June 26, 1909.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
1015 
hog of South Africa, and a 32-inch horn of 
the white rhinoceros, a species now nearly ex¬ 
tinct everywhere south of Lake Victoria Nyanza. 
Among other notable gifts recently received 
for the National Collection of Heads and Horns 
especial mention must be made of four large 
cases filled with heads, horns and skins from 
British East Africa, presented by Newland, 
Tarlton & Company, of Nairobi. Sportsmen gen¬ 
erally will remember that it was that firm which 
outfitted ex-President Roosevelt for his hunt¬ 
ing trip, and in the most difficult country Mr. 
Tarlton himself is now accompanying him. They 
also outfitted Mr. and Mrs. Perc3' Madeira, John 
R. Bradley and various other Americans who 
recently have gone hunting in the greatest game 
country pow remaining. 
From the beginning Newland, Tarlton & Co. 
and their London representative, C. H. Tritton, 
have taken a keen interest in the New* York 
chell zebras, Osborn caribou and several others, 
and Sir Edmund Giles Loder has presented ant¬ 
lers of the shou, marsh deer and horns of 
Loder’s gazelle. West African bushbuck and 
areal sheep. 
The above are only a portion of the recent 
accessions to the National Collection. 
W. T. H. 
Re Field Trial Association. 
The following circular letter is self-explana¬ 
tory : 
New York, June 5.-—To all Field-Trial 
Patrons: All experienced field trial patrons 
agree that the best interests of field trials re¬ 
quire the organization of a representative, cen¬ 
tral association whose membership should be re¬ 
stricted to field trial clubs exclusively. Such an 
association has long been needed. 
club has attended to its own immediate interests; 
the important general interests of the sport have 
been neglected. There has been an absence of 
adequate protection against the many evils and 
abuses which have fastened themselves insidi¬ 
ously upon the sport. It is a reasonable assump¬ 
tion that in all this may be found the reason 
for the slow growth of field trials, their re¬ 
stricted prestige, and the aloofness of the public 
at large. 
The clubs have suffered much from lack of 
joint action. The chief evils in this relation are 
the defaults in the payment of dues, the substi- 
tuition of one dog for another in the competi¬ 
tion, the loose monetary transactions of handlers 
acting as agents of their employers, the absence 
of a joint standard and uniform rules for com¬ 
petition, the claiming of dates regardless of cir¬ 
cuit needs, the loss of improvement which 
comes from a community of interest and of a 
SUMMER BIRD LIFE OF THE IRRIGATED PORTIONS OF SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. 
From a photograph of the group in the American Museum of Natural History. 
collection. Their recent gift includes i hippo¬ 
potamus (entire skin), 6 Jackson hartebeeste, 
2 topis, 6 Grant gazelles, i beisa, 3 waterbucks, 
4 Coke hartebeeste. 3 pallahs, one each of 
brindled gnu, Thomas’ .cob, bohor reedbuck, 
Haggard's oribi, eland and Cumming’s bushbuck 
and 2 Thomson gazelles. This fine collection 
will be placed .on exhibition in the Administra¬ 
tion Building when it is opened in October. 
In addition to the above the National Collec¬ 
tion has received from Percy Madeira a beau¬ 
tifully mounted hippopotamus head, a Jackson 
hartebeeste and several others; from Charles E. 
Senff a magnificent pair of interlocked moose 
antlers from the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, al¬ 
most unique; Henry Disston, Jr., has contributed 
the grand record eland horns (43 inches); and 
George L. Harrison, Jr., has added nine more 
beautiful heads to his previous gift of ten heads. 
Edward H. House, of Pittsburg, has presented 
a very imposing group of large African heads— 
rhinoceros, reticulated giraffe, Grevy and Bur- 
There are numerous special and general mat¬ 
ters essential to the growth, dignity, popularity 
and importance of field trials which are outside 
the sphere and authority of any one club. No 
club, even if it made the attempt, could deal 
with them other than feebly. Indeed, there are 
some things of general interest which would be 
presumptuous for one club to attempt, such as 
the arrangement of dates for a field trial cir¬ 
cuit, a universal set of rules, etc. Yet these and 
other important essentials,’ some of which are 
more specifically set forth herein, could be 
promptly and efficiently dealt with if the field 
trial clubs would act thereon in concert. 
Of all the sports of national scope cherished 
by the American people, that pertaining to dog 
and gun is the only one, so far as we know, 
which has no national organization. Conse¬ 
quently there has been much heterogeneous ac¬ 
tivity and general lack of coherence. Whims and 
fads of individuals have had full sway on the 
many matters not covered by the rules. Each 
general esprit de corps, etc. In the eye of the 
public, such ragged conditions denote an ab¬ 
sence of dignity, stabilitjq power, knowledge and 
attractiveness. It is now a favorable time to 
correct the negligence of years. 
At a recent meeting of the Continental Field 
Trial Club, a large part of the membership 
being present, there was a uninanious agreement 
that an attempt should be made to form a cen¬ 
tral association, and to that end, with full power 
to act, the club appointed a committee. The 
membership of the committee is as follows: 
Udo M. Fleischmann, Chairman; Ancell H. 
Ball, Secretary; Edmund H. Osthaus, A. G. C. 
Sage, S. C. Bradley, Theo. Sturges and B. 
Waters. This committee has been exceedingly 
active in its mission. A number of leading 
members of the older field trials clubs were 
sounded on the matter and there was a most 
pleasing response. All were heartily in favor 
of the movement. 
That the strictest fairness to all may be ob- 
