Jan. 20, 1906.] 

New York Zoological Society. 
THE twelfth annual meeting of the New York 
Zoological Society was held on the evening of 
Tuesday, Jan. 9, at the Hotel Astor. Prof. 
Henry Fairfield Osborn, Vice-President of the 
Society, occupied the chair. 
The report of the Executive Committee was 
presented by Mr. Charles T. Barney, the chair- 
man. During the year attendance at the Aquar- 
ium had increased 150,000 over that of last year, 
and the attendance at the Zoological Park over 
100,000. During the year the attendance at the 
Aquarium was over 1,700,000 people and at the 
Park over 1,200,000—a total of nearly 3,000,000 
visitors. 
During the year the new bird house has been 
opened, and it is occupied now by a representa- 
tive collection of perching birds comprising over 
1,500 specimens. Mr. Jacob Schiff has presented 
a very complete collection of pheasants cover- 
ing twenty-two species, represented by fifty indi- 
viduals. A sum of money has been received 
from Mr. Nelson Robinson for the purchase of 
a rhinoceros. It is believed that the Board of 
Estimate and Apportionment will authorize a 
bond issue of $200,000, which will enable the So- 
ciety to erect a number of new animal houses, 
which it greatly needs. One of the most import- 
ant benefits to the Zoological Park during the 
year has been the acquisition by the city of 
ninety-nine acres of land east of the Zoological 
Park—an addition to Bronx Park. This tract of 
land contains many old trees and before long will 
be greatly improved, but in the same judicious 
way that the remainder of the Park has been 
improved. The acquisition will enable the city 
to construct a boulevard connecting Pelham 
Parkway with West Farms and so relieve the 
Boston road from much of its present traffic and 
to keep it chiefly for park uses. 
A resolution was offered and passed unani- 
mously condemning the use of the automatic 
shotgun and requesting the State Legislature to 
enact laws forbidding its use. 
Mr, W. T. Hornaday, the Director of the Park, 
spoke briefly of the year’s work and announced 
that the death rate among the animals had shown 
a marked decrease. Special success had been had 
in fighting tuberculosis, the dread disease which 
carries off so many captive animals, and espe- 
cially so many primates. 
‘Mr. Charles H. Townsend, Director of the 
Aquarium, said a few words about the collec- 
tions there. The Aquarium is full of specimens 
to overflowing and nothing more could be re- 
ceived without throwing away something that is 
already there. The attendance of nearly 5,000 
people for each day during the year shows how 
popular the Aquarium is, but there is no way of - 
measuring the good which it does. 
Managers to replace the class whose terms ex- 
pired January, 10906, were elected: Levi P. 
Morton, Andrew Carnegie, Morris K. Jessup, 
John L. Cadwalader, Philip Schuyler, John S. 
Barnes, Madison Grant, William White Niles, 
Samuel Thorne, H. A. C. Taylor, Hugh J. Chis- 
holm and William D. Sloane. 
Mr. Charles Sheldon gave an interesting ac- 
count of his explorations during the past two 
seasons in Alaska in search of specimens and 
information which would clear up the much- 
vexed question concerning the sheep of those 
northern mountains. It is well understood that 
Dall’s sheep, Stone’s sheep and Fannin’s sheep 
are all found in this section, between Stikine 
River and the ocean, but what their relationships 
are and their ranges has not been known. Mr. 
Sheldon’s investigations covered a wide range of 
mountain country lying between the heads of 
the Liard and Pelly rivers and covered also a 
number of rivers about which little as yet is 
known. The material in the shape of notes and 
specimens which he brought back have been sub- 
mitted to Dr. C. Hart Merriam, of Washington, 
and is certain to throw much light on the rela- 
tions of the northern sheep. Mr. Sheldon’s talk 
was illustrated by about seventy lantern slides, 
which gave a wonderfully clear idea of the deso- 
late mountains over which he followed the sheep. 
Among the pictures was a most interesting one 
of a cow and calf moose, which he was able to 
‘approach quite closely and which paid little or 
FOREST AND STREAM. 

no attention to him until he made the experiment 
of giving them his wind, when they fled. The 
cow, by the way, carried a long bell. 
Prof. H. F. Osborn told interestingly of his 
experiences last summer in photographing the 
white goat. With his companions he came upon 
an old “nanny” and kid which were bayed by 
the dog and held until a considerable number 
of views of them had been taken, when the dog 
being called off, the goats descended a cliff and 
hid themselves in a niche in it, where only their 




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heads were visible and which they would not 
leave. The pictures and the talk were of great 
interest. 
Mr. C. H. Townsend spoke briefly about some 
radiographs of fishes made for him by Dr. H. G. 
Piffard, which he threw on the screen. These 
showed in a most interesting way the skeletons 
of the animals, exhibiting the bones in _ their 
proper positions and relations and in no respect 
distorted, as they so often are in the cleaned and 
prepared skeleton. 
An Unwelcome Bed-Fellow. 
IT was my uncovered lot once to have a black- 
snake for a bed-fellow, between my chum and 
myself, on the tented field. He hid himself down 
to sleep all coiled up in a little heap. I shall 
never forget it. It was the night the Army of 
the Potomac rested on the banks of the 
Pamunky. We arrived there late and so fatigued 
by a long march that we spread our blankets 
at once without the precaution of inspection by 
the aid of a lighted candle as was our wont. 
It happened to be near a dilapidated old fence, 
half stone and half wood. At the sound of the 
reveille we arose, and in rolling up our bed- 
ding we uncovered an immense blacksnake all 
snugly coiled up in his warm nest. Many a 
night after this episode would I waken from the 
slumber so sweet to the weary soldier and feel 
the subtle movements of serpents underneath 
me, something like vibrating bed-cords, and no 
sleep would come again to my eyelids till I had 
been assured by actual examination that they 
existed in fancy rather than in fact. You should 
have seen that old fence about an hour after 
sunrise that morning. It was fairly animate 

with the life of reptiles. At a little distance it 
looked as if it were veneered with polished 
ebony. Companies of men gazed at the scene 
in amazement and then, as if suddenly seized by 
one impulse, they hurled a perfect fusillade of 
stones and sticks and whatever came first to 
hand at the vile creatures, quite demoralizing 
them and the fence in the bargain. H 
Boone and Crockett Club. 
THE annual meeting of the Boone and Crockett 
Club was held on Saturday evening, Jan. 13, at 
the Metropolitan Club, New York city. A large 
attendance of. members and a number of guests 
were present, and the meeting was one of the 
ae successful and interesting that the club has 
ad. 
Among those present were Messrs. W. F. 
Whittemore, Madison Grant, John H. Prentice, 
James H. Kidder, C. H. DeRham, Charles Shel- 
don, R. T. Emmett, John Roosevelt, W. A. Chan- 
ler, Dr. L. R. Morris, DeForest Grant, Owen 
Wister, Philip Schuyler, J. P. Morgan, Jr., C. 
Grant LaFarge, Dr; A. Lambert, Dr. W. Lord 
Smith, J. W. Wood, Alden Sampson, Dr, John 
Rogers, James S. Watson, Caspar Whitney, 
David L. Brainard, W. Austin Wadsworth, H. F. 
Osborn, H. S. Pritchett, D. M. Barringer, Dr. 
C. B. Penrose, Dr. Seward, M. G. Sackendorff, 
Ra a bar Penrose iit, a Vit. uae. botnaday, 
Stephen Peabody, C. H. Townsend, George 
Shiras 3d, A. J. Stone and Messrs. Leonard and 
Thorndike. 
The officers elected for 1906 are: President, 
Major W. Austin Wadsworth, Geneseo, N. Y.; 
Vice-Presidents, Charles Deering, Illinois; Wal- 
ter B. Devereux, Colorado; Howard Melville 
Hanna, Ohio; William D. Pickett, Wyoming; 
Archibald Rogers, New York; Secretary, Madi- 
son Grant, New York citv; Treasurer, C. Grant 
LaFarge, New York city; Executive Committee, 
the officers, with Messrs. Arnold Hague, Win- 
throp Chanler, James H. Kidder, John H. Pren- 
tice, Lewis R. Morris and A. P. Proctor; Edi- 
torial Committee, George Bird Grinnell, New 
York; Theodore Roosevelt, Washington, D. C. 
Following the business meeting came the din- 
ner, and after the dinner some most interesting 
talks were given. Hon. George Shiras, 3d, de- 
scribed the work of photographing wild animals 
at night in which he has had such remarkable 
success. His talk was in the nature of running 
comment on the pictures shown. The figures of 
deer, moose, porcupines, lynx and other animals 
were thrown on the screen in such proportions 
as to have the effect of life-size; and one after 
another the wonderful flash-light revelations of 
the wilderness night were followed with interest 
until the generous list of more than one hun- 
dred views had been shown. 
Prof. Henry Fairfield Osborn spoke interest- 
ingly on photographing the white goat. The in- 
cidents described and the pictures shown were 
these recently made public at the annual meeting 
of the New York Zoological Society. The ad- 
dress was listened to with great interest. 
Mr. Charles Sheldon, one of our first field au- 
thorities on the wild sheep of North America, 
showed a most interesting collection of heads of 
wild sheep of various species. Among these were 
two Dall’s sheep from the upper Stikene River, 
one of them, collected by A. J. Stone and be- 
longing to Mr, Madison Grant, being supposed 
to be the record head of this species. The other 
was collected by Mr. Leonard, who was present 
as a guest at the meeting. There were four other 
Dall’s sheep from the main range of the Rocky 
Mountains at the head of Pelly River, one speci- 
men of the form known as Kenaiensis supposed 
to be the real Dall’s sheep, though described un- 
der another name; and some specimens of the 
white sheep of the northeast slope of the Rocky 
Mountains about the Liard River, say latitude 
65 degrees 50 minutes, belonging to Mr. Madison 
Grant. This form seems to be as yet undescribed. 
There was also Mr. Sheldon’s record head of 
Ovis mexicanus, a great head of Ovis canadensis 
belonging to Mr, Hornaday, Mr. Madison Grant’s 
very large sheep skull from the Rocky Moun- 
tains and a specimen of Ovis ammon, the great 
sheep of Asia. Mr. Sheldon discussed all these 
forms to the great edification of his hearers. 
