FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Jan. 19, 1907. 
/ 
96 
New York Zoological Society. 
The annual meeting of the N. Y. Zoological 
Society was held at the Hotel Astor on the 
evening of Tuesday, Jan. 8. Mr. Chas. T. 
Barney, chairman of the executive committee, 
presided, and Mr. Madison Grant, the secretary, 
presented the executive committee’s annual re¬ 
port. This report showed that rapid progress 
had been made toward completing the Zoo¬ 
logical Park and the Aquarium. The object of 
the society has been rather to furnish large and 
accessible collections to the public, than to push 
its scientific work; in other words, for the pres¬ 
ent its work is devoted to education rather than to 
research. Of the construction work done dur¬ 
ing the year the most important has been that 
done to the north end of Baird CourJ and the 
Concourse. The approach to the terminus of 
the Subway system at West Farms, is about 
completed. Plans have been made for the re¬ 
maining buildings of the Park, and it is hoped 
that within two years all the important buildings 
will have been constructed. 
The attendance at the Park and at the 
Aquarium continues to grow. In the last year 
the attendance at the Zoological Park reached 
the total of 1,321,917, being an increase of 88,390 
over the attendance of 1905. These figures re¬ 
late to the fenced portion of the park, and do 
not include the visitors to the area lying east 
of Boston Road, and to Bronx Lake, which has 
become a favorite resort during the summer for 
visitors. 
The attendance at the Aquarium for the year 
1906 has been the largest in the history of that 
institution, and reached the enormous figure of 
2,106,569, which is 380,399 more than last year, 
and represents an average attendance of 5,771 
per day. Since the original opening of the 
Aquarium, Dec. 10, 1896, it has been visited by 
17,103,328 people. The total annual cost to the 
city for the maintenance of the Zoological Park 
and for the Aquarium is about five and one-half 
cents per visitor. 
The membership of the society on Jan. 1, 
1907, was 1,594- 
During the year, the animal fund has been in¬ 
creased by gift of $10,250, and by receipts from 
park privileges, $14,204.64. There has been ex¬ 
pended for animals the sum of $23,099.48, leaving 
a balance of $1,355.15 Jan. 1. The income ac¬ 
count still is insufficient, and the establishment 
of an endowment fund is suggested. Applica¬ 
tion has been made to the city authorities for 
a bond issue of $500,000 to be used in construc¬ 
tion work; $250,000 to be issued during the 
year 1907, and a like amount during the follow¬ 
ing year. The amounts provided for the main¬ 
tenance of the Park for 1906 and of the Aquarium 
have been scant, and it is only by the most 
rigid economy that the year has been gotten 
through with. Moreover, the city authorities 
have decreased the amount provided for the Park 
for the next year. 
Among the important gifts received during the 
year are a hippopotamus presented by Samuel 
Thorne, five sea lions presented by Jacob H.. 
Schiff, three pairs of black bears presented by 
Samuel McMillan, E. H. Harriman and Dr. A. 
B. Duel, a pair of jaguar cubs presented by Mrs. 
Arthur Curtiss James, two manatees and two 
Florida crocodiles presented by A. W. Dimock, 
five buffalo and five elk presented by T. D. M. 
Cardoza. A young African rhinoceros, purchased 
for the society at Mombasa, East Africa, by Rich¬ 
ard Tjader, was received at the end of the year. 
Plans for the elephant'house are now in the 
hands of the Park Department, and a contract 
for the construction of this building will be 
awarded soon. A zebra house, to contain a 
collection of horses, is to be built to - occupy the 
old caribou range. The executive committee 
has determined to establish a collection of heads 
and horns which will be placed in the new ad¬ 
ministration building, and Dr. W. T. Hornaday, 
the Director of the Park, has presented his 
private collection to the society. • 
At the close of the year, the Park contains 
3,624 specimens, an increase of 753 over the 
previous year. There are 808 species, an in¬ 
crease of about 150 species. There are 189 
species of mammals, 481 species of birds and 138 
species of reptiles and amphibians. 
The report has already shown that the 
Aquarium continues to grow in 'popularity. 
During the year its most important additions 
were two’ manatees, a 400-pound loggerhead 
turtle, seven specimens of the giant snapping 
turtle of the lower Mississippi, and two large 
tarpons received last summer, and then noted 
in the Forest and Stream. The fish hatcheries 
were operated as usual, as a fishcultural ex¬ 
hibit, and large quantities of young fry were 
turned over to the State Fish Commission. 
The American Bison Society. 
♦ 
The first annual meeting of the American 
Bison Society was held at the American 
Museum of Natural History, New York city, 
Jan. 16, with President William T. Hornaday 
m the chair and these members present: Prof. 
Franklin Hooper, of the Brooklyn Institute of 
Arts and Sciences; Prof. Frederic A. Lucas, 
Cura f or of the Brooklyn Institute Museum; 
•Edmund Seymour, Austin Corbin, George S. 
Edged and C. H. Stonebridge, of New York 
city; Clark Williams and William Lyman Under¬ 
wood, of Boston, and Ernest H. Baynes, of 
Meriden, N. H.' 
The resignation of Edmund Seymour, as 
treasurer, was accepted and Clark Williams was 
elected to fill the vacancy. Mr. Hornaday stated 
that he had corresponded with Capt. Walker 
concerning the suitability of the Sequoia 
National Park as a bison refuge, but the captain 
did not favor it. Among the communications 
was one from Prof. Elrod relative to the Flat- 
head Indian Reservation range. The executive 
committee was instructed to publish the society’s 
annual report, including a history of the society 
and its purpose. 
In the discussion of suitable ranges for the 
buffalo the society hopes to purchase the secre¬ 
tary was instructed to incorporate in the pro¬ 
ceedings an expression of the society’s approval 
of the New York Zoological Society’s-generos¬ 
ity in presenting a herd of bison to the United 
States Government. 
Mr. C. H. Stonebridge spoke at length con¬ 
cerning the suitability of the Crow Indian Reser¬ 
vation as a range for a herd of bison, and it was 
decided to take the preliminary steps toward 
this end, and to ask Prof. Elrod, now in the 
west, to examine the Flathead Reservation also. 
On motion the executive committee was also 
instructed to take the necessary steps toward 
the establishment of buffalo herds in the 
White Mountain Forest Reserve and the 
Southern Appalachian Reserve (if these are 
established). It was also brought qut that one 
of the trunk line railways was so anxious to see 
a buffalo herd near its main line of tourist 
travel that it was possible to secure a tidy sum 
from this company to be used in purchasing 
bison. 
The committee on nominations announced the 
names of the following gentlemen to be di¬ 
rectors for the ensuing year: A. B. Perry, 
Prof. J. H. Gerould, Madison Grant, David S. 
Jordan, William L. Underwood, Clark Williams, 
C. H. Stonebridge, Dr. H. C. Bumpus and 
Herbert L. Bridgeman. It was decided to 
amend the constitution making the number of 
directors twenty-seven instead of eighteen, as 
at present. A meeting of the board was there¬ 
fore held for the purpose at the office of 
Edmund Seymour, 45 Wall street, New York 
city, Jan. 18, at noon. 
An invitation was extended by Mr. Corbin 
and Mr. Edgell to the society, to hold a sum¬ 
mer meeting at Blue Mountain Forest Park in 
New Hampshire. 
Secretary Baynes had several articles that 
were examined with interest during the meeting. 
The first thing was a lot of hair shed by'the 
Corbin preserve herd. From some of this a 
skein of “yarn” was spun by the usual method, 
and from this a pair of gloves had been knitted. 
These and the “yarn” were soft and felt very 
much like medium grade yarn, but were de¬ 
cidedly oily and emitted a strong odor, which 
of course could have been eliminated had there 
been a desire to do so. 
American Forestry Association. 
The annual meeting of the American Forestry 
Association was held in Washington, Jan. 9, and 
the members listened to addresses by Secretary 
of Agriculture James S. Wilson, Chaplain Ed¬ 
ward Everett Hale, of the United States Senate; 
Enos Mills, of the Colorado Forestry Associa¬ 
tion, and Chief Forester Gifford Pinchot. The 
annual report showed 5,543 members on the rolls. 
All of the members and their friends were urged 
to do all in their power toward the passage of 
the White Mountain and Appalachian forest re¬ 
serve bills, now before Congress. Forestry work 
by the Government, the States and the associa¬ 
tion is progressing favorably, and more attention 
is given to economical working up of timber by 
those who cut for market. Experiment stations 
have been established in several States, and more 
foresters appointed, while fire control is show¬ 
ing good results. 
Resolutions were adopted as follows: Urging 
the passage of the White Mountain and Appa¬ 
lachian reserves; warning investors of the danger 
of loss to them through forest fires and asking 
co-operation; urging Congress to favor Presi¬ 
dent Roosevelt’s recommendation that the Gov¬ 
ernment loan the forestry association $5,000,000 
as working capital for the development of forest 
reserves; asking Congress to repeal the timber 
and stone act, and substituting legislation pro¬ 
viding that land which is more valuable for 
timber than for other purposes shall hereafter 
not be subject to entry of any kind; approv¬ 
ing the action of manufacturers and users of 
forest products in asking Congress to appropriate 
$200,000 to establish a wood-testing laboratory 
in connection with the forest service; thanking 
Gifford Pinchot for his unselfish and untiring 
efforts in behalf of the forestry interests of the 
country; deploring the death of Mr. Samuel 
Spencer, formerly a director of the association. 
The following officers were elected for the en¬ 
suing year: President, Hon. James Wilson, 
Secretary of Agriculture; Vice-Presidents, Dr. 
Edward Everett Hale, Chaplain of the Senate; 
Consultitig Foresters, Mr. F. E. Weyerhaeuser, 
Mr. James W. Pinchot, Dr. B. E. Fernow; 
Consulting Forester, Mr. John L. Kaul; 
Treasurer, Mr. Otto Luebkert; Board of Direc¬ 
tors, Secretary James Wilson, Mr. Wm. L. Hall, 
Mr. George P. Whittlesey, Mr. James H. Cutler, 
Mr. Rutherford P. Hayes, Prof. Henry S. 
Graves, Mr. F. H. Newell, Mr. Gifford Pinchot, 
Mr. N. J. Bachelder, Mr. Albert Shaw, Mr. W. 
W. Finley, Mr. George K. Smith, Mr. Win; S. 
Harvey, Mr. H. A. Pressey, and Mr. George 
Foster Peabody. 
A Novel Suggestion. 
New York, Jan. 8. —Editor Forest and Stream: 
With the settling up of our western country and 
the ever-increasing army of hunters it becomes 
more and more evident that the days of our 
big game are numbered, and that a few years 
more will see the end of free hunting. It may 
be possible to preserve a small number of 
elk, blacktail deer, bear, antelope and sheep in 
national preserves protected by the regular 
army. Private or public parks fenced and 
guarded by keepers may save a few more. 
Even if the farmers and ranchmen of the 
Rocky Mountain country took a little interest 
in enforcing the game laws instead of stupidly 
endeavoring to kill every head of game they 
see at any season (as with a few exceptions they 
seem to), it would only be a question of time 
when all winter range would be shut off by the 
constant encroachment of settlers upon the 
fertile valleys. 
There is one way, it seems to me, in which 
we might save some of our most valuable game, 
and that is to introduce it to the mountain 
regions of South America. I wish those of your 
readers who are familiar with the climate and 
flora of the Andes would give us their views 
upon the subject of introducing the elk, moun¬ 
tain sheep and mountain goat. If it is feasible 
we might produce a great hunting ground for 
years to come for the sportsmen who enjoy 
the life of the wilderness which within the 
United States has gone forever. 
Joseph E. Buckley. 
