

 $1,000, and that he finds a ready market for 

 good specimens at $500 and over. 



Mr. Phillips further says : "I have 

 watched buffaloes under all the conditions 

 of their life, and have discovered many in- 

 teresting things about them. I used to won- 

 der how the calves could withstand the ter- 

 rible blizzards which occasionally sweep 

 over our country, but now I know how it 

 is done. When a storm comes the buffaloes 

 form themselves into a triangle, with the 

 bulls along the sides, the boss bull standing 

 at the apex facing the storm. Then the 

 cows range themselves inside the lines of 

 bulls, and in the well protected center the 

 calves and yearlings find their place. The 

 mass is crowded well together into a 

 warm and living whole, and even in the 

 case of the outline of bulls only one side 

 of any animal is presented to the blizzard. 

 The herd will maintain this triangle as 

 long as the storm lasts, and they are able 

 safely to weather a storm that would kill 

 our native cattle. There is something he- 

 roic in the stoicism with which the bulls 

 will keep their places no matter how the 

 storm may rage, and anyone who has seen 

 the boss bull doggedly holding his head 

 against a Dakota blizzard as he stands in 

 the apex of the triangle will carry away a 

 lot of admiration for his instinct and sacri- 

 fice. If a man wants to get a fine lesson in 

 the advantage of 'standing together' he 

 needs only to watch a buffalo herd in 

 stormy weather," 



