110 
ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 
Alfonso L. Herrera, a man of whom Mexico 
may well be proud. For more years than we 
can determine he has been the foremost bio¬ 
logist of Mexico, a perpetual student, an in¬ 
dustrious investigator, and a fruitful author of 
scientific books and papers. With this founda¬ 
tion of industry and accomplishments. Prof. 
Herrera has been tireless in promoting the 
development of institutions for the practical 
biological education of the Mexican people. 
It has been the good fortune of very few 
scientific men to have been instrumental in the 
founding and developing of a Museum of 
Natural History, a Zoological Park, an Aquari¬ 
um and a Botanical Garden; yet that has been 
the privilege of this Director. 
We have seen Director Herrera in the field 
at work, and we know something of his in¬ 
dustry and his methods. In the hot August 
of 1922 lie appeared in New York and spent 
a week studying the Zoological Park. We 
have seen many men engaged in that task, 
but only one other who worked with such ex¬ 
hausting diligence and thoroughness as he. His 
only equal was Dr. G. Loisel, of France; but 
if we may include “present company” we will 
add to those two the Director of the New 
York Zoological Park, who in 1896 went 
through the best zoological gardens of Europe 
as they worked here. 
At the end of a month spent in New York 
in 1922, Professor Herrera was visibly close 
to the point of complete exhaustion. 
Naturally it is a pleasure to work with a 
man who toils at his tasks in the Herrera 
way. As a much desired addition to the Na¬ 
tional Zoological Park of Mexico, the United 
States Department of Agriculture and the 
New York Zoological Society have now joined 
in making a gift to that new institution con¬ 
sisting of three American bison, a male and 
two females, which will be shipped from the 
Wichita National Bison Range at some con¬ 
venient date in October. 
The interest and enthusiasm of several of 
the high officers of the Mexican Government 
in promoting the enterprises of the Depart¬ 
ment of Biological Studies is worthy of the 
highest praise. Foremost of all stands Presi¬ 
dent Obregon himself, who among other acts 
to be expected, last year, in September, sur¬ 
prised and delighted the zoologists of New 
York by suddenly proclaiming ten-year close 
seasons on all the mountain sheep and ante¬ 
lope of Mexico, and perpetual protection of 
the elephant seals and other wild life of the 
Guadalupe Islands. To that there has just 
now been added five years of close season 
for the deer of Cedros Island and the west 
coast of Lower California. For these fine 
measures the trustees of the Permanent Wild 
Life Protection Fund bestowed upon President 
Obregon and upon Professor Herrera its gold 
medal “for distinguished services to wild life.” 
Senor Don Ramon P. de Negri, Secretary 
of the Department of Agriculture and Fomento, 
is a diligent supporter and promoter of all 
the Biological Studies and wild life protection 
measures of Mexico. Senor Carlos Lopez has 
recently been appointed Chief of the Division 
of Hunting and Game Protection, a position 
apparently parallel to that of an American 
Commissioner of Conservation. From Senor 
Lopez many important activities are to be ex¬ 
pected during the coming years for the saving 
and the proper utilization of the valuable wild 
life of Mexico. 
In the division of Fish and Fisheries we 
find that Professor Carlos Cuesta Terron cura¬ 
tor of fishes and reptiles, National Museum; 
Professor Jose M. Gallegos, explorer, and Senor 
Enrique Gonzalez, inspector, have been very 
active and enterprising and wide awake to the 
needs of the fishery industries of Mexico. It 
is reasonably certain that they had much to do 
witli the saving of the last herd of elephant 
seals on Guadalupe. 
PROTECTION OF MEXICAN BIG GAME 
OR the enforcement of President Obregon’s 
decrees giving ten years of protection to 
all the mountain sheep and prong-horned 
antelope of Mexico, the Department of Agri¬ 
culture and Fomento has very recently ap¬ 
pointed Ben. H. Tinker, of Tucson, Arizona, 
to the newly-created position of honorary game 
guardian, for services in northwestern Sonora. 
Mr. Tinker knows the sheep country of Mexico 
the best of all living men, and he will patrol 
the international boundary and the haunts of 
the sheep and antelope southward thereof with 
the aid of both an automobile and a pack out¬ 
fit. Of course, he is empowered to make arrests 
in the field and to call upon all Mexican civil 
officials for assistance in bringing lawbreakers 
to justice. 
At present the expense of this guardianship, 
which it is believed will be thoroughly effective, 
will be borne by the Permanent Wild Life Pro¬ 
tection Fund. 
