168 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 



wapiti. It was not the first time in European 

 collections that I had seen a similar hybridization 

 in preparing trophies for exhibition. 



The old pensioner, for years custodian of the 

 Great Hall, would not believe that such liberties 

 had been taken with natural history in the royal 

 collection of horns. 



"Did you ever see an American moose?" I 

 asked. 



"No, sir." 



"Or a European elk?" 

 "No, sir." 



I showed him a photograph of a moose head. 



"Upon my word!" said the old man. "I 

 wouldn't have believed it!" 



I am almost sorry that I called his attention to 

 the case of nature-faking in the group of heads 

 which were under his care. To shake his faith 

 in the complete authenticity of every specimen in 

 the royal collection was too closely akin to under- 

 mining his faith in the inviolability of the British 

 Constitution. 



Without a ladder, and an assistant, I could not 

 measure the Hampton Court antlers, but recently 

 I have had measurements made by representatives 

 of Rowland Ward, Limited (the London taxider- 

 mists), with the following results: 



