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MU Vy 4S ww \W hey Ma Ssepley a4: _gtty | ; ~~ RINGS ye See SIE S - > ” ‘teers ony > ww we I ee Dent we ed ae Sy ~~ SS eS! syraz.> tre Fr 7) Gs. = : . : ’ | ih r- iv t ' “ . s . a ( Re are hal ' oh © ae ' 1 : ' / - , ‘ j i m1 f 7 .: x / . yy eo is 4OU L 2 240, Vou. XVII. No. 1 449.) JANU oe 1914 j/ -« poe CrET Y BULLETIN REM ASSESS SipHElees MASE MEA ESTA NE AS fl I Published by af THE NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCI AA II on AULSOONTANNA UMTS UUL USNs UONTN AOL SSAS ESOT EECCA HTT mn AMEN NCA AM TTT ATA wit ee a ae a ae TAT AEDHTA HRP HL Peet AWE Ti FREUND rere Officers of the New York Zoological Society President Henry Farrrietp Osporn. AB xst Vice-President SamMvuEL TuHorNe. Second Vice-President Joun L. Capwavaper. Secretary Creasurer Mapison Grant, 11 Wall Street. Percy R. Pyne, 80 Pine Street. Executive Committee Mapison Grant, Chairman. ’. Percy. R. Pyne, SaMuEL TuornNe, “Wituiam Wuire Nites, Levi P. Morron, Wm. Pierson Hamitron, Lispenarp Srewart, Frank K. Srurais, The Mayor of the City of New York. Henry FarirrireELp Osporn, Wituiam C. Cuurcu, LisPENARD STEWART, H. Casimir ve Ruan, Levi P. Morron, ANDREW CARNEGIE, Joun L. Capwa.aper, Mapison GRANT, F. Aueustus SCHERMERHORN, Percy R. Pyne, Georce B. GrinneE.u, Grorce C. Crark, Board of Managers Ew Officio » Class of 1914 Hvuen D. Aucuinctoss,* Cuartes I’, Dierericn, James J. HI, Georce F. Baker, Class nf 1915 Witiiam Waite Nites, SaMuEL THORNE, Henry A. C. Taytor, Frank K. Srurais, Class of 1916 CieveLtanp H. Doper, C. Lepyarp Burairr, Freperick G. Bourne, W. Austin Wapsworrtu, Henry Farrrietp Oszorn, Lax Officio. The Presiven’ of the Department of Parks. Grant B. Scutey, Wm. Pierson Hamivron, Rosert S. Brewster, Epwarp S. Harkness. i Grorce J. Goutp, Ocpen MILts, Lewis Rutuerrorp Morris, Arcuer M. Huntineton. Emerson McMittin, Antuony R. Kuser, Watson B. DickerRMANn, Mortimer L. Scuirr. General Officers Wituiam T. Hornapay, Director of the Park. Cuartes H. Townsenn, Director of the Aquarium. La Farce & Morris, Architects. H. De B. Parsons, Consulting Engineer. Dr. Georce S. Huntineron, Prosector. Officers of the Zoological Park Witiiam T. Hornapay, Director. C. Witu1aM Breese, H. W. MerkeEt, L. S. Cranpatu, W. Reip Burair, Exwin R. Sanporn. G. M. Berersower, Grorce A. Dorn, H. R. Mircue tu, Raymonp L. Dirmars, Officers of the Aquarium Raymonp C. Ospurn, Assistant. Rosert SurcwirFe. Cuartes H. Townsenp, Director. Wasuineton I. DreNysz. * Deceased. ee Fe Za@OrOsk CO GL Coxe, “s,0-'OCLEREY, BULLETIN » ee / on yan nstity. CONTENTS FOR JANUARY, 1914 lan \ JAN 3 1914 \ f, National Nusev>~ PAGE (© VESTA VAAL SST AS |e ene rs pe Ae Frontispiece A Resuxt or Our Victory Over THE FEATHER TRADE Qc cee W. T. Hornaday 1061 Two Booxs Apovr Our ANIMALS Qc. cece =e hes 1062 Tue Socrery’s AFRICAN EXPEDITION... occ eee (A letter from R. L. Garner) 1062 Tue Mikapo Pueasanr ..W.. ss selgss Saeed meee ke REE OI RE Ap Nae ..C. William Beebe 1066 Arry.-Grn. Carmopy’s Assautt on THE Micrarory Birp Law, ........-. W. T. Hornaday 1068 AGS RHR ORETGIOUS| ORR GUAT 27.2 ees Re eo arti iss nee eae (Chicago Inter-Ocean) 1068 Our Girt Bison Hepp... PIR Oa ae coeene bse Se Ein aes (Cincinnati Times-Star) 1069 MEETINGS ........... TT Tra enn OE cee ey et ng neta an ost 1069 INE IN USI VATE UB RIS aca oece en cpt eu ef mee 20 Un ln eo oa SR ae ae NS 1069 Ties cay sO gia LENT Fle Sp ween es Ir A NN ef cet ce eal ck oe E sea Ee leiapeee fMeea ee 1071 a Merrec WAV ATID TD ol OHACNUAUERY, fase Ocoee oR cee or SS ons headless setae nn Sh Et bea ee Lee S. Crandall 1076 Destruction or Poxrar Bears ............ Be fede nee seme S reses Ry ei a Lorenz Hagenbeck 1077 YOUNG FEMALE CHIMPANZEE SUSIE ZOOLOGICAL SOCTE Tx BULLETIN Published by the New York Zoological Society Vot. XVII JANUARY, 1914 NuMBER 1 A RESULT OF OUR VICTORY OVER THE URING the recent struggle in the United States Senate for the exclusion of wild- bird millinery, the friends of the birds persistently maintained that the closing of our market would inevitably result in a marked diminution in bird slaughter. We claimed that with our ports tightly closed, the quota of birds annually slaughtered for the American market hereafter would not be killed. We did not, however, anticipate the quick confirmation of our views that has reached us. From Mr. James Buckland, of London, one of the foremost champions of the birds against the British feather trade, we have received a set of the catalogues of the London feather auc- tion of October 14, 1913, carefully annotated as to sales, prices and withdrawals from sale. They show that exactly ten days from the sign- ing of our tariff law by President Wilson, the London feather market suffered a tremendous decline. Out of 1174 lots that were offered, 368 had to be withdrawn, because of bad prices and no buyers. It is with much interest that we have made a complete summary of the contents of the prin- cipal lots that had to be withdrawn because of the closing of the American market. The list is as follows: AND FEATHERS UNSALABLE IN LONDON ON OCTOBER 14, 1913. SKINS 1203 skins of Greater Bird-of-Paradise. 127 . Rifle Bird-of-Paradise. 761 os Emu. 1212 se Eared Pheasant, (‘“Nuwmidi’). 1237 oe Lady Ambherst Pheasant, FEATHER TRADE 790 skins of Golden Pheasant, 142 s Impeyan Pheasant. 105 oe Pelican. 318 ee Marabou Stork. 22810 = Kingfishers. 173 % Searlet Ibis. 3321 a Terns, (“White Sea Swallows’). 400 oS Gulls. 30 ss Owls. 308 ma Cockatoo. 1759 ss Parrot. Egret plumes, (and some Heron), = 14,964 birds. 17402 wing and tail feathers of Condor. 1993 s y Eagle. 34681 a = Hawk. 544 wings of Macaw. 2494 ounces Today, Germany is much disturbed by the contest between the defenders of the birds and the German millinery trade. Professor C. G. Schillings is vigorously agitating, but he is ha- rassed by lack of funds, and apathy on the part of many German ornithologists and zoologists. Apparently the German zoological societies are doing nothing; and on the other hand, the mil- linery trade is well organized, well financed and ably led. The apathy of the bird-lovers of Ger- many is truly amazing. As in England, the feather trade is seeking to throw dust in the eyes of the people by solemn talk about “ex- perimenting’” and “colonizing” and “breeding” plume birds for the feather trade. This may deceive many ignorant persons, but all those who know something about wild birds are well aware of the fact that years before any such experiments could by any possibility succeed, the wild “plumage” birds would all be dead— unless given absolute protection immediately. 1062 ZOOLOGICAL The Director of the New York Zoological Park has addressed to the Royal Zoological So- ciety of Amsterdam (of which he is an hon- orary member) a lengthy memorial, urging that powerful Society to inaugurate a campaign to induce the Dutch Government to at once forbid by imperial decree all exportations of wild birds’ plumage from all the islands of the Dutch East Indies. ‘The memorial was submit- ted to the council of the Society, and a commit- tee was immediately appointed to take steps to secure the end desired. Its first official act was to cable a request for copies of all the litera- ture of the recent struggle in America, and of the resulting law. If the Netherlands Government siiould decide to take the action suggested, it would electrify all Europe, and deal a staggering blow to the exterminators of the various species of birds- of-paradise, crown pigeon, and many other species. Stranger things than this have hap- pened. Under date of November 28, a letter from the Baroness von Robberg, of Baden, Germany, conveys the following highly significant infor- mation regarding the effect of the new Ameri- can law on the feather trade in Germany and in France. The Baroness writes as follows: “The fruits of the decided victory in Amer- ica are beginning to show in this country. An article in a milliner’s paper—not a fashion journal, but a circular issued for the trade— informs us that the fashion for aigrettes has come to an end, due to the new American laws and the proposed Fnglish bill. These feathers are now selling in Berlin at 20 per cent. dis- count. The “Kolnische Zeitung’—one of the principal newspapers—publishes an article dealing with the same subject. They say the Paris fashions are being altered in accordance with the new laws, and that a prohibition in England will not throw the feather-trade- centre to the Continent, but make an end of it altogether.” Week. de TWO BOOKS ABOUT OUR ANIMALS. WO charming little books, wholly devoted to our animals, have recently appeared. Both are books of verses. “Sonny Boys’ Days at the Zoo” is by Stanley C. and Ella B. Arthur, (The Century Co., 90 cents, net). It is beautifully illustrated by Mr. Arthur, and Mrs. Arthur’s verses admirably fit the pictures. In many of the pictures the figure of the win- some little lad looking at the wild beasts is SOCIETY BULLETIN very appealing to all those who are yet so old- fashioned as to love little children. “Wild Animal Verses” by Mrs. A. M. Cas- tello (Broadway Publishing Co., $1) is a thor- oughly commendable collection of very droll and often mirth-provoking poems about our beasts and birds. It is suitably illustrated. Mrs. Castello has a genuine sense of humor, and her versification is excellent. Among the best of the poems are “An Australian Suffrag- ette,’ which deals with an emu and an ostrich; the “Lament of the Tasmanian Devil,” “Every Doe Has Her Day,’ “The Chipmunk” and “What the Horned Owl Thought About It.” Making verses about wild animals is to be classed as hazardous employment. Many are called, but few are chosen; and we are glad that this attractive little volume makes good. Because of a belief that these two volumes will be of interest to the members of the Zoo- logical Society and to Park visitors, they will be kept for sale at the information burean ‘in the Lion House. We TB THE SOCIETY’S AFRICAN EXPEDITION R DITMARS has recently received the M following graphic letter from Mr. R. L. Garner, who is now in the French Con- go, searching for gorillas: “Nomba Sanga, pres Iguela, Gabon, “Lae Ngovi, Congo francais. “T have word that my wire gratings are on the way. They will probably arrive by the next periodical flat-boat, which is due here—that is. in Fernan Vaz—about the 30th October—but it may be a month late. “Yes, you have to be on the spot to know what gorilla collecting means here, but you may depend upon it, even with my leg now much mutilated, I will get ’em, and when I get ’em I'll find some way to keep ‘em. “T have now one of the very best specimens you ever saw. It is not the biggest, but the best—because it eats bread and bananas. Bread? Well at 20 cents a pound for flour you would call it eating bread. This little beggar eats— and destroys—about a pound a day. I have had to send to Nenglie Sika, about ninety kilo- metres (sixty miles) for some flour, and have just received twenty-five kilos (about forty- eight pounds) today. “At present I have to keep my gorilla caged. I have a very comfortable affair about twenty- seven inches by four and a half feet long and SUSIE IN FOUR POSES WHICH SHE ASSUMED HERSELF 1064 thirty-five inches high—so the little seamp is not really cramped. I am building it a house about seven by eleven feet square and nine feet There we will get better acquainted. At present I can’t handle it, although it recog- nizes me and readily distinguishes me from high. other natives. I allow no one else to feed it or to clean out its cage or to put in its bedding, and it knows whom it has to depend upon for such things. I keep a native boy to carry away the waste, sweep up the veranda and to search for native food for it. I am not depriving it entirely of its natural diet, and periodically I give it a good feed on the things it likes. It is very fond of ntonos (a species of wild ginger) and it eats the flowers, buds, stalks and leaves of this plant, with avidity. Rice? No, not even a smell of it. It also eats some sweet ba- nanas, at least, it eats part of the rinds and a little of the fruit. “My gorilla shows a higher degree of intel- ligence than I had hitherto attributed to the race, and is now becoming more amiable, but she has some ideas of her own. Every day I draw the grass bedding out of the cage in order to exchange it for clean, dry bedding for the night. Every time I begin this operation she protests. Sometimes by seizing as much of the straw as possible and packing it close in a back corner of the cage. At other times she lies down on it, face downward, spreads out both arms and both legs to cover as much space as possible. Always, in putting the fresh straw into the cage, she gets busy and helps to draw it through the bars and arranges it with much care and concern. If she sees anyone except myself touch the box or basket in which I keep her food, she at once wants to fight and some- times makes an angry outcry. Today (Sept. 9th) I think she has eaten nearly a pound of bread, and for the first time has eaten some of the crust. She shows a decided preference for fresh bread. Today she has been in a fine mood. Several times she has beaten a tattoo on the end or floor of the cage, and twenty times or more has made that peculiar beating of the breast. I only hope that I can hand her over to you in this condition. “Now a word, apropos to your remark about the temperature of 94 degrees. For some strange reason or the lack of reason you good Christians in the so-called temperate zone, im- agine that it is so hot in the tropics that hens lay hard-boiled eggs. Yes, sometimes I want to send to the coast for an overcoat. Just what I have done within the last two weeks: I have ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN slept under two blankets every night for three months, but the temperature has ranged (I im- agine) along in the 50’s or perhaps a bit lower. I don’t think I have ever seen it 94 degrees F., here. I have no thermometer of any kind, but the Centigrade is the standard here, and I think 36 to 38 degrees is about the hottest thing we have to handle here. In fact, 33 to 35 degrees is, I think, about the run of the kiln here in February, March and April, and the other months a bit lower. But June, July and Aug- ust are the cold months here, and for the last seven or eight weeks I have suffered more from cold than from heat. Of course, gauze under- wear and khaki suiting are not insufferably warm clothing, but I have a two and a half yard, double width, West of England cloth (suited for overcoating) and a cotton blanket of the ordinary kind. Besides those I have double sheeting of twilled stuff and a double waterproof under me, with a waterproof cloth spread under the bed and a mosquito-bar over all. In spite of all this I have to keep myself well tucked in to avoid the cold. In January. February and March I usually sleep under a single blanket, but no night is warm enough to induce me to sleep without one at least over my loins and back. “You must excuse my crooked writing, as I have a very badly swollen thumb, due to a splinter stuck under the nail about a quarter of an inch while hewing out by hand a piece of timber for the door of my gorilla house. The wound is very painful and necessitates a kind of whole-arm movement in writing. “ec I add a paragraph, as we haye just had a bit of excitement in my back yard, and I am sorry I can’t send you a moving picture of the scene. I wasn’t at the battle of Waterloo, but I have read some graphic accounts of it, and I imagine that it was about like the scene I have witnessed today in killing a python about 12 feet long. The snake had come within some twenty feet of the galley while eight men were at work in building a new one and caught one of my full-grown chickens. At the sound of alarm given by the other fowls my head man sprang to the fore and instantly cried out ‘Mboma mpolo!’—a big boa. Then he and an- other native seized each a pole of about fifteen feet in length and the battle began. I shall not undertake to describe to you the manoeuvres of my black brigade, but briefly stated, they would make a comic opera sit down and look on. By the laws of physics that I was taught, called communicated force or motion, I imagine that the antipodal denizens are now feeling the TREE KANGAROO 1066 shock, which they will innocently report as a seismic disturbance. “Hoping to receive a detailed letter, I am, “Yours very truly, September 4, 1913. “R. L. Garner.” THE MIKADO PHEASANT. By C. Wituiam Breese. ERHAPS the rarest bird which has been Pp acquired by the Zoological Society during the past year is the Mikado Pheasant, a cock and two hens being now in the pheasant aviary. The cock is blue-black, with a purple fringe to the feathers of the neck, mantle and breast, each enclosing a velvety black spot. The remainder of the upper plumage is edged with steel-blue. The secondaries and many of the wing-coverts are tipped with white, while the tail feathers have white cross-bars. The female is harmoniously clothed in quiet hues of olive-brown, rufous and buff. Seven years ago Mr. Goodfellow, while on a collecting trip in the highlands of Formosa ob- tained two long black and white tail-feathers of an unknown species of pheasant which were subsequently placed in the British Museum and received the name of Calophasis mikado. These were obtained from the head-dress of a native hunter. The following year the skin of am adult male was obtained, but nothing was learned of the living bird or its habits until 1912 when Mr. Goodfellow went to Mount Arizan in central Formosa and with much difficulty secured no fewer than eleven live Mikados, eight cocks and three hens. These birds are confined to the steep slopes of this one mountain and as the birds will prob- ably soon be exterminated every fact in regard to their life history is of interest. These splendid pheasants do not occur be- low an elevation of a mile above the sea and keep to the sharp ridges which jut out from the mountain. In many places these slopes are cov- ered with thick forest, in addition to an equally dense undergrowth of bamboo higher than a man. In such places, with the dominant trees cypress, junipers, oaks and pines, the hardy birds make their home. On some of the slopes, the steepness and rocky character permit only a growth of grass and here it is impossible for a man to descend without the aid of a rope. In early morning and evening the birds come out of the dense forest, over the ridge to feed on the slopes, and it was only by setting hundreds ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN of snares along the summit of this ridge that it was possible to capture the pheasants alive. They were scattered and not numerous and sel- dom were any observed. Besides the pheasants, tree partridges, pigeons, babbling thrushes, woodcocks and a monkey were captured in the snares. Once a cock and two hens were seen, the lat- ter flying down the cliffs at once, and the for- mer remaining behind clucking until a second Mikado cock was flushed. The birds could not be baited with grain and indeed their diet seemed to consist chiefly of green food and vari- ous insects. When captured it was with diffi- culty that they were taught to eat rice. Mar- tens seem to be the worst enemy these pheas- ants have, and after the birds were in camp in cages, these blood-thirsty animals would come close to the tents, requiring constant vigilance to keep them from injuring the birds. Both sexes of the Mikado pheasant make a cheeping noise like young turkeys, and when cornered and frightened, the cock hisses like a snake. In a wild state they nest about the end of April. The hardiness of these pheasants is evident from the fact that not a bird was lost in transit, and all reached England safely, where they were deposited in the aviaries of Mrs. John- stone. Here in the summer of 1912 I saw them and was thrilled at the thought of their rarity as only an enthusiastic ornithologist can be. The females laid in due season, and from ten eggs sent to the London Zoo nine chicks were hatched. Of these the New York Zoological Society has been fortunate enough to secure a trio of birds in perfect health, from which it is hoped to maintain the species in this country. These pheasants in spite of the very different coloring of the cocks, are closely related to El- liot’s Pheasant. The period of incubation, how- ever, is twenty-eight instead of twenty-four days, and the eggs are larger and the chicks darker than their ally of the mainland of Asia. Wind Cave Bison Herd—The herd of bison which left the Zoological Park in charge of Chief Clerk Mitchell, Mr. Rush and Mr. Dille arrived at the Wind Cave National Park on schedule time. Instead of stock cars, the Amer- ican Express Company provided two steel ex- press cars with modern equipment for running in high speed express trains. The bison were swiftly crated, placed in the cars at Fordham, New York City, and travelled the entire dis- tance in fast express trains. Mr. Mitchell re- ports that all connections were closely made and the bison safely liberated on their range. YOUNG MALE AXIS DEER, BORN IN THE PARK 1068 ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN Bepartments - Mammals W. T. Hornapay. Reptiles Raymonp L, Dirmars Birds Aquarium C. WittiaM BEEBE. C. H. Townsenp. Lee S. CRANDALL. Raymonp C. OsBpuRN Published bi-monthly at the Office of the Society, 11 Wall Street, New York City. Yearly by Mail, $1.00. MAILED FREE TO MEMBERS. Copyright, 1914, by the New York Zoological Society. Each author is responsible for the scientific accuracy and the proof reading of his contribution.S Etwin R. Sansorn, Editor. Vor XV UL ENon iT. JANUARY, 1914 ATTORNEY-GENERAL CARMODY’S AS- SAULT ON THE MIGRATORY BIRD LAW On November 8, the Attorney-General for the State of New York set up a new States Rights bogey, and under its benign influence formally and officially declared that the fed- eral migratory bird law was “unconstitutional.” Later on, he declared that his opinion would be strictly enforced throughout the State of New York. The officers of the New York Zoological So- ciety to whom this opinion was referred im- mediately challenged the legal soundness of it, and disputed its accuracy as to the enforce- ment of the federal law in this State. In the lengthy correspondence with Mr. Carmody that followed, and the exploitation of the subject in the press, the Society’s position has been thor- oughly sustained. In the beginning we as- sumed that the National Government, whether our Conservation Commission co-operates or not, will enforce the federal migratory bird law in the State of New York. Desiring, however, to be well grounded in that belief, we referred the matter to the Attorney-General of the United States, and requested information. Promptly we received from the Assistant Attorney-General, Mr. Ernest Knaebel, a let- ter which closed with the following statement: “Tt goes without saying that the Attorney- General of the State of New York cannot pre- vent the enforcement of a federal statute, and it is not to be assumed that he has attempted to do anything of that kind.” In view of the foregoing, and of the further fact that officers of the United States Govern- ment are now actually looking after the en- forcement of the migratory bird law in the State of New York, it seems very desirable ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN that the public should be informed that at pres- ent, and until it is set aside by the United States Supreme Court, the federal bird law is fully as constitutional as any other federal law on our statute books. Surely no argument is necessary to convince any one save Mr. Carmody that every law is in force until it is regularly and adequately re- pealed, or set aside by formal process from the bench. The Attorney-General has invited us to join him in bringing a test case, in order that he may, if possible, prove that the best bird law now in force is unconstitutional! So long as the United States Government enforces that law, we are entirely satisfied with its status. In any event, however, we hope that this State —the foremost in wild life protection—never will be disgraced by being made the plaintiff in an action against the United States to de- stroy the McLean law. In time a test case may be brought, but let it be by the enemies of the birds rather than by a representative of the people who did so much to bring the fed- eral bird law into existence. W. To: A SUPEROFFICIOUS OFFICIAL. Despite the fact that the Congress of the United States has passed the McLean act for the protec- tion of migratory birds, which seems the greatest measure yet placed upon the statute books of the country for the protection of bird life, and despite the further fact that this law has not yet been held unconstitutional by any properly qualified court, Attorney-General Carmody, of the State of New York, has taken it upon himself to exercise judicial functions for the entire country and to proclaim that the law will not be obeyed in his state. Attorney-General Carmody, in an opinion given at the request of the New York State Conservation Commission, has characterized the act as “an unwar- ranted invasion by the federal government of a power that belongs under the federal Constitution to the state exclusively.” In a letter addressed to Mr. Carmody, Dr. William T. Hornaday, Director of the New York Zoological Park, shows conclu- sively that Mr. Carmody has been superofficious in attempting to usurp the power of the courts. Dr. Hornaday makes the very sensible point that a state officer has no right, by mere dictum, to set aside any federal statute, this province only vesting in the federal courts. Thus he says: “Surely it requires no legal acumen to con- clude that if a State Attorney-General can, by the writing of an official opinion, set aside a federal statute, then no federal statute is safe in any state. As a layman the logic of common sense pointed out to me the conclusion that nothing less than a federal court can set aside or nullify a federal statute.” ZOOLOGICAL The matter of course, can only be determined by the courts. lt would seem that the nation has the right, by law, to protect migratory birds which, owing to their habits, are not native of any state or section. In any event it is not a matter for the law officer of any state to determine. If the law officer of a state can, by an opinion, nullify a federal law there is no use passing national laws.— Chicago In- ter-Ocean December 3, 1913. OUR GIFT BISON HERD. When Pot-Hunters were killing buffalo for their hides at $2 a head, and transcontinental trains were often delayed waiting for herds to cross the tracks, the man would have been regarded as crazy who prophesied that within fifty years buffalo born in captivity in New York City would be transported in crates to guarded preserves in the West, in an effort to prevent the race from becoming extinct. Yet that is what happened this week. And the move- ment of fourteen individual buffaloes is regarded by animal experts as the biggest thing that has hap- pened in years. The men who are trying to keep the one distinct- ive American animal from dying out have been en- couraged in late years to note a slow but certain increase in the various herds—some in caged cap- tivity and some in fenced ranges or preserves. The experts have been worried, however, by the prob- able results of continued inbreeding. They have feared the development of constitutional weakness creating a uniform liability to some special and ac- curate variety of pip, which might, thus, with a fair start, put an entire herd off the map, so to speak. It is to avoid this danger that fourteen of the animals in the Bronx Park Zoo are being shipped to the Wind Cave National Park, near Hot Springs, South Dakota. The shipment includes seven of each sex and the individuals run from frisky calves to morose and hairy bulls. The crates will have to be carried twelve miles from the nearest railroad station to the spot where the animals are to be let loose to find their own three-a-day in a state of nature instead of eating oats from a box or peanuts through a fence. Animals from other herds will also be liberated on this range, and it is believed that a new and vigorous strain of buffalo blood will be established after domesticity has followed the scraps of early acquaintance. Anyway, the whole thing is a pretty soft snap for fourteen buffaloes that were born in Bronx Park, and have been kept in paddocks about as big as a country estate in New Rochelle. —Cincinnati Times-Star, December +, 1913. Meetings: The Annual Meeting of the Zoo- logical Society will be held in the Grand Ball Room of the Waldorf-Astoria—as in former years—on the evening of January 18, 1913. The Annual Meeting of the Board of Man- agers will be held at the Down Town Associa- tion at 3 o'clock P. M. of January 20, 1913. A. O. U. Meeting: On November 10, 1913, the American Ornithologists’ Union gathered in New York for its thirty-first annual meeting. Morning and afternoon sessions were held at SOCIETY BULLETIN 1069 the American Museum of Natural History, luncheon being served daily by the Linnaean Society. On Friday, the members became the guests of the Zoological Society. The Aqua- rium was visited in the morning, the party leay- ing in time to reach the Zoological Park about one o'clock, where the visitors were entertained at luncheon at the Rocking Stone Restaurant. The remainder of the afternoon was devoted to the inspection of the collections, the birds form- ing the center of attraction. Recent Arrivals: Nubian giraffe; great ant- eater; two snow leopards; white-handed gib- bon; two yaks; tree kangaroo; hartebeest; Diana monkey; two squirrel monkeys; green monkey; vervet monkey; spider monkey; coyote fox; gray fox; two mink fox; sharp-nosed opos- sum; prehensile-tailed porcupine; six golden agoutis, a number of small rodents and a col- lection of seventy-five reptiles; many of them rare and interesting. NEW MEMBERS. JuNE 24, 1913, To JANUARY 1, 1914. LIFE Blodgett, Wm. Tildon, deHeredia, C., MEMBERS. Maxwell, Robert, Niles, Mrs. Florence B., Harriman, Mrs. E. H. Painter, Kenyon V., McKinney, Glenn Ford, Pierce, Henry Clay, Winthrop, Egerton, L. CORRESPONDING MEMBERS. Millward, Russell Hastings ANNUAL MEMBERS. Graf, William, Hackett, James K., Holzmaister, Louis V., Hoyt, Miss Virginia Scott James, Henry, Jr., Jenkins, A. W., Keyes, Mrs. Charles W., Lea, Churles M., Adams, John Dunbar, Adler, Dr. I., Baker, Charles D., Baker, Charles H., Bell, Louis V., Bernard, Pierre Arnold, Boese, Quincy Ward, Bradbury, Harry B., Brady, James Buchanan, Butler, Charles Stewart, Chamberlin, William B., Chisholm, Mrs. H. J., Sr., Christiancy, George A. C., Church, Louis P., Clark, Herbert L., Cochran, G. D., Converse, Miss Mary E., Curie, Charles, Dodge, Francis P., Donaldson, Robert M., Dow, Charles M., Fairchild, Benjamin L., Farrell, James C., Goldmann, Nathan, Goddard, Morrill, Mather, Samuel, Moore, Mrs. Russell W., Nickerson, Hoffman, Niles, Miss Florilla, Norrie, Miss Mary, Piatti, Dr. Virgil C., Porter, Alexander J., Potts, Jesse W., Roosevelt, Mrs. J. West, Ruhe, Louis Shipman, Richard D., Squire, Eben H. P., Steinbrugge, Edw., Jr., Suffern, Robert Adams, vonDreele, W. H.., Wessel,.Henry. ay} paemoy 3 ‘pula Yytou ayy Wooly MolLA NUGUVO HSUVN AHL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY ITEMS OF INTEREST. Batrachians: Another Reptile House exhib- it rapidly increasing in size is the series of Batrachians. We have of late given much more attention to the frogs, toads and salamanders, and a considerable number of new cages and small tanks have been installed. We note that our visitors are particularly interested in these small creatures when attractively labelled, al- though the labelling proposition with these diminutive cases and tanks has been rather a puzzle. Among the additions to this collection is the interesting mountain toad which appears to represent a giant race of our common toad, that inhabits elevated regions in the Eastern states. A careful examination, however, fails to demonstrate any characters of sub-specific value. Another recent addition is the big Cali- fornia toad, the striped frog, Rana virgatipes, and many species of the American salamanders, both aquatic and terrestrial. We have received terrestrial forms of the axolotl so that our ex- hibition of these interesting specimens now shows both phases. Among the examples of the aquatic axolotls are both the black and al- bino forms. The Old World batrachians are now quite elaborately represented. Among them are: The Japanese giant salamander, the blind salamander, or proteus from the Adels- burg Cave in Austria; the European salaman- der, the ribbed newt, the marbled newt, Aus- tralian newt and the brilliantly marked fire newt of Japan. There is also a good series of European frogs and toads. While adding to the series of batrachians we are now preparing large shallow tanks for the better exhibition of the more strictly aquatic frogs of both Europe and America. Big Horn: The larger of the two big- horned sheep has been transferred from the Zebra House where it was temporarily quar- tered to the northerly enclosure of Mountain Sheep Hill. This powerful animal seems to be in superb condition, despite the general asser- tion that we would have difficulty in maintain- ing the species as a captive. Thus far these two animals have been in splendid health, al- though we were at first worried about the prob- ability of their becoming acclimated. Great Anteater: For the first time in about five years we are able to exhibit a splendid spec- imen of the great anteater. This is an excep- tionally vigorous example and has been quar- tered in one of the larger cages of the Primate House, as the uniform temperature of that building is well suited to the animal’s require- BULLETIN 1071 ments. It has been provided with a section of soft log and amuses itself the greater part of the day in tearing at the wood with the power- ful claws of its forefeet. Happily, this is an active specimen and our visitors have ample op- portunity in observing him parading about the cage. Mouse Deer: It is our belief that we have broken records in maintaining in good health the mouse deer, or Chevrotain, which is a no- toriously delicate animal, seldom surviving cap- tivity more than a few months. Our specimen has been on exhibition considerably over a year’s time. The only trouble we have had with this animal has been with its feet, which were apparently very soft and tender and rap- idly developed bad sores on a wooden or cement floor. Our specimen is quartered in the Primate House, at a uniform temperature of about 70 degrees and to protect its feet, the floor has been entirely covered with a soft blanket. Since the floor was thus treated the feet have healed and the animal now appears to be in pertect condition. The Walrus: The Atlantic walrus presented to the Park by Mr. Paul J. Rainey has been exhibited in the Park for four years. When this animal arrived here it weighed 149 pounds; its weight at present is 406 pounds. The tremen- dous appetite of this vigorous creature is worthy of note. Compared with its weight, the food it consumes is quite out of proportion with other animals. The walrus consumes about forty pounds of clams and fish each day, while a cat animal of the weight of this walrus would consume ten to twelve pounds of meat the day. However, the members of the Pinnipedia are voracious feeders and immediately show signs of emaciation, unless their appetites are fully satisfied. The walrus is provided with salt water, which is kept at about ocean density by the addition of sea salt and frequent tests with the salinometer. We are rendering the tank of the California sea lion slightly saline as we have noted that in fresh water this animal shows a tendency to develop bad sores. Large Rattlesnakes: One of the most dan- gerous consignments to arrive here consisted of a erate of nine diamond-back rattlesnakes. These creatures were captured in one spot not far from Orlando, Florida, as they were pre- paring to retire.into their dens for the winter. The big rattlesnakes of Florida hibernate a short time during the cooler months, and, like the smaller species of the north, congregate in considerable numbers at such periods. The col- 1072 ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN BISON FOR THE WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH Crating the last Bison, Zoological Park, November, 1913. lector who captured these rattlesnakes informs us that his troubles were many in transporting a large bag containing these heavy reptiles to a wagon, some six miles distant. Placed in a cage of the Reptile House, the big snakes rattled almost incessantly for several days, and the sin- ister buzz attracted many visitors to their cage. Several of these snakes are over six feet long and have a head as broad as the top of a man’s hand. New Arrivals: A valuable consignment of animals has arrived from Carl Hagenbeck at Hamburg. This consisted of a male Nubian giraffe, eleven feet, seven and a quarter inches in height, a pair of yaks, one Lelwel harte- beest, two snow leopards and one tree kanga- roo. All of these animals are in splendid con- dition. The yaks, hartebeest and tree kanga- roo represent species new to the collection, School: The New York Zoo- logical Society has recently donated a series of Animals in DAKOTA The Bison leaving the Zoological Park, November, 1918. mammals and birds to the Washington Irving High School. In this magnificent school build- ing, one of the largest in New York, a room has been provided with large and attractive cages for the exhibition of a representative se- ries of mammals, birds, reptiles and _ fish. Classes are admitted at various times of the day, and it has been explained that some of the children visiting this zoological collection have for the first time seen wild animals of any kind. Miss Lillian Sage is in charge of the collection and explains that in this room the children will receive the elementary instruction which will fit them for later and more serious study at the American Museum of Natural History and the Zoological Park. Hibernating Rodents: The erratic tenden- cies of the dormice and spermophiles to hiber- nate have puzzled the keepers of the Small Mammal House. On one occasion six dormice were reported dead and the specimens brought THE WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH DAKOTA Bison from the Zoological Park on their range, Wind Cave National Park. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN THE MARSH GARDEN View taken from the east bank, looking toward the Eagle and Vulture Aviary. to Mr. Ditmars’ office in an agate pan, after- wards to be tagged and sent to the ice box. Left in the warm office for a half hour, the men concerned were surprised to find these dormice actively running about the place. The temper- ature does not seem to play so important a part with the dormant tendencies of these animals, since there are times when they are as lively as their tropical allies in nearby cages. Within an hour several of them may be lying apparently lifeless in corners of the cage and remain in this condition for a day or so. These hibernat- ing traits are very deceptive; the animal show- ing no signs of life when handled. The eyes re- main closed and there is no external indication of breathing. The keepers are now very wary about reporting such examples as “dead.” Wild Home Builders: Judging from the ac- tivity of the prairie dogs, and the squirrels that are free in the Park, we are led to imagine that an old fashioned winter is being inaugu- rated. The gray squirrels that are running in generous number about the Park are storing their nests with leaves, shed feathers from the birds and soft bark from such trees as the ce- dar. Several ornamental benches made of cedar boughs have been stript clear of shaggy bark by the industrious creatures within the past ten days. The Anthropoids: The series of Anthropoid apes, composed of five orang-utans, four chim- panzees and one gibbon demand more elabor- ate care as these animals grow older. Most of these creatures have passed from the state of infancy and some of them have become dan- gerous. The chimpanzee Baldy is now quite matured and so savage at times that it is dif- ficult to enter his cage. Quite recently he was barely prevented from injuring one of the keep- ers with a pitch-fork, which he wrested from the man’s hand. The two larger orangs are even stronger than this chimpanzee, but are less savage. At times they are very stubborn and one of them would be more than a match for a powerful man. The larger of the orangs has a spread of arms of seven feet and weighs 120 pounds. The Tree Kangaroo: A vigorous example of the black tree kangaroo, Dendrolagus ursinus, is the first specimen of arboreal kangaroos ex- hibited in the Park. This animal is slightly larger than the common wallabies which are at all times on exhibition. Its pelage is quite dense, imparting a decidedly stout appearance. . a v. THE OUTLET OF THE MARSH GARDEN The broad leaved plants transform a commonplace stream into one of beauty. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY Tree kangaroos are recognized by the general proportions of the two pairs of limbs—the length of the front pair being but slightly less than that of the hind limbs. The tail is very long and thickly furred. Four species are rec- ognized; all members of the genus Dendrolaqus. Little is known of any of the species in the na- tive haunts, although it appears they spend most of their time in the trees. The home of these creatures is in the dense tropical forests of New Guinea and the north of Queensland. Rodent Collection: The collection of small rodents which was formed in the Reptile House with the view of displaying the injurious spe- cies of these creatures together with their natu- ral enemies, has quite outgrown its quarters. Over a dozen new cages were recently added. This is now a valuable series and represents about forty species. A rare species of mouse was recently added—the Egyptian desert mouse, Meriones crassus, of Egypt and Arabia. Another of the new desert species is the gila chipmunk, Tamias dorsalis. The Arizona wood rat, Neotona pinetorum, is another new arrival. One of the most interesting examples in this series is the big pack rat, from Nevada, which animal is feverishly engaged the greater part of the day in building an elaborate nest, then changing its mind and transporting the entire nest to another corner of the cage, and vice versa. Lie, 15 1D The Mocking Bird: In the winter of 1911- 12, a mocking bird remained for several months about the southern boundary of the Botanical Gardens, near Fordham Road. This year either the same bird or another of the same species has taken up its home near the entrance on the Southern Boulevard. On November 27,.it was observed feeding on berbridge (Berberis Thum- bergi); two days later it was eating catbrier (Virburnum prunifolia) and on the 2nd and 3rd of December its diet had changed to nanny berries (Smilax rotund). SAMUEL Stacy. The Marsh Garden: During the transfor- mation of Bird Valley it was decided to form a water and marsh-garden, on the east side of the walks in front of the Zebra House. Luckily the first requisite for such a garden. water, was at hand, in the copious drainage of the Elk Pond. A good clay subsoil and sufh- cient material for grading purposes, made it easy to use this water in forming the series of pools which are now the nucleus of this garden. It is already one of the beauty spots of the Park, though the shrubs and various perennials were planted only this spring, and then had to BULLETIN 1075 struggle against many foes. Mallard ducks, Canada geese, and other voracious water-fowl. soon discovered that the ponds contained lotus and water-lily shoots, and other tender pro- vender that suited their palates better than that provided by the regular commissary depart- ment. One of the most delightful of all gardens is the water-garden. Water and marsh plants begin to bloom early in the season, and when the selection of plants has been carefully made, they will continue to flower until frost, and yield a great diversity of color and forms. They remain fresh, and luxuriously green during the hot, dry spells of summer when everything is sere and yvellow—that is, of course, if the sup- ply of water does not give out. Whenever one thinks of water-gardens, the thought is associated with the water-lily at the same time,—gorgeous white, pink, red, yellow and blue flowers from many climates. But un- doubtedly the real charm of the water-garden lies in the shore or marsh plants, and their re- flections mirrored clearly on a calm day, or in the distorted ripples that the water colorists love to paint, when the surface of the pool is disturbed by the wind. Even in winter, when the snow lies on the ground and the marsh- garden is covered with a blanket of ice, the leaves of the long stemmed reeds and rush-like plants wave and flutter gracefully over the pool, as though conjuring spring to come and open the door of ice to the green plants below. In the selection of plants for our marsh- garden, our old rule to give indigenous plants the preference, has been observed to a great ex- tent. Iron weed, boneset, pokeberry, cardinal flowers, marshmallows, and many other shore plants, fronted by arrowhead, wild rice and lizard tail, the most sweet scented of them all, fill the space close to the shore; while far in the rear, both to lend height and dignity, and to sereen the Service Road, are many of our best American shrubs, such as silky- and red- twigged cornee, sweet pepperbush, coral-berry, arrowhead and buttonhole bush. It was hoped that we could establish a colony of lotus in one of the smaller pools, but the ducks and geese decreed otherwise. They de- stroyed in one night, the whole planting. Other plants have been devoured several times, but we have managed to establish permanently most of them, and by careful guarding and persever- ance, we hope to have most of the worth-while water plants in abundant quantities in another year. H. W. M. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN THE MARSH GARDEN Water-lilies and border line of marsh plants. THE WILD CANARY. HEN one considers the obscurity which beclouds the origin of many of our do- mestic creatures, it is a great satis- faction to know that the ancestry of one, at least, is well established. The plain little wild canary continues to exist abundantly in the iso- lated groups of eastern Atlantic Islands, as the Canaries, the Azores and Madeira, while its domestic descendants, disguised in a great variety of form and color, brighten the homes of men in the four quarters of the earth. Five specimens of this species have just been brought to the Zoological Park by a collector who secured them at Las Palmas, on Gran Canaria. They are still in the sober brownish garb of the young bird, but will later assume a brighter plumage, in which the upper parts are ashy brown, with the cheeks, crown and abdomen greenish yellow. Early in the sixteenth century, canaries were first brought to Europe. They at once became popular as cage birds, and the Germans soon began the improvement of the song by select- ive breeding, an art in which they continue unrivalled at the present day. The breeding of canaries was soon taken up in other coun- tries and it was not long before certain defi- nite varieties appeared. From then on, the history of the canary parallels that of most other domestic creatures, skillful breeders fix- ing and accentuating slight variations, until we have the great variety of canaries of modern times. The English and Scotch devoted their energies to the fixation of certain types of form and color, rather than to quality of song, and have produced among others the breeds known as the Yorkshire, the Norwich, the Border Fancy and the Scotch Fancy Not least interesting among the color varie- ties is the cinnamon. As is well known, many species of European birds occasionally produce albinistic, pink-eyed individuals of a pale brownish color, and the wild canary is no ex- ception. These cinnamon birds seem to have a marked propensity for variation and may have had much to do with the production of other color varieties. In this connection, Mr. John Robson, an English authority, has formulated an interest- ZOOLOGICAL ing theory. On examining a series of over fifty skins of various wild British birds and cap- tivity-bred hybrids in the cinnamon plumage phase, he found these, without exception, to be females. Experimentation with cinnamon canaries proved this character to be a sex-lim- ited recessive, and it was found that a cinna- mon female will never produce young of this color, unless mated with a bird of cinnamon parentage. As wild males of this color seem never to occur, it is evident that such a race would be very unlikely to increase. Among the wild canaries, therefore, there was little likelihood that the color would gain headway, because all of the young of a chance cinnamon female would revert to the normal color of the species, unless, as is very unlikely, she happened to mate with a bird the mother of which was a cinnamon. The green offspring of the union of cinnamon and green would be expected to produce young of each color, in the Mendelian proportion of three greens to one cinnamon, but the chance that brother and sis- ter would be brought together at the beginning of the next breeding season is remote. As soon as the cinnamon sports appeared among captive birds, however, the race was fixed. This was accomplished by mating the male offspring of cinnamon females to others of this color, when cinnamon males at once appeared. LS: €. DESTRUCTION OF POLAR BEARS. By Lorenz HaGenseck. HE annual catch of polar bears is decreas- ing every year, because these animals are now being hunted about twice or three times as much as they were thirty or forty years ago. From Tromsoe, alone, sixty-one vessels outfitted for Spitzbergen and East Greenland in 1918; and besides other things they have brought back seven live polar bears, 125 dead ones and 200 reindeer. Counting the vessels leaving from Hammerfest, Wadsoe and a few less important towns also, about 100 vessels left Europe in 1913 for the purpose of the cap- ture of northern animals. Many of these ves- sels are provided now with motor-boats, so as to be able to penetrate further into the ice. In former years there were two to three large tourist’s vessels leaving the port of Trom- soe for the purpose of hunting polar bears. Usually they were hired by rich Englishmen, Germans or Austrians, and brought back from SOCIETY BULLETIN 1077 forty to sixty polar bears shot within five or six weeks’ time. During the last few years the capture of polar bears near the east coast of Greenland has so greatly decreased that in 1913 only one vessel with tourists was sent there. The other vessels are lying idle, and it is not worth while to equip them. Since 1890 a number of bear hunters from Tromsoe and Hammerfest have established hunting stations for the winter months on the Spitzbergen Islands. They consist of wooden houses, located at a distance of 100 or 200 kilo- meters from each other, and there are either two or three men at each station. These men set traps, and also lay out poisoned meat or seal’s bacon. One must reckon, however, that fully one-half of the animals killed through poison in this way are lost, as the polar bear has the habit of drawing near the water if it feels sick. Thus it happens that the sick ani- mals are drowned or frozen fast in the broken ice. One company has thus been able to kill and secure ninety polar bears during one year. As a check on this deadly commercial pur- suit, during the past three years the Norwegian Government has prohibited the killing of polar bears by poison on the Spitzbergen Islands. Unfortunately, however, as the land belongs to nobody, the hunters generally do not care for this, for there is no police authority on the spot to control them. During the last three years there have been comparatively few skins of polar bears at Tromsoe and Hammerfest, although those cities are the principal markets for them. As it is known with certainty that the polar bear wan- ders, it may be possible that it again exists at the old capture places, so that a larger number may be caught again, but it is very doubtful. One thing is sure, however, and that is that the polar bear is far less numerous now on the east-coast of Greenland and Spitzbergen than was the case between 1860 and 1880. Electric Trail.—The electric cable stretching across the space, fronting the Service Building, is now a regular road-way for two squirrels that have a nest in a big oak upon which the cable hangs. Every night between four and five the little animals skip gaily across this perilous tight wire to their nest. Mr. Merkel was greatly puzzled when he saw a squirrel pass the window. annarently walking in space until he moved in a position where the cable could be seen. WHITE-HANDED GIBBON A rare anthropoid recently added to the collections of the Park. GENERAL INFORMATION MEMBERSHIP IN THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Membership in the Zoological Society is open to all interested in the objects of the organiza- tion, who desire to contribute toward its support. The cost of Annual Membership is $10 per year, which entitles the holder to admission to the Zoological Park on all pay days, when he may see the collections to the best advantage. Members are entitled to the Annual Reports, bi-monthly Bulletins, Zoologica, privileges of the Administration Building, all lectures and special exhibitions, and ten complimentary tickets to the Zoological Park for distribution. Any Annual Member may become a Life Member by the payment of $200. A subscriber of $1,000 becomes a Patron; $2,500, an Associate Founder; $5,000, a Founder; $10,000, a Founder in Perpetuity, and $25,000, a Benefactor. ZOOLOGICAL PARK. The Zoological Park is open every day in the year, free, except Monday and Thursday of each week, when admission is charged. Should either of these days fall on a holiday no admis- sion fee is charged. From May 1 to November 1, the opening and closing hours are from 9 o'clock A. M. until one-half hour before sunset. From November 1 to May 1, the opening and closing hours are from 10 o’clock A. M. until one-half hour before sunset. Applications for membership may be given to the Chief Clerk, in the Zoological Park; C. H. Townsend, N. Y. Aquarium, Battery Park, New York City, or forwarded to the General Secretary, No. 11 Wall Street, New York City. NEW YORK AQUARIUM. The Aquarium is open every day in the year: April 15 to October 15, from 9 o'clock A. M. to 5 o'clock P. M.; October 16 to April 14, from 10 o'clock A. M. to 4 o’clock P. M. No admission is charged. PUBLICATIONS Annual Report No. 1............. Paper $ .40 Sea-Shore Life (Mayer) ......... Cloth 1.20 CC se SW Zite visas aiec se .75 Cloth $1.00 The National Collection of Heads “ oo “s “ orns (Hornaday) arge 3 and 4, each. 40 -60 Quarto. Parts land 2, each... Paper 1.00 Y 5 he Beco Bulletin Nos. 1 and 6........... Out of Print “ Lo Si eae eat “ 1.00 “ 1.25 Bulletins—Bi-monthly .......20c, each; Yearly by Mail 1.00 “ CS Rh) Orin). Mae cs 1.25 “ 1.50 “ “ “41, 12, 13, 14, Bulletin Nos. 5 to 23 inclusive Set, cloth bound, .... 5.00 = “ “ ys LEG eT Tay G ACR Feat lnc a 2 ctr 100 125°] Official Guide to the New York Zoological Park (Hornaday) Our Vanishing Wold hifee (formas += wt ene e cece eee r ene wesienensnanesecupeeenviens +25 day) -postpaid.............:.. nae 46D - Souvenir Books: Series No. 2, 36 pages, 544 x 744 inches, 33 Destruction of Our Birds and full page illustrations in colors. Price, 25c.; Mammals (Hornaday) ........ as «15 postage 3c. Notes on Mountain Sheep of Series No. 3, 48 pages, 7x9 inches, 73 illustra- North America (Hornaday).... “ 40 tions from four color plates. Price 50c., post- The Caribou (Grant) ........... ie 40 -60 BberIC, spi “i i Souvenir Postal Cards: Series of 72 subjects in colors, sold The nee prelate tation sie. of in sets of 24 cards, assorted subjects, for 25 America (Grant)".......02... a 1.00 cents; postage 2 cents per set, The Rocky Mountain Goat (Grant) se 1.00 Photogravures: Series of 12 subjects in sepia. Animals and views in. the Zoological Park. Sold in sets Zoologica Vol. 1. Nos. 1-11 inclu- of 2 subjects. Price 25 cents per set; sent BIMGIZRAU etaiserleie! elles ehel ctate, diclelslens ny 2.30 postpaid. Publications for sale at the Zoological Park and at the New York Aquarium. ‘f Vou. XVII. No. 2 CON MARCH, 1914 == =i lia ‘eenevaran - SOCIETY BULLETIN Pu u ls li is he e al i y THE NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY Hl A il ain QEASTNCUOAT OUTLAY ul LLM MMMM Officers of the New York Zonlogical Sorciety President Henry Farirrieitp Oszorn. First Vice-President Second Vice-President SamvueLt TuHorne. Joun L. Capwaraper. Secretary Treasurer Mapison Grant, 11 Wall Street. Percy R. Pyne, 50 Pine Street. Executive Committee Mapison Grant, Chairman. Percy R. Pyne, Samuret Tuorne, - Frank K. Srvrais, Witiram Wuire NILes, Wm. Pierson Hamitron, ~ Lispenarp Stewart, Watson B. Dickerman, Henry Farreierp Osporn, Ea Officio. Board of Managers Ex Officio The Mayor of the City of New York. The Present of the Department cf Parks. Class nf 1915 Levi P. Morron, Wittram Wuirte Nites, Georce J. Gouxp, ANDREW CaRNEGIE, SamMvuEL TuorRNeE, OcpeN Mutts, Joun L. Capwataper, Henry A. C. Taytor, Lewis Rverurrrorp Morris, Mapison Grant, Frank K. Srvurais, Arcuer M. Hentinaton. Class cf 1915 F. Aveusrvus ScurrMeruorn, Crirevetanp H. Doper, E.merson McMi1uin, Percy R. Pyne, C. Lepyarp Brair, Antuony R. Kuster, Georce B. Grinne.u, Freperick G. Bourne, Watson B. Dickerman, Grorce C. Crark, W. Avstin Wapswortn, Mortmer L. Scuirr. Class cf 1917 Henry Farrrietp Oszvorn, Cuarves F. Dierericn, Wn. Prerson Hamitton, Wiriiam C. Cuvurcn, James J. Hint, Rozrertr S. Brewster, LisPENARD STEWART, Georce F. Baker, Epwarp S. Harkness, H. Casimir pe Ruan, Grant B. Scutey, Winuiam B. Oscoop Firtp. Geurral Officers 2 Wittiam T. Hornapay, Director of the Park. Cuartes H. Townsenp, Director of the Aquarium. La Farce & Morris, Architects. H. De B. Parsons, Consulting Engineer. Dr. Georce S. Huntincton, Prosector. Officers of the Zonlogical Park Witiram T. Hornapay, Director. H. R. Mirerett, C. Wii11am BEEBE, H. W. Merket, G. M. Brerereower, Raymonp L. Dirmars, L. S. CranpaL., W. Rem Brair, Grorce A. Dorn, Erwin R. Sanporn. Officers of the Aquarium Cuartes H. Townsenp, Director. Raymonp C. Osevurn, Assistant. Wasnuinetron I. DeNyse. Rosert SuTcwirFe. MOOnnOe Le AL, SOc PE TY | BU nh Tt N AQUARIUM NUMBER Prepared by C. H. Townsenp, Director, and R. C. Ospurn, Assistant Director. CONTENTS FOR MARCH, 1914 PAGE A Haut or THE PORPOISH SINE cece. cece As men Deere Sa NW eae Ee . Frontispiece PACT MINS S GTO OTAEO NS ILOREOVSES cesses ee arse ccc oe pe ce ner ee 1081 Tuer ScALE aS AN INDEX TO THE AGE OF A FISH oi o.cii-cccccccccccsececee eect Ue Meiiae BRT An ae : 1084 Tue Haur-Moon Fisu .............. fe ts ee RE) EER ORORL ee, OR OLE SERACSONY MOO AL Sir Gn Cs 1085 FUR GOWER VA1OK AN VVOUINDED) MENISED oe oe cece eee et At CERO eee 1086 BeprnanContTroulor MireRaTORY ISIS 222.00) ice eee ee ee 1087 Bb seven OsAUNT Com Rime lens WRIST AUT ON eee ee a ee ee C 1088 IN pekuaeelV leenifsicr 2 Senne ree eee re cere ee FA ee seers 1089 Tue Retation or Aguatic ANIMALS TO THE Water IN Wuicu TuHey Live, Prof. G. G. Scott 1090 New AguariuMs IN AMERICA AND EvROPE ........ SrrmliniGREASED (Wan AWTON (OR! CARP) occ. oj cccccc ccccceese eee sence ee eee es rem 1094. PES Hiaiie CO EUAN UES IES EINUD Yate AUT AIVICAUIN TD FOR eee Be a A eaten Reach eee J 1096 New AguariumM PUBLICATION ........ Anoruer Oxtp Print or trHE AQUARIUM . Pere ET AE nd een the Aas iyebeeh: p 1098 PACE ENTDAUNICE) CANIS ELIS, AQ ARDUOMD ceecccctccesceeececeeecedeeceettseenr score essence seteesesonse SF Fee casa renee ae 1098 “HIGL ‘SL 4OQUIDAON sttoyyeE odup UNIAS ASLOdWOd AML AO TOVH ¥ ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN Published by the New York Zoological Society Vout XVII MARCH, 1914 NuMBER 2 AT LAST—A SCHOOL OF PORPOISES. By C. H. Townsenp. FTER several discouraging attempts with animals more or Jess injured, the Aqua- rium has, not merely a single healthy por- poise, but a school of them. ‘They were re- ceived without injuries of any kind, and have already lived in the building much longer than any single injured specimen hitherto received. After three and a half months in a pool thirty- seven feet in diameter and seyen feet deep, they continue to be in apparently the best of condition, feeding, leaping, and otherwise dis- porting themselves after the manner of por- poises on the high seas. No more popular exhibition of marine life has ever been made in the Aquarium. To have these lively rangers of the open ocean dwell- ing in our midst is fascinating, and every citi- zen who has failed to pay them a visit should do so at once, for, although present prospects are good, there is no certainty about the fu- ture with wild animals in captivity. Two previous attempts were made to bring porpoises from Cape Hatteras. Although ar- rangements for their shipment were perfected, the instructions given were not carried out by those to whom the shipments were entrusted. In the first instance all the animals died before they could reach New York, as they were un- fortunately shipped dry and could not survive the journey without the cooling and supporting medium of water. The next attempt, made last June, when the same blunder was made, gave only slightly better results. Four of the six porpoises shipped died between Hatteras and Norfolk, Virginia. At the latter point the ship- ment was met by the Director of the Aqua- rium, who promptly filled the tank containing the two survivors with water. One of the ani- mals died soon after reaching New York, but the other lived two and a half months, not- withstanding the fact that the heating it had undergone during the first stage of shipment produced numerous festering sores, which eventually ended its career. Firmly believing that plenty of cool water would insure safety during transportation, the Director of the Aquarium went to Hatteras No- vember seventh, to make sure of the details of shipment which, entrusted to others, had been neglected. As far as the adult animals are con- cerned, the results have been satisfactory. There are five adults about eight feet long still living, but the four half-grown porpoises died soon after their arrival in New York. The adults gave no trouble during shipment, while the young were exceedingly restless and con- tinually bruised themselves by their struggles in the shipping tanks. Porpoises are warm blooded, blubber-covered mammals and give off so much heat that the water of the shipping tanks becomes actually warm, requiring to be replaced by cold water every five or six hours. Immediately after their capture at Hatteras, where they were dragged on the beach with a seine about a thou- sand feet long, the porpoises were placed for twenty-four hours in a salt water pond just back of the ocean beach. No chances what- ever were taken in the matter of temperature. On the beach their natural heating would no doubt have been accelerated by the hot sun- shine. The following day they were seined out of the pond and placed in the shipping tanks, which were then hoisted on board a schooner 1082 ZOOLOGICAL THE PORPOISES ARE COMING and filled with water. During the voyage up Pamlico Sound and even through the Great Dismal Swamp Canal the fresh water in the tanks was changed whenever it became warm. After reaching the New York steamer at Nor- folk the cooling of the porpoise tanks en route was greatly simplified by the use of the salt water hose. The shipping of porpoises alive is therefore a simple matter. Adult animals readily stand transportation, while the young animals do not. If carried in long, narrow boxes just sufficient- ly large to accommodate them without rubbing, and if kept supplied with sufk- cient cold water to support and cover them, they can be handled easily enough. There is probably no rea- son why a porpoise, under such ccnditions, should not be carried in a tank many times the distance from Hatteras to New York. Our porpoises are rather expensive boarders, consum- ing between eightv and ninety pounds o: fresh her- ring or tomcod a day. For a few days after their ar- rival they would eat noth- ing. Within a week they began to take a few live fishes and, after having once started to feed, it was not SOCIETY BULLETIN difficult to get them to take dead fish. A few days of hunger brought them around. as it does in the case of the newly captured seal or sea lion. Cape Hatteras, singular- ly enough, is the only point in North America where a porpoise fishery has ever been regularly conducted. The bottle-nosed porpoise appears to winter off our South Atlantic coast and is quite common in the vicin- ity of Cape Hatteras dur- ing the fall, winter and spring months. Schools of porpoises may be seen pass- ing every day just outside the surf. They are taken with a net about one thou- sand feet long, which is placed a couple of hundred yards outside the line of surf and parallel with it. At each end there is a boat in waiting, ready to carry the haul lines directly ashore as soon as a band of porpoises has passed between the net and the surf. After the lines have been carried ashore. the porpoises are considered fairly secure, for they do not often attempt to cross the lines and, even when they do, can usually be frightened back by having someone shake and jerk each line continuously. It requires some time to bring the ends of the big seine to the beach, DRAGGING A PORFOISE FROM THE NET ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN- . 10838 A DECK LOAD OF PORPOISE TANKS; DISMAL SWAMP CANAL but even then some of the porpoises may get away by leaping over the net or attempting to dive under it. The former can be prevented to some extent by sending a boat to the outer curve of the net, which serves to keep the por- poises from crowding against it. Some of those that attempt to dive underneath become en- meshed and, being air breathers, are soon drowned. Thirty-three porpoises were beached in the haul of the seine which provided our specimens. Although porpoises have been taken at Cape Hatteras from time immemorial, the fishery has been conducted in a merely desultory manner, with but little capital invested. The greatest number taken in a single year appears to have been about one thousand. Porpoises are valu- able for their jaw oil, body blubber and hides, the value of each being in the order given. The oil derived from the jaws represents the great- er part of the value, being worth ordinarily twenty-five dollars a gallon. This oil is ex- tracted from the broad posterior branches of the lower jaw. It is practically the only oil used for the lubrication of watches and similar- ly delicate mechanisms. The bottle-nosed porpoise (Tursiops tursio), is the only species of porpoise that has ever been taken at the Hatteras fishery. Our eight- foot specimens represent the average size. A number of specimens were measured in Novem- ber, however, which exceeded nine feet in length. The greatest length for this species at Cape Hatteras is twelve feet, but this is altogether unusual. The specimens were pre- sented on the beach at Hatteras by Mr. Joseph K. Nye, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, the proprietor of the fishery. They were trans- ferred to New York at the expense of the New York Zoological Society. The porpoise exhibit in the New York Aquarium is absolutely unique. No other aqua- rium in America or Europe is fitted with pools large enough to accommodate porpoises, and it is doubtful if there are at the present time any other specimens in captivity. Our bottle-nosed porpoise (T'ursiops tursio) closely resembles Delphinus delphis, a species of porpoise or dolphin more abundant in the eastern Atlantic and in the Mediterranean than along our coast. The latter is the dolphin known to the ancients, and which, for unknown reasons, has been systematically caricatured by painters and sculptors since the very begin- nings of art. Sculptors now have an oppor- tunity to visit the Aquarium and see what the real dolphin looks like. 1081 ZOOLOGICAL RECAPTURING THE PORPOISES IN THE SALT-WATER POND In the matter of name there is some latitude. All porpoises and dolphins belong to that fam- ily of the order of whales called Delphinidae, or dolphins, of which there are at least fifty different species, and the names porpoise and dolphin are to some extent interchangeable. The former is, however, usually applied to the short-jawed kinds. The name “‘bottle-nose’’ is inapt in the case of such animals, as the nose or nostrils of all dolphins and porpoises is on top of the head. The name dolphin is also applied to a fish (Coryphaena), celebrated for its changing colors. THE SCALE AS AN INDEX TO THE AGE OF A FISH, AND THE AGE OF THE PACIFIC SALMON. MEANS of determining definitely the age of a fish at any time has long been sought by ichthyologists and fish culturists. This is of importance in finding out the ages at which fishes reach sexual maturity, as well as the length of life of the various species. In the case of the Pacific salmons of the genus Oncorhynchus the problem has a special sig- nificance, since in all cases these fishes die after spawning,* and much discussion has been waged over the question of the age at which these fishes return to the fresh waters to breed. It has been discovered that the scales bear *A possible exception occurs in the case of certain young male chinook salmon, which mature precocious- ly at 3 to 7 in. long, without having gone to sea. The fate of these is not yet known. SOCIETY BULLETIN marks which indicate not only the length of life, but also the relative rate of growth in different years. This has been thoroughly tested on the Atlantic sal- mon in Scotland, and has been shown to apply also in the case of the trout and to other fishes as widely separ- ated as the carp, eel, bass, cod arid flounder. The eminent ichthyolo- gist, Professor Chas. H. Gilbert of Stanford Uni- versity, has recently pub- lished the results of studies on the Pacific coast sal- mons** in a paper from which the substance of the present article is drawn. While the general character of the scale and its markings are well enough known to the ichthy- ologist, it may be well here to quote from Pro- fessor Gilbert: “The scale in general persists throughout life and grows in proportion with the rest of the fish, principally by additions around its border. At intervais there is pro- duced at the growing edge a delicate ridge upon the surface of the scale, the successive ridges thus formed being concentric. . . . each repre- senting the outline of the scale at a certain pe- riod in its development. Many of these ridges are formed in the course of a year’s growth, the number varying so widely in different individu- als and during successive years in the history of the same individual that number alone cannot be depended on to determine age. For this pur- pose we rely upon the fact that the fish grows at widely different rates during different sea- sons of the year, spring-summer being a period of rapid growth and fall-winter a season when growth is retarded or almost wholly arrested. During the period of rapid growth the ridges are widely separated, while during the slow growth of fall and winter the ridges are crowded closely together, forming a dense band. Thus it comes that the surface of the scale is mapped out in a definite succession of areas, a band of widely spaced rings always followed by a band of closely crowded rings, the two together constituting a single year’s growth.” (See the accompanying figure.) The matter is not quite as simple as it might appear, however, for, as Professor Gilbert **Age at maturity of the Pacific Coast Salmon of the Genus Oncorhynchus.—Bull. U. S. Bureau of Fisheries, Document No. 767, March 20, 1913. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN DOG SALMON SCALE Mature Male 3114 inches long, fourth year. (Copied from U.S, Bureau Fisheries Bulletin.) points out, irregularities occur, due to other causes than purely seasonal ones, and consid- erable experience is necessary for the correct interpretation of many cases, while a small number of doubtful scales have been found. These latter are too few, however, to affect the general results, and further study may entirely eliminate them. The five species of Pacific salmon: Sockeye or Red Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), King or Chinook Salmon (O. T'schawytscha), Silver or Coho Salmon (O. kisutch), Dog Salmon (O. keta) and Humpback Salmon (0. gorbuscha), were all investigated. Reference to the following summary of re- sults will show interesting differences in the spawning age and habits and the time of the seaward migration of the young of the various species of this genus. The humpback, for ex- ample, is much less plastic than other species, spawning always at a definite age and running to sea as soon as hatched, while the chinook fe- males may spawn in the fourth to the seventh year and go seaward either as fry or yearlings, while a few males develop precociously and never enter the salt water. As they all die after spawning, the same differences in length of life naturally obtain. 1085 Summary of Gilbert’s Results. The sockeye spawns normally either in the fourth or fifth year, the females being prepon- deratingly four-year-old fish. The young mi- grate seaward shortly after hatching or may remain in fresh water until the second spring. spawn the fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh year, but four- year-old females preponderate. The young mi- grate soon after hatching or remain in fresh water till the second spring. Chinook salmon normally in Silver salmon spawn normally only in the third year. The young migrate either as fry or yearlings, but adults are developed almost exclusively from the latter. Dog salmon mature normally in the third, fourth or fifth year and pass to sea as soon as they are able to swim. Humpback salmon mature always in their second year and migrate to the sea as soon as they are free swimming. Pacific salmon “grilse” are precociously de- veloped and conspicuously undersized fish which sparingly accompany the spawning run. So far as known they are male only in the chi- nook, silver and dog salmons, and usually so in the sockeye, except in the Columbia River, where the two sexes are about equally repre- sented. Grilse of the silver and dog salmon are in the second year, of the chinook in the second and third, and in the sockeye in the third year. The great differences in size of the individ- uals in a run are closely connected with age, the younger fish always averaging smaller than these a year older, though the size curves over- lap somewhat. ltt, (C, (2 THE HALF-MOON FISH. OCAL fish fanciers have in the past few months been greatly interested not to say excited, over the introduction of a strikingly handsome. little fish su‘table for small aquaria. ‘This is the half-moon fish (Pterophyl- lum scalare, Cuvier & Valenciennes), called also butterfly fish by the fish fanciers, although it has no relation whatever to the butterfly fishes of the tropical seas. The species has been known for some time to German aquarists, but has only recently been ZOOLOG!ICAT, 1086 HALF-MOON FISH Side and front views. imported thence to this country, and was first shown at the public exhibitions of the Brooklyn and New York Aquarium Societies during the past fall. In December the New York Aqua- rium was fortunate enough to secure four speci- mens of this very attractive fish. The species was first described in 1881 from Brazil and, although it has since been men- tioned by a number of writers on South Ameri- can fishes and is known to be widely distributed in British Guiana and Brazil, little or nothing seems to have been recorded concerning its hab- its and general natural history. It is said to be very common in the shallow waters of the upper Amazon region and that they may be most readily caught at night. So far as is known, there is only one species in the genus, which belongs to the family Cichlidae, a family which in its general ecology replaces the bass and sunfish family of North American waters. The half-moon fish reaches a length of a little more than three inches, measured from the tip of the snout to the end of the middle rays of the caudal fin. It is very deep-bodied and quite compressed, the height being several times the thickness of the body. In color the body is dusky above and silvery below. A distinct dark bar extends vertically across the body through Fiom a dead, mutilated specimen. SOCIETY BULLETIN the eve, and a broader bar runs vertically from the front of the anal fin upward to the front of the dorsal, whence it is continued on the dorsal fin. There is a distinct dark vertical bar also at the base of the cau- dal fin. Fainter dark bars are found between the dark- er ones and also on the cau- dal tin. The dorsal and anal fins are extended into long flaments and lobes of the caudal fin are also simi- larly extended. The pec- toral fins are unmodified, but the ventrals are enor- mously extended into long white flaments. The species has a remark- able ability for rapid change of color and under excite- ment the dark bars become vividly and intensely black. The change appears to be practically instantaneous and the normal coloration may be resumed again with equal rapidity. This change is so great and so sudden as to be positively startling. As these fishes require very warm water they are kept in a specially heated tank at a tem- perature of about 75 degrees. The common name refers to the outline of the body with the dorsal and anal fins and is quite appropriate in the perfect adult fish. R. C. O. REMARKABLE RECOVERY WOUNDED FISH. T is well known that many invertebrates have remarkable powers of regeneration so that parts injured or removed by mutilation may often be entirely regenerated. Take, for ex- ample, the ordinary starfish, which can be torn in two with the result that each of the parts will eventually regenerate the lost organs, and develop into two perfectly formed starfishes. In some cases this may even go so far that a single detached arm of the starfish will evolve a whole new body with the other arms. Among vertebrated animals, however, this regenerative power is confined as a rule to the healing of wounds or to the redevelopment of comparative- ly unimportant parts of the body. Observa- OF A ZOOLOGICAL WOUNDED BUTTERFISH tions have indicated and experiments confirmed that certain species of fish at least are able vo regenerate the fins, provided they are not en- tirely removed at the base. When scales are lost by abrasion they quickly begin to grow again. Fishes which show recovery from wounds of considerable extent are sometimes taken, but these are usually on the fins, gill covers, ete., and do not as a rule, indicate a very deep wound. The most remarkable case of recovery from a serious wound which has come to the writer's attention was that of the butterfish shown in the accompanying figure, which was taken in Buzzards Bay during the last summer. This was an adult specimen about one foot 1m length and was captured, along with many oth- ers of its kind, in the poundnet set by the col- lector of the United States Fisheries Station at Woods Hole, Massachusetts. This indicates that it had been travelling in a school with other butterfish and was not particularly imea- pacitated by the absence of the lost portion. How the wound may have occurred one can only conjecture, but from its nature it would appear that the portion had been bitten out by the sharp teeth of some predatory fish. Al though the wound was so extensive, involving a large amount of muscular tissue and appar- ently going within a short distance of the body cavity and reaching nearly to the spin- al column, the fish recovered in the condition shown in the figure. A large section of the anal fin was completely bitten out, leaving this re- gion somewhat distorted even after recovery. The wound was entirely healed when the fish was captured, but there remained ample evi- dence of the healing process in the large amount of sear tissue which covered the wound and in the fact that the scales had not been regener- ated over the sear, although the skin had re- formed. SOCIETY BULLETIN 1087 Numerous experiments have shown that when the skin or even the scales of a fish are removed from a considerable portion of the body, the fishes often die from inability to control the density of the body solu- tions. For a full explana- tion of this matter the read- er is referred to the article by Dr. Scott on “The Rela- tion of Aquatic Animals to the Water in which they live.’ in another part of this Buxiuetixn. Being a bony fish, the blood of the butterfish would naturally have only about one half as great a salinity as the sea water. How a fish with so much of the flesh exposed could manage to ex- clude excess salts until the skin ated is a matter of conjecture. was regener- FEDERAL CONTROL OF FISH. MIGRATORY About three years ago when the question of Federal contro] of migratory birds was so seri- ously considered, it was felt that the Federal control of migratory fishes was of equal im- portance, and possibly more easily secured. Public sentiment, however, crystallized rapidly around the bird question, on account of the su- preme importance of maintaining the birds, and through the efforts of public spirited men who clearly saw the dangers to which our birds were becoming increasingly exposed, the matter was brought to a successful issue by the passage of the Weeks-McLean Bill. Of even more im- portance on account of its relation to the pub- lie food supply is similar legislation requiring federal control of migratory fish. Almost every state in the Union, by unwise methods, is unintentionally curtailing the pub- lie food supply through inadequate regulation of the food fishes. The bill introduced by Representative Lin- thicum of Maryland. on August 26th, 1913, H. R. 7775, referred to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, upon which a hearing will soon be held, is of very great importance to all classes of citizens, whether fisherman, fish dealers or cousumers, and should have the sup- port of every thinking person. 1088 ZOOLOGICAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN Departments - Reptiles Raymonp L. Dirmars Mammals W. T. Hornapay. Birds C. WiL.tAM BEEBE. Lee S. CRANDALL. Aquarium C. H. Townsenp. Raymonp C. Ospurn Published bi-monthly at the Office of the Society, 11 Wall Street, New York City. Yearly by Mail, $1.00. MAILED FREE TO MEMBERS. Copuright, 1914, by the New York Zoological Society. Each author is responsible for the scientific accuracy and the proof reading of his contribution. Evwiy R. Sansorn, Editor Vou. XVII. No. 2. MARCH, 1914 FISH CANCER INVESTIGATION. There is no disease more dreaded by human- ity than cancer. of money have been devoted to the study of this disease in special laboratories founded for the purpose, and to stimulate research in the medical institutions already established. Thus far all efforts to discover the cause of the dis- ease or to find some infallible specific for its cure haye been without avail. In recent years large amounts Theories as to the cause of cancer have been numerous—their very numbers indicating their inadequacy. In these the cause has been re- ferred to bacteria and other parasitic unicellu- lar organisms of both plant and animal nature, to embryonic cells caught up by growth in other tissues and delayed in development, to a dis- cordant pernicious growth of epithelial tissues, ete., ete. But thus far none of these has proved satisfactory. It is true that bacteria and other unicellular organisms have some- times been found in cancerous growths, but ef- forts to connect them with the disease in the human have been unsuccessful. In view of so much fruitless investigation, it would not be strange if those engaged in it had wearied of the search. However, the diffi- culties and reverses seem only to have stimu- lated them to renewed effort, and never has there been research the causes and treatment of any disease as exists today in regard to cancer. such an active into Failing to find the cause of cancer in man himself, investigators have taken up the study of the disease in lower animals, in the hope of finding there the clue for which they seek. Cancer is known to oceur in other mammals, SOCIETY BULLETIN in birds and in fishes. even been described in plants, though whether these may be attributable to a similar cause is somewhat doubtful. Similar growths have Very recently Dr. Peyton Rous, of Rocke- feller Institute, and Dr. Leo Loeb, of St. Louis, seem to have shown conclusively that certain cancers found in chickens are due to bacteria. According to newspaper reports of the work of Dr. H. R. Gaylord on fish cancer, not yet pub- lished in full, fish cancer also appears to be due to bacterial action, though this does not seem to have been positively proved, nor has the germ been discovered. On account of the suggestion contained in the newspaper accounts, that fish cancer might be transmissible to higher animals, the pre- liminary account of Dr. Gaylord’s work has attracted much attention and has served to cause considerable excitement and apprehen- sion. It is well known that certain kinds of fishes, particularly the salmons and the trouts, when reared artificially in hatcheries, often develop tumorous conditions of certain glands of the throat known as the thyroid glands; the con- dition being commonly called fish goitre. About four years ago, Dr. Marine and Dr. Lenhart, of the Medical Laboratory of Western Reserve University, published in connection with the Pennsylvania State Fish Commission, the re- sults of extended experiments upon this fish dis- ease, in which they showed that the fish thyroid disease is similar in general character to goi- tre in the human being. This was proved not only by the histological condition of the diseased gland, but also by the response to the iodine treatment, which has been so successful in cases of human goitre. At the same time they did not deny the posibility that actual cancer might develop in connection with the diseased tissues of the thyroid gland. If the preliminary newspaper accounts of Dr. Gaylord’s work are accurate, Dr. Gaylord believes that there is no dividing line between this goiterous condition of the fish and true ean- cer of the thyroid. Or, in other words, the two are mild and pernicious phases of the same disease. Dr. Gaylord has been unable to prove that the disease is infectious, although he made experiments in an attempt to discover this point. He apparently believes that some mi- cro-organism is responsible for the spread of the disease, and attempted to infect higher ani- mals, dogs and rats, by giving them to drink water in which the scrapings from the fish tanks had been placed. Some of these enimals, in the ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN course of four to six months, showed indications of thyroid trouble (but not definite cancer) while others gave negative results. ‘This mat- ter is an extremely interesting and suggestive one, but apparently it will need to be substan- tiated by further experiments along the same line before it can be accepted. Though many efforts have been made by various investigators to inoculate healthy animals with cancer, all such experiments have failed except when the inoculation has been confined to the same vari- ety of animal. Also, efforts to transmit the dis- ease by feeding cancerous tissues have been un- availing, and this was the case even with Dr. Gaylord’s experiments with fishes. While it is not beyond the range of possibility that the exciting cause of cancer might be transmitted in the drinking water, the failure of all efforts to transmit the disease directly must make us hesitate to accept the above men- tioned experiments with dogs and rats as con- clusive. Also, it must not be forgotten that parasites in general are very specifically re- lated to definite hosts, so that the transmis- sion of parasites from one species to another is, as a rule, impossible. Even among the mam- mals it usually has been found impossible to transmit parasitic diseases beyond the range of a single species. The cause of goitre, like that of cancer, has been long sought for without success; but the two diseases have always been considered quite distinct, though of course it is quite possible for cancer to develop in diseased thyroid tis- sues. As to the possibility of transmitting fish can- cer to the human being, there is at present no occasion for alarm. Even if it were possible to inoculate human beings with fish cancer, which seems highly improbable, there could be no danger in eating fishes with incipient cancer, since cooking would naturally destroy anything which would tend to excite the disease in man. No one, of course, would care, on gen- eral principles, to eat fishes in which any dis- ease was evident. Thyroid goitre of fishes has been known in trout and salmon hatcheries for many years, where it is supposed to be due to over feeding, over crowding, and other unhygienic conditions, and it is known to respond readily to the iodine treatment and to greater cleanliness in the hatchery tanks and ponds. There has been no evidence of any increase in human goitre or cancer among the employees working in such hatcheries, or the people living in the vicinity and drawing their water supply from these sources. 1089 There is, then, no cause whatever for alarm that cancer will become infectious because of the prevalence of this thyroid disease in cer- tain dish hatcheries. R. C. Ospurn. NEW MEMBERS. January 1, 1914, ro Marcu 1, 1914. LIFE MEMBERS. DeWitt, William G, Guggenheim, Daniel Fuguet, Howard Jackson, Dr. Victor Hugo Streeter, Daniel Denison ANNUAL MEMBERS. Anderson, Archibald J. C., Baldwin, Albert H., Bartlett, Philip G., Beller, A., Beller, Wm. F., Benton, Andrew A., Berens, Dr. T. Passmore, Bernheim, George B., Bigelow, William S., Bijur, Abraham, Briggs, James E., Brown, J. Adams, Butler, Charles D., Chaves, Jose Edward, Church, George H., Clemens, Dr. James B., Coffin, Francis A., Conheim, Hermann, Daab, Martin, Davis, W. J., Diestel, William, Ebermann, Mrs. Ernest, Elting, Dr. Arthur W., Erdmann, William, Erlanger, Milton J., Esberg, Henry, Farrell, KE. J., Fincke, Rey. William M., Fox, Hugh F., Fuld, Felix, Gaillard, Mrs. Wm. O., Geddes, Donald G., Guinzburg, A. M., Guiteras, Dr, Ramon, Hamann, W. A., Hawks, Mrs. Wm. Samuel Henderson, John B., Hicks, John M. W., Hirschland, Franz H., Hopkins, Russell, Jacobs, Samuel Keller, Jenkins, Michael, Jones, Charles H., Kaupe, Wilhelm, Koles, Dr. Henry M., Kraus, Samuel, Lehman, Meyer H., LeRoy, Edward A., Lichtenstein, Paul, Lieb, Jr., J. W., Lienhart, R. H., Loewi, Hugo V., Loop, Charles L., Ludlum, C. A., Luke, David L., Mason, Charles N., Mayer, Marcus, Meinhard, Morton H., Meloy, Andrew D., Neustadt, Mrs. S., Nolker, Robert E., Oettinger, Dr. P. J., Olney, Elam Ward, Oppenheimer, Dr. H.S., Parker, Edward Ludlow, Patterson, T. H. Hoge, Pegram, Edward S., Perry, John Prince Hazen, Pfeiffer, Curt G., Potter, Orlando B., Pratt, Albert H., Proctor, Thomas R., Pulsifer, Mrs. N. T., Ranger, Stanley, Rolle’, A. J., Rose, Mrs. A. Sumner, Sachs, Arthur, Saks, Isadore, Satterwhite, Preston P., Shillaber, William, Siedenburg, Jr., Reinhard, Simpson, J. F., Smith, Elias D., Sperry, William M., Straus, Percy S., Strauss, Charles, Stroock, Joseph, Taft, William H., Thaw, J.C., Thorley, Charles, Van Norden, Ottomar H., van Gerbig, Barend, von Zedlitz, Mrs. Anna H., Washburn, Thomas G., Weitling, William W., Wessell, Arthur L., Wigglesworth, Henry, Willcox, William G., Williams, Arthur, Williams, Alex S., Wright, Hal, Young, Dr. S. Hall, Zoller, Charles, 1090 ZOOLOGICAL THE RELATION OF AQUATIC ANIMALS TO THE WATER IN WHICH THEY LIVE. By Pror. G. G. Scort, College of the City of New York. “IT marvel how the fishes live in the sea.”-—Shakespeare. ID you ever wonder why fishes do not get drowned? Or how they can breathe in the water, which, after all, is really the same question as the other? Or how it is that they do not keep drinking water all the time? Or why a salt water fish dies in fresh water and vice versa? I am not going to answer these questions at all, but instead will discuss a bit of dry physics and chemistry as a proper setting for what apears to me to be a fascin- ating story. When two gases are confined in the same ves- sel, they mix or diffuse into one another. Thus light hydrogen gas will diffuse downward into heavy carbon dioxide and the latter will diffuse up into the light hydrogen. The force is due to the difference in the partial pressures of the two gases. A similar behavior is observed when two solutions of different substances are brought into contact. Diffusion between the two continues until the concentration through- out the vessel is everywhere the same. The driving force by which this result is obtained in the case of solutions is called osmotic pres- sure and can be measured. One of the most characteristic features of living things is that substances must pass to and fro between the external world and the living cell in order that that cell may obtain energy for its work and get rid of its waste substances. The cell wall is a membrane sep- arating the living substance within from the material outside, and through this there must be an incurrent and excurrent stream of ma- terials. In the lower aquatic animals the entire body is surrounded by water and the substances which the cell needs are in solution. Although the simplest forms may take food particles di- rectly into the cell, yet it soon occurs, in the evolution of more complex forms, that the cell can absorb its food in liquid form only; and if the food at hand is not in liquid form the cell secretes a solvent which changes the solid food into the form of a solution. In higher animals with many organs composed of a multitude of cells, the blood carries the food in soluble form to all the various cells of the body. But these substances had first to get into the blood, and SOCIETY BULLETIN in every step they must pass through mem- branes. So we observe that there is a constant and repeated passage of materials in and out through membranes formed of cell walls. We said above that when two solutions of different concentration, or of different osmotic pressure, were confined in the same vessel, the molecules undergo a change of position until finally a condition of equilibrium is attained. If we stretch a permeable membrane across this vessel, dividing it into two compartments. and place a solution of low osmotic pressure in one and a solution of great osmotic pressure in the other, a condition will soon obtain in which the osmotic pressure will be the same on both sides of the membrane. This process probably plays a great part in the life of the cells of the body. The degree of permeability of cells to various substances has been the sub- ject of much investigation. The waters of the ocean contain solutions of salts of various kinds, one of the principal salts, as every one knows, being sodium chlor- ide or common salt. Now the osmotic pressure of ocean water is a little over 22.4 atmospheres, the pressure of one atmosphere being 15 Ibs. to the square inch, so the driving force of the molecules in such a solution is very large. The Mediterranean Sea is saltier than the ocean, hence the osmotic pressure, about 28 atmos- pheres, is greater even than that of the ocean. The Black and Baltic Seas receive a great deal of fresh water and hence are less salty than the ocean, and so the osmotic pressure of these waters is less than that of the open ocean. The water of New York Harbor is very dilute, due to the great volume of water flowing in from the Hudson River, and the osmotic pres- sure is only a little over one half that of ocean water. Distilled or pure water of course con- tains no salts in solution, hence its osmotic pres- sure is zero. The osmotic pressure of spring water or river water is very small, being less than half an atmosphere. When pure distilled water is taken in great quantities into an empty stomach, we have a solution of no osmotic pres- sure bathing the walls of cells, whose osmotic pressure, in the human being, is about 7 at- mospheres. The great difference in osmotic pressures causes injuries to the cells. The small amounts of salts present in our drinking waters are just sufficient to counteract this. The harmful effect of eating snow and ice is rele- vant to this action, since snow and ice are prac- tically frozen distilled waters. Now aquatic animals inhabit all the waters of the earth, which present a great degree of ZOOLOGICAL variation as far as the content of dissolved salts is concerned, and therefore of their osmot- ic pressures. What is the relation of all the various groups of aquatic animals to the exter- nal medium? As far as we can say the osmotic pressure in the cells of an animal is probably the same as that of the blood, which can be easily measured. Now, aquatic animals could adapt themselves to the osmotic pressure of the water in various ways. For example, they could construct membranes at the surface of the body in such a way that these membranes would be absolutely impermeable to the external medium. In the second place, all parts in con- tact with the water could be freely permeable so that the interior of the cells would be prac- tically living matter or protoplasm permeated with the water and with its salts in the same proportion as they exist in the water. Or, thirdly, some of the parts in contact with the water could be freely permeable and other parts less so. Undoubtedly the first animals were formed in the sea and the same salts were present in this primeval living organism as are found in the sea and in the same proportions. Even in the jelly fishes, which are somewhat complex ani- mals, this is true, and they are in perfect osmotic equilibrium with the sea. Later arose animals like the crustaceans with their hard external parts. They have certain structures which pro- tect them from the sea without, yet even here also, on account of the permeability of other parts, the blood is in osmotic equilibrium with the sea water. While in higher forms, like the mollusks and the crustaceans, the animal is not as freely open to the sea as is the jelly fish, nevertheless the blood has the same osmotic pressure as that of the sea water. For example, if we studied these animals from the Mediter- ranean, we would find that the osmotic pressure of the blood is like that of the water from that sea. In the more dilute waters of the Baltic, the blood has the same concentration as that of the water outside. Moreover it has been shown experimentally that the osmotic pressure of the blood changes according to the external medium. Now, of course, there are limits to which this change can take place. We might say that liy- ing matter is so constructed that its activities can be manifested only within a certain range of external conditions. The osmotic pressure of the human blood is quite constant at about seven atmospheres. The blood of the marine invertebrates along our shores, as we have seen, is equal to about 22.4 atmospheres, and is even higher than this in the case of those forms SOCIETY BULLETIN 1091 found in the Mediterranean and much lower in those found in the Baltic. The range of os- motic pressures which the blood of these lowly forms may take and yet be compatible with life is large. If, as we have said, the blood of these forms becomes modified—i. e., more dilute as the ex- ternal medium is made more dilute—water must get into the blood of the animal or the salts of the more concentrated blood of the animal must get out. It is probable that both changes take place. But through what part of the body? Three possible structures have to be examined. These are the skin on the surface of the body, the wall of the intestinal tract and the gill membranes. Observation and experiment show that it is probably through the gills that the exchanges usually take place—for example, when an oyster is “fattened” by being placed in fresh water, water enters and salts leave the oyster through the gills, with the result that the oyster swells up. Oysters sometimes grow in very brackish or even fresh water. This is explained by the fact that marine invertebrates placed in a medium differing in density from that to which they are accustomed, immediately respond by losing salts and taking on water to the end that soon their osmotic pressure is near or the same as that of this external medium. Of course, if they were placed at once in fresh water they would die, but it is quite possible that, by sub- jecting some of these invertebrates to success- ive small reductions in the density of the wa- ter, we could finally get them to live in fresh water. Biologists tell us that the sharks and skates are among the lowest of the fishes. In the os- motic pressure of their blood they resemble the marine invertebrates. That is, it is the same as that of the external medium. The blood of sharks from the Mediterranean is more concen- trated than that from sharks of the more dilute Atlantic ocean. However, extensive experi- ments have shown that, while these animals re- semble their invertebrate ancestors in this respect, the change is not as great as that which occurs in invertebrates under the same condi- tions. In a certain series of experiments car- ried on by the present author it was found that the changes induced in the osmotic pressure of the blood of dog-fishes were about one-fourth of the magnitude of the changes made in the external medium. A shark would, of course, be killed in fresh water.* I found that the *It must not be forgotten that one species of shark (Carcharias nicaraguensis) occurs in Lake Nicaragua in absolutely fresh water, 1 (eNO) 1092 ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN THE NEW BERLIN AQUARIUM osmotic pressure of the blood of dog-fishes in the New York Aquarium was distinctly lower than that of dog-fishes from Buzzards Bay, where the water is much more concentrated than the dilute harbor water in which the fish live at the Aquarium. But the blood of these Aquarium dog-fishes would not have as low an osmotic pressure as that of invertebrates living in the same water. (This conclusion is drawn from what we know of the behavior of the in- vertebrates and not from actual observation.) The point is that the sharks and shark-like fishes are to a certain extent independent of the osmotic pressure of the external medium, where- as the invertebrates have little if any means of protecting themselves. But what shall we say of the marine bony fishes (cod, mackerel, ete.) which, in contrast with the sharks and marine invertebrates, have an osmotic pressure of the blood considerably less than one-half of the sea water in which they live? Important changes in the blood have taken place, and in these fishes the gills have become practically impermeable barriers to the more highly concentrated outside medium. In spite of the fact that the sea water has an os- motic pressure of over twice that of the blood of these fishes, the diffusion of its salts is pre- vented. ‘The parts of the body exposed to the sea water of such high osmotic pressure are constantly bombarded, so to speak, by the high pressure without. The scales covered with the slimy membrane effectually prevent the changes taking place through the skin, the wall of the intestinal tract is equally efficient, and the gill membranes, through which the gaseous ex- changes must still take place between the blood and the water, are so modified that they also act as barriers to the high salt pressures with- out. In our study of the osmotic pressures of the blood we find no connecting links between the conditions found in sharks and those found in the bony fishes. It has been found that the osmotic pressure of the blood of fresh water bony fishes is slightly less than that of the salt water forms. The fresh water streams and lakes, in all prob- ability, became inhabited by forms which had their original home in the sea. In this adapta- tion the blood has become slightly modified from the condition found in the marine bony fishes. This would go to show that, whereas the bony fishes are practically immune to the ordinary high external pressures, yet extreme changes in these would produce some effect. Thus I found that the blood of the tantog living in brackish water at the New York Aquarium had an osmotic pressure slightly less than that of the same fishes living in the more concen- trated waters of Buzzards Bay. Furthermore, if the bony fishes are affected in no way by the changes in the osmotic pressure of the ex- ternal medium, then we would expect that the blood of the anadromous bony fishes, which go from the sea to fresh waters or back again, would remain practically stationary under these changed conditions. But this is not the case, for, as Greene found in the case of the Chinook salmon, the blood has a slightly lower osmotic pressure in the fresh waters of the spawning beds as compared with that in sea water. Dakin in England found the blood of the eel in fresh water slightly different from that of the same species in the sea. I have noted a similar condition in the white perch. The osmotic pressures of the blood of these ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 1093 THE AQUARIUM, MARINE PARK, BOSTON. By permission of the American Architect forms is not quite as high as that of exclusively marine nor as low as that of exclusively fresh water forms. The amphibians (or frogs, toads and sala- manders) are fish-like in the tadpole stage, and have about the same osmotic pressure of the blood as the fresh water fishes. It is of great interest to note that, when they emerge from the aquatic stage to lead a terrestrial life, they take with them on the land the same kind of blood which was developed in their fish-like bodies. We suppose that the reptiles arose from the Amphibia, and reptilian blood has an osmotic pressure quite similar to that of the frogs. The birds and mammals were divergent lines of evolution from the reptiles, and the os- motic pressure of the blood is similar to that which preceded. In this way we can explain the presence of salts in our own blood today. It is an inheritance carried along through all the ages during which the living world has evolved. It came about in the first place in the creation of living matter in the sea, and the salts of the sea played, and to this day play an important part in the processes which we call living. Professor A. B. MacCallum has shown that our blood today contains the same salts in the same proportions as they existed in the seas of primeval days. It becomes continually more evident that to properly understand man and the other mam- mals, we must study the lower forms, too. Scientists have already devoted a great deal of attention to structures; they will give more at- tention in the future to the study of the evolu- tion of living processes. NEW AQUARIUMS IN AMERICA AND EUROPE. WO American cities outside of New York have supplied themselves with public aqua- riums of considerable size. A photograph of the aquarium in Boston, opened about a year ago, is shown in this number of the Butietin. The building is attractive both inside and out, and is equipped with fresh and salt water tanks. The collection is small as compared with that of the New York Aquarium, but is well 1094 exhibited. The Boston Aquarium has been a popular institution from the start, and had, it is understood, nearly a million visitors the first year. The aquarium in Detroit, of which, unfortu- nately, no picture is available, was opened in 1904. The building is 260 feet long by 72 feet wide, and is now visited by more than a million persons a year. It contains both fresh and salt water equipment and collections. The aquarium in Philadelphia, which has been in operation for a couple of years, is situ- ated in Fairmount Park and is installed in an old building which originally formed part of the city water works. Although handicapped by its location in a structure of this kind, it is well patronized by the public, and additional and larger exhibition tanks are being installed. The new aquarium in Berlin, a picture of which is presented in this Bunievin, is situ- ated on the Kurfurstendamm, near the elephant gate of the Zoological gardens. It contains in the lower story the aquarium proper, the room being equally divided between fresh and _ salt water, with fourteen large tanks and twenty- five smaller ones. An upper floor is devoted to terraria, with nineteen large and about sixty smaller receptacles for reptiles and amphibians. A large glass-covered room is constructed to hold a tropical creek, with sandbanks upon which crocodiles may bask and pools in which turtles may swim about, while the border is planted with bamboo. The uppermost story houses an insectorium. In another portion of the same building are administration and service rooms and labora- tories for scientific study. In the basement are located the pumps and reservoirs for both fresh and salt water. A water tower contains distributing tanks which supply the aquaria with water directly. The public aquarium idea has taken a pretty firm hold in this country, and doubtless we shall soon have as many as Europe. The city of Chicago is now making great efforts for the establishment of an aquarium and will prob- ably have one before long. The Director of the New York Aquarium has been from time to time called upon to furnish information rela- tive to its equipment, to officials of most of the large cities in the country. There is every reason to believe that a large aquarium will be a feature of the coming Pan- ama Exposition in San Francisco, and certain public-spirited citizens are exerting themselves to have it made a permanent feature of the city of San Francisco. (Cas Gd ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN THE INCREASED UTILIZATION CARP. ROBABLY no fish has been the subject of more discussion regarding its edible quali- ties than has the German’carp. Moreover it would be difficult indeed to imagine a wider range of opinion in regard to the general econ- omic status of any fish. Among the adyocates of the carp there are those who consider it a delicacy; those who consider it a coarse food suitable especially for the poor, to whom it may afford a suflicient quantity of a meat diet at a low price, and those who value it only as a source of food for the game fishes. On the other hand, there are those who consider it as unfit for food for anyone at any price; who believe that it is highly destructive to our na- tive game and food fishes by devouring eggs, by destroying breeding places and by fouling the water; who mark it with the stigma of “spawn eater,’ and who would eradicate it from our waters entirely. OF The original home of the carp is in eastern Asia. Just when it was introduced into Eu- rope seems to be problematical, but it reached England as early as 1514. According to De- Kay it was introduced from France into the United States in 1831, by Henry Robinson, and was reared successfully by him in his ponds at Newburgh, N. Y. In 1872 Mr. J. A. Poppe introduced five small carp from Germany into his private ponds at Sonoma, California. The offspring of these fishes were distributed to numerous places in California and thus the carp industry of that State was established. (Report U. S. Commissioner of Fisheries for 1878.) The vogue in carp raising dates from 1877, when, under the influence of the late Professor Spencer F. Baird, then United States Com- missioner of Fisheries, they were again intro- duced and widely heralded as most desirable pond fish. Within a few years carp ponds be- came very common throughout the eastern and central states. As a rule the farmers who con- structed these ponds became discouraged in a short time, upon finding that the carp had to be fed if they were to grow and multiply rap- idly, and that when taken from stagnant, muddy ponds they did not possess as fine a flavor as they had been led to expect. The breaking of dikes and water gates in time of freshets per- mitted the carp to escape to the streams and lakes, where they at once proceeded to estab- lish themselves. They have now become so widely distributed in the larger lakes and streams that their eradi- ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN cation is impossible, however desirable such a project might be. Like that uncontrollable pest, the English sparrow, they have come to stay. However, the carp is not, like the spar- row, an unmitigated nuisance. It is true that he sometimes eats the eggs and destroys the breeding places of more desirable fishes and disturbs the waters continually, but at the same time the carnivorous fishes take a heavy toll of young carp for food. But what is of much greater importance, the carp is gradually find- ing a market, especially in the larger cities, that bids fair to have a place in the much-dis- cussed reduction of the high cost of living. Just how important this is becoming may best be judged by recent published reports. Thus carp are stated to be the most valuable commercial fish of the Illinois River, which yields a total annual product of twenty-four million pounds of fish. One hundred and fifty tons of carp are reported to have been taken thus far this season in the Kalamazoo River, Michigan. Sandusky, Ohio, is a great center for the carp industry, and supplies especially the large eastern markets of New York and Philadelphia. A new type of fishing industry has grown up in connection with the shipment of live carp from Sandusky, especially to the eastern mar- kets. Although this business is now only about three years old, it is estimated that from 500,000 to 1,000,000 pounds of live carp are now shipped annually from Sandusky, in which place this work has become one of the most important lines of the fish industry. The meth- ods employed are outlined in the Fishing Ga- zette (January 3, 1914). Shipping the living fish in quantity to a dis- tance of 600 miles appeared at first to be a difficult problem, and the first attempt, made some three years ago, to send a carload of 6,000 pounds met with so little success that only 100 pounds remained alive when the car reached its destination. Specially built cars, provided with tanks in which the water can be aerated with an air pump and in which the temperature can be regulated, have at last solved the problem so satisfactorily that now seldom more than 100 pounds are lost in a car- load of 6,000 to 10,000 pounds. Several cars are loaded each week at Sandusky and are rushed through by fast express. The extensive marshes and shallow water areas, together with the slow flowing streams about Sandusky Bay, are the chief sources of these carp. When caught, the fishes are held in pounds and large live cars until they can 1095 be shipped, and shipments are made all the year round except when the ice prevents the removal of the carp from the pens. As the carp are worth only four and one-half to six cents per pound at Sandusky and bring fifteen to twenty cents per pound alive in the eastern markets, there is still considerable room for profit after transportation charges are deduct- ed. When the carp are shipped dead they bring only five to eight cents per pound on the New York markets, so there is left an extra margin of about ten cents per pound to pay for the greater expense of handling them alive. Fur- thermore, there can be no doubt that they are far more edible when shipped alive, as they are given time in the pens and during transit to get rid of the mud from the intestines, which causes the flesh to be so permeated with its ill flavors when carp are allowed to die imme- diately after they are caught. Under favorable conditions carp reach a marketable size in one year, sometimes attain- ing the length of one foot in nine or ten months. A three-year-old has been known to weigh thirty pounds, though an average weight at this age is probably only about three or four pounds. According to Dr. T. H. Bean (Fishes of New York) the carp increases in size up to the thirty-fifth year and has been known to reach a weight of ninety pounds. The carp will spawn when one year old and, as a four or five-pound female will produce 400,000 to 500,000 eggs, the rapid increase of the species in favorable conditions is easily understood. While carp will eat almost anything, they live chiefly on vegetable food and may be fed on the coarsest diet, such as cabbage, potatoes, corn, ete. Apparently the rate of growth is depend- ent chiefly on the amount of food they can con- sume and there seems to be no limit to their ap- petites. While they are found to some extent in clear streams and rivers, they seem to thrive best in the sluggish back waters and bayous of slow flowing streams, and in marshes that are often almost uninhabitable by any other food fish. Thus it happens that the chief centers of the carp industry are found in such places as the Illinois River and the extensive marshes of northern Indiana, Ohio and southern Michigan. If they would only limit their distribution to such localities no one would have the least cause for complaint. Because of the habits of the carp the flesh is usually somewhat ill-flavored and muddy to the taste, unless proper care has been taken to rid it of this objectionable quality. If the freshly caught fish is thoroughly bled and cleaned at 1096 ZOOLOGICAL once when taken and then placed in salt water for a few hours, the muddy taste disappears; but it should never be allowed to lie with the entrails and blood in it. Still better is the method of keeping them alive in pure water for a few days until the intestine has been emp- tied and the blood purified as in the process of marketing alive. Dr. E. E. Prince, Dominion Commissioner of Fisheries, in his annual report has taken up the cudgels against the further introduction of carp into Canada. In stating the arguments for and against this fish Dr. Prince admits the follow- ing points in favor of the carp: 1. It has some value in the United States markets and is regarded by some persons as possessing edible qualities. 2. There are inferior waters adapted for carp culture. 3. They are reared with little difficulty. 4. They are very prolific and grow rapidly on very poor food. 5. Some anglers find carp fishing an enjoy- able pastime. Against these he opposes the following argu- ments: 1. The cool, pure waters of Canada are well adapted for fishes superior in quality to the carp. 2. Carp are nomadic in their habits and, like undesirable weeds, spread everywhere. 3. They are voracious and omnivorous. 4. Their market value (in Canada) can never be great. 5. They consume the food of better fish and multiply so fast that they are injurious and even destructive to the better kinds. 6. They ruin the waters by destroying vege- tation, rooting up the banks and disturbing the bottom. 7. They are destructive spawn eaters and no spawning ground is safe from their attacks. 8. They are especially subject to parasites and contagious fish diseases. Mr. Louis Radcliffe, of the Bureau of Fish- eries, defends the carp (Fishing Gazette, Jan- uary 31, 1914) in reply to Dr. Prince’s attack, and gives figures showing the rapid growth and great importance of the industry. In 1908, Mr. Radcliffe points out, with figures taken from the census report, the yield, of carp amounted to 42,768,000 pounds, valued at $1,135,000, equal to 2 per cent. of the total value of all fisheries products, including shell- fish, ete. From seven of our inland states, I]- linois, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin, Towa and Minnesota, were taken nearly a mil- SOCIETY BULLETIN lion dollars’ worth of this fish. In Illinois the value of the carp was greater than that of all other species combined. Even in 1908—and the carp industry has increased rapidly since that time—the carp was outranked in val- ue in the United States by only six species, viz.: salmon, cod, shad, squeteague, halibut, and haddock. Probably Professor Prince is quite right in arguing that no fish culturist should determine to introduce these fish without fully considering the grave possibilities associated with their eul- tivation, and perhaps it would have been better if the carp had never been introduced into American waters. However, since they are here and since there is no possible means of getting rid of them, and since they will prob- ably spread throughout our waters in the course of time, it is encouraging to note that these fish are beginning to find favor in the market, that the demand for them is steadily increasing, and that the method of marketing them alive has been perfected, thus insuring a much better ar- ticle of diet than when handled in any other manner. From the standpoint of the sportsman the carp undoubtedly makes a nuisance of himself by destroying the spawn and food of the more desirable game fishes, and perhaps he may even prove to be a serious menace to fishing indus- tries based on the more desirable food fishes of the fresh waters. However, if this much maligned alien will only help to solve that ever increasing and difficult problem, the high cost of living, for the considerable portion of our population who are not anglers and who are unable to afford the more costly foods, he may prove in the end a not altogether undesirable citizen. R. C. Ossurn. EUROPEAN BLIND SALAMANDER. LONG with other material from Europe, received early in December, were two liv- ing specimens of the blind cave salaman- der (Proteus anguinus). The family Proteidae, to which this salamander belongs, is, so far as known, limited to three species, each belonging to a different genus. The other species are the common mud puppy (Necturus maculatus) of eastern North America, and the blind sala- mander (T'yphlomolge rathbuni) from artesian wells of Texas. The mud puppy is always kept on exhibition in some numbers at the Aquarium. While they are nocturnal in habit the eyes are fairly well ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN EUROPEAN BLIND SALAMANDERS developed, although, as in the others of the family, there are no eyelids. The subterranean Typhlomolge from ‘Texas, which is entirely blind, has been exhibited twice at the New York Aquarium, the specimens coming from deep artesian wells at San Marcos. The Proteus has not before been exhibited. This species inhabits subterranean waters of Carniola, Carinthia and Dalmatia, about the head of the Adriatic Sea. “The vast caves of Adelsburg, not far from Trieste, are especially celebrated for the occurrence .... of this ani- mal. The river Poik disappears into the lime- stone hills and rushes through enormous stalac- tite grottoes . . . . There deep down below the surface, in absolute darkness, in an almost con- stant temperature of about fifty degrees Fah- renheit, is the home of Proteus.” The species reaches nearly a foot in length and our largest specimen is about nine inches long. As might be expected in the case of a cave species, the body is colorless, except that the blood gives a slight pinkish tinge to the body, and the three pairs of external gills are brilliant carmine. According to Gadow, quoted above, “the white skin is almost as susceptible to light as is a photographic plate. If light is not absolutely excluded the white skin becomes in time cloudy, and if exposed to strong light the whole animal turns ultimately jet black.” Though our two specimens have been kept in the same tank, exposed to strong daylight since their arrival on December second, one of them shows no indication whatever of any color change. The other specimen has become almost uniformly light grey. 1097 Although constant effort has been made to induce our specimens to feed, they have as yet eaten nothing; but, according to Gadow, speci- mens are known to have existed for years with- out taking any nourishment. They swim read- ily in an eel-like manner in the aquarium jar. Occasionally they may rise to the surface to take a new supply of air into the lungs, after which they usually drop without any muscular action toward the bottom. Sometimes they may come to rest upon the plants in the aquarium, and may remain in this position for some time without moving. ’ The limbs of this species are very small and degenerate. The fore limbs are provided with three toes. The hind limbs, which are some- what smaller, have but two toes. The vestigial eyes are entirely covered by the skin of the head, and thus are scarcely visible. The tail is strongly keeled above and below, for the pur- pose of swimming. In the aquarium tank they appear much more active than the mud puppy, crawling about over the vegetation and occa- sionally swimming actively. Another publication in this series has just made its appearance under the title, “The Care of Home Aquaria,” prepared by Dr. Raymond C. Osburn, Assistant Director of the Aquarium. Ever since the opening of the New York Aqua- rium there have been constant calls for informa- tion in regard to this subject. In the New York Zoological Society Butietin for April, 1908, Director Townsend gave a brief discus- sion of the subject. The Burierr for March, 1912, was entirely devoted to a discussion of “The Balanced Aquarium,” by Dr. Osburn, but the edition of fifteen hundred copies was ex- hausted by sales at the door within a few months. Still the demands for information did not cease and to meet this need the present work, 1098 ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN AN OLD PRINT OF THE AQUARIUM BUILDING which is an amplification of the article in the 1912 BuLuetin, was prepared and is now of- fered for sale. The volume of sixty-four pages with twenty-nine cuts, is devoted especially to the methods of setting up, stocking and caring for balanced aquaria suitable for the home and classroom. Some of the topics discussed are: The meaning of balance, temperature, planting the aquarium, stocking the aquarium, feeding, cleaning, marine aquaria, diseases and parasites, etc., ete. The booklet in paper cover may be obtained from the New York Aquarium for twenty-five cents. ANOTHER OLD PRINT AQUARIUM. The Aquarium building, long known as Castle Garden, has been put to many uses and sub- jected to many alterations in its century of service. The Aquarium library has gradually acquired a collection of old time prints which present many different aspects of the strue- ture. Originally it was a circular fort. During the many years when it was used as a landing place for immigrants it acquired superstructures and OF THE was surrounded by accessory buildings. When it became an Aquarium the upper story was re- modeled to some extent and the surrounding buildings removed. Prior to 1869 it was brought within the limits of Battery Park by the filling in of the shallows and the construc- tion of the sea wall which now encloses it. Some of the prints referred to have been re- published in the bulletins and annual reports of the New York Zoological Society, as follows: Butietin, April, 1907; April, 1908; March, 1910; AnnuaL Report, 1906. A photograph of the bronze tablet placed on the building in 1909 will be found in the BuLtetin for March, 1910. The date of the print reproduced in this num- ber of the Butietin is not set forth on the print, but it was of course prior to 1869. CC) Her: ATTENDANCE AT THE AQUARIUM. During the year 1913, the total attendance at the New York Aquarium was 2,205,729. This is an average of more than six thousand persons a day. The attendance has increased slowly from year to year, notwithstanding the fact that the exhibits cannot be increased nor greatly altered in the present building. GENERAL INFORMATION MEMBERSHIP IN THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Membership in the Zoological Society is open to all interested in the objects of the organiza- tion, who desire to contribute toward its support. The cost of Annual Membership is $10 per year, which entitles the holder to admission to the Zoological Park on all pay days, when he may see the collections to the best advantage Members are entitled to the Annual Reports, bi-monthly Bulletins, Zoologica, privileges of the Administration Building, all lectures and special exhibitions, and ten complimentary tickets to the Zoological Park for distribution. Any Annual Member may become a Life Member by the payment of $200. A subscriber of $1,000 becomes a Patron; $2,500, an Associate Founder; $5,000, a Founder; $10,000, a Founder in Perpetuity, and $25,000, a Benefactor. ZOOLOGICAL PARK. The Zoological Park is open every day in the year, free, except Monday and Thursday of each week, when admission is charged. Should either of these days fall on a holiday no admis- sion fee is charged. From May 1 to November 1, the opening and closing hours are from 9 o'clock A. M. until one-half hour before sunset. From November 1 to May 1, the opening and closing hours are from 10 o’clock A. M. until one-half hour before sunset. Applications for membership may be given to the Chief Clerk, in the Zoological Park; C. H. Townsend, N. Y. Aquarium, Battery Park, New York City, or forwarded to the General Secretary, No. 11 Wall Street, New York City. NEW YORK AQUARIUM. The Aquarium is open every day in the year: April 15 to October 15, from 9 o'clock A. M. to 5 o’clock P. M.; October 16 to April 14, from 10 o’clock A. M. to 4 o'clock P. M. No admission is charged. PUBLICATIONS Annual Report No. 1............. Paper $ .40 Sea-Shore Life (Mayer) stan Sooke Cloth 1,20 A % Bee Rae or Narersy ees 3, cre % .75 Cloth $1.00 The National Collection of Heads “ Ae eo 7 “ orns. (Hornaday) arge 3 and 4, each, -40 -60 Quarto. Parts land 2, each... Paper 1.00 6 e . ae Haut Bulletin Nos. 1 and 6........... Out of Print “ EURer a) ne gonala” ¢s 1.00 “ 1.25 Bulletins—Bi-monthly .......20c, each; Yearly by Mail 1.00 “ TAU) Peek GQ. et ae 1.25 “ 1.50 “ “ : 11, 12, 13, 14, Bulletin Nos. 5 to 23 inclusive Set, cloth bound, .... 5.00 hy Beh CELA SG COS cmGuEG neo aD Official Guide to the New York Zoological Park (Hornaday) Our Vanishing Wild Life (Horna- ———s—s—si tt tt nner eee eee eee eee e ene e teen eeeeee 25 Gag) BDOSUD AAG. stosieieis ps )e\e setetelcs ss 1.65 Souvenir Books: Series No. 2, 36 pages, 544 x 714 inches, 33 Destruction of Our Birds and full page illustrations in colors. Price, 25c.; Mammals (Hornaday) ........ - 15 postage 3c. Notes on Mountain Sheep of Series No. 3, 48 pages, 7x9 inches, 73 illustra- North America (Hornaday).... “ -40 tions from four color plates. Price 50c., post- The Caribou (Grant) ........... a 40 -60 Beale: The Origin and Relationship of Souvenir Postal Cards: Series of 72 subjects in colors, sold the Large Mammals of North in sets of 24 cards, assorted subjects, for 25 America (Grant) ..........--. see I200 cents; postage 2 cents per set. The Rocky Mountain Goat (Grant) ee 1.00 Photogravures: Series of 12 subjects in sepia. Animals and . views in the Zoological Park. Sold in sets Zoologica Vol. 1. Nos. 1-11 inclu- of 2 subjects. Price 25 cents per set; sent RUGE ROliote cieisiniststeiete ts niater siren nis ’ 2.30 postpaid. Publications for sale at the Zoological Park and at the New York Aquarium. f Jot. XVII. No. 3 MAY, 1914 — on > “SOCIETY BULLETIN Published b y THE NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY Z3 i) aM im NATRONA MOANA CNC AN MOO TMT CHGS SST MSHA mm Officers of the New Uork Zoological Soriety President Henry Farrrietp Osgorn. First Vice-President Serond Vice-President Samvet THorne. Joun L. Capwavaper.* Secretary Treasurer Mapison Grant, 11 Wall Street. Percy R. Pyne, 30 Pine Street. Executive Committee Mapison Grant, Chairman. Percy R. Pyne, SamMvueL THORNE, Frank K. Srvurais, Wirtuiam Wuire NILes, Wma. Pierson Hamitton, LisPENARD STEWART, Watson B. Dickerman, Henry Farrrietp Ossorn, Ex Officio. Board of Managers Ex Officio The Mayor of the City of New York. The Present of the Department of Parks. Class cf 1915 Levi P. Morron, Wituiam Wuirte Nites, Greorce J. Goutp, ANDREW CARNEGIE, SaMuEL THORNE, Ocpen MILLs, Joun L. CapwaLaper,* Henry A. C. Taytor, Lewis Rutruerrorp Morris, Mapison GRANT, Frank K. Strurais, ArcuHer M. Huntineton. Class of 1916 F. Aveustus ScHERMERHORN, CuireveLanp H. Doner, Emerson McMituin, Percy R. Pyne, C. Lepyarp Brair, AntTuony R. Kuser, Georce B. GrinneE.Lt, Freperick G. Bourne, Watson B. DickerMaAN, Georce C. Crark, W. Austin WapswortnH, Mortimer L. Scuirr. Class of 1917 Henry Farrrietp Osporn, Cuartes F. Dierericn, Wo. Pierson Hamitton, Witiiam C. Cuurcn, James J. Hit, Rosert S. Brewster, LisPENARD STEWART, Georce F. Baker, Epwarp S. Harkness, H. Casrir pe Ruan, Grant B. Scutey, Wiriiam B. Oscoop Fre.tp. General Officers Wituiam T. Hornavay, Director of the Park. Cuarues H. Townsenp, Director of the Aquarium. La Farce & Morris, Architects. H. De B. Parsons, Consulting Engineer. Dr. Georce S. Huntineton, Prosector. Officers of the Zoological Park Witiiam T. Hornapay, Director. H. R. MitrcuHett, C. Witi1am Berese, H. W. Merket, G. M. Beersower, Raymonp L. Dirmars, L. S. Cranpatt, W. Rem Braire, Winriam MircHetr, Exiwin R. Sanporn. Officers of the Aquarium Cuartes H. Townsenp, Director. Raymonp C. Oseurn, Assistant. Wasuinectron I. DeNyse. Roxpert SuTcuLiFFe. * Deceased. ee ee ee Te a, ZOO twOoG YP CAL SOCLETY. BULLE CONTENTS FOR MAY, 1914 Sea Guitt Monument in Sacr Lake Ciry.. A Trisute To THE Sea Guin Goriutas IN THEIR Own JUNGLE .... Mepat ror Dr. Hornapay War with THE FratHerR TRADE .... eee CarRNEGIE PENSION FUND .............- : { Joun LaMBERT CADWALADER..... Opitvuary: VJoun ET ONGsR DI EIORD i eens eee es ne : Trickery By tHe Lonpon Frearuer TRADE... .... CSO eS Oe INiWwiMinntBRS) foe tent Be ee nO Se ea b ten Blvems or INTEREST WW Seen AGS | COBBAN see... pak ie eer ee een aD , CuHaNGEs IN Pevace or SamBar Derr ............. ‘1 Dreuah cea wonine CONg) Gurstiop |) Bey om o8 | G-(oXo}<) 0) eee esenmee te aentseer IIIS SOO NUH UN nnND ea eerane i es eee SESE ATENDCTER TENT Gemee ESO SOV Tene a nT COHAN Stas ete eS a a eat ea ee St ect csn ne nseicortvinctaletsccurnbdcncodens se PAGE Frontispiece 1101 1102 1104 1105 1107 1108 1108 1108 1109 abi tal 1112 11138 Seton scre se 1115 sscrcomsabeee 1116 SEA GULL MONUMENT IN SALT LAKE CITY Erected in remembrance of the gulls that saved the crops from destructive insects. om = S S = = Z Published by the New York Zoological Socie . MAY @ 1914 Wr, Sion Muses’ Vou. XVII MAY, 1914 NuMBER 3 A TRIBUTE TO THE SEA GULL By G. O. Sutewps. ISITORS to Salt Lake City will hereafter V have the privilege of beholding the first monument ever erected by grateful peo- ple to any bird. We have monuments all over the civilized world, commemorating the deeds of great men and events of every sort, but never before has man expressed his apprecia- tion of the work of insect-eating birds by such a tribute. A photograph of the Gull monument is shown as the frontispiece of this issue of the Butie- tin, and herewith appear two of the bronze tablets which decorate two sides of the pedestal. The story that the monument stands for is interesting, quite to the verge of romance. In 1848, a year after the first pioneers had set- tled in the great Salt Lake Valley, when their first wheat crops were growing and represented well-nigh the sole sustenance of the colony for the coming year, the tradition exists that hordes of grasshoppers descended from the adjacent mountains and began to devour the grain and everything else that was green in the valley. The pests moved in a line that was miles in length, like a great army going into battle, and devoured every vestige of vegetation, leaving the ground behind them looking like a bed of ashes. The settlers were heartbroken, and panic-stricken, because they saw starvation stalking behind them. Down at the lake, a few miles away, so the legend goes. were thousands of snow-white herring gulls, and the visitation of grasshop- pers did not long eseape their keen eyes. There was a great commotion among the flock of gulls, and those flying in the air in every direction seemed to be calling to their mates to go to the fields and help destroy the insects. The birds soon located the invading army, circled over and about it, then swooped down upon it and began to devour it. The insects were powerless to offer resistance, and the birds scooped them up literally by millions. As fast as the foragers loaded their crops to their full capacity, they took wing and flew away to the banks of a neighboring creek, to digest their great load of grasshoppers, while others took their places in the work of destruction. And so the slaughter went on through the day. At night the gulls returned to the lake, but at dawn the next morning they were again on the scene of action; and they continued until the army of grasshoppers was literally annihilated. The pioneer farmers and their wives were filled with gratitude, and many of them fell on their knees and returned thanks for their de- liverance from the starvation that had stared them in the face. From that day to this, the descendants of these early settlers have held the gulls in grateful memory. It has been generally known throughout the state of Utah that any man or boy who would dare to kill one of these birds would be liable to pay the penalty with his own life, and so far as is known, in all these years no one ever has killed one of these birds in that state. A few years ago the gratitude of the people of Salt Lake City to their deliverers took tangible shape. A young newspaper reporter, named Isaac Russell, and who is now on the New York Times, wrote a Christmas story for Aeaonian retitage > 1102 ZOOLOGICAT, SOCIETY BULLETIN THE;}DESTRUCTION OF THE CROPS AND THE COMING OF THE GULLS. one of the Salt Lake City papers in which he recounted the great achievement of the gulls, and said that the people who were directly interested should build a monument to that species. Fisher Harris, who was Secretary of the Commercial Club, at once took up the sugges- tion, and started a movement among the well- to-do people. which resulted in the raising of $40,000, with which to defray the cost of a monument. Mahonri Young, a young sculptor and a grandson of Brigahm Young, now a_ resident of New York City, was commissioned to de- sign and build the monument. He performed his task sympathetically and well, and the re- sult was unveiled October 1, 1913. The monument consists of a granite shaft fifteen feet high, on top of which rests a great ball, and on this two gulls in gilded bronze, are in the act of alighting. The pedestal bears four historic bronze plaques, in relief, and is surrounded by a fountain forty feet in diam- eter, in which goldfish disport themselves, and lilies and other water plants are growing. The people of the state of Utah have thus set an example for the world; but unfortunately there are few instances where birds have been permitted to work out the complete salvation of the farmer from his insect enemies. The birds are trying it every day, all over the land, but they are met at every turn by bloodthirsty REAPING THE HARVEST. men and boys, armed with guns and reenforced by dogs, and the majority of the farmers whose property these birds are trying to protect, al- low the vandals to range over their fields far and wide, and hunt the birds to death. GORILLAS IN THEIR OWN JUNGLE. URING the past twenty years I have. from time to time, kept gorillas on my premises for the purpose of studying their vocal sounds, habits and mental faculties. In all, I have had twelve specimens, and some of these for several months in succession. Be- sides this I have spent most of that time in the chief centers of gorilla populations, where many good opportunities were afforded for studying them in a state of nature. From these various sources I have gathered many facts not gen- erally known to the scientific world: but the space here available precludes an elaborate re- port of them. I shall therefore confine myself to a brief account of two specimens that I have on hand at this time. “Dinah” is a young female, now apparently about three years of age, and beyond question, is the finest specimen of her race that I have ever seen in captivity. As a rule, the gorilla is stoical, morose, often sullen, and evinces a strong aversion to human society. Some individuals, even after months ZOOLOGICAL of patient care and kindness, remain spiteful and ferocious; but “Dinah” is a conspicuous ex- ception to the rule. When I first acquired her, a few days after she was captured, she was as vicious and savage as any that I have ever seen; but now, after five months in captivity, she is as tame and playful as a house cat. “Dinah” is the only gorilla that I have ever known to attempt a laugh or even a smile; but she does both. When tickled under the arms or on the bottom of the foot, she chuckles aud- ibly, in a manner closely verging on a real laugh, and she seems to enjoy being tickled. She is a real tomboy, and often challenges me for a romp. Frequently when I enter her big cage, she climbs upon my shoulders or head. or slaps my cheeks in a most human-like fash- ion, beats a tattoo on my back, or snatches off my hat as a mischievous boy would do. She has a real sense of humor, and it often mani- fests itself in pranks which clearly indicate that she is conscious of being funny. Her varied poses on the trapeze are quite unique, and some of them would arouse the envy of a professional acrobat. She often indulges in a game of solitaire football. She clutches a bunch of straw between her feet, and, using her arms as crutches, rushes across the floor of her long cage, tosses the wisp against the wall, then catches it in her hands and scuffles with it in a boisterous manner, as though it were some living thing trying to get away from her. After a bout or two at this she occasion- ally rises to an erect position and beats a rous- ing tattoo on her breast with her hands; strik- ing alternately, with surprising rapidity and force. To watch her movements and expression in searching for the gorilla behind a mirror is not only amusing, but is a study of animal psychics worthy of attention. With great cau- tion she reaches her arm around the mirror and feels for the image. Not finding it, she peeps over, and under and around the sides of the glass. To her it is a strange elusive ape, and she has never become convinced that it is not a real gorilla. The interest, anxiety and dis- appointment in turn depicted in her black face are too human-like to be imagined on the visage of an ape, but she never tires of the futile search. Nothing else that she sees seems to interest and absorb her so profoundly as that mysteriously vanishing gorilla behind the mirror. The companion of “Dinah” is a young male, perhaps not more than eight or nine months old. Because of his persistent habit of charging at SOCIETY BULLETIN 11038 windmills in the early days of his captivity, I named him Don, in honor of Don Quixote, whose historic capers he so zealously emulates. Don is a timid little waif; but not malicious. His nerves are highly strung and he is very easily excited, but gradually he is becoming more tame as he becomes accustomed to his new surroundings. However, in three months he has made less progress along that line than Dinah did in half the time, although she was much less tractable at first than he was. A practical joke that seems to afford her great amusement is frequently played upon her little companion. While he sits quietly nib- bling at some morsel of food, she rushes across the cage and in passing him, throws out one leg, hooks her foot about his neck and tumbles him sprawling on the floor. He invariably cries, and sometimes swears; whereupon she runs to him, helps him up, caresses him in a motherly fashion, and then repeats the joke, perhaps a dozen times in a day. The difference in temperament in these two apes is as distinct and pronounced as that of any two human children of corresponding ages. Dinah is a real rollicking rowdy, with an air of “rough house’ in every act and gesture, while Don is as prim and stoical as a wooden Indian. Nothing resembling a smile ever soft- ens the rigidity of his spectral countenance and the deep searching stare of his grave eyes is like that of an inquisitor. Dinah is as fat and buxom as a pet pig, and eats like a gourmand, while Don is as lean as a lath, and breaks and minces his food as daintly as an epicure. She eats five or six times as much as he does, and if not constantly watched while eating she in- variably rebs him of whatever he has. In so far as their dietary is concerned, both of these apes are now fairly well civilized, which is a great consummation. ‘They both eat bread, various kinds of cooked meats either fresh or cured, sweet bananas, mangoes, pine- apples and other cultivated fruits in certain stages of ripeness. Nevertheless, they are rather capricious and sometimes fastidious about their food. At one time they will eat the crust of bread and refuse the crumbs, and at other times they exactly reverse this order. Occasionally they will eat both, and in these whims they do not always act concurrently. Sometimes they eat the succulent part of bananas, at other times only the skin, and at still others they eat only the thin inner lining of the skin. On many occasions they bite off the points and eat them, while at other times they peel the fruit, break it in two about the 1104 ZOOLOGICAL middle, take a bite from each of the freshly- broken ends and throw the rest away. They are both especially fond of uncooked ham and also of roast or ragout of chicken; but they do not relish fried meats, if they can get other kinds; although sometimes they eat fried bacon. The universal notion that gorillas are vege- tarians is, in my opinion, an egregious error. Nearly all of my gorillas have been meat-eaters and I have had abundant evidence in the jun- gle that it is a general habit. A fact well worthy of notice is that almost every item of vegetable food chosen by the gorilla in a wild state is of a distinctly bitter, acid or pungent taste, and some are even acrid. I know many of the plants that constitute a large part of their diet, and I do not know of one with a sweet flavor and but few neutral ones. This is my first methodic attempt to change the dietary of the gorilla; and thus far the ex- periment has been successful. Just what effect, if any, the change may ultimately have on their health and longevity, is difficult to predict, but up to this stage it appears to be salutary. R. L. Garner. Fernan Vaz, French Congo Territory. LADIES’ AND MEMBERS’ DAYS. Members’ Day will be observed at the Zoo- logical Park on May 21, 1914. Good music will be provided and refreshments served. Ar- rangements also have been made to serve tea to the members of the Society on the afternoons of May 28, June 4 and June 11, at the Ad- ministration Building in the Zoological Park. Ladies’ Day will be observed on May 14. 1914. RECEPTION AT THE AQUARIUM. A reception will be given the members of the Zoological Society at the New York Aqua- rium at 8:30 o'clock of the evening of May 4, 1914. This is the first of such functions that hereafter will be held annually. Music will be provided and refreshments served. Each ticket will admit three persons; the bearer and two guests. All responses should be forward- ed to the Secretary of the Society, 11 Wall Street. AWARDS A MEDAL DR. HORNADAY. An event of recent occurrence in France is of unusual interest to American protectors of birds. On March 28, 1914, there was _ be- FRANCE TO SOCIETY BULLETIN stowed upon Dr. W. T. Hornaday, at Paris, a gold medal for international work in the pres- ervation of wild life. In view of the numerous enemies that the protection work of Dr. Horn- aday has made for him, both at home and abroad, the action of the two affiliated French societies in making the award forms an agree- able counterpoise. As given by the Secretary of the French National League for the Protection of Birds, the title of the medal is “Grande Medaille Hors Classe,” bearing the effigy of Isidore Geoffroy St. Hilaire. It was awarded jointly by the National Acclimatation Society, which is really the leading Zoological Society of France, and the affiliated French National League for the Protection of Birds, “for inter- national work in the protection of wild life.” Of course this “international work’’ relates to the enactment of our law for the suppression of feather-millinery in this country. In awarding this medal, the two National Societies named have taken a very bold stand against the feather trade of France and the world at large. Before the award of the medal was decided upon, the two Societies named were approached by the feather dealers, and requested to form a “Committee for the Eco- nomic Study of Birds,” similar to that which was formed in England by the feather trade. After fully considering the facts and argu- ments that were presented, the joint Council of the two Societies reported, unanimously, that “the evidence submitted to the Congress of the United States and Parliament of Great Britain, against the continuance of the trade in wild birds’ plumage, is reliable and conclusive,’ and the two Societies firmly declared themselves un- willing to co-operate in any way in the forma- tion of the dilatory Committee of Economic Study that was proposed. The next action was a decision to award the Society's Grand Gold Medal of Honor to Dr. Hornaday. It was first proposed that the medal should be awarded at the joint annual meeting of the Acclimatation Society and League for the Pro- tection of Birds, to be held on March 29, at the Museum of Natural History, in Paris; and the American Ambassador, Mr. Myron T. Her- rick, had promised to attend and receive it. The President of the Republic, and the Min- ister of the Colonies who was to take the chair, had engaged to attend, with the Ambassadors of several foreign powers. The plume-traders’ syndicate, having heard of this, apprized the Government that if the medal was delivered at the public meeting, “it was to be expected ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN that the workmen of the plume trade would in some violent manner publicly manifest their disapprobation.” The feather trade strenuous- ly objected to the presence of President Poin- care at the presentation, even though he is known to be in sympathy with the work of the two Societies in the preservation of the birds of the world. In order to avoid an unpleasant episode, the officers of the two Societies reluc- tantly decided to alter their program some- what; but it is reported that “the American Ambassador acted most gallantly in the mat- ter, saying that in any event he would attend the meeting and if any stones were to be thrown he wished to take his share.” The presentation of the medal was made at the American Embassy, on March 29, by a delegation of officers from the two Societies, composed as follows: Mr. Edmond Perrier, Member of the Insti- tute of France, President of the Acclima- tation Society of France. Mr. Magaud d’Aubusson, President of the League for the Protection of Birds (sub- section of Ornithology of the Acclimata- tion Society ). Mr. A. Chappelier, Secretary of the League. Mr. Maurice Loyer, General Secretary of the Acclimatation Society. Mr. Pierre Amedee Pichot, Honorary Mem- ber of the Council. Mr. Ch. Debreuil, Member of the Council. On receiving the medal, Ambassador Her- rick made the followimg response: “In awarding an honorary medal of your Society, one of the most distinguished of France, to a citizen of the United States of America, you are honoring the Nation as well as the person upon whom such distinction is conferred, and it affords me special and par- ticular satisfaction to receive your medal on this occasion in behalf of Dr. William T, Horn- aday, who greatly regrets that his lectures at Yale University prevents him from being pres- ent, so as to receive it personally. “The fact that this eminent Society has deigned to bestow such an honor in recognition of services rendered to the cause of bird pro- tection throughout the world, is most signifi- cant. It indicates that the destruction of wild animals, pursued in all parts of the world, has assumed so grave an aspect that it has attracted the attention of scientists, of statesmen and of society in general. “In awarding your honorary medal to one of the most ardent champions of your cause in 1105 the world, unremittingly engaged in the de- fense of wild birds and animals in their pain- ful conditions of existence, the Acclimatation Society of France has boldly challenged the persistent demands of fashion, and expressed, in a manner that cannot be misunderstood, its desire to see the slaughter of wild birds for the sake of trade come to an end. “The American people, having witnessed the brutal destruction of the vast herds of buffaloes and deer, as well as of wild birds, desired that law and order with regard to those mat- ters should prevail in their own country, al- though it could not be done without strife, and they will know how to fully appreciate the moral courage which has resulted in this act on your part, which will be approved by all those whose judgment is based on a_broad- minded and impartial examination into this matter. “In behalf of Dr. William T. Hornaday, it becomes my pleasant duty to thank you fer your appreciation of his services, and to assure you that he will continue to devote his efforts to this noble cause, and persist in his attempts to save from destruction the animals and birds, —so beautiful and useful,—which are now be- ing slaughtered without pity or mercy.” It is well to point out clearly the courage of the leading zoologists of France in mak- ing this award, in the face of the feeling in Paris against us on the part of the feather trade. Even when it was privately announced that the medal was to be awarded, there were those who did not believe that it ever would come to pass, because of the probability that the feather trade of Paris would object so strongly that the idea would have to be aban- doned. It seems, however, that the zoologists and ornithologists of Paris have quite as much courage and determination as the leaders of the feather trade. Naturally this episode is keenly interesting to all American defenders of birds, and it affords good grounds for the belief that eventually the zoologists of France will bring the French nation up to the highest level in this cause. Mapison GRAnv. A NEW ANGLE IN THE WAR WITH THE FEATHER TRADE. In sharp contrast with the courageous action of the French bird protectionists, there comes to the New York Times the following cable news of the struggle that is being made in the British House of Commons to defeat the excel- Engine Room PHREE VIEWS IN THE NEW WORK SHOPS IN THE ZOOLOGICAL PARK ZOOLOGICAL lent Hobhouse bill. The last paragraph shows that the “defeat” is not nearly so serious as the first paragraph implies. Wis el “Lonpon, April 25.—The Government has been defeated on the Plumage bill, designed on lines similar to the measure enacted in the United States last year, and certain amendments have now been introduced which make it value- less for the purpose originally intended. “To a certain extent the suffragettes must be held responsible. Mr. Glyn Jones moved an amendment that the expression ‘person’ should not include any woman over 21 years of age. He said it would be going too far to dictate to an adult woman as to what she should wear in hats. “The Government, he said, must give women either feathers or votes. The bill, as it stood. would present to suffragettes the easiest road into jail which could possibly be devised. If it became a law many thousands of women would adopt as the emblem of their great or- ganization a cheap foreign feather, and would probably be seen walking with it in their hats round the Houses of Parliament to show their contempt of Parliament. “Mr. Glyn Jones finally altered his amend- ment so that the expression ‘person’ should not include any woman unless engaged in the im- porting, buying or selling of plumage. This amendment was carried, and women will still be able to wear feathers without the prospect of being fined or imprisoned. “The provisions of the bill to which the per- sons engaged in the feather trade so strongly object remain.” CARNEGIE PENSION FUND. SHORT time ago Mr. Madison Grant, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the New York Zoological Society, placed before Mr. Andrew Carnegie, the need of the Society for a Pension Fund for the employees of the Zoological Park and the Aquarium. The small salaries paid in those two institutions, which are under the sole control and manage- ment of the Zoological Society, render a pen- sion fund imperatively necessary, and there is no expectation that such a fund could ever be supplied by the City. There are one hundred and thirty-nine persons employed at the Zoo- logical Park, and thirty-two at the Aquarium. As a final reply to the application made to Mr. Carnegie, for a Pension Fund, the follow- SOCIETY BULLETIN 1107 ing letter was received and laid before the Ex- ecutive Committee : Andrew Carnegie, 2 Kast 91st. New York, March 17, 1914. My dear Mr. Grant: After due consideration I hay decided that the Zoological Society’s admirable staff deserv the de- sired institution, viz., a Pension Fund, and in accord- ance with your note of March 12, I will provide the $100,000 which you find necessary when you notify me that the organization is ready to receiv and administer this fund. Let me say that I hav never been more surprised in my life than at the exhibition given us at your recent dinner, which proves thal life is everywhere, even down to the gnats, which had to be magnified an hundred fold in order to let us see that the fam- ily existed among these midges as completely as in the monster elephant. Having seen several of the celebrated Zoological Gardens of the old world, our institution in New York seems a giant among pygmies. Several of iny foreign friends who hay visited it with me hav reached the same conclusion. Yours very truly, (Signed) Anpvrew Carnecte. Madison Grant, Esq., Chairman, Executive Committee, New York Zoological Society, Bleven Wall Street, New York City. The employees of the Park and the Aquarium will contribute annually 2 per cent. of their salaries, and any sum that may be lacking in financing the plan now about to be carried into effect, will be made up by the Zoological So- ciety. The Pension Fund was formally accepted at a meeting of the Executive Committee held March 28, 1914, as follows: March 23, 1914. Andrew Carnegie, Esq., 1093 Fifth Ave., City. Dear Mr. Carnegie: I have the honor to notify you that at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the New York Zoo- logical Society held this day, a quorum being pres- ent, your very generous proposition of donating to the Society the sum of $100,000 for the purpose of forming a Pension Fund for the benefit of the em- ployees, to be known as the Carnegie Pension Fund, was accepted with the most sincere gratitude and thanks. It is the intention of the Executive Committee to proceed to organize a Pension Board, which shall have charge of all the details connected with the Pension Funds, its administration and distribution. The principles which will obtain in this respect, are along the lines already presented to you. I haye the honor to remain, Yours very truly, Mapison Grant, Chairman, 1108 ZOOLOGICAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN Departments : Mammals W. T. Hornapay. Birds C. WitttaM Berse. Lee S. CRANDALL. Reptiles Raymonp L. Drrmars. Aquarium C. H. Townssenb. Raymonp C. Ospurn. Published bi-monthly at the Office of the Society, 11 Wall Street, New York City. Yearly by Mail, $1.00. MAILED FREE TO MEMBERS. Copyright, 1914, by the New York Zoological Society. Each author is responsible for the scientific accuracy and the proof reading of his contribution. Eiwiy R. Sansory, Editor Vor. XVII. No. 3 MAY, 1914 Se JOHN LAMBERT CADWALADER. At the meeting of the Executive Committee of the Board of Managers of the Society on April 2, 1914, the death of John Lambert Cad- walader on March 11, 1914, was recorded by the following resolution: “The Executive Committee of the Board of Managers of the New York Zoological Society desire to express the esteem and honor in which they hold the memory of their late colleague. John Lambert Cadwalader, one of the Found- ers of the Society and of the New York Zoo- logical Park. “With his close friend, Philip Schuyler, Mr. Cadwalader stood by the Society in the early days of its formation between 1895-1898 when it had neither plans, friends, nor influence. He was one of the original Board and faithfully gave all the meetings of the Executive Com- mittee between 1895 and 1902 his unrivalled counsel and advice and the prestige of his great reputation at the bar. He carefully examined all the successive legal steps by which secure foundations were established for the future ad- ministration of the Society and the Park. “As in all other causes for the public wel- fare in our city and country he gave freely of his valuable time and most generously of his fortune. He loved the Park as it devel- oped and was a frequent and delighted visitor. In our meetings we shall always miss his seri- ous, genial and often humorous presence as well as the delightful hospitality of his home. “This tribute and memorial would be incom- plete without a record of his formal service to the Society: An original member of the Board of Managers. elected May 7, 1895; a member of the Executive Committee from May 21, 1895, until January 21, 1902; Second Vice-President from January 21, 1902, until his death; a mem- SOCIETY BULLETIN ber of the Board of Managers until his death; elected Associate Founder during 1897; Found er December 14, 1900; Founder in Perpetuity December 6. 1910. During his life he contrib- uted nearly $12,000 to the development of the Park, and on his decease he gave further evi- dence of his interest in the bequest of $20,000. so that his name will be permanently enrolled as one of the Benefactors of the Society. “May his example as a citizen and patriot inspire many men of the rising generation to render similar service to the City, the State and the Country.” Re ee JOHN HOWARD FORD. At the meeting of the Executive Committee of the Board of Managers on March 5, 1914, the death of John Howard Ford was recorded by the following resolution: “Resolved. that the Executive Committee of the Board of Managers of the New York Zoo- logical Society learn with deep regret of the decease on Monday, March 2, 1914, of John Howard Ford, who became a Patron of the Society on January 18, 1898; and desire to place on the minutes a record of their appre- ciation of his interest and assistance during the early and critical period of the Society's development.” TRICKERY BY THE LONDON FEATHER TRADE. On March 10, the British Government bill for the exclusion of wild birds’ plumage from Great Britain, introduced in Parliament by Postmaster-General Hobhouse, passed its see- ond reading in the House of Commons. After a three hours’ debate, the opposition was smothered by the enormous majority of 295 to 15. In view of this vote, and the number of hearings that have been held on the Hobhouse Bill, any fair-minded person would naturally conclude that an overwhelming majority of the people of England desire the passage of the proposed legislation. Incidentally, the members of the New York Zoological Society will be interested by the fact that the long and strong resolution in favor of the Hobhouse Bill, and appealing to the Zoo- logical Society of London to support it, was most favorably received by the London Society, immediately endorsed by that body, and 5,000 copies of our Memorial were printed and cireu- lated throughout Great Britain in the follow- ing form: ZOOLOGICAL RHE = ROYAL, SOCIBRDY TOR THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS. 23 Queen’s Anne’s Gate, London, S. W. The Director of the New York Zoological Park informed the Hon. Secretary of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds that at the annual meeting of the Zoological So- ciety of New York held on January 13, 1914, at which upwards of a thousand members were present, it was resolved to cable to the Zoological Society of London the following message: “The Zoological Society of New York, having been largely instrumental in se- curing the passage of our national measure for the protection of the birds of the world, by preventing all impor- tations for purposes of fashion or mil- linery, hereby extends its greetings to its fellow-members of the Zoological So- ciety of London, and expresses the hope that the Society which represents the other great metropolis of the world, will lend its unanimous support to the Hob- house Bill, now before Parliament, which is designed to re-inforce the protective measures passed by Congress. “The effect of the American law has been instantaneous and widespread, and is now receiving unanimous support all over the United States. The very pass- age and enforcement of the law has created a sentiment for wild life pro- tection in many quarters where it did not exist before. The Millinery trade has adapted itself to the new conditions. and the law is acknowledged to be most beneficial in its results.” The Royal Society for the protection of Birds have heard with great satisfaction that at a meeting of the Zoological Society of Lon- don, held on February 4th, 1914, a vote in sympathy with the Government Plumage Bill was passed. ith February, 1914. * * * * But the clearly expressed wishes of the peo- ple of England are of no importance to the feather trade—which now is resorting to the most shameless trickery, in order to kill the Hobhouse Bill by delay, or by amendments. We are in receipt of a list of forty-two “amend- ments” that have been proposed to the Impor- tation of Plumage Bill, up to Tuesday, March 31! In this well-nigh endless series, every form of trickery that can be imagined is at- tempted, and it is evident that the tools of the feather trade are desperately anxious to defeat the bill at all hazards. Four members of the House of Commons,—Sir Edmund Cornwall and Messrs. Denniss, Hinds and Timothy Da- vies.—appear as the feather-dealers’ quartette, and twenty-four of the proposed amendments SOCIETY BULLETIN 1109 are fathered by them. They are feebly assisted by Mr. Glyn-Jones, Mr. Watt, Sir. J. D. Rees, Mr. Dawes and Mr. Rothschild. Apparently, American legislators have much to learn from our cis-Atlantic cousins of the noble art of obstruction and parliamentary delay. Occasionally some of our members of Congress exhaust themselves by long debate in opposition to measures which they disapprove; but they never yet have made themselves su- premely ridiculous before their country by the introduction of an endless chain of silly amend- ments. Our advice to the Royal Society for the Pro- tection of Birds,— which is bearing the brunt of the campaign,—is to publicly expose, in the most complete manner, the methods of the feather-dealers’ quartette. Wie NEW MEMBERS. Marcu 1, 1914, ro May 1, 1914. LIFE Davis, Wm. T. Hagenbeck, Heinrich, Hagenbeck, Lorenz, MEMBERS. Wendell, Evert Jansen, Wharton, William P., Willets, Elmore A., FELLOW. Stockard, Dr. Charles R. ANNUAL Allen, Rey. Arthur H., Anderson, Mrs. J. Scott, Baird, Allen V., Ballard, Sumner, Booth, Enos S., Bopp, John, Brooks, Miss Bertha G. Chalmers, Arthur A., Campbell, J. W. C., Clapp, A. V., Clancy, John Evarts, Conkling, Paul B., Conrad, Miss Alicia D., Cory, Daniel W., Crocker, Robert S., Dallett, Frederic A., Davis, David T., Dery, D. George, DuBois, Dr. Eugene F., Eckart, Edmund, Edwards, Wm. Seymour, Embury, Mrs. Jas. W., Estabrook, Arthur F., Faber, Eberhard, Fahnestock, Dr. Ernest, Fahnestock, Mrs. Ernest, Fraser, Mrs. Geo. C., Garrison, Mrs. J. H., Greenwood, Joseph R., Guggenheimer, Miss E. Harper, Harry, MEMBERS. Jones, Dr. Israel C., Kahn, Felix E., Keil, Francis, Kephart, Rev. Wm. H., Lawrence, R. Warren, Lee, George C., Leggett, Warren F., McClintock, Gilbert S., McCrea, W.S., Main, Frank H., Paddock, Mrs. Chas. H., Perry, Winthrop H., Putnam, H. St. Clair, Quincy, Charles F., Robertson, Julius, Smidt, Thos., Schwarzler, Albert J., Straight, Willard, Sutro, Lionel, Swan, James A., Thomas, Seth, E., Jr., Tuska, Benjamin, Uhl, Oswald W., Vanderpoel, Ambrose E VanDyke, R. B., Vesper, Karl H., Walker, Dr. John B., Weatherbee, Mrs. FE. H., Weigle, Charles H., Weil, Richard, Winter, Julius, Wyckoff, Mrs. Peter B., ” MUSK-OX IN ‘THE Z¢ t z a +f z ZOOLOGICAL ITEMS OF INTEREST A New Chimpanzee—We have been fortu- nate in obtaining a particularly fine male chim- panzee, and have named this animal “Baldy II.” The new arrival is about four years old, and is unusually active and intelligent. He is much inclined to have his own way and exhibits occasional stubborn traits that will be elimin- ated through sympathetic care and teaching. The species represented is technically known as Pan chimpanse. Life History of Amphibians.—Several inter- esting life histories are now illustrated in the amphibian series exhibited in the Reptile House. Particularly interesting among these is the life history of the wood frog and that of the leop- ard frog. Owing to the tardy spring weather, our keepers collected the first frogs’ eggs some two weeks later than has been the case in four or five years. We obtained our first lot of eggs on the fourth of April, and these eggs hatched within three days. Visitors were much interested in noting the development of the little tadpoles as they grad- ually uncoiled and moved about in the eggs be- fore hatching. After they emerged they looked like tiny leeches clinging to the empty, jelly- like ege-masses. Succeeding days brought marked changes in their form and actions, and these developments were closely followed by a considerable number of school children who regularly came to the Reptile House to study our specimens. The development of this par- ticular frog is rapid, and becomes complete in the early summer. That of the leopard frog is more prolonged, and the development of the bull-frog tadpoles may take as long as two years. Among the life histories prepared for school children this spring will be those of the wood frog, green frog, bull-frog, the common toad, the spade-foot toad, spotted salamander and axolotl. Tardy Spring—While really warm spring weather is very tardy in arriving, our observa- tions point to this being the safest type of spring. Abnormally warm days, coming early, tend to excite and open the buds and stimulate the vegetation generally. This is often fol- lowed by sharp frosts which sometimes do serious damage. Thus far there is little indi- cation of spring among the trees and shrubs. The only sign of the times comes from the grass, which is becoming very green, and the lively chorus of tree toads from the various pools about the Park. We have transferred a num- ber of these amphibian songsters to the Reptile SOCIETY BULLETIN 111i House, and the cheerful notes of the spring “peepers” help to mitigate our impatience to- ward the eccentric weather conditions. Trinidad Whip-Snake-—We have recently re- ceived a very beautiful example of the green whip-snake from Trinidad. This reptile is about four feet long, of a satiny leaf-green, and has exceptionally large eyes with a bright golden iris. Tree snakes are difficult to catch because they are both timid and active. The greater number of them are harmless, although some among their number have very small fangs that inject a paralyzing venom and which is used in subduing birds and lizards. One curi- ous feature of the specimen exhibited is the color of its throat. It has a habit of widely opening its mouth when disturbed, and when in this attitude the throat parts are seen to be of a deep purple color. Our specimen is sat- isfied to confine its diet to small frogs. A Fine Brazilian Tortoise—Another recent arrival is an exceptionally large tortoise which comes from the Roosevelt Expedition, in South America. It represents a species known as Testudo tabulata. The specimen is remarkable in being far over the average in size, and weigh- ing forty pounds. It is evidently a very old example, as the bright yellow markings which are characteristic on the upper shell of this spe- cies are altogether lacking. It is contentedly browsing with others of its kind upon lettuce leaves and bananas. New Iguanas—In early April a batch of very large iguanas arrived from Venezuela. Some of the specimens are nearly six feet long, brightly colored and decorated with a row of high standing spines from the neck to the tail. When adults of this species are captured they seldom do well, but we are trying our luck with them owing to the fine facilities offered for sun and exercises in the commodious lizard yards. The new specimens are now exhibited in company with the black Mexican iguana, the banded Central American iguana, and the rhi- noceros iguana of Hayti. These big lizards ean deal a powerful lash-like blow with the tail and our keepers exercise due care in going among them to distribute the pans of food. Contrary to former assertions the iguanas are not altogether herbivorous. We feed them al- ternately from pans containing fruit and lettuce, and a mixture composed of fragments of raw beef mixed with beaten eggs. Another Bear Cub.—Our Russian brown bear that has successfully reared several litters of fine cubs issued from her hibernating quar- 1112 ters on the fourth of April and proudly exhib- ited a single cub which had made so much noise during the winter and early spring that we had anticipated the appearance of two or three youngsters. ‘The young bear was born on the 19th of January and tollowing the habits of the greater number of bears, the mother re- mained in the den with it, refusing all food until the latter part of March, when she occa- sionally appeared to partake of a sparing meal. At birth the bear cub is the most helpless of mammals, being blind and sparsely clad. It is necessary for the mother to remain with it con- tinually as the fragile body would be quickly chilled. From the snarls and grunts that issued trom the hibernating den our bear keepers of- fered various estimates as to the number of cubs in this litter. We were disappointed to find that all of this noise had come from the single specimen, but hope that his unusual lung power will indicate the development of a fine bear. He is a hybrid between the hairy-eared bear Ursus piscator, and the Russian brown bear U. arctos. Elephants in Spring.—We have had but two really warm days the present spring and on one of these we were tempted to give the ele- phants their first exercise this year. Their an- tics were as humorous as energetic and it is possible that some of the trees in the corrals suffered some damage. The African elephant “Khartoum” dug great holes in his yard, and in these he wallowed until smeared with mud. It has often been noted that this mud bath is of marked benefit to the animals’ skin and that if they have suffered any skin trouble during the winter the sores quickly disappear after they have had four or five days’ frctic in the outside corrals. R: iL. dD: Contemplated Purchases—The following ani- mals have been ordered of Carl Hagenbeck’s Sons: One pair of Blotched Giraffes, from German East Africa; one pair of Siberian Ibex, two and one-half years old; one male Orang Utan, ten years old, and a male Oryx Antelope. Aquarium Committee —Dr. Charles R. Stock- ard of Cornell University Medical School of New York City, has been elected a member of the Aquarium Committee and also a Fellow of the Society. Expeditions—Mr. Crandall of the Bird De- partment of the Zoological Park is now in the jungles of Costa Rica in search of new material for the bird collections of the Park. Under the auspices of the Society, also, Mr. L. L. Mowbray has been sent to Louisiana to collect large fresh water fishes in the Missis- ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN sippi River, such as extra large sized catfishes and giant gars. ‘These hardy tishes will be sent to the Aquarium. Animal Paintings ——The Art Committee of the Society announce that both the large oil painting ot a herd of prong-horned antelope or- dered about one year ago of Mr. Carl Rungius, and a smaller painting of a snow leopard, ordered of Mr. Charles R. Knight, have been finished, delivered, and accepted. Both of the paintings have been hung in the Administration Building in the Zoological Park. At a meeting of the Art Committee held on March 30, 1914, Mr. Rungius and Mr. Knight appeared. After careful consideration of a sketch in oils, an order was given Mr. Rungius for a painting of mule deer in the Bad Lands, to be of the same size as the sheep and antelope pictures. From Mr. Knight the Committee or- dered a painting of a jaguar, a sketch for which will shortly be submitted to the Art Committee. Canvasback Ducks on Cayuga Lake.—On March 21, Mr. W. W. Grant sent us the follow- ing interesting note regarding the return of the canvasback to Cayuga Lake. There is no other group of birds on which the beneficial effect of protective laws is so quickly apparent as on the ducks and geese. A quotation from Mr. Grant's letter, follows: “T am happy to be able to report that this spring the canvasback seemed to be quite plen- tiful, for at this end of the lake as many as 300 were seen at one time. “The greater scaup ducks were the most plentiful, as many as 500 being seen at one time. Owing to the intense cold this winter, all the duck-feeding grounds were frozen over, and the birds would have fared very badly, had they not been fed by our game-warden, and other public-spirited men.” THE BLACK COBRA. N reply to a query of Curator Ditmars con- | cerning the Black Cobra, Mr. Garner, who is stationed in the French Congo in the service of the Society, replied as follows: “Yes, I know the black cobra with the yel- low neck, and have heard many thrillers about its habit of spitting. It is one of the most diabolical members of the order of reptiles. Rey. Mr. Reed, an American missionary for many years in the Congo, recounted to me his experience with this cobra with the yellow neck and if you can find this traveller who now re- ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN INDIAN SAMBAR DEER Note the heavy, warm pelage grown by this tropical animal after three years’ acclimatization. sides somewhere in your city, no doubt he can give you some valuable information about that sputtering demon. The universal report of its venomous saliva is that it instantly produces total blindness when it strikes the eyes of the victim. In some cases the eyes are utterly de- stroyed, but in others the blindness is only temporary, lasting twenty-four to forty-eight hours, during which time the victim suffers great pain. “The only efficient treatment for it that I have ever heard of is fresh warm milk. “I could recount many interesting stories that I have heard of this monster and a few of my own experience. It is the only snake in this country that I ran from, and the only one that I know slightest provocation. A dozen times, perhaps, I have come within a close shave of these fiends when they showed fight, and on one oc- casion one of them pursued me fifty yards or more. They grow to be at least eight or nine feet long and move with considerable speed. When provoked, or in the act of attacking, they spread the neck after the manner of the cobra de capello and the Egyptian asp, but do not appear to spread the head as the viper does. When the snake poses to spit, it coils, rears its head and more than half of the body straight up in the air, and assumes the form of an old- fashioned candle-stick, only that it turns the head to a horizontal position. “T have never examined one of them minute- ly, but I am told that it has two small openings resembling nostrils, one on each side of the head, of that will attack without the: from which are ejected the sprays of liquid poison, and I am surprised to learn that he can force the spray as far as eight feet, but if I ever learn by experience it will be accidental, for I habitually give this villain the right of way and I go in the other direction.” IN PELAGE OF SAMBAR DEER. T IS of particular interest to note the thor- ough acclimatization of the two fine species of Sambar deer exhibited for some years in the Park. The species represented are the Indian Sambar Deer, Cervus unicolor and the Malayan or Horse-Tailed Sambar Deer, C. equinus. Both are large, showy animals, pro- lifie breeders and little troubled with the gas- tro-enteric diseases common among cervines. The following notes may be of interest to the reader who is studying the possibilities of stock- ing game preserves, or breeding deer for sale or study. Both C. unicolor and equinus are in the large deer class. An adult male of either species will weigh five hundred and fifty pounds. In tem- perament both species are more tractable than either the wapiti or red deer, and they closely rival the latter in size and appearance. The bucks of both species are bold and dangerous during the breeding season, but the does of the Sambar deer are usually uniformly docile, even when caring for their young. In build both species are quite similar. The body is stout and vertically broad, with rather short, power- CHANGES 1114 ZOOLOGICAL AXIS DEER IN SUMMER A very satisfactory tropical deer. Readily endures severe cold. ful limbs. The antlers are short and _ thick. The general build, except for the larger size, rather resembles the North American mule deer. In 1904, when we first arranged our collec- tion of Asiatic deer, we referred to the Sambar deer as “thinly haired.” We presently discoy- ered that a rapid phase of evolution probably would render these animals less susceptible to the vigors of our vacillating weather, and ma- terially change their appearance. During the first winter the Sambar deer were quartered in a large room of one of our stand- ard deer barns, and the bitter cold of severe nights was tempered by means of a small stove. Care was taken not to raise the temperature above 40° F. or permit it to go below 25° F. During mild sunny days the animals were per- mitted to run in the yards, but were shut in the house at night. With the spring we noted a marked thickening of the animal’s pelage. The hair had become thick enough to entirely cover the creature’s naturally oily skin. SOCIETY BULLETIN TROPICAL DEER IN THE SNOW An acclimatized Sambar that has grown heavy pelage and endures severe winter weather. With the second winter the herd of these deer was quartered in a tight barn without a fire. All of the animals grew fine coats of hair, and were out on some of the coldest winter days. Their pelage had begun to grow thick and heavy. Two winters had thus sufficed to par- tially acclimatize these fine, tropical animals, and render them able to endure severe winters without artificial warmth, and with no special provisions different from those of our native deer excepting a closed barn at night. After three years in captivity our Sambar deer grew pelage heavy enough to appear unusually well- clad, even beside the winter coats of our deer of the temperate zone. Several photographs presented here show this rapid evolution in pelage. The Axis Deer, with its snow-white spots, is the most beautiful deer in our collection, and one of the most satisfactory. Although its habitat embraces the warmer portions of India, it quickly becomes acclimated, and we believe it WINTER PELAGE OF THE MULE DEER Compared with an acclimated Sambar, this deer of the temperate zone is no better clad. MALAYAN SAMBAR DEER Showing the thin, oily pelage of the Sambar before this -climated to our severe eather. tropical deer become winter ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 1115 COLUMBIA BLACK-TAILED DEER IN THE ZOOLOGICAL PARK To rear these beautiful American deer was one of the most trying problems that the Society has solved. We can boast of four fine specimens, two born in the Park. will yet be able to live in unheated barns, like the Sambars. With our Axis Deer, however, we constantly maintain a small stove during the winter to moderate the chill, as the greater num- ber of the fawns of this species are born in midwinter. A few years in captivity here has produced a very noticeable thickening in the pelage of this species, but the effect is less marked than with the Sambars, and the present animal is less bold in venturing from its shelter during severe cold waves. tts 1p, 1D): THE MYSTERY OF THE BLUE GOOSE. By C. Wittram Beese. Curator of Birds. N the collection of the New York Zoological Park there has been for a year a solitary male Blue Goose. Lately a second speci- men, a female, has arrived, and another pair is shortly expected. While the completion of the life histories of our North American birds will give occupation to many generations of ornithologists, yet so much has been done, and so many facts already recorded that it would seem that the general outline of this work must at present be fairly well filled in. It is thus surprising to learn that the life of one of our geese—that family of birds which never lacks attention, at least from sportsmen—is almost as little known as when Audubon made the error of supposing it to be the young of the Snow Goose. He writes: “The Snow Goose in the gray state of its plu- mage is very abundant in winter, about the mouths of the Mississippi, as well as on all the muddy and grassy shores of the bays and inlets of the Gulf of Mexico as far as Texas.” This probably refers to the bird which we now call the Blue Goose, known to ornithologists by the Greek and the Latin names of Chen caerules- cens. About this bird and its life and home there has been and still is a mystery which has never been solved. While one of the rarest of our water-fowl, it has occasionally been shot by gunners, both on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. In southern Louisiana, however, this bird has 1116 recently been found in winter in great numbers, thus confirming the assertions of Audubon. In the delta of the Father of Waters, flocks of thousands were seen, in fact they were so abundant and hungry that they were denuding whole delta islands of grass as completely as it could be done by a herd of sheep or an army of caterpillars. Not only do the birds feed upon the green tops and tougher stems of the pasture grasses, but even dig up and devour the roots. Each individual goose scoops out a hole in the mud, uncovering and devouring the roots as it works, and as the geese feed quite close together, these rounded pits soon touch and coalesce. when the birds move on to a new feeding place. They keep more or less in long lines as they feed, reminding one of soldier ants or the famous army worms. The continued effect of this is to change rad- ically the condition of the land. In some cases the ground is so low that the slight excavations fill at once with water and thus pastures are altered to marshy lands. Where great numbers of the birds have occupied these places as roosts, the pressure of their feet has so reduced the general level that actual lakes are produced, in which henceforth only aquatic plants can find a roothold. In one locality men with horses and guns were hired to keep on the move all day and try to drive away the geese. but this was not suecessful and about two thousand acres of pasture lands had to be abandoned to the birds. Elsewhere in the United States, one Blue Goose is the average among every ten thousand other geese shot; here one sees a white Snow Goose to about every two or three score of Blue Geese. Concentrated as these birds are in this one region, it would be thought that they were in constant danger of extermination, but two causes will prevent this; first their extreme wary nature which keeps them away from traps and beyond shot-gun range, and second, the still more important fact that a good section of their feeding grounds has been acquired as game pre- serves, where they will be safe forever during their winter sojurn in the south. Usually where birds are so numerous that they are harmful to man, as, for example, the bobolinks in the rice-fields, we know where they breed extending over a wide area of the con- tinent. But the mystery of the Blue Goose is that we have not the slighest hint of where these thousands go when they rise from their southern island pastures in early spring and fly northward. It is surmised that it may be ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN in Ungava, the great unexplored region lying between Labrador and Hudson Bay. The Es- quimau say that in the impenetrable bogs and swamps of this land, guarded by the hosts of black flies and mosquitoes, the Blue Goose makes its home. This goose is over two feet in length. The head and upper neck are white, while the rest of the body and wings are a beautiful bluish grey or brown. In many ways it is our hand- somest wild goose, and while the only one which does any real damage to man’s interest. it is at the same time one of the rarest, of whose life history we know nothing. A few have been kept in captivity but no eggs have been laid under such conditions. In Louisana it is known as the Bald or White-headed Goose. Oie Bleu, Blue Brant and Blue Snow Goose. Elsewhere it is not well enough known to have received any special name. BREEDING BROWN PELICANS. By C. Wituiam Beese, Curator of Birds. T is a great compliment to the conditions under which birds in captivity are kept when such a large and wary species as the Brown Pelican will breed successfully. For many years these birds have played with sticks in the large flying cage, gathering them into tentative heaps and allowing them again to be scattered. Two seasons ago when a severe wind storm had filled the cage with a large quantity of twigs, the birds seemed to receive a corre- spondingly strong stimulation and went to work with a will, erecting a firm, well-built structure. One stick at a time, however small, was brought in the very tip of their great beaks and with the utmost seriousness added to the nest, tucked in with gentle pokings, sometimes only to be removed and placed elsewhere. A single egg was laid but nothing came of the venture. This year an abundance of sticks and twigs was supplied as soon as the birds were placed out of doors and nest-building began at once. Two pairs were thus occupied, and near the edge of the water two nests were built. One nest resulted in failure, but upon the single egg of the second pair of Brown Pelicans, pa- tient incubation soon began. At last the reward came and the first young pelican ever hatched north of Florida broke ZOOLOGICAL through its shell. There are few more ugly things in the world than a young pelican. Ly- ing prone in the nest it appears wholly lifeless and of the color and texture rather of a bit of water-soaked beef than a bird. It seems to have no definite organs or symmetry. It is naked, dirty-gray, with tiny, crooked, worm- like wings and a blind, featureless head. The newly hatched chick is an avian postulate which we must accept but which requires all our faith in Mother Nature—and the pelican. Neverthe- less in the little creature are the latent possi- bilities of a splendid winged creature which can swim upon the water, walk on the land, soar for hours at a time on almost motionless wings high in the heavens, and finally dive into the ocean in pursuit of its prev. Surely the peli- can in the course of its development offers the utmost antitheses of helplessness and achieve- ment. After a fortnight our faith has its reward, for the gray nesting worm has sprouted a garb of grayish-white down; its eyes have opened, and in the somewhat lengthened beak we may even discern the promise of the future capa- cious pouch. In place of helpless quiescence it moves about, and when chilly pushes beneath the warm breast plumage of the mother, and at times clamors for food. In the last newly- acquired character lies one of the most interest- ing facts in the life of this species. It truly calls for its food. Not, to be sure, with the pleasant, urging of young chicks, but at least with a decided vocal demand—a rasping croak, so strong that it may be heard many yards The far distant ancestors of pelicans undoubtedly had need for voices. They may even have had a song for all we know. And now, to the chick, as long as it requires food, is vouchsafed a voice. When it begins to forage for itself and takes up the serious business of life —that of fishing — silence falls gradually upon it, the croak becomes weaker day by day, and soon the hiss of air rushing through the throat is the only sound it can produce. The only voeal sound that is, for it can clatter its beak vigorously when it strives to frighten an enemy. On Pelican Island I have listened with wonder to the uproar from the throats of scores of young birds, while the parents were leaving and returning, all mutely, dumbly busy with their life work. It is a problem, both interest- ing to the ornithologist and significant to the philosophical lover of wild things, why the ears of the old pelican remain so keenly attuned to the cries of the young birds, while they them- away. SOCIETY BULLETIN Uglies selves are wholly unable to communicate with one another. To the few naturalists who have enjoyed watching a breeding colony of Brown Pelicans the method of feeding has always attracted at- tention. Heretofore we have known it in New York from descriptions and photographs, but now we may look forward each season to the opportunity of observing it at first hand in the aviary of the Zoological Society. The mother has fed, fish after fish being engulfed and swal- lowed whole, and after a time she returns to the nest, her great wings fanning the air, yet allowing her to come to rest so gently that the topmost twigs are hardly disturbed. The young bird renews its imperious clamor, and, clad in its fluffy white down, stands in front of the parent, wildly waving the stumpy, crooked or- gans which represent wings. The croaks never cease until the mother pelican opens her im- mense beak, points it downward, and the young bird, eagerly pressing forward, pokes its head into the gaping, leathery pouch. Farther and farther it goes, at last actually stepping upon the rim of the beak. At this point the spec- tators begin to be nervous and more than once have been on the point of summoning keepers to prevent the horrible tragedy about to be en- acted before their eyes. All sympathy is with the young bird as it apparently pushes on to its doom, a quick death in the deep interior of the mother. From this point, however, events proceed too rapidly for intervention. Up and up, and then down goes the young bird, until he has pushed his way beyond the beak and down the neck. Then begin contortions which turn the sympathy of the spectators to the mother, for a terrible contest is apparently tak- ing place between the young bird and its parent, and it seems inevitable that one must emerge from the conflict, mangled and disabled. After a moment of quiet the nestling pelican again ap- pears in the light of day, not only unhurt but replete with a bountiful repast of fish, which stills the croaks until a few hours have passed, when hunger again arouses him to vocal utter- ance. He steps out of his mother’s beak, bal- ances for a moment on very wobbly legs, looks about wholly unconscious of the varying emo- tions he has aroused in the onlooker, and turn- ing, burrows deeply beneath the living coverlet of feathers which for so many weeks has pa- tiently sheltered him day and night from cold, from rain and the threatened attacks of other birds in the great cage which is his world. FIVE YEARS AGO, WHEN ELK WERE STARVING Photographed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, by S. N. Leek before Congress took hold to save the elk ELK HERD TO-DAY IN JACKSON HOLE They have been fed all winter by the Government and will seek their grazing ground in the hillsas soon as the snow goes off. Phere are 887 elk in this picture and behind the camera are many more, Photographed by S. N. Leek, February, 1914. GENERAL INFORMATION MEMBERSHIP IN THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Membership in the Zoological Society is open to all interested in the objects of the organiza- tion, who desire to contribute toward its support. The cost of Annual Membership is $10 per year, which entitles the holder to admission to the Zoological Park on all pay days, when he may see the collections to the best advantage. Members are entitled to the Annual Reports, bi-monthly Bulletins, Zoologica, privileges of the Administration Building, all lectures and special exhibitions, and ten complimentary tickets to the Zoological Park for distribution. Any Annual Member may become a Life Member by the payment of $200. A subscriber of $1,000 becomes a Patron; $2,500, an Associate Founder; $5,000, a Founder; $10,000, a Founder in Perpetuity, and $25,000, a Benefactor. ZOOLOGICAL PARK. The Zoological Park is open every day in the year, free, except Monday and Thursday of each week, when admission is charged. Should either of these days fall on a holiday no admis- sion fee is charged. From May 1 to November 1, the opening and closing hours are from 9 o’clock A. M. until one-half hour before sunset. From November 1 to May 1, the opening and closing hours are from 10 o'clock A. M. until one-half hour before sunset. Applications for membership may be given to the Chief Clerk, in the Zoological Park; C. H. Townsend, N. Y. Aquarium, Battery Park, New York City, or forwarded to the General Secretary, No. 11 Wall Street, New York City. NEW YORK AQUARIUM. The Aquarium is open every day in the year: April 15 to October 15, from 9 o'clock A. M. to 5 o’clock P. M.; October 16 to April 14, from 10 o’clock A. M. to 4 o’clock P. M. No admission is charged. PUBLICATIONS Annual Report No. 1............. Paper $ .40 Sea-Shore Life (Mayer) ......... Cloth 1.20 aa oe FN O52 GOI OOD eS .75 Cloth $1.00 The National pallor io of Heads “ ” “ “ orns ornaday) arge 3 and 4, each. -40 -60 Quarto. Parts land 2, each... Paper 1.00 2 & R Le Hn) Bulletin Nos, 1 and 6........... Out of Print eet al Cetin cn 1.00 " 1.25 Bulletins—Bi-monthly .......20c, each; Yearly by Mail 1.00 ee ee Se ne ie 1.25 7 1.50 “ “ “47, 12, 13, 14, y Bulletin Nos. 5 to 23 inclusive Set, cloth bound, .... 5.00 ih UCR te OSS GCE O GOES Haw ee Official Guide to the New York Zoological Park (Hornaday) Our Vanishing Wild Life (Horna- sd, ttt eee eee eee eee ee eee eee eee eee eee eens -25 ay) POSstpald co is8 ois vee vee cies “- 1.65 F : fs Souvenir Books: Series No. 2, 36 pages, 544 x 744 inches, 33 Destruction of Our Birds and full page illustrations in colors. Price, 25c.; Mammals (Hornaday) ........ “4 15 postage 3c. Notes on Mountain Sheep of Series No. 3, 48 pages, 7x9 inches, 73 illustra- North America (Hornaday).... “ 40 tions from four color plates. Price 50c., post- The Caribou (Grant) ........... " 40 60 abe 3c: ‘pi Souvenir Postal Cards: Series of 72 subjects in colors, sold Ae guia eelatonship ot in sets of 24 cards, assorted subjects, for 25 America (Grant) ............. “ 1.00 cents; postage 2 cents per set. The Rocky Mountain Goat (Grant) “ 1.00 Photogravures: Series of 12 subjects in sepia. Animals and views in the Zoological Park. Sold in sets Zoologica Vol. 1. Nos. 1-11 inclu- of 2 subjects. Price 25 cents per set; sent PEERED oats iiss clcievel slanalets cists ciciate os] 2.30 postpaid. Publications for sale at the Zoological Park and at the New York Aquarium. ~ FG a o. XVII. No. 4 Kod JULY. 1914 Sf YUL V 28 . oyrererany - SOCIETY BULLETIN SSeS = ws Uy y if ys i Me, yy 4 Z) | ? a g A Published b ry THE NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY Il ~ mmm HRA TAL 0 Officers of the New UYork Zoological Society Secretary Mapison Grant, 11 Percy Rk. Pyne, Wo. Pierson Hamitron, Samurt THorRNé, President Henry Farrerietp Ossorn. Wall Street. Creasurer Percy R. Pyne, 30 Pine Street. Executive Committer Mapvison Grant, Chairman. Frank K. Srvurais, LisPENARD STEWART, Wittiam Wurtre Nives, Warson B. DickerMAN, Henry Farrierp Ossorn, Ea Officio. The Mayor of the City of New York. Levi P. Moron, ANDREW CARNEGIE, Joun L. CapwaLaper,* Mapison GRANT, I’, Avueusrus SCHERMERHORN, Percy R. Pyne, Gerorce B. GrRinNeELL, Grorce C. Ciark, Henry l’arrrietp Ossorn, Witiram C. Cuurcn, LisPENARD STEWART, H. Casimir pe Ram, Winuiam T. Buard of Managers Ew Officio The Pr Class nf 1915 Wituiam Wuite Nixes, SamueL THORNE, Henry A. C. Taytor, Frank K. Srurais, Glass of 1916 Crevetann H. Dover, C. Lepyarp Brairr, Freperick G. Bourne, W. Austin Wapswortn, Glass of 1917 Cuarves F. Dierrericn, James J. Hitt, Grorce F. Baker, Grant B. Scurry, General Officers esiDENT of the Department of Parks. Georce J. Govutp, OacpEN MILLs, Lewis Ruruerrurp Morpis, Arcuer M. HuntInGTon. Emerson MecMituin, Antruony R. Kuser, Watson B. Dickerman, Mortimer I... Scuirr. Wa. Pierson Hamitron, Rozert S. Brewsrer, Epwarp S. Harkness, Wittram B. Oscoop Frerp, Hornapay, Director of the Park. Cuarves H. 'Townsenp, Director of the Aquarium. La Farce & Morris, Architects. H. De B. Parsons, Consulting Engineer. Dr. Grorce S. Hentinetron, Prosector. Officers of the Zoologiral Park Witviam T. Hornapay, Director. Witiiam Berse, H. W. MerkKeEt, S. CranDALt, W. Rem Brair, Eriwin R. Sanporn. G. M. Breersower, Wittiam Mitrcuety, Ee Raymonp IL. Mircue ty, (Os Dirmars, 1 Officers of the Aquariunt Raymonp C. Oseurn, Assistant. Ropertr SuTcLirre. Cuarvtes H. Townsenr, Director. Wasninaron I. DeNyser. * Deceased. Aeon GICAL SOC TE EY BULL Ehren CONTENTS FOR JULY, 1914 PAGE WILD PARSNIP IN FLOWER wicceccecceccccceccccsseeeeeee : Ba Ns) Sh re ats tai ee) & . Frontispiece Exprpition to Costa Rica, L. S. Crandall, 112] DIMI BAUARID) WARK: 9 cen sre cenit 11238 Connecticut Birp Lire 1125 Our Native Hummine Birps Lae Sete : 3 AO, PEN ee PO a PA7/ ENFORCEMENT OF THE Micratory Birp Law 1128 SenatoriaL Roiti or Honor ... 1128 Piume Draters or Paris ................. aan 3 Cael ne 1129 AG Eo Gi GANE MSANGRUARY 22 c.cccn a cencccs ; bc IR 1129 ZOOLOGICAL Park Nowves 2.0... oe Bile Met ee otk RR ee ee ere es 1131 BYP ONVSMONIE MARK By ri CENSUS) a cscckode sect cace te nsenteen Seances teeee ceases : 1137 1137 MN enwyen IVI NTS TERE S 0 = cee oe oe ace cncgdnissuscncesececenans NI dINSUVd GM ZOOLOGICAL SOCIELY" JUL @ 1914 _ , B U L L E T I N ational musers Published by the New York Zoological ad Society Vou. XVII JULY, 1914. NumBer 4 THE SOCIETY'S EXPEDITION TO COSTA RICA By Ler S. Cranpatu, Assistant Curator of Birds. N MARCH 21,1914, the writer, accom- panied by T. Donald Carter, a student at the Zoological Park, left for Costa Rica, for the purpose of securing living crea- tures for the collections of the Zoological So- ciety. Six weeks were spent in the field, the total result being more than 3800 living speci- mens, including mammals, birds, reptiles, ba- trachians, fishes and insects, a great majority of which had not previously been exhibited here. The round trip was made in the United Fruit Company's steamer “Calamares.” The Company's representatives were courteous and interested throughout, and without their co-op- eration, the success of the expedition would have become a much more difficult matter. The southward journey was uneventful, Port Limon being reached on March 30. In spite of the combined efforts of the Fruit Company’s agent and ourselves, it was found to be quite impossible, except by the consent of high officials, to enter our bulky equipment without the payment of heavy duty and wharfage charges, so that a journey to San Jose, the capital, became imperative. There is but one first-class train daily from Limon to San Jose, leaving the coast city at 10 A. M. The early part of the ride is along the sea-coast, exhibiting the most luxuriant type of tropical vegetation. Once above Siquir- res, however, the train follows the course of the Reventazon River, and as it mounts slowly upward, the scene is one of truly marvelous beauty. The slopes of the Caribbean water-shed are very densely forested, most of the trees being hard-wood. This region is very sparse- ly inhabited, except in the neighborhood of the larger towns. Several extinct volcanoes are seen—Turrialba, more than 11,000 feet in height, and Irazu, of somewhat lower altitude, on the Caribbean side, and Barba and Poas after the continental divide has been passed. As the higher altitudes are reached, signs of a much more numerous population become evident, and once on the plateau, almost all of the land. with the exception of the higher slopes, is seen to be under cultivation. San Jose, which is a delightful city, is reached at about 4:30 p.m. Here, after a de- lay of two or three days, arrangements were finally completed for the free entry of our lug- gage. Unfortunately, none of the very able local ornithologists was to be found, so, as no reliable advice was to be had, the original plan was adhered to, and Guapiles, a village at the terminus of a branch railroad about 59 miles from Limon, was chosen as a collecting point. Several days passed before active work could be commenced, as freight is carried two days a week only, and we could do nothing without our apparatus. Comfortable quarters in a pass- able little “hotel” were secured, and through the kindness of the Fruit Company, we were provided with a shed for the housing of our collection. Guapiles has an elevation of about 800 feet, being on the northern slope of Turrialba. It once was surrounded by extensive banana plan- tations, but as the fruit was attacked by a mys- ; Le ZOOLOGICAL 1) bee CITY OF SAN JOSE terious blight, the trees were removed, and the land turned into pastures. These pastures are exceedingly rough, and the land dotted over with smail patehes of bush and bits of jungle. As it is not possible for fence posts of dead wood to withstand for long the constant damp- ness, small poles are set in the ground about two feet apart, and the wire attached to them. The posts at once send out shoots and soon =zow into trees of respectable size, forming permanent supports. Thus every field is sur- rounded by an often dense hedge, which offers a retreat for many birds. After walking a mile or so, either north or south, one enters the primitive jungle. The trees here are of great size and the under- growth very dense, so that in many places it is quite impossible to progress without free use of VOLCANO TURRIALBA View from the hotel SOCIETY BULLETIN the machete. abundant, Bird life in the jungle is fairly and it is not difficult for the skin collector to secure many spetimens. Except in one or two instances, however, it was quite im- possible to use our trapping outfit to advantage, and it was only in the more open portions that we could work with any degree of success. We arrived just at the end of the so-called dry season, although there is almost daily rain- The nesting time had just commenced, and the birds were widely scattered. No fruit was ripe, so that the concentration of frugivorous birds on which we had depended, was entirely lacking. However, by dint of much strenuous exertion, we were able to secure a very representative fall on the lower slopes at all seasons. series of specimens. HOTEL IN SAN JOSE One of the most interesting and certainly the most showy of the birds, is the Montezuma Giant Cacique (Gymnostinops montezuma). This bird, which is of the Oriole family, is near- ly two feet in length. It is chocolate brown, the head being darker, with the tail bright yellow. The beak is very long and pointed, black with a red tip. There are bare, bluish patches on the face, and a gular swelling of a pinkish hue, at each side. These birds live in colonies in the highest trees, building pendulous nests often four feet in length. The Trogons form a group of birds with rep- resentatives in both hemispheres, but which, with the possible exception of Cuban species, are practically never seen in collections. We were very fortunate, therefore, to be able to capture and safely transport, a specimen of the Gartered Trogon (Trogon caligatus). This species has the upper parts and chest brilliant, ZOOLOGICAL iridescent green, with yellow abdomen, so that altogether it is a most valuable acquisition. The Sooty Synallaxis ( Synallaxvis pudica nigrifumosa) is the first member of its family (Furnariidae), to reach the Zoological Park. The very few individuals of a South American member of the group which have reached Eu- rope have survived for only a very few days, hence our specimen is of experimental as well as purely exhibitive value. Many of the tanagers are of exceptional beauty. Passerini’s Silver-Beak is intense, velvety black, with the back brilliant scarlet; the Costa Rican Green Tanager is grass green, with blue crown, the male having a bright yel- low breast; while the Gold-Masked Calliste is a combination of bright blue, green, dense black and golden buff. Among the finches are Richmond’s Sparrows, nearly as large as robins, bright green with gray, brown-striped heads and yellow under wing coverts; a little greenish Siskin, found only in the high mountains of the interior, and tiny Seed-eaters and Grassquits of four species. The mammals include a fine adult male Red Spider Monkey, Raccoons, Coatis, Murine Opossum and Red-Bellied Squirrels. There are numerous species of frogs and toads, a number of tadpoles, snakes, one a small fer-de- lance, turtles, fishes of several species, and some interesting millipedes of two sorts. When all packed ready for the journey, our collection was decidedly bulky and when, at the last moment, we were informed that the freight car we had engaged had been left down the line by a forgetful conductor, we were more than nonplussed. After much general ex- citement, however, a not over-clean stock car was produced, and our boxes were packed forthwith. The run from Guapiles to Port Limon, which occupied the entire day, was far rougher than anything experienced during the week on the steamer. The car bounced madly from side to side, and it was necessary to lash everything securely to the floor and slatted sides. Fortunately, there are no export duties or wharfage charges on animales vivos, as there are on almost everything else, so it was pos- sible to ship our collection on the next dav without undue formality. We were blessed with good weather for most of the homeward trip, and we were so fortunate as to be able to land our specimens, with very little loss, safely in New York. SOCIETY BULLETIN 1123 THE AARD-VARK. The Society has been almost in possession of an exceptionally rare animal, the Aard-Vark, of Africa, which would have been, perhaps, the first representative of this strange species to reach the United States alive. A fine specimen consigned to us by Carl Hagenbeck left the African coast in thriving condition. We en- tertained lively anticipations of this coming ex- hibit, until informed that the animal had died at sea when but two days from this port. The Aard-Vark is of that series of the primitive mammalia con- taining the sloths, anteaters, armadillos and pangolins. Formerly all of these animals were embraced within the order Hdentata, but the pangolins and Aard-Varks are now considered to represent distinct orders, respectively. The Aard-Varks, three species in number form the order Tubulidentata,* their removal from the edentates resulting from the distinctly charac- teristic formation of the teeth. In full grown specimens there are usually five teeth on each side of both upper and lower jaws, but the total number of teeth developed is from eight to ten in the upper and eight in the lower jaw —the anterior ones falling out as the animal attains maturity. When unworn, these teeth, which are of considerable have rounded summits. They are composed of a number of closely packed denticles and are traversed by a series of radiating tubes. Such structure of the teeth is elsewhere unknown in the whole mammalian class. a gigantic representative size, The specimen destined for the Society rep- resented the Cape Aard-Vark, Orycteropus capensis, which inhabits South and South-East- ern Africa. It is a powerful animal, attaining a maximum length of six feet. The general coloration is yellowish brown, with a tinge of red on the back and sides. The Aard-Varks are strictly nocturnal and live in deep burrows, which are often con- structed in the immediate neighborhood of the tall mounds formed by the termites—an ant- like insect. It is upon food like this that the Aard-Vark subsists, and to capture the food in quantities the animal is provided with an ex- ceedingly long, mobile tongue such as is pos- sessed by the ant-eaters of the Edentata. Wherever these animals are numerous a number of half formed holes are seen in the ground and on the sides of the great anthills, which have been commenced and abandoned. The *Osborn’s classification. 1124 ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN CAPE AARD-VARK Consigned to the Society, but died on shipboard. animals usually spend the entire day asleep in their burrows, but may occasionally be seen abroad during the very early morning. Their powers of digging are so great that in a few minutes they can bury their large bodies, even when the ground is hard and sun-baked. In digging they work with their fore-feet and throw out huge clods of earth between their hind legs. While shy, and usually making off toward the burrow if disturbed, they are furi- ous fighters when cornered, and even a power- ful dog has but a secant chance for life if with- in range of the fore limbs, with their huge and sharp claws. Little is known of the breeding habits of these animals beyond the fact that the young are born in May or June, and that there is seldom more than a single offspring at birth. The few captives that have come to Europe have been fed upon chopped raw beef mixed with beaten eggs, which is the standard diet for ant-eaters when on exhibition. The Aard-Vark (earth pig), is a title applied by the Boers. The first specimen ever brought alive to Eng- land was captured in 1869 near Algoa Bay, Natal, and sold for $750. It lived in captivity nearly ten years. From 1900 to 1902, ten specimens were captured and offered for sale, but since that time interest in the capture of the “Earth-Pig” has waned. It is reasonably certain that these animals never will become common in captivity. The first skin of an Aard-Vark that ever was seen in Europe was taken in 1812. There is now in the South Kensington Museum of London, a mounted skin that dates back to 1814, and it is not strange to hear that it was badly stuffed. Reeve Mr. Cuarues R. Miter, Managing editor of the New York Times, and life-long friend of animals, both wild and cap- tive, and discriminating judge of wild-animal treatment, is in Europe, enjoying a much-needed vacation. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY THE STATUS OF BIRD LIFE IN CON- NECTICUT IN OCTOBER, 1912. By Daniet Carrer Brarp* WENTY years ago in any of the Long Island villages, or the rural districts in Connecticut, the song-birds, particularly the robin and wood-thrushes on Long Island, were so plentiful that in the spring at half- past three in the morning, they always awoke me by the indescribable din they made with their chirping and singing among the trees. Now in similar locations when I am awake be- tween three and four o'clock in the morning at the same time of year, the birds are so few that I can locate each one by its voice without rising from my bed. There will be one robin chirping over to the right and another one to the left maybe, and one or two others in some other location, and seldom, if ever, do I hear a wood-thrush. The decrease in the twenty years must amount to at least eighty per cent. among the robins, and probably as great per cent. among the other birds. It is not generally known that all of our songbirds are exceedingly local in their habita- tion. If robins nest in the tree next to my house one year, unless some accident befalls the pair, I can count to a certainty that I will find them nesting within fifty feet of the old nest the following year. I have tested this over and over again with certain birds that I could identify, either by some peculiarity of their plumage or some individual characteristic of their song. For eight successive years, a pair of cat birds nested in a certain lilac bush on my lawn on Long Island. For four consecu- tive years a certain pair of orioles nested in a certain maple tree at Flushing. So local was this bird in its selection of its nesting site, that at one time three of its nests representing three consecutive years, hung so close together that every breeze caused them to bump against each other. In a tree on the farm of Mr. Harry Lounsbury at the foot of the hill upon which stands Stormfield, the home of the late Mark Twain, a pair of orioles have nested for eight- een consecutive years. Five of these vears I have verified myself. In my log cabin in Pike County, Penn., a pair of humming birds have built in the swale near my house, usually select- ing the dead lower branches of the pine tree for *Mr. Daniel Carter Beard, the famous artist, author, natur- alistand National Boy Scout Commissioner, has closely observed the struggle for existence of the birds of Southern Connecticut, and the decrease of several important species. The careful observations herein recorded are of special value at this time, when the defenders of our migratory birds are endeavoring to save them through the new law.—W. T. H. BULLETIN 1125 the location of their tiny nest, for almost twen- ty consecutive years. I only give these in- stances to show how local the birds are in their nesting habits, and consequently how easy it is for anyone interested to keep a record of them, and in this way note the gradual but alarmingly rapid decrease of the bird population. When I bought my farm at Redding, Conn., five years ago, I located all the birds between my house and the depot, a distance of 2% miles. In my front yard, or around the house, there were three pair of house wrens. There was also a robin’s nest in the eaves of my studio. In each of six large spruce trees there was one or more, and one in the sugar-maple tree. There was one barn-swallow’s nest in the horse shed, one in the loft of the wagon shed, and one chimney swift’s nest near the barn-swallow’s nest in the loft of the wagon shed. There was a large colony of the latter birds in the chim- neys of my farm house, and a phoebe bird’s nest in the chicken coop. At the Mark Twain Library corner there was an oriole’s nest in the large maple tree, and a blue bird’s nest in the hollow of a spruce tree. The chirping sparrows’ nests, I have kept no track of. Turning the corner to go to the depot, there was an oriole’s in the elm tree, a catbird’s nest in the brush at the right. Then we came to the home of a yellow-breasted chat, then to the high bridge with a phoebe bird’s nest under- neath it; next to a farm with a rose-breasted grosbeak; then to a thicket with an indigo bunt- ing and a humming bird’s nest, both of which birds you could find every morning between nine and eleven perched on the telephone wires opposite their respective homes. After this, you passed a pond filled with buttonwood bushes in which the red-winged blackbirds nested; then a bank which the second year was used by a bank- swallow; then the open meadow through which the Saugatuck flows where the bobolink nested; next a robin’s nest in a tree to the left-hand side of the road and then three pairs of orioles in the elms near the depot. I omitted one blue- winged warbler in the pasture lot. The various birds enumerated were those which occupied positions adjoining the public road, consequently ones which I could observe without leaving my carriage while driving to and from the depot. The orioles next door to my house have transferred their abiding place to one of my spruce trees because their old homestead site in the boughs of a big maple is gone, the tree having died and been cut down. The three families of wrens have met with some accident, and none have come above 1126 ZOOLOGICAL this year to take their place, although these three families stayed with me for four years. The barn swallows in the horse shed are still living; but the ones in the loft have not re- turned, nor the chimney swift in same location. The red squirrels have driven most of the rob- ins away from my fir trees. One season I picked up twenty-one young birds on my lawn killed by those marauding robbers, and every year they destroy most of my tame pigeons. This year we had but two pair of robins breeding in our fir trees. Last year a pair of blue birds took posses- sion of the fence post. Blue birds are be- coming so rare that I took great care not to go near them until they should become thoroughly settled in their home. A little while afterwards I was attracted to the fence-post by the fact that I had missed the call of the blue bird and feared some accident had befallen them. When I went to examine the hole in the fence post, a wren flew out and began to scold me. Upon making an examination I ered that the male blue bird upon entering the hole had accidentally slipped its leg down a crack in the wood and its foot had prevented it from pulling it through and freeing itself, con- sequently the poor thing had died there from starvation. But the most astonishing part of this story is, that the wrens had taken posses- sion of the building site and made their nest on top of the body of the blue bird. This year there has not been a blue bird in the whole distance of two and three-quarter miles to the depot. Last year a robin built in a bush at the cor- tier opposite the Mark Twain Library but it did not come back this year. The one on the telephone pole opposite the oriole on tie left was on hand, but the cat-bird on the right has disappeared, after four consecutive years build- ing in the same spot. The yellow-breasted chats still occupy their usual location. The phoebe bird under the high bridge is missing; the rose- breasted grosbeak is on hand again this season; the bank swallow which came last year again occupied its hole in the bank; the humming bird after four consecutive years of occupancy of the same spot, is missing; the indigo bunting did not appear this spring. The swamp black- bird, apparently were as plentiful as usual, but I missed several pair of the bobolinks. The robin near the depot did not appear this year, and the three pair of orioles are also missing. discoy- This is the record of a short stretch of time. There are no new birds coming to take the place of the birds that have left, and the record of SOCIETY BULLETIN this little stretch of country road can be dupli- cated all over the United States. It means that our song-birds are not only rapidly de- creasing, but they are on the verge of extermin- ation, and the total extinction of our birds is only a matter of a few vears. As Dr. Horn- aday says it is time for the American people to wake up, for outside of the sentimental value of birds, there is a money value which will appeal to our money-loving brothers. We have almost reached the condition of the birdless country described by Longfellow, and so far the only efforts to counteract this by acelima- tization is the introduction of the pestiferous English sparrow and the squeaking starlings. Our ancestors had one or more martin boxes on every farm, on the roof of almost every public building in the villages, on the lawns of all the suburban besides which the skulls of old horses, and the slaughtered cat- tle were preserved on the farm and fastened to the trees and old fence posts for the birds to build in. The old-fashioned barns were alive with the barn swallows, and the eaves encrust» ed with the mud nests of the cliff swallows. The robins covered the lawns and grass plots; the wrens and blue birds occupied every knot hole, and also made nests in the old hats which the farmers used to nail up under the eaves for that purpose. The whistle of the bob-white could be heard in every field that you passed by; the meadow larks were thick on all the meadows; we had no serious scourge of insects. But now, in spite of the spraying of our trees and our gardens, according to the most careful estimates, the insects cost us the immense sum of $420,000,000 a year. The following is a summary of five years’ observation on a short stretch of country road at Redding, Connecticut: New arrivals: One golden-winged wood- pecker in apple tree in back of my studio; one bank swallow on Dart Meeker’s farm, houses, The following are missing: Three pair of wrens around my studio; one pair of barn swal- lows; one pair of chimney swifts—from horse- shed; four pair of robins from around the house; two pair of robins at Mark Twain Li- brary corner; one pair of cat-birds, a little be- yond toward Redding Station; one pair of indigo birds; one pair of humming birds; one pair of robins near the station; three pair of orioles near the station; one pair of king birds, opposite my farm house; one pair brown thrashers opposite my farm house; one pair of bobolinks in my pasture lot. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN arg MEDAL PRESENTED TO DR. HORNADAY Obverse and reverse of the medal of the National Acclimatation Society of France. In the Spring and Fall, thousands of birds are killed by strikng the telephone wires. The other day, I picked up four birds, a rail, two olive-back thrushes and one white throated sparrow—all within the space of twenty feet. Among those that I picked up at different times under the telephone wires, I can recall five or six ruffed grouse, four or five woodcock, one bluejay, one golden shafted woodpecker, and five or six unidentified birds. These were small birds which were beheaded by attempting to fly through the network of the wires. There were also several varieties of thrushes, various kinds of sparrows or finches, a Wilson thrush. all of which were accidental finds. The telephone wires being along the sides of the road, when the birds strike them, they fall into the weeds and underbrush where they are concealed from view, but in front of my own house, Mrs. Beard tells me that she can often hear them strike the wires and sometimes see them do it when she is sitting at the win- dow sewing. Redding, Conn., October 14, 1912. OUR NATIVE HUMMINGBIRDS. There are certain groups of native birds which do not thrive in captivity and are always liberated when brought to the Park by well-meaning friends. Among these are kingfishers, nighthawks and whippoorwills and until very. recently the Rubythroated Hummingbird was included in their num- ber. On May 20, 1918, an Italian laborer appeared at the Park with a feathered mite, safely enclosed in a very dirty milk bottle. On inverting the bottle, the little creature fell out and proved to be a female Ruby-throat. She was in very wretched condition and quite exhausted from constant fluttering against the bottle. Without the slightest hope of being able to revive her, liquid food, which forms the diet of the Sun-birds, was placed near and the hummer’s beak dipped in it. She supped the sweet fluid eagerly and seemed much re- freshed. Still stiff and numb, she was placed on a shelf in the sun and about ten minutes later was buzzing about the room. After some difficulty the tiny bird was recaptured and placed in a large cage covered with wire mos- quito net, once utilized for hatching moths from cocoons. This proved an ideal home for the hummingbird, which at this time is in as per- fect condition as if she were at full liberty. Hummingbirds have been taken to England from South America on several occasions, but have never survived longer than a few weeks. The Ruby-throat is one of the smallest of the hummingbirds and if it survives for a reason- ably long period, a wonderful new field will be opened to us, for tropical America abounds with the most gorgeous species of humming- birds, many of them much larger than our own and therefore apt to be more long-lived in cap- tivity. IDG thik Or During the severe electric storm of the night of June 25, a very fine female Grant zebra, only two weeks in the Park from East Africa, dashed in fright against her range fence and broke her neck. 1128 ZOOLOGICAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN Bepartments - Mammals Reptiles W. T. Hornapay. Raymonp L. Dirmars Birds Aquarium C. WILLIAM BrEBeE. C. H. Townsenp. Lee S. CRANDALL. Raymonp C. Ossury. Published bi-monthly at the Office of the Society, 11 Wall Street, New York City. Yearly by Mail, $1.00. MAILED FREE TO MEMBERS. Copyright, 1914, by the New York Zoological Society Each author is responsible for the scientifie accuracy and the proof reading of his contribution. Euwis R. Saxsory, Editor Von. XVII. No. 4 JULY, 1914. ENFORCEMENT OF THE MIGRATORY BIRD LAW. In a short time the enemies of the migratory bird law will, with great glee, announce once more that the law is “unconstitutional.” This time the statement will have a little more to rest upon than the soap-box decisions of learned spring-shooters of wild fowl who never even saw the national constitution. In eastern Arkansas at Jonesboro, on May 27. in the United States District Court, the case of the United States against Harvey C. Schauver, for a violation of the Federal mi- gratory bird law, was heard by Judge Jacob Trieber, who decided that “the law is uncon- stitional.”” Of course the United States will carry the case up until it finally reaches the United States Supreme Court, where, with extra expedition, a decision may be expected in about eighteen months. The first decision on the status of the migra- tory law was that rendered in South Dakota on April 18, 1914, by Judge J. D. Elliott of the Federal Court, who decided, in the case of A. M. Shaw, that the law is constitutional. Mr. Shaw pleaded guilty, and was fined $100, which was paid. The friends of birds need feel no alarm over this incident, nor anything more serious than mild interest. Unless the United States Su- preme Court deliberately elects to pull down a full score of laws that the representatives of the American people have enacted in Congress for the greatest good of the greatest number, the federal migratory bird law will stand. The side of the People and the Birds will be taken care of, if need be, by a hundred able lawyers. who are fully convinced that the law is consti- tutional. and that its stability can be demon- SOCIETY BULLETIN strated to the satisfaction of and logical legal mind. any open In addition to the score or more New York and Washington lawyers who have offered their services to this cause, some of whom already have prepared extended briefs, Mr. Frederic R. Coudert, one of the most distinguished mem- bers of the American bar, has volunteered his service on the side of the birds.—an offer which undoubtedly will be accepted. The United States Department of Justice, headed by At- torney-General McReynolds, can confidently be trusted to conduct the People’s fight for the birds with all the legal acumen and resources of that Department. The decision of Judge Trieber in the East- ern District Court of Arkansas will not in the least affect the enforcement of the national mi- gratory bird law in other States, nor even in other districts. In the forty-seven other States of our country the migratory bird law will be rigidly enforced, and those who violate it will be brought to book and punished. Meanwhile, the negotiations for the inter- national treaty are going right on, just as rap- idly and satisfactorily as is possible in such a matter. The Canadians realize that in protect- ing the migratory birds we are doing our best to give them a square deal. In due time the treaty will be signed, and presented to the United States Senate for ratification; and when that is done, we believe that the Senate will ratify it. The resolute action of the Senate, 45 to 17, restoring the House appropriation of $50,000 for the enforcement of the migratory bird law, by two yea-and-nay votes, shows once more that the United States Senate is an im- pregnable Gibralter of wild life protection, and even foes within are powerless to turn it over to the enemy! W. (By mail, postage 2 cents per set extra.) Maw) POStPAIM ges deel wg Pe ske a 1.65 Photogravures: Series of 12 subjects in sepia. Animals i : and views in the Zoological Park. Sold in sets Destruction of Our Birds and Mam- of 2*subjects. MPer’set, postpaid ss). serie easy es 25 mals (Hornaday)............- es 15 S ir M z S . P, 7 Souvenir Map-Fan: A combined fan and map of the Notes on Mountain Sheep of North eeOlOEres PD tie eda Oa lane aOR A tne AAS ems ad 10 America (Hornaday).......... os et) (By mail, postage 2 cents extra.) oe a rt “a Panorama of ‘the Zoological Park: Reproduced in colors rhe Caribou (Grant): ee Ee Se ao 60 from an original drawing in perspective. Sold The Origin and Relationship of the flatiorkiny foldenmormit kasc cc teeee ee eats 10 Large Mammals of North Amer- : (By mail, postage 2 cents extra.) ica (Grant)................-. 1.00 ETE Es at 14 inches. 12 subjects in black and mR z oe ' sk RATTLE Se TCL Ort pe min Aen Ce OROROROIEID A eee een ere 25 The Rocky Mountain eat grant) 1.00 Duotone Brown) gen «os. 2. wis ee lee cote we 35 Zoologica Vol. 1. Nos. 1-11 inclusive, Hand Colored (10 Subjects), each................ 15 DEL Sais EAS oct Otoitht Siena oe 2.7 " SEL 4 “ a0 New York Aquarium Nature Series Zoologica Vol. 1. Nos. 12, 13 and 14. -25 Searshore suites (Maven) miccicuiviaie «> sleet seis «in Ie20. “ i OE, Sin ted Sart 25 Cultivation of Fishes in Ponds (Tow nsend) . b a Taw Bulletin Nos. 1, 6, 8, 35, 43 and 46 .. Dy Ege || PO Naame Bulletins—Bi-monthly......... 20c. each; Yearly by mail 1.00 | Care of He Bulletin Nos. 5 to 23 inclusive, set, cloth bound,......... 5.00 | Porpoise ir Official Guide to the New York MOOIBICS Park (HOMMAGAY), sie ie dc iics wes rere een cles 25 Aquarium Publications for sale at 11 Wall Street, Zoological P; dl ye 3 7 j Vou. XVIII. No. 1 ety | JANUARY, 19158 | in il yr is BAAN i eo Cee LEST YY: eee YIN SSS >» Bi my i; A Y Y 4, Published b y THE NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY . aA = 7 MUNN TTT RTA OTTO il| TF ' | 1 by lit iat ik i Nib ih " Officers of the New York Zoological Soriety President Henry Farrrietp OsBorn. Secretary Creasurer Mapison Grant, 11 Wall Street. Percy R. Pyne, 80 Pine Street. Executive Committer Mapison Grant, Chairman. Percy R. Pyne, SamMuet TuHornNe, Frank K. Srurais, WitiiamM Wuire Nixes, Wm. Pierson Hamitton, LisPENARD STEWART, Watson B. Dickerman, Henry Farirrietp Oszorn, Ea Officio. Board of Managers Ex Officio The Mayor of the City of New York. The Preswenr of the Depariment of Paris. Glass nf 1915 Levi P. Morton, SamueL THorNE, Ocpen Mitts, ANDREW CARNEGIE, Henry A. C. Taytor, Lewis RutHerrurD Morris, Mapison Grant, Frank K. Srureis, Arcuer M. Huntineron, Wituram Wuirte Nites, Georce J. Goutp, Henry M. Titrorp. Glass nf 1916 F. Aveustrus SCHERMERHORN, Cxievetanp H. Doper, Emerson McMILurn, Percy R. Pyne, C. Lepyarp Buair, Antuony R. Kusrer, Georce B. GrinneELL, Freperick G. Bourne, Watson B. DickerRMAN, Georce C. CLarK, W. Austin Wapswortu, Mortimer L. Scuirr. Class of 1917 Henry Farrrietp Osporn, Cuartes I. Drerericnu, Wma. Pierson Hamitron, Wituiam C, Cuurcn, James J.. Huu, Rosert S. Brewster, LisPENARD STEWART, Georce F. Baker, Epwarp S. Harkness, H. Casimir pe Ruan, Grant B. Scutey, Wivuiam B. Oscoop Fiexp. Geurral Officers Wituiam T. Hornapay, Director of the Park. Cuartes H. Townsenp, Director of the Aquarium. H. J. Suorrer, Assistant Secretary. R. L. Cerero, Assistant to the Treasurer. La Farce & Morais, Architects. H. De B. Parsons, Consulting Engineer. Dr. Georce S. Huntinetron, Prosector. Officers of the Zoological Park Witiram T. Hornapay, Director. H. R. MircuHetu, C. Wituiam Besse, H. W. MerkKEL, G. M. Brerrsower, Raymonp L. Dirmars, L. S. Cranpatu, W. Rew Brair, Witiiam MitrcHetu, Erwin R. Sanporn. Officers of the Aquarium Cuartes H. Townsenpn, Director. Raymonp C. Oseurn, Assistant. Wasuincton I. DeNyse. Rogpert SUTCLIFFE. HEAD OF THE AFRICAN RHINOCEROS, VICTORIA Leo .OulL O Gale@ Ari SQ hE TY, Bow C Lebet tN CONTENTS FOR JANUARY, 1915 Goritta, Younc FeEMAL.e .................. GoriLuas, Past AND PRESENT InprivipuaL Traits or ELEPHANTS PAGE es Frontispiece Spesesrn cade tect W. T. Hornaday 1181 Raymond L. Ditmars 1185 Wreck or THE Boston ZooioaicaL Park... cote eee nee W. T. Hornaday 1188 First News From THE ANTWERP ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS... Mord SI 2 ra 1189 A SAMPLE OF OPPOSITION ~.W. 1189 INiaas VEO TOTRS). ss: gsr ese A oe rea eee eT eT 1189 Irems or INTEREST ........... eee aeeehaymond L. Ditmars 1191 FS) CONTE EUPANEN Ee VIVASN IVAN os feteee ese neo, ee een w..Raymond L. Ditmars 1194 Repairs AND BerrerRMENTS IN THE Park... pet oe ae Hermann W. Merkel 1196 TRANSPLANTING Brrps or PARADISE Eeret Farmine in InpiIa.......... 1196 ee eee -W. T. Hornaday 1197 Usiastawniy IRHes ters ey opin 1BhiCey aS Ways pS )ye 05 0p ieee paaeeeee suena nnuO NENT rt oo UO OS pee acute ee 1198 “MOUIED TU MI AG “PLOL ‘1@ gsnany “M1 [BOLAO[007 aT] 04 yUsno1g sAVNIG,, “VTTHMOD WIVNAA ONNOA ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN Published by the New York Zoological Society Von. XVIII JANUARY, 1915 Numser 1 GORILLAS, PAST AND PRESENT By Wituram T. Hornapay. NDOUBTEDLY, the highest desire of U every zoological garden and park, and of every showman, is to own and exhibit a real, live gorilla of a size sufficiently large to compel both admiration and awe. The human mind loves to contemplate, with a suitable inter- vention of bars, the apes that stand nearest to man, and at the same time human nerve-centers love to be racked and thrilled by a beast that is both ugly and fearsome. Even after all has been said about the gorilla that the devotees of Truth can say, The half hath not been told. The life history of that species is a black mystery. Even the geograph- ical range of the genus Gorilla is definable only in general terms. If we are moved to accept some rather cloudy, ancient history, we may be- lieve that Hanno, the Carthaginian, on his fa- mous but mysterious voyage to Fernando Po, something like 550 B. C., discovered the gorilla, and first made note of its existence. But it may have been a chimpanzee; and probably it was; and a captive chimpanzee, at that. We think there is small chance that Hanno ever saw a gorilla, alive or dead. A gorilla skull was discovered in 1846 by the Rey. Dr. J. L. Wilson. The gorilla as a living animal was discovered by Paul B. Du Chaillu, in 1856, and by him properly and painstakingly exploited in his book, “Adven- tures in Equatorial Africa,’ in 1861. The real discovery of this remarkable species occurred on August 24, 1856, near an abandoned native village, on the top of a small mountain range at an elevation estimated at 5,000 feet, drained by the Ntambounay River, which flows into the Muni River, sixty miles north of the Equator, opposite Corisco Island. The precise spot is seventy miles north of the Equator, and 115 miles from the coast; and it was not on the Gaboon River at all. Skulls and science are all very well; but for our knowledge of the gorilla we owe most to Paul Du Chaillu and his popular book, “Equa- torial Africa.’ It was through that hair-rais- ing and altogether masterful presentation that the greatest and most fearsome of the great apes burst upon an astonished world. It is a matter of history that when the doughty ex- plorer landed in America with a priceless col- lection of gorilla skins and skeletons, expect- ing and deserving an ovation, he was bitterly disappointed. At that time American zoology was still in its swaddling clothes. There were few museums of any kind, and few persons who cared about ape skins or ape stories from far distant Africa. As a result, Du Chaillu resentfully gathered up his collection and took it over to England, where it was better appreci- ated. Going or coming, the gorilla is a most elusive animal. All the observations of living speci- mens that ever have been made, added together (but not duplicated), would not make one small book. Only one gorilla ever has lived in cap- tivity long enough to establish a record and constitute a case worth while. That unique in- stance of longevity occurred in Breslau; but if we were as careful to avoid all references to German zoological gardens as all German writers are to avoid all references to the New York Zoological Park, we never would mention it! Strange to say, the Breslau gorilla is so little known in literature and among mammal- ogists that even the latest and largest work on the primates does not even mention it by title; but it lived in captivity seven years! 1182 FOOT OF THE GORILLA Upper and lower surfaces. The objectionable features of the gorilla are its much too savage habits, and its aversion to food and life in captivity. It is not an animal of philosophic mind, nor is it given to intelligent reasoning from cause to effect. It reminds one of children who refuse to taste a new kind of food because they know in advance that they won't like it! And what can we do with a wild animal that is not amenable to the pangs of hunger, and would rather die than yield? The first gorilla that came to us, in 1912, was on arrival in a low state physically, from food- refusal, and its food preferences and aversions were at once the rage and the despair of its keepers. Of the score of good things offered that go- rilla, and of which it should have eaten, it par- took of not one. It refused the finest bananas, but it did attempt to eat microscopic portions of the inner lining of banana skins. It desired either plantains, or the succulent centers of banana plants; these, and nothing more. The New York Botanical Gardens loyally sacrificed to science, as represented by the emaciated body of a food-sick gorilla, two perfectly good banana plants, and their hearts were duly con- sumed. By the time we had secured a small lot of spoiled plantains from New Orleans, and two dozen good ones from Cuba, the gorilla was ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN dead; which, as a purely logical proposition, it deserved to be, for its obstinacy. It took us nine months to recover from the shock of our first gorilla. Then we formulated a plan of campaign by which we hoped to se- cure at least one gorilla that should reach us not only alive but in good health. We believed that if we could secure a specimen in that state we could make it live for at least two or three years. Having failed three times to secure gorillas by ordinary purchase from Hamburg and London, because in case the animal died before shipment, or before reaching our shore, we abandoned all hope of winning in that way. each We decided that we could win a good gorilla by sending Mr. Garner to the gorilla country, contract to collect gorillas, keep them there in their home country in com- fortable captivity, teach them to eat civilized food and become personally attached to him. Then, whenever one or more specimens had be- come well grounded in captivity, he should bring them to New York, on the most sanitary and sumptuous basis that steamer accommoda- tions could offer. with a two years’ This plan was carried out, in every detail. Mr. Garner secured two gorillas, Dinah and an understudy named Don. The latter died at the HAND OF THE GORILLA ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN CONFLICT BETWEEN GORILLA AND NATIVE HUNTERS Group modelled by William Umlauff (Hamburg) to illustrate an actual occurrence in German East Africa, in which two hunters were killed by a Gorilla. end of a three months’ sojourn at Fernan Vaz, of general lack of stamina. Dinah, a lovely fe- male gorilla three years of age, landed in New York on August 21, 1914, the last wild animal to come out of Africa prior to the complete em- bargo of war! Thanks to the kind co-operation of the Zoological Society and Gardens of Rot- terdam, where Mr. Garner and Dinah inconti- nently landed to escape the war, the gorilla was handsomely cared for during the anxious weeks that elapsed before it became possible to se- cure steamer accommodations to New York. Those were the days that tried the souls of tourists and gorillas alike. It is the firm belief of Mr. Garner that, taken all in all, Dinah was at that time “the best gorilla that ever came out of Africa.” For a wonder of wonders, she was (and _ still is) cheerful, good-natured and affectionate, instead of being, like other captive gorillas, morose, savage and resentful. She ate with relish sev- eral kinds of civilized food, and drank quanti- ties of water. In order to improve the shining hour, she was immediately placed on exhibition, and even the great throngs of people who flocked to the Primate House to see her did not seem to annoy her in the least. Without any violent jar, her affections were skillfully expanded until they embraced her new keeper, Fred Engeholm, who was detached from the service of all the common baboons and monkeys of the collection and concentrated on the anthropoid apes. Dinah made friends with many persons, including secretaries, directors, curators, keepers, reporters and photographers. She posed for scores of pictures, moving and fixed, and in every way strove to fill the high position in the zoological world to which nature and the Zoological Society had elected her. When Dinah arrived, the first thing seen of her was her nose. Its half human elevation is a general focus of attention. Her whole face is jet black, and as shiny and smooth as _pol- ished ebony. Next to her nose, her most cap- tivating feature is her large, liquid-brown eyes that make a distinct appeal to human sympathy. They are indeed human-like, and in develop- ment far above the elfish, cunning orbs of the chimpanzee, or the small, pig-like eyes of the orang. I cannot recall that thus far any ob- server has pointedly called attention to the humanlikeness of the gorilla’s eyes, but really, it is the second feature that should be noted in that remarkable animal. Both in shape and in 1184 DINAH SELDOM WALKS ERECT Sometimes in this position the fingers of her hands are doubled under. size, the ear is nearest to the ear of man, being much smaller than the huge, wing-like ear of the chimpanzee and much larger than the ab- surdly small ear of the orang. The short arms, long legs and mannish hands and feet are all of them much nearer to the form of those members in man than can be found in any other member of the Order Primates. The fingers and toes are short, and in walking they usually lie flat upon the ground, instead of being doubled under as they are in the orang and chimpanzee. The entire skin of this gorilla is black. The hair is abundant, but not long as in the orang, and on this three year old speci- men it has the peculiar gray tone of a dark- This gray advancing grizzly bear. with colored “‘silvertip” tone becomes much age; and an old male gorilla usually is as gray stronger as a badger. In walking, our gorilla does not stand erect one-half the time. Her favorite posture is on all-fours, and when she does stand erect, her legs are not as straight as one expects to see The knees are always slightly bent, which has the effect of giving the figure a slightly stooping posture. them. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN On September 1, 1914, Dinah weighed forty and one-half pounds. Her standing height was three and one-half feet, and the extreme spread of her arms and hands between the tips of her middle fingers was four feet two and one- half inches. In view of the food-habits of our first gorilla, Dinah’s menu is interesting. When her appe- tite was at its best, (in September and Octo- her daily food follows: ber, ) program was about as At 8 a. m. she took a raw egg beaten up in 5 milk. At 10:30 she was given a fruit course, consisting of the best fruits in season, whatever they chanced to be,—apples, bananas, oranges, pears or grapes,—two or three different kinds. At 11:30 she received a small ration of bread, 1:30 came her most meal, a dinner in fact, brought hot from the Rockingstone Restaurant in a dinner-carrier conveyed in a tight box. or crackers and water. At substantial regular This meal always contained a good cooked-meat dish, either roast beef. broiled chicken, or lamb, with gravy, mashed potatoes and bread. She would not eat ordinary vegetables! She scorned boiled potatoes, spinach, beans and sprouts. At 3 p. m. there was another diversion with Between received milk and a raw egg, as in the morning; and at 8:30 her day closed with a drink of plain milk. fruit and bread. 5 and 6 o'clock she Drinking water was either given frequently, or While in Mr. Gar- kept accessible at all times. THE MOST PROMIN * FEATURE IS HER NOSE Her liquid-brown eyes are very human-like. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN ner’s possession in Africa and aboard ship, she drank great quantities of water, sometimes as much as three guarts in one day. Dinah’s health remained excellent—until No- vember 15. Then it was noticed that in a very strange manner she kept all her fingers con- stantly closed. She walked upon them e¢losed; she climbed with them closed. At once we be- gan a treatment of massage and liniment; which seemed beneficial. By November 25, it had to be acknowledged that Dinah’s appetite was failing somewhat, and that the muscles of her legs and arms were not up to the mark of robust health. The fail- ure of certain leg and arm muscles to perform their functions looked like locomotor ataxia, or infantile paralysis. A careful examination of the case by Dr. Amoss, of the Rockefeller In- stitute of Medical Research, revealed the fact that the spinal chord was free from the bacteria that cause infantile paralysis; and therefore we are led to hope that if Dinah’s appetite will only support her adequately, she will outgrow her locomotor ataxia. There is not the slightest reason to hope that an adult gorilla, either male or female, ever will be seen living in a zoological park or gar- den. Large specimens cannot be caught alive in condition to long survive. The savage and implacable nature of the animal is against it. Only young specimens, usually under two years of age, can be captured and civilized; and even when a specimen has been so taken and settled down, it is due to die overnight, and from no understandable cause. The average lifetime of a gorilla in Europe is about nine months, or less. In captivity go- rillas are utterly lacking in stamina, and instead of rivalling the orangs and chimpanzees, they are as difficult and sensitive as howling monkeys. There is no excuse whatever for Dinah’s loco- motor ataxia; and therefore we hope that with the aid of the electrical treatment and massage that she is receiving she will eventually recover. I think that the popular idea of the great strength and ferocity of the adult male gorilla on his own ground is not in the least exagger- ated. Although the height of a big male is only five feet six inches, its breadth of chest and general muscular development are such that even were its powerful teeth eliminated, it would be impossible for enough strong men to get around an “old man” gorilla to hold him and put handcuffs on him. No one ever has weighed an adult male gorilla, but it would seem that an estimate of 400 pounds would not be far from the truth. 1185 One of the difficulties involved in the capture of young gorillas lies in the fact that the French Congo Territory contains the best go- rilla country, and the French government reso- lutely prohibits the importation of gunpowder for use by the natives. It was impossible for the Zoological Society to procure permission for the importation of five pounds for Mr. Garner to give to the hunters whom he desired to send out to capture gorillas for us. Without firearms, it is only the boldest and most reckless native who dares to go hunting for gorillas. It is unfortunate that the ape that, in some respects, stands nearest to man, never can be seen in adult state in zoological gardens; but we may as well accept that fact—because we can not do otherwise. ELEPHAN’ INDIVIDUAL TRAITS OF By Raymonp L. Dirmars. HERE are no group of wild animals where individual traits are more strikingly apparent than among the elephants. Five elephants representing three species are on exhibition in the Zoological Park and each of these animals exhibits markedly different men- tal characteristics. Idiosynerasies, we might say, are common among pachyderms; and the large female Indian elephant Alice, is a good illustration. In her stall Alice is a gentle and obedient animal, with no bad traits. Under such con- ditions she is calm, and not disposed to be mischievous. The same demeanor prevails as she wanders during the warm months, about her spacious yard. Taken away from her usual quarters and subjected to scenes in any way foreign to her usual routine, she becomes dan- gerously erratic and seems possessed with a blind passion to destroy. During such exhibi- tions of her erratic temper, there is no inclina- tion on the part of Alice to attack any human neighbor. Her energies are directed against inanimate objects; and at times she is utterly beyond control, and deaf to all commands. We have experienced two such illustrations from Alice—when we moved her from one building to another—and the line of her progress was marked by a trail of overturned refuse cans, damaged saplings, overturned benches and bent fence-posts. And yet to observe Alice in the elephant house, she seems a uniformly calm and docile elephant, which she is—so long as she is at home. Alice is very fond of Congo, the round eared pygmy elephant. Though Congo is a well-ma- 1186 ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN INDIAN ELEPHANT, GUNDA, TRYING OUT A NEW INVENTION He can walk across his corral attached by a chain to the cable that extends from his stall to a staple in the round near the center of the yard. tured animal, his small size causes Alice to treat him as a tender infant. Owing to a bad case of rheumatism Congo recently was re- moved to a temporary hospital building. For several years he had occupied the stall with Alice. When he was taken out, Alice stren- uously objected, and for a few hours was in- clined to resent any intrusion from the keepers. During part of that day our men were warned by the gleam of her eyes to keep away from her. She restlessly paced the stall, trumpeted frequently and was distinctly grieved for some days. Congo's individualism is manifest in utter stubbornness. When taken for a walk he has a decided inclination to stop and make leisurely inspections on the way. Nothing can budge him until he decides to go, and if he imagines there is a possibility of force being used by the keep- ers, he seeks a soft spot, practically stands upon his head and drives his long tusks into the ground, as an anchor, against further disturb- ances. He never has been savage or destruc- tive. Sultana, the female of the pair of Sudan ele- phants, is the most docile member of the collec- tion. Her idiosynerasy is indicated in an unfail- ing interest in labels. No label, unless of boiler iron, can withstand her curious and rough in- vestigation. An elaborate board label, hanging temporarily near Sultana’s stall, finally was se- cured by this elephant after she had stood upon her hind feet, and made heroic efforts to reach the prize. This board had involved much work on the part of our label painter, and we were surprised and grieved to flnd that Sultana had for a time paraded about with it in her mouth, and ended her diversion by endeavoring to stand with all four feet upon it. The label was then beyond recognition to all but its makers. All present labels within reach of Sultana are of heavy plate iron, rigidly bolted to the cage- work. Sultana is constantly engaged in investi- gating the security of these fastenings, and constantly hopes to undermine them. The male Sudan elephant which arrived with Sultana seven years ago is the most mis- chievous pachyderm in the building. Kartoum was captured on the Blue Nile in 1906, and we have estimated that he is about eleven years old. When he arrived at the Park in June 1907, he was a mere infant, four feet nine inches in height. and weighed 1285 pounds. He is now ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN seven feet three inches in height, and weighs over 4500 pounds. While Kartoum is ever restless and very de- structive, he is not savage, although at matur- ity African elephants usually become erratic and dangerous. His huge, flappy ears, narrow head, corrugated trunk and swinging gait make of him the most spectacular of our elephants, although this point might be disputed by the mighty Gunda, with his nine-thousand pounds of bulk towering aloft in the adjoining stall. Kartoum’s favorite sport is to employ his head as a battering ram in an endeavor to loosen masonry, doors and cagework. In these attempts he is untiring and the Elephant House frequently thunders and vibrates under his destructive industry. It has been found neces- sary to protect the doors and other vulnerable places with bristling armaments of sharp spikes. Trees, fence posts and corners of the buildings have been tirelessly butted by Kartoum, and the animal’s tusks, once promising and well- grown, have been worn down deep into his leathery lips. Kartoum’s minor sports consist of wild rushes and whirls, like frantic dances. Nothing movable is for a moment permitted in his stall, because he can and will raise objects of con- siderable weight and toss them at his visitors. His antics are clownish, but his colossal strength makes it necessary to confine his manoeuvres within solidly-bounded limits. Gunda, the great male Indian elephant, al- ways is of great interest to visitors, owing to his impressive bulk and his reputation for vig- orous temper. Gunda is a creature of the sea- sons. To say that he suffers from captivity is to quite misunderstand the situation. There are good and bad elephants. Some become so utterly bad as to require chains for life. We do not believe Gunda ever will need to be class- ified among the rogue pachyderms. He is of high caste, a patrician among elephants, and is wilful and desperate only at specific times. There is a period each year when most adult male elephants are more or less disturbed. This occurs in the spring, and the breeding period is designated as “musth.” The maturing Gunda indicated this condition in the spring of 1913. He had been daily becoming more surly and one morning when Keeper Thuman was leading him out of the stall where the animal had been at liberty, Gunda charged, hurled Thuman to the floor and badly gored him with one of his tusks. Thuman was dragged out by Keeper Richards, who bravely entered and drove Gunda out into the yard. 1187 When Thuman returned to the Park, after three months painful absence, it was with un- conquerable feelings of friendliness for the big elephant. He had begged that Gunda be given “one more chance.’ Gunda was chained in his stall for the greater part of the time, but finally given liberty in his yard as he again became tractable the following fall. During the spring of 1914, Gunda again broke out. He became so dangerous that Director Hornaday ordered him chained fore and aft. Without so doing it was impossible to enter and clean his stall. The chains were attached or shifted with great difficulty, because Gunda was bent on mischief. A number of visitors who were not versed in the ways of elephants were much moved to pity at the sight of the chains, and assumed that the animal was suffering tortures. There have been instances of bad elephants in this country that were permanently chained under far more strenuous and uncomfortable conditions than Gunda, without any public outbreaks regarding them. At the same time our feeling for the great beast was that of sympathetic interest, not revenge. Despite Gunda’s lunges, charges and blows, Keeper Thuman remained uniformly friendly. Nothing was more remote from ‘Thuman’s mind than punishing the elephant. As Gunda re- covered from his period of “musth,’ Dr, Horn- aday had a heavy wire cable stretched from the front of his cage across the outside yard, close to the ground, and to this Gunda was at- tached by a single chain with a sliding ring. He was practically at liberty, and restrained only from a direct charge to any considerable distance. This arrangement, which was made as soon as it became safe to make the change, was accepted as satisfactory. The sympathetic reader will imagine that Gunda exhibited exuberant joy at his release from the chains in his stall. Was that the case? Not at all! The massive stall doors were thrown back and Gunda walked out into the yard and sunlight. He walked about for an hour, then returned to his usual place, in the stall where he swung back and forth and surveyed the crowd! That was his daily performance. Con- trary to all romantic theories, Gunda’s princi- pal diversion is to stand in his stall, solemnly munching hay and rocking to and fro like a boat in a cross swell. While on that cable, and practically free, he spends much more than one-half of the day- light hours standing quietly in his indoors com- partment. 1188 ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN Departments - Mammals Aquarium W. T. Hornapay. C. H. Townsenpb. c Raymonp C, Ospurn. Birds Reptiles Raymonp L. Ditmars. C. Witt1aM BEEBE. Lee S. CRANDALL. Published bi-monthly at the Office of the Society, 11 Wall Street, New York City. Yearly by Mail, $1.00. MAILED FREE TO MEMBERS. Copyright, 1915, by the New York Zoological Society. Each author is responsible for the scientific accuracy and the proof reading of his contribution. Etwin R. SANBORN, Editor and Official Photographer Vot. XVIII. No. 1 JANUARY, 1915 WRECK OF THE BOSTON ZOOLOGICAL PARK. In 1910, after thoughtful and effective study, the Board of Park Commissioners of Boston, headed by Robert S. Peabody, a distinguished architect, completed and published an excellent plan for a zoological garden in Franklin Park. The new institution was designed on broad and dignified lines, it was reasonable in scope and it laid the foundation of a zoological park in every way worthy of the fifth city of the United States. The site chosen was admirable, and of little use for other purposes. The funds necessary for construction were obtainable without recourse to taxation, or even to bond issues for the borrowing of money. The income of the great fund bequeathed to the city by Francis Parkman, for the development and improvement of the city parks of Boston, made available $200,000 per year for expenditure in building an aquarium and zoological park; and the Park Board and Mayor Fitzgerald agreed that for its outfit of buildings and other im- provements, “the zoo” should have $200,000 per year for five years. The approved plans were handsomely pub- lished in October, 1910, and immediately the Park Board began to carry them into effect. A fine aquarium was built at Marine Park, and bear dens, a great flying cage and bird house were built in their allotted places on the zoo- logical park site. An expert was brought from the Bermuda Aquarium as director of the Aqua- rium, and Mr. Arthur B. Baker, assistant su- perintendent of the Washington Zoological Park, was secured as director of the zoo, and duly installed. In their mild and dignified way, the people of Boston were well pleased. There was not a ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN breath of criticism or opposition. The new benefits to accrue to the wage-earners of Boston seemed fairly within their grasp. In 1913 Mr. Curley was elected mayor. He took office on January 1, and by July 1 the plan for the Boston Zoological Park was a complete wreck. The director of the Aquarium was out, and a political swimming-teacher was rolling around in the directorship, like a pebble in a gourd. Mr. Baker resigned in disgust and went back to Washington. Just who is now director of the zoo, we do not know, nor care. A gar- dener named Dillon was appointed by Mayor Curley to the presidency of the Board of Parks, and for a dozen reasons Mr. Peabody and Mr. Coakley resigned. In the sacred name of economy—economy of money not furnished by the taxpayers of Bos- ton,—the Peabody plan for a zoological park worthy of Boston was thrown upon the scrap heap of politics, and there it lies today. But all was not lost. The administration ac- cepted as a gift three Indian elephants, and now is (supposed to be) erecting an elephant shed—it cannot properly be called an elephant house—at a cost of $25,000 for those three ele- phants alone. If a real elephant house ever is built in the Boston zoo, that shed will not even be as useful as a lean-to; but this is economy. At present, we repeat, that the plan for a great and worthy Boston zoo is a wreck. Thus far two men of Boston, Dr. J. C. Phillips and C. Emerson Brown, are the only men interested who have had the courage to publish their pro- tests against the Mayor’s course. The Mayor accuses his critics of selfishness and a desire to loot. The effort to create a Zoological Society of size and power to safeguard the Boston zoo end- ed in failure, several years ago, and there being no one in the field to safeguard the interests of the public, Mayor Curley has smashed things with joyous freedom and entire immunity from active opposition. Fortunately for the American people, the ele- vation of an ordinary man, or even an inferior man, into the highest municipal office, usually has a sobering effect. Usually it brings out the best that is in the man, and inspires him to do his level best to rise to the occasion. City institutions rarely are wrecked, or even crip- pled by such men, especially after institutions have become going concerns. But from such mayors as Mr. Curley, safe- guarding bodies of strong men are necessary. Since 1896, New York City never has had a ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN mayor who would have wrecked the Zoological Park even if he could; and even Boston may not have another in a hundred years; but for the present, Mr. Curley is there. As a partial voucher for the situation, Mr. Alexander Pope was led into giving the indi- vidual animals in Franklin Park a clean bill of health as to care and treatment; but it is not with the individual bears and monkeys of 1914 that we are concerned. We are angry and disgusted because ignorance and folly have wrecked a fine plan for a great zoological park. As a result, it now may safely be predicted that Boston never will have a zoological park or zoo- logical garden worthy of serious consideration, or worthy of that city. Wiel Ee FIRST NEWS FROM THE ANTWERP ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN. From the date of the bombardment of Antwerp, great apprehension has been felt re- garding the fate of the beautiful and costly Zoo- logical Garden of that city. Messrs. Lorenz and Heinrich Hagenbeck, both of whom are yet in Hamburg, alive and well, have furnished us with a copy of a letter received by them from Dr. Buttikofer, director of the Rotterdam Zoological Garden, which reads as follows: All the bears in the Antwerp Zoological Garden were shot prior to the bombardment. The large feline carnivora were put into strong transportation cages and removed to the rear of the garden, like- wise prior to the bombardment, while the small fe- linae were transferred to cages in the cellars of the Festival Building. A few days before the surrender of the city, when the heavy cannonading started fires in all parts of the city, which could no longer be put out in consequence of lack of water, the large carnivora were likewise shot by resolution of the Board of Directors, adopted contrary to the director's advice. None of the other animals were killed, with the exception of a few venomous snakes. During the bombardment only one shell dropped into the garden, striking the ground in the open space for the turtles, where it fortunately did no material damage. Mr. L’hoest and his two younger children were my guests from October 5th to the earlier part of November, while the other members of his family likewise came to Rotterdam towards the end of the bombardment. Mr. L’hoest himself, whose mind had suffered severely from the effects of the terrible ex- citement and of the successive events which over- powered him, also came to Rotterdam for a few days, after the bombardment. By the earlier part of November all the members of the family had returned to Antwerp. The garden and the animals kept there have suf- fered no further damage during the siege, but you will readily understand that the number of visitors has so decreased as to be practically nil, while the membership will undoubtedly be reduced to such an extent that the very existence of the garden will ap- parently be put into serious jeopardy. 1189 Everything here is in good shape, although there has likewise been a large decrease in our receipts, which compels us to be exceedingly economical. I presume that similar conditions prevail in all the Zoological Gardens in Germany, as well as in your country. With kindest regards IT remain Yours very truly, I. Burrixorer. A SAMPLE OF OPPOSITION. The following letter, reproduced as written, may be taken as a fair sample of the opposition to the federal migratory bird law that occasion- ally is discovered: Wie, Jee JACKSON UNDERTAKING CO. Fine Funeral Goods. Chicago, Ill., May 22, 1914. Dr WT: Hornaday, 5 Dear Sir Just a gentle reminder. if old and yourself was posessed of some real christian char- ity instead of your misplaced efforts on migratory birds, both of you could really help humanity by de- voting that money to the improvement of orphan and needy children. us western hunters will kill all the birds’ we want to kill. Yours sincerely, Frank O. Baker. NEW MEMBERS. July 1, 1914-December 31, 1914. Life Member. JosepH A. McALEENAN. Corresponding Member. G. Tyrwuirt-Drake. Annual Members. Arthur C. Mack, Dr. Philip Manecke, Miss Lucy B. Marks, Robert W. Martin, Fritz vonBernuth, Jr., Ernest Abs-Hagen George J. Bryan, C. L. Carpenter, Edward H. Clark, Case Edwards, Louis J. Ehret, A.R. Walty, George Lauder, Jr. W. P. Willis, Joseph Wittman. Growth of the Stellar Sea Lion.—When first installed with the other pinnipeds the Stellar sea lion was not particularly noticeable, as he was of smaller size and similar color. This animal has steadily grown until now it appears to weigh over two hundred pounds. His mas- sive build, large eyes and hoarse. guttural ery at once attract attention. Adult males of this species attain a length of ten feet, and a weight of about fourteen hundred pounds. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 1191 GIANT RED KANGAROO Resting is an art with this awkward animal. ITEMS OF INTEREST. Recent Arrivals—Among the recent arrivals at the Park is a series of exceptionally interest- ing amphibians from Australia. Several of the species have never before been exhibited alive in the United States. Among these are the beautiful golden tree frog, marbled with gleam- ing bronze and metallic green, White's tree frog, which is a gigantic member of its race and the silver frog. The call of the White's tree frog resounds throughout the Reptile House, and is a novel diversion in a building where silence usually reigns among the thous- and or more inmates. Another Reptile House addition is a big anaconda, from Venezuela. Few mammals have been recently added to the collection, as war conditions in Europe have practically closed the foreign animal market. A splendid example of the Abyssinian lion was recently purchased. The name of this beautiful creature is Menelik, and he is particularly no- ticeable owing to his pale coat and almost golden mane. He is long of body, with the straight back so admired by animal sculptors. Important among recent mammals received are two Rocky Mountain goats from the Can- adian Rockies. The Venerable Sultan—For many years a reigning favorite among animal sculptors, and posing for fully a hundred works of art, Sul- tan, our oldest lion, now shows marked signs of old age, and has been assigned a spacious cage where he receives special care. Sultan is a Barbary lion, with a particularly fine mane of rather a dark hue, and which pleases the He stretches out with perfect abandon. sculptors and painters because it is not tov abundant, and does not mask the muscles of the shoulder. He arrived at the Zoological Park twelve years ago, and was then five years old. He is the gift of Mr. Nelson Robinson. The average “old age’ of captive lions is thirteen years, but this seventeen year-old pa- triarch still remains fairly active. Director Hornaday has prepared a special label that has been posted upon Sultan’s cage and which explains to visitors that the lion’s apparent in- firmities are the result of old age only, and stating as well the favorite’s useful career in the world of art. Sultan recently was given a large felt mat upon which to sleep, but our kindly intention was misconstrued. The mat was fastened to the floor, then the lion was run into the cage from the outdoor enclosure. When Sultan ob- served the mat he charged upon it with great energy, tore it from its fastenings, then proudly carried it about in his jaws as he furiously growled. The performance lasted for an hour or more, with a final result that the mat was badly torn and the lion much exhausted. We have since been unable to induce Sultan to be- lieve that the mat is not some strange type of living intruder, to be subdued only by the vig- orous use of teeth and claws. The Yak Family—One otf the interesting sights of the Park is to be observed at the new Yak House. Our pair of black yaks is proudly exploiting a calf three months old, which is a really attractive infant. The youngster is blue- black, and its coat is exceptionally thick and woolly. The mother never permits it to wan- YAK CALF der more than a few feet away, and it causes her much anxiety, owing to its continuous in- clination to gambol and play over the rolling This playful nature was probably inherited from the father, who for some time has leaped and capered in circles about Keeper McEnroe, until we have become suspicious about his antics in maturity, as we have some doubt regarding his present inten- tions. Although inclined to cavort about his keeper, and to make amazing jumps and leaps, he has developed a trait of backing away, paw- ing up the ground and plowing furrows with his long horns, all of which are actions now to be viewed with suspicion, on a basis of safety first. surface of the big range. The Gorilla——A large outside cage room has been constructed for Dinah, the only gorilla now living in captivity. This was done by entirely lining the large outside cage at the Primate House, with glass panels. Dinah may go out when she likes. The new room is not heated, and if she becomes chilled she may return to the inside cage, as do the smaller monkeys at the south end of the building, which run out-of- doors into an unprotected enclosure and play for hours—even in the snow—on severe winter north-eastern corner -of the days. In her play-room Dinah has a spring- board, ropes, swings and various indestructible The intention in thus arranging her quarters was to permit her to become accustomed to air at a lower temperature than that of the Primate House, and produce, if possible, a certain immunity against pulmonary troubles so common among captive Unfortunately, just at playthings of which she is fond. anthropoids. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN Dinah is weak from malnutrition, and her out-door quarters will be of no use to her present until she recovers. The Laughing Hyena.—Much consternation is to be noted on the faces of visitors near the Bear Dens when the big spotted hyena indulges At feeding periods, which in his vocal eccentricities. the peculiar laughing sound, is quite ghastly when in close proximity to the animal, is likely to really startled. The most frequent and characteris- tic accomplishment of this hyena, however, is a cause visitors to appear siren-like wail that may be heard a considerable It is the most penetrating sound pro- duced by any member of the Park collections. When the hyena gives voice it reminds the nearby visitor of the effect produced by a big distance. steam whistle on the deck of a boat when one is but a feet The hyena and the South African hunting dog are occupying north- few away. erly compartments of the small bear dens, which are enclosed in glass. We think the animals will do better under these conditions during the winter than within a heated building. GIANT RED KANGAROO Supporting himself on his tail while the tips of his toes pre serve the balance. An attitude for offense or defense. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 1193 AN ACROBATIC GOAT—HIMALAYAN TAHR This hardy and skilful mountaineer, in lieu of rocks to climb, ascends the great oak in his corral. Success with the Gibbons.—l'rom time to time we have pointed out with some pride the continued good health of the white-handed gib- bon. Animals of this type are extremely deli- cate as captives. This gibbon remains in splendid health and attracts much attention owing to its wonderfully agile acrobatics and its weird calls. A hoolock gibbon, now in the Primate House about seven months, responds to the cries of the older specimens, and the result is ear-piercing, particularly.so when the baboons and lemurs join their varied voices as a chorus. An Infant Baboon.—For the fourth time since her arrival at the Park ten years ago, the female long-armed baboon is a happy and faithful mother. The infant baboon is carried in her arms, and cuddled in the same fashion as a human baby. The mother never permits it to play farther than a foot away from her. Upon the least suspicious sound the youngster is snatched to her breast, and she retires to the highest and most inaccessible part of her cage. This baby has much worried its parent by a persistent habit of playing with his long tail, in the course of which it has worn the hair away from the tip of that appendage. The mother’s method of punishment is to gently bite the little baboon’s fingers, varying the pressure of her teeth according to the gravity of the offence. Signs of Winter.—According to the actions of the outside animals we are destined to ex- perience a severe winter. Severe cold came early this year. A few days before Thanks- giving the mercury dropped to eighteen de- grees, and the Park ponds were frozen from shore to shore. The squirrels have built ex- ceptionally large nests, and the prairie “dogs” were never busier than now in gathering bun- dles of dry leaves for bedding. Moreover, these latter animals are carrying below ground a considerable amount of their food. They are extremely fat, and locomotion is but an aw k- ward waddle. Within two or three weeks they will retire for the winter, and venture abroad only on abnormally mild days. The colony is in good condition. i JU, ID, 1194 ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN THE WOMBAT An interesting marsupial mammal from Australia. SOME RARE MAMMALS. Dirmars. \ N JE believe that many of our visitors do not fully appreciate the importance of the collection in the Small Mammal House. Many visitors quickly pass through this build- ing in the search to find the installations where the big animals are exhibited. Yet the Small Mammal House has long been a congregating center for students who visit the Park for the specific purpose of making systematic studies of mammals. By Raymonp L. This installation is important from the num- ber of orders of mammals represented there. Representatives of from seven to eight orders are at all times exhibited under the one roof, with a large key label showing bands of the different colors that are employed to indicate the respective orders. Each cage label has a band of color that immediately designates the order of the inmates, the accepted scheme of classification. The Small Mammal House has always been particularly rich in rodents and the smaller car- nivora. Among the particularly interesting ro- dents are the gigantic and gaudy Malabar squirrel—the largest known species of the squir- rel genus. The largest rodent in the collection, however, is the capybara, which from gross examination looks more like one of the mem- bers of the wild swine group. This somewhat sluggish animal of tropical America is semi- aquatic with markedly webbed feet. Its coat is harsh and bristling, and through the sparse hair may be seen the blackish, greasy skin. A medium-sized capybara will weigh forty-five pounds. This is the largest known species among the gnawing animals. Another of the big rodents is the tree rat of Cuba, which attains a weight of eight pounds. Rarer among the rodents, though of smaller size, are the beautiful squirrels of the tropics of both the New and Old Worlds. ‘The prevost squirrel is particularly beautiful, with bands of pale cream and rusty red upon a coat of lus- trous blue-black. This is a Malayan squirrel, and is rivalled by several species of the Amer- ican tropics. One of these is a small animal of Central America with a coat that may be likened to shining bronze; and another is dull grey above, but as he dashes about his cage the observer will be startled as the creature flashes an underside of fiery red. These smaller spe- cies are closely related to the small red squirrel of the United States. In the canine series of the smaller carnivores the foxes and their dog-like allies are well rep ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 1195 THE BINTURONG OR BLACK “BEAR-CAT” Interesting because of its strange form and the fact that it is the only prehensile-tailed mammal of the Old World. resented. These are rather hardy animals, and thus more or less satisfactory for purposes of exhibition. The Mexican stripe-tailed dog has a heavier head than a fox, but the tail is long, and beginning on the posterior portion of the back and extending to the tip of the tail is a growth of jet black hair. Upon the gray coat of this animal, this character is particularly marked. Most curious among these dog-like forms is the raccoon dog, of north-eastern Asia. Coming from a cold country, this little animal is profusely haired, and appears like a walking muff. Few of these wild canines become tame because they are excessively nervous. Among the carnivores at the Small Mammal House are several species of civets that are vet- erans among the animals living in the Park. Some of these specimens were among the first live creatures purchased for exhibition here, sixteen years ago. The most unusual carnivore in the building is exhibited in the same series of cages as the civets. This is what appears to be a fisher. It came from Venezuela, and we have been unable to locate him in the scanty literature that delineates the mammalian fauna of that region. He appears destined to become a new species and contrary to the reputation of his allies, the mustelines, he appears to be a hardy creature. As a rule the North American animals of this type survive in captivity but a few weeks. The most curious animal in the collections described is the hyrax, a diminutive creature, looking somewhat like a guinea “pig” but actu- ally occupying a position in classification that immediately follows the ungulates, or the hoofed animals. From the dentition of the hyrax, which is the Coney of the Scriptures, there is some relationship with the hippopotami. Students are always interested in the marsu- pials, or pouched animals, and our small mam- mal collection contains a number of them. Al- most debarred from the series, owing to his size, is the Australian wombat which for the moment might be mistaken for the capybara as size, color and bodily aspect are the same. In habits the wombat is like a rodent, as it lives in deep burrows. It comes forth only at night, and feeds upon roots and tender plants. It hardly seems possible that this ponderous and _ odd-looking creature belongs to the same order as the dainty and agile murine opossum, the brilliantly spotted dasyure or the strictly carni- vorous Tasmanian devil. This latter animal is well worth close observation. The greater por- tion of it appears to consist of the head, with its powerful jaws. His appetite and temper are quite in keeping with his general appearance. 1196 YOUNG OCELOT The ocelot is easily tamed and becomes then an interesting pet. REPAIRS AND BETTERMENTS IN THE PARK. Renovating the Primate House—The house for apes and monkeys has had a thorough over- hauling. Much of the cage work was re-con- structed and improved, and as it stands it is practically vermin proof. All the partitions between the large cages were removed, solidly filled in with bricks and mortar, then covered with vuleanized fibre board. All cage supports were supplied with sanitary bases of concrete. All the wood work was removed from the back and the cages were permanently opened underneath. The railings inside the building were moved farther back from the cages, covered at the bottom with sheet iron three feet wide, and above that wire netting was erected to a height of eleven feet. This effectually prevents feeding the animals, or at- tempting to kill them with matches, needles and other strange objects such as formerly were thrown in by mean visitors. The protection of the animals is now more complete, and depre- dations of mice and insects will be greatly reduced. The ventilating apparatus has been reno- vated and altered, and the fresh air ducts have been placed under the outside cages on the east side, thus affording very direct draft. Two of the ape cages have been furnished with new fronts of steel bars, and an outside shelter cage has been constructed for the great apes, for winter use. passages, Reptile House-—The tiles on the roof of the Reptile House together with their supports ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN have been replaced on the entire south side and over the lobby. Lion House—In this building ten were re-floored with oak and entirely over- hauled. Much of the terra-cotta and the adja- cent brick work on the eastern wall was reset and re-pointed. An interesting experiment is being conducted to ascertain the virtue of steam pipes under the floors of the sleeping dens to keep them warmer than heretofore. cages Bear Dens.—The damaged floors of three dens were rebuilt, and three pools were re- placed by entire new concrete construction. Flying Cage.—Sixteen years’ exposure to de- structive New York weather has at last so damaged the top third of the great Flying Cage that it requires new wire and some new frame- work. The scaffolding is already erected, pre- paratory to replacing the worn out wire work. With the wire weaving machinery in our shops this task can be accomplished at a net saving of about 60%. About 600 square feet of woven wire can be made in a day by one man. Comfortable for Winter—In preparation for the winter, the heating apparatus in all of the buildings has been overhauled, storm doors, windows and shields have been placed at the Bird House, Elk House, Small Deer House and Bear dens, and a wind-break at the Yak Shel- ter. At the same time, leaks in roofs have been repaired. These preparations have rendered the animal buildings better prepared for the winter than ever before. There has been more extensive repairs made this year than in any other year since the opening of the Park, and the buildings in general are in better condition than any time during the past five years. Dur- ing the prolonged sleet storm of the first week of December, it was a satisfaction to make a complete tour of all the heated buildings for animals, observe the comfort in which the ani- mals were housed, and note their contentment with their surroundings and care. HerRMANN W. MERKEL. TRANSPLANTING BIRDS OF PARADISE VERY interesting attempt at the trans- A plantation of the greater bird of paradise from the Malay Archipelago to the West Indies is now in progress on Little Tobago, which is a tiny islet forty-five miles northeast of the extreme northeastern point of the Island of Trinidad. In that little sanctuary, happily des- titute of rats, and also well nigh snakeless, Sir ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN William Ingraham, in 1909, set free forty-seven living greater birds of paradise, (Paradisea apoda). ‘This is one of the species that is on the high road to extermination on account of its gorgeous golden-yellow plumes. The transplantation of a wild bird species half way around the world to a new state of self-support is necessarily a long shot, with a limb in the way. In the colonization of any wild species, nothing should be expected in less time than ten years. With birds especially it is the rule that of the colonized individuals, the majority succumb to the enemies that every- where beset bird life, and to the difficulties in- volved in learning to live on utterly strange food. Already there is noticeable a disposition to pronounce Sir William’s apoda experiment a failure; but surely such a verdict would, to say the least, be quite premature. In August, 1914, Mr. Robert Herold, the caretaker of Little To- bago, reported having seen four male birds, ten females and one young of sex unknown. “There may be two or three more,” says he, “but there are certainly no less.” Now even that stock, already settled down and known to be breeding, is sufficient to stock the whole West Indies provided the birds can survive. With such a foundation, apoda has on Little Tobago much more than a fighting chance, and we have a right to hope for the complete success of that very plucky and well conducted experiment. Weis EI: EGRET FARMING IN INDIA T last there has appeared an item of reli- able testimony revealing an instance of successful egret raising for plumes, and the actual taking and marketing of a commer- cial product in hand-reared “aigrette” feathers. For fear that it may escape the attention of the feather trade, we hasten to point it out. The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, Vol. XXIII, No. 1, for June 30, 1914, contains an illustrated article by Mr. George Birch, Assistant Commissioner of Sind, N.-W. India, setting forth the author’s observations of egret raising for plumage as now carried on by the fisherfolk of the inland waters of that province. In the village of Ber, on the edge of Chango Lake, Larkana District (population about 200), about 1,000 egrets are kept in captivity, and regularly plucked of their plumes for the feather 1197 trade. The birds are kept in mat-enclosed run- ways twenty feet by eight feet by eight feet, very much as pheasants are kept. They are fed on small fresh fish, so liberally supplied that the birds eat to satiety. The birds are really tame, and permit themselves to be seized and handled by their owners, quite as such birds do in zoo- logical gardens. The breeding season commences in March and continues irregularly up to the end of Septem- ber. “Eggs are laid never less than twice dur- ing the season, and sometimes as many as four or five times; and it takes twelve months for a bird to reach maturity. The plumes are plucked without injury to the birds, and in view of the fact that the fish supply costs nothing but human labor, the business is sufficiently lu- crative to justify its existence. According to the statement of Mr. Birch, the people of Sind have apparently been about thir- ty years in developing the industry he describes. At all events, the Commissioner states that prior to that period the natives killed the egrets in order to secure their plumes; and after they began to keep the birds alive they very cruelly blinded them by sewing up their eves, to keep them from escaping. Although Commissioner Birch does not state how the birds seen by him are prevented from flying away, it is absolutely certain that they must be pinioned as to the flight feathers of one wing, for otherwise there would be no such thing as keeping them in roofless enclosures, or controlling them. The feather dealers of London and Paris, and their scientific allies, have demanded that the trade in the plumage of wild birds be continued pending efforts to supply the market with “aig- rettes” and paradise plumes derived from do- mesticated birds. To this, the reply of the Societe d’ Acclimatation of Paris, and other defenders of birds has been, that by the time experiments could be made and bird farms es- tablished yielding a world supply of plumes, all the wild birds would be dead and past all help; which is literally and everlastingly true. Naturally, every bird protector would be glad to see created a great bird-raising industry for the supply of the fancy-feather markets of the world; but the idea is utopian, to say the least of it; and the proposal to continue the slaugh- ter of wild birds until it is fully carried into effect is utterly preposterous. The new indus- try can best be stimulated by an immediate and complete cessation of the traffic in the plumage of wild birds. Viva Whe JS le THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIGHORN (OVIS CANIDENSIS) UNDER PROTECTION These wild animals, which when hunted are exceedingly wary and elusive, have under absolute protection in Colorado become so trustful that they can be approached closely. These fine photographs were taken by Mr. Tod Powell, at Ouray, Colorado, on March 8, 1914. GENERAL INFORMATION MEMBERSHIP IN THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Membership in the Zoological Society is open to all interested in the objects of the organiza- tion, who desire to contribute toward its support. The cost of Annual Membership is $10 per year, which entitles the holder to admission to the Zoological Park on all pay days, when he may see the collections to the best advantage. Members are entitled to the Annual Reports, bi- monthly Bulletins, Zoologica, privileges of the Administration Building, all lectures and special exhibitions, and ten complimentary tickets to the Zoological Park for distribution. Any Annual Member may become a Life Member by the payment of $200. A subscriber of $1,000 becomes a Patron; $2,500, an Associate Founder; $5,000, a Founder; $10,000, a Founder in Perpetuity, and $25,000, a Benefactor. ZOOLOGICAL PARK The Zoological Park is open every day in the year, free, except Monday and Thursday of each week. when admission is charged. Should either of these days fall on a holiday no admis- sion fee is charged. From April 15 to October 15, the opening and closing hours are from 9 o'clock A. M. until one-half hour before sunset. From October 16 to April 14, the opening and closing hours are from 10 o’clock A. M. until one-half hour before sunset. Applications for membership may be given to the Chief Clerk, in the Zoological Park; C. H. Townsend, N. Y. Aquarium, Battery Park, New York City, or forwarded to the General Secretary, No. 11 Wall Street, New York City. NEW YORK AQUARIUM The Aquarium is open every day in the year: April 15 to October 15, from 9 o'clock A. M. to 5 o'clock P. M.; October 16 to April 14, from 10 o’clock A. M. to 4 o’clock P. M. No admission is charged. PUBLICATIONS Annual Report No.1............ Paper $ .40 Souvenir Books: Series No. 2, 86 pages, 512x7} inches, es . fe ie 15 Cloth $1.00 33 full page illustrations in colors ..........-..+ 25 re i oi a 40 .60 (By mail, postage 3 cents extra.) ca am ix 5 ‘ ip Se “15 te ye 00 Series No. 3, 48 pages, 7x9 inches, 73 illustrations ‘ ee fc A ila wlan, eae San tad fekelag ot 1.00 a «185 from founscolor: plates tiescicue aut on oe ne hs 50 “ te fs ah i 18 Cec 1.25 1.50 (By mail, postage 3 cents extra.) ; : lee an Var ae et aot “ “ Souvenir Postal Cards: Series of 72 subjects in colors, Hib di TRICE or Sst ap macs ou 128 sold in sets of 24 cards, assorted BUDIECUSs were cic shste 125 Our Vanishing Wild Life (Horna- (By mail, postage 2 cents per set extra.) Av, MPOSUP AIG aisehetelle) asians ee = “= 1.65 Photogravures: Series of 12 subjects in sepia. ele : 7 "1 and views in the Zoological Park. Sold in sets Destruction of Our Birds and Mam- of 2 subjects. Per set, postpaid a lvtakonvelsteratavons wine 25 mes (Stila bo paiegee cs at Me Souvenir Map-Fan: A combined fan and map of the Notes on Mountain Sheep of North LOOP IGA Anka spate taper tctn = el -ysieie sy aparece adsense silo 10 America (Hornaday).......... 0 (By mail, postage 2 cents extra.) 5 ete “ ‘ Panorama of the Zoological Park: Reproduced in colors The Caribou (Grant)....-.....-. A) -60 from an original drawing in perspective. Sold The Origin and Relationship of the flat or in folder form. -.. 00. 0- wees eee eee nee 10 Large Mammals of North Amer- (By mail, postage 2 cents extra.) ica (Grant)...-......--...--- 1.00 Enlargements: 11x14 inches. 12 subjects in black and The Rocky M tain Goat (Grant) et Wane Gaelib se sds seo dacs bdibacobaodsegdcsAnon 25 he Recky Mountain: Goat (Gran 1,00 MuotoneeBrowneachhss ve sce scsasrele ctareelocie’s 33 Zoologica Vol. 1. Nos. 1-11 inclusive, Hand Colored (10 Subjects), each.............--- 75 KEIN pra SC RD Se Stee cu mcoraGHer 2.30 New York Aquarium Nature Series Zoologica Vol. 1. Nos. 12, 13 and 14. ss 25 Sea Shore Life (Mayer) ..-.....5..6+ sen ssees a ree NOL Toei. ys deiner oe 25 Cultivation of Fishes in Ponds (Townsend) é a 5 Hi Bulletin Nos. 1, 6, 8, 35, 48 and 46... Out of Print Chameleons of the ea (row nsend) Bulletins—Bi-monthly......... 20c. each: Yearly by mail 1.00 Care of Home Aquaria (Osburn) WMT E cree. Sy aieicya.shachiototeevebare Bulletin Nos. 5 to 23 inclusive, set, cloth bound,......... 5.00 Porpoise in Captivity (lownsend)...........-.2-.2-06 Official Guide to the New York ae Zoological Park (Hornaday) lot jasvarers seen cicle siecle -cvein ©,0 +25 Aquarium Post Cards: Colored. In sets, each..... ai Publications for sale at 11 Wall Street, Zoologica) Park and the New York Aquarium. G im ih Vor. XVIII. No. 2 he \. MARCH, 1915 | iin ey ee i i iu Published by i M | | 1 > THE NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY | =4 a eZ. PINTO OMAN SUOATTUCSTOOTTUUA LU LULS4 00008 NONEUOSEDNSYOQSAGS ASN TCOOOOSENCOOOUOUOITOOE EASA HLL MCN MTOM Officers of the New UYork Zoological Society Secretary Mapison Grant, 11 Wall Street. Percy R. Pyne, Wan. Pierson Hamitron, SamureL THORNE, President Henry Fairrietp Osporn. Exrcutiuve Committer Mapison Grant, Chairman. LisPENARD STEWART, Frank K. Srvurais, Treasurer Percy R. Pyne, 30 Pine Street. Wituiam Wuite Nixes, Watson B. DickerMAN, Henry Farrrietp Osporn, Ex Officio. The Mayor of the City of New York. F. Aveusrus SCHERMERHORN, Percy R. Pyne, Georce B. Grinneut, Georce C. Crark, Henry [arrrieitp Osporn, Wiciiam C. Cueurcn, ‘LIisPENARD STEWART, “\Hs.Casruir dE Ruan, ov Levi P. Morton, ANpDREW CARNEGIE, _Mapison Grant, © Wituiam Wuire Nixes, Buard of Managers Ex Officio Class of 1916 Crievetanp H. Dopeér, C. Lepyarp Brair, Freperick G. Bourne, W. Austin Wapswortnu, Class nf 1917 Cuar-tes F. Dretericnu, James J. Hitt, Georce F. Baker, Grant B. ScuHtey, Glass of 1918 SamvueL THORNE, Henry A. C. Taytor, Frank K. Srureis, Georce J. Govtp, General Officers The Presipent of the Department of Parks. Emerson McMituin, Antuony R. Kuser, Watson B. DickerMan, Mortimer L. Scuirr. Wm. Prerson Hamitton, Rosert S. Brewster, Epwarp S. Harkness, Wixtuiam B. Oscoop Frexp, Ocpen Mitts, Lewis RurHerFuRD Morris, Arcuer M. Huntinetron, Henry M. Titrorp. Witiiam T. Hornapay, Director of the Park. Cuartes H. Townsenn, Director of the Aquarium. H. J. Suorter, Assistant Secretary. Bh, H.R. MircHeELy, Raymonp L. Drrmars, Cuarves H. Wasuincron I. C.'Grantr La Faroe, Architect. R. L. Cerero, Assistant to the Treasurer. H. De B. Parsons, Consulting Engineer. Dr. Georce S. Huntineton, Prosector. Officers of the Zoulugical Park Witiiam T. Hornapay, Director. C. Witiiam Berese, H. W. MerkeEt, L. Ss CranDatu, W. Rem Brair, Exiwin R. Sanporn. G. M. Beersower, Wituram MircHetu, Officers of the Aquarium Raymonp C. Oseurn, Assistant. Rogpert SUTCLIFFE. Townsenpd, Director. DeNyse. BOW OG Neer Asd, 9S OC LE TY -BU, LL ET LN AQUARIUM NUMBER Prepared by C. H. Townsenp, Director, and R. C. Osnury, Assistant Director. CONTENTS FOR MARCH, 1915 A. FISH FROM THE AMAZON ooicccccseccccscceeceeee es fe) are Move. or THE ProposEeD AQUARIUM. ................... I Oe SO CANT an AR OEY oe _... Frontispiece THe AQUARIUM OF OUR DREAMS ooececccseccccccsseeeeeeee: ey et ee MOONS E NUE 1201 Berm GARE OR) GOL DRISHIOS: sc. teccctectet cocoate tewetaecne 4 Seep cred lle JEL. Itorapseing! 1202 SISE Tae SCID IANS geet eee eee ee Ge OSD 1205 Oxsiruary—Rosweiti Morsk SHURTLEFF ......0..---- ete sek ee de sen. Soe 1208 Oxsrruary—Lewis Linpsay Dea EN hes Ren See a 1208 AMERICAN FISHERTES SOCIBTY 2c. seat NS oe Fer 1208 A New Species or F ism ............... Le eee cane ; Ree het Serge rey 1209 RN Dave M ETS Frew e, TIOO GIR AI Sueeeene een ntat ties | ek IE a ale lS rae ee eects cero een 1209 Tue Sea-Horse 1n ANCIENT HisTory ................. =e eecie ca lectore SET ree R. C. Osburn 1211 Tue Care or Young Auricatrors, Ponpn Turries anp Torrorses ... C. H. Townsend 1212 PAGs SEV Coles OFtes CrmADN I GUAR Gu ties eats Oe erecta endows. do. Mowbray 1213 DX ORUPATR UIT NEO G) eee ce ree ee ne i ke ee SA ac Ce tet ee be 1215 untwenby of} 7B uor | [apou , “UOry Udasaid |B JOU aIR Spun yng ‘ALO ayy Aq paqydaooe s19M “Aqaroc HOIFO[OOZ YOK MAN at oO uC Ip aq} tepu $1 Ul powRdaid ‘Furpying stt oy sunyd at \ c } ji d h d i I LIp[ing st} toy suvy i WOARTVYOOV WUOK . r Mein if f i “em | i af -_— i t r r = - ‘ a = |} = ryyyyay. = 2 Be nin) } ' : = « } - ZOOLOGICAL BULLETIN =", Published by the New York Zoological Soviety. SOCIETY ( "MAR & 1915 al Must Vou. XVIII MARCH, 1915. NumBer 2 THE AQUARIUM OF OUR DREAMS By C. H. Townsenp. HE beautiful model of the proposed en- largement of the New York Aquarium, has just been moved from the Museum of Nat- ural History where it has long been on exhibi- tion, to the Aquarium in Battery Park. The model is welcome and there will be a certain satisfaction in contemplating this Aquarium of Dreams, but we would rather have a real build- ing even if it were only a little larger and better than the present one. In 1912 the Executive Committee completed plans for a new Aquarium building, which were accepted by the City as satisfactory, and were then carefully filed. They are still filed and may remain so indefinitely. It may be, as we are assured, quite impossible to provide funds for a new Aquarium, but under present conditions the institution cannot have any growth. It has the misfortune to be housed in an unsuitable building, which it long ago completely filled. The character of its exhibits is prescribed by the character of the water sys- tems with which it is equipped. While its col- lections are attractive and the number of visit- ors remains as large as the building can accom- modate, the Aquarium is at an enforced stand- still. Like the crab and the lobster, the Aqua- rium cannot grow without shedding its old shell. Other museums have room for new exhibits but the Aquarium has not. When especially attrac- tive specimens arrive, those of less interest must be fed to the sea lion or the porpoise to make room for them. The Aquarium cannot even change the char- acter of its exhibits without modifying its me- chanical equipment, and this would merely allow a change, not an increase. The present building is probably the most unsightly struc- ture in New York. Its entire upper part is of the flimsiest wooden construction, which would burn like a haystack. Constructed a century ago as a fort, it has never had the light or ventila- tion desirable for a museum attracting five thou- sand persons a day. It has never had enough space for coal. supplies or repair shop and can- not be administered economically. There is no longer space for an additional exhibition tank. a pump or a filter. Its reservoir is located under Battery Park, as the Aquarium has no basement. Its depressed furnace-room floor and coal bunker are always invaded by the sea whenever the tides reach their highest levels. These are some of the disadvantages under which the Aquarium lives and has its being. During the past few years, considerable money has been spent on alterations and improvements. Little more can be done to the ancient shell to better its light, ventilation or safety for the public. Other museums in New York are endowed with millions of dollars, but it seems that the Aquarium does not appeal to those who make bequests. Its annual maintenance is less than one-fourth that allowed each of the larger mu- seums of the city. A building like that pictured on the opposite page, would double the space for living exhibits and permit of their best care. It would allow suitable room for administrative, laboratory and library purposes, and permit of comfort for the public. The purpose to which the present Aquarium building is devoted, must be worth while or there would not be two millions of persons a year passing through its dingy doorway. ey 1202 THE CARE OF GOLDFISHES.* By C. H. Townsenp. HE general principles of aquarium man- agement, so far as they relate to the form of the aquarium, its plant life, water sup- ply, temperature, position with reference to light, and the feeding of its inhabitants, apply not only to goldfishes, but to most other species ordinarily kept in small aquaria. An aquarium holding eight or ten gallons of water will be easier to maintain in good condi- tion than one of small size, and will contain a larger number of fishes with a greater degree of safety. An aquarium of rectangular shape is by far the best for permanent use. It should be of strong, clear glass—preferably plate glass —set in a metal framework, and with a slate bottom. Its corners, however, accumulate dirt which is not easily removed. Aquaria of rectangular form, made wholly of glass, can be purchased and are cheaper, but the glass is never quite clear, and they crack more readily from changes in temperature. Cylindrical, glass aquaria are still cheaper, but they distort the forms of the objects they con- tain to some extent, and are also liable to crack from water pressure. However, aquaria made wholly of glass have the advantage of being absolutely water-tight, while they remain in sound condition, whereas the joints of metal- framed aquaria often leak. Globes are worthless. Good results cannot be expected with them. The restricted surface of a globe at the top lessens the amount of water surface exposed to the air. The more surface exposed for the absorption of air, the better. The aquarium should be placed where the amount of light reaching it can be well con- trolled. A north window is best, an east win- dow will do, but exposure in other directions will make its care more difficult. If large, the aquarium should be permanently located before it is filled with water. Sunlight should not often be allowed to fall directly on it, as it stimulates the growth of alge, and is liable to overheat the water, the temperature of which should be kept steady. not rising above 70 degrees or falling below 40 degrees. A temperature of 50 degrees to 60 degrees is best, and it should not be allowed to vary. Warm water holds less air than cold *The care of goldfishes being a subject of constant inquiry, this article has been reprinted from the Bur- tetin for April, 1907, which has been exhausted. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN water, so that a high temperature is more to be guarded against than a low one. Water plants are necessary in the aquarium for the aeration of the water, since under prop- er conditions of light and temperature they give off oxygen which animals require, while the lat- ter exhale carbonic gas. A balance between the animal and plant life of the aquarium is essen- tial for suecess. Too much plant growth can be checked by reducing the amount of light. which may be shut off by the use of a sereen or shade. A greenish film of alg or conferve will at times develop rapidly on the glass and obscure the contents of the aquarium. It will have to be rubbed off occasionally, but it is just as well to let it grow on the side next the win- dow, where it will serve to restrict the light and also aerate the water. The growth of alge is lessenel by placing the aquarium in a more shaded position. Snails eat algw rapidly and should be introduced for that purpose, and also because their serve as food for small fishes. Allow the aquarium to absorb air from its plant life and from the surface of the water for a day or two before putting in the fishes. The latter should be few in number at first. Snails may be added later. Dealers in aqua- rium supplies usually keep plants, snails, tad- poles, newts and other small creatures as well as fishes. With running water, plant life can be dis- pensed with. A collection of large goldfishes in the New York Aquarium has been kept in good condition for many years in flowing Croton water, enduring its low temperature in winter very well. The fish are, however, much more active in summer and feed more freely. eggs The following named water plants are those most frequently used by aquariists: milfoil (Myriophyllum), hornwort (Ceratophyllum). fanwort (Cabomba), water-weed (Anacharis). tape-erass (Vallisneria), arrow-head (Sagittar- ia) and pondweed (Potamogeton). Many other species will serve the purpose. Plants may be anchored by pressing them down into the sand or gravel. Thin strips of lead wound loosely about their roots will hold them securely. In a well-balanced aquarium the water should not be changed at all. It is in fact better with- out any additions, other than required to re- place what is lost by evaporation. Water should never be added until it has been kept in the same room with the aquarium long enough to acquire the same temperature. In siphoning out water from the bottom of the aquarium to clear off sediment or refuse, ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN the water should be saved and strained back. The supply of water may be aerated at times by lifting it with a clean dipper and ‘letting it fall back slowly. A sprinkling can will also serve for this purpose. All vessels and appara- tus used in connection with the aquarium should be perfectly clean, and it is well not to put the hands into the water at all. Assistance in the way of keeping the aquarium clean may be had by introducing a few tadpoles and small newts to act as scavengers, but the latter should be of very small size. The bottom of the aquarium should be covered to the depth of a couple of inches, with fine gravel, or clean white sand in which fishes may rub themselves; it is also essential for the root- ing of plants. There should not be too much animal life in the aquarium. The fewer and smaller the fishes the less likely is the air in the water to became exhausted. Two or three small goldfishes to each gallon of water is a safe rule to go by, if the aquarium is large. If small the proportion must be reduced. The question the aquarium presents, when it has been supplied with water and plants, is simply, how many fishes or other air consuming creatures can be accommodated in the quantity of water available? Overstocking may disturb the balance within an hour. It is probably safe to say that a little neglect in the matter of feeding is better for the per- manence of the aquarium than over attention. It must not be presumed that because fishes will live for months without feeding, it is right to treat them in that way. Fishes left without food are simply fishes kept hungry and in a condition of slow starvation, which can only be described as cruelty. When there is a large supply of plants in ‘the aquarium the fishes hold out longer, the very small ones especially get- ting some nourishment from the young shoots of Anacharis and other plants. Many aquariists feed every day. carefully re- moving all uneaten food, which soon decays and fouls the water. Wafer food, made of rice flour, and other prepared foods kept by aquaria dealers are safe, and should be supplied at least every other day. Finely crushed vermicelli is also good. Some of the ordinary household cereals are available as goldfish food, but the beginner should experiment with them cautious- ly. Other foods are, however, desirable at times. Once a week, pieces of very small earth worms, or bits of fresh beef should be furnished. If they can be given to each fish on the tip of a broom straw the chances of contaminating the water by waste food will be lessened. All 1203 uneaten food must be picked, dipped, or si- phoned out, or foul water and a disturbance of the delicate balance of the aquarium will be the result. A milky appearance of the water is usually a warning against careless feeding. Nearly all diseases which appear among wold: fishes indicate that the aquarium needs looking after. The unsightly growths of fungus on fishes, caused by the plant parasites, Saprolegnia and Devoea, indicate careless handling of the fishes, or bad conditions prevailing in the aqua- rium. When the conditions are right, diseases are not likely to appear. Too high a tempera- ture favors the growth of fish fungus. This disease is hard to deal with and infected fishes should be removed at once and kept by themselves, where, under proper conditions, they may possibly recover. A pinch of salt put in the water with them may arrest the disease, but when in bad condition a teaspoon of salt to each gallon of water will be necessary. If other fishes are obtainable, it is just as well to kill diseased specimens, since the fungus penetrates deeply into the flesh and can not be destroyed if the growth is far advanced. Animal parasites on fishes should be picked off after the fish has been carefully lifted in the dip net. One of the first indications of trouble in the aquarium is the presence of the fishes at the surface with their mouths out of the water, showing that they are suffering for lack of air. The water may be dipped up and allowed to fall back slowly, but the relief afforded will be merely temporary. The temperature of the aquarium should be observed and some of the fishes removed. It may be necessary to in- crease the quantity of plant-life or stimulate its growth by admitting more light. If the reathiee is not cold ond the window can be opened, air blowing across the surface of the water will be helpful since it may only be necessary to aerate the water and lower the temperature somewhat. There may be refuse at the bottom which should, of course, be re- moved. In taking care of the aquarium, a few, simple implements, such as a half-inch rubber tube for siphoning out the water, a glass “dip tube” for removing small particles of dirt from the bottom, a shallow dip net of cheesecloth for lifting fishes, and a cloth-covered pad or rubber scraper with a long handle for cleaning the glass, will be necessary. The dip tube is op- erated by closing the top opening with the finger to admit or exclude the water as desired. A pair of long wooden forceps and a slim WORVOAOV WHOA MAIN SUTd OUD MOV TE ANY OVSSVYN WIOQUDy “Yy Uae fig YavIBopougy ZOOLOGICAL stick are also useful for removing plants and other objects without putting the hands into the water. One other aid in the management of the aqua- rium should not be overlooked: A reliable book on aquaria and their care is essential, and the amateur will need to refer to it frequently. There are books on this subject to be had at most book stores. ‘The New York Aquarium has published a 63-page pamphlet on The Care of Home Aquaria, which will be sent postpaid for 27 cents. The small aquaria in the laboratory of the New York Aquarium will be shown to visitors making inquiry about them, and their manage- ment in detail explained by those in charge. THE ASCIDIANS OR SEA-SQUIRTS. By Raymonp C. Ospurn. HIS group of animals is distributed ali 4 over the world in salt water, and several species are common in this region, yet the average person who finds them seems to have not the slightest idea of what they are, or of their relationships. Some of these are fre- quently brought or sent to the Aquarium for identification, and the questions which accom- pany these requests for information are al- most as interesting as the animals themselves. “Please let me know what sort of sponge this is and whether it has any value?” “I am told that these things are ‘Mother of eels.’ What are they and have they any connection with eels?’ ; “I am told that there is a good market for these things for fish food. What is their value and how are they prepared for market?”’: “These things are eating up the piles of my boat dock. How can I get rid of them?”; “What sort of fishes are these? There have been thousands of them washed up on the beach,” ete., ete. However, when we consider that until less than fifty years ago the zoologists were all wrong with regard to the relationships of this group, we may pardon the average person of today for being misinformed concerning them. The older naturalists placed some of them among the sponges, the zoophytes, the mollusea and molluscoidea. The great Cuvier first gave them a class name, T'unicata, and placed them intermediate between the Radiata and Vermes of his classification. It was not until in 1866 that Kowalevsky traced the development of the larva and discovered that the ascidians are, in fact, related to the vertebrates, but that, by SOCIETY BULLETIN 1205 a wonderful metamorphosis, the tiny tadpole- like larva becomes transformed into a creature so unlike a vertebrate that its real nature had not been suspected. The ascidians (ascus=a sac), or tunicates, are provided with an outer coat or tunic, secreted by the epidermis, which consists of a substance of the same chemical nature as cellulose, but which, since it is found in animals instead of plants. has received the name “‘tunicin.” The tunicates fall naturally into three classes: The Larvacea, Ascidiacea and the Thaliacea. The first group includes a very few minute, free swimming forms, which undergo no metamor- phosis, and in which, therefore, the larval char- acters are retained. These forms in the adult stage retain the tail, which is provided with a notochord (the precursor of a vertebral column), a complete dorsal, tubular nerve and gills which open into the pharynx. While of great interest, they are known only to the zoologist, and need not be further considered here. The Ascidiacea, or ascidians proper, are numerous and widely distributed, occurring from the Arctic regions to the equator and from between the tide limits to great depths of the ocean. Some of them have been dredged from a depth more than three miles. Certain species grow singly, others bud to form colonies, some of these consisting of thousands of individuals. In some cases the individuals are almost micro- scopic in size, while in others they may reach nearly a foot in length. They may be almost transparent, or brilliantly colored, but frequent- ly they are obscured by a layer of mud or sand adhering to the tunic. On account of the rounded form which many of these animals assume, they were known to the ancients as sea-eggs and they are still so called in many places by the fish- ermen. Of the simple ascidians, Mogula manhatten- sis (De Kay) is perhaps the commonest local form. This species is often very abundant about the docks and lives well in the Aquarium, either in the balanced aquaria or in the larger tanks supplied with the harbor water. This is the species charged with devouring the piles of docks, though of course it is perfectly harm- less and the real malefactor was merely ob- scured beneath the layer of the Molgulas at- tached on the surface. Also, this is the form supposed to have a market value as fish food; etc., though, of course, it has none whatever. This common Molgula is a small swollen sac. resembling a small bladder, not more than an inch in diameter, and is attached by the tunic at the side opposite the mouth. The mouth 1206 ZOOLOGICAL opening leads into a capacious pharynx, pro- vided with numerous slit-like gills. There any microscopic food which the water may contain is separated out and passed into the coiled or looped intestine. A current of water, pro- duced by the action of cilia on the walls of the pharynx, passes through the gill openings into the atrial cavity within the tunic and to the outside by another opening, the atrial pore, which is situated near the mouth. The intes- tine ends in the atrium near the pore and the current of water sweeps out the excretae. Of course the looped form of the intestine and the position of the incurrent and excurrent open- ings near together on the upper surface are merely adaptations to the mode of life. The same conditions are observed in the Bryozoa, Sipunculoid worms and numerous other at- tached and tubicolous forms of animals. The sex cells, when ripe, may be carried out also by the excurrent stream of water, or, in other cases, the eggs may be retained in the atrial cavity, where they undergo development, and finally the free-swimming larva, resem- bling small tadpoles, are released through the atrial pore. These swim about for a short time to distribute themselves, and to find some solid substance to which they may become attached by a special adhesive disc and so remain fixed for the rest of their lives. The metamorpho- sis takes place immediately after they become attached. In this process the tadpole-shaped larva loses the tail and notochord, develops the tunic and takes on the form of the adult. The tough tunie seems to be an ample pro- tection, for, in spite of their numbers, few animals ever seem to feed on them. Undoubt- edly some fishes are able to bite through the tough cover, but they must be disappointed at the small amount of nutriment to be obtained as the result of their labors. Molgula often occurs in such numbers as to cover the surface of piles, rocks, ete., with a close layer and may be obtained in large quan- tities for the purpose of study. A larger form, Boltenia, occurs in somewhat deeper water off our coast. This ascidian has a long stalk with a grapple-like expansion at its base for attachment and an oval enlarge- ment or body at the upper end, giving the animal somewhat the appearance of an Indian’s warclub, a resemblance further borne out by the size, as it grows to be nearly a foot high. It is often richly colored. When red it is known to the fisherman as a “‘sea peach,’ when yellow- ish, as a “sea lemon.” SOCIETY BULLETIN The compound ascidians are always smaller, and are either developed at intervals on a stolon, sometimes resembling miniature melons on a leafless vine, or they may be closely set and embedded in a jelly-like mass forming a common tunic for the colony. Some of these form considerable masses, either spreading over rocks, shells or piles or sometimes growing erect in masses or strands even to the height of a couple of feet. The colony figured was 15 inch- es high. The small areas showing on the sur- face represent clusters of one-half dozen to two dozen individuals. The writer has dredged them up by the bushel from the bottom of Vineyard Sound. These masses are known to the fisher- men as “‘sea pork,” or are often mistaken for sponges or what not. Some of the clustered forms were known among others to the ancients as “‘sea grape” or “‘sea fruit’—the “uwva marina” of Pliny. Rondelet, 1554 (De Picsibus Ma- rinis, p. 180) and Gesner, 1587 (Historia Ani- malium, p. 1044) figure such a sea fruit or “wva marina” which is undoubtedly a colonial ascid- ian. Pliny is responsible for the remarkable statement.—which one may disbelieve if he chooses,—that sea grapes rotted in wine and drunk cause a loathing of wine thereafter in drunkards on acount of its fetid marine odor. The ancients believed that “like cures like” (“similia similibus curantur”) and did not hesi- tate to apply heroic remedies. One genus, Botryllus, is of frequent oecur- rence at the Aquarium, growing in a thin layer on the wall of a tank or the sides of a glass jar and occasionally spreading over nearly a square foot of surface. It often encrusts the leaves of eel grass and other sea weeds in shal- low water with its slimy layer. In another species, 4maroucium pellucidum, the jelly-like mass is often impregnated with sand to such an extent that it is rendered quite firm. This species was originally described as a bryozoan. The accompanying figure repre- sents a colony six inches in diameter, dredged by the writer in Vineyard Sound. All together about thirty species of these tunicates occur in the neighboring waters. The Thaliacea or salps which constitute the third group of the Tunicata are entirely pelagic. While at first they appear to have no similarity to the sessile sea-squirts, the differences can be explained for the most part by the difference in the mode of life. That an animal which spends its whole life time swimming at or near the surface of the ocean must be constructed on a different plan from one that remains in one place attached to the sea bottom seems ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 1207 axiomatic. Yet that these differences need not be fundamental, is shown by the structure and development of this and the foregoing group of tunicates. The meaning of the common name “‘salp’’ is not clear. The term is very ancient, for Pliny used “salpa” in reference to a kind of stockfish (fish dried without salting). Whether the diffi- culty of getting any nutriment out of this sort of steckfish, which had to be soaked and beaten before it could be eaten, led to the term “salp” being facetiously applied to these tough and in- nutritious pelagic tunicates seems at least a possible interpretation. The individual salp resembles a miniature cask with both ends knocked out. The wall con- sists of the tough transparent tunic, through which appears a series of circular muscle bands resembling hoops, which are, however, on the inside instead of outside. The open ends are necessary to the mode of locomotion, which is altogether unique. Water is taken in at the anterior aperture and a wave of constriction runs over the circular muscles, each in turn narrowing the diameter of the tube and forcing the water backward and out of the posterior opening. This process causes the salp to move slowly forward, much as though it were actually drinking its way through the water. In its course through the body the water passes over the gills and supplies oxygen, and food is also removed and carried into the intestines by the action of cilia. These animals are occasionally so numerous in the summer months that they seem to fill the ocean for many miles, so that dozens or even hundreds may be dipped up with every bucket of water. Sometimes they are thrown on shore in countless numbers. They are often highly phosphorescent. Our commonest species in this region is S. zonaria—cordiformis. As a rule the salps are about an inch or so long by nearly half as broad. One larger species, Salpa tilesii—costata reach- es a length of eight or ten inches and appears to be rare. A single specimen from Matinicus, Me., sent to the Aquarium last year for identifi- cation, was taken in a lobster pot at a depth of 20 fathoms. This is much farther north than it has hitherto been reported on this coast. Among the interesting features of this group is a peculiar mode of reproduction by alterna- tion of generations. There are two types of individuals, usually quite unlike one another, so that in most cases they were given different names before their connection was suspected. The hyphenated specific names, like those given above, are not therefore indicative of aristocra- cy, though the salps are no doubt a very ancient family, but merely show that these names have been applied to the two generations of the life eyele. One of these, the solitary generation, occurs singly, and reproduces asexually by forming a string of buds, which develops into a string of aggregate or chain salps. These, which form the second or sexual generation, are attached side by side, often in long strings look- ing like well-filled, transparent cartridge belts. Each individual of the chain develops sexual or- gans and produces eggs which may give rise to tadpole larvae or may develop directly into the adult solitary asexual form. Reproduction goes on with great rapidity in the warmer months, hence the appearance of enormous numbers in middle and late summer. Porpoises.—At one time in the month of October the Aquarium had in the building speci- mens of three different genera of porpoises, two of them alive and on exhibition, the third having arrived dead. One of these was the fine Tursiops eight feet long, received from Hatteras, N. C., in November, 1913; another, a Delphinus seven and one-half feet long from Seaside Park, N. J., and a Phocena, four feet long, from Provincetown, Mass. The Delphinus, like other porpoises captured by fishermen, did not live long. The Phocena, called harbor porpoise, is the smallest of the porpoises which inhabit our coast, seldom ex- ceeding five and one-half feet in length. It is also the commonest, entering harbors freely, where it is often called “herring hog” and “puffing pig.” It is a pleasure to record again the good health and liveliness of our bottle-nose porpoise (Tursiops truncatus), which has now completed its fifteenth month in the building. We are unable to detect anything like dis- content in its conduct and have never had a more expensive boarder. It consumes twenty- five pounds of fish a day, and would take more if supplied. Whatever the market affords cheapest, butterfish, weakfish or herring, is taken promptly, provided it is fresh. We have watched this endurance test of the porpoise in captivity with great interest and not without misgivings. It is most gratifying to see this ranger of the ocean adapt himself to restricted quarters with apparent contentment. CH i. 1208 ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN Bepartments : Mammals Aquarium W.T. Hornapay. C. H. Townsenb. ~ Raymonp C. OssBurn. Birds Reptiles Raymonp L. Dirmars. C. WiittaM BEEBE. Lee S. CRANDALL. Published bi-monthly at the Office of the Society, 11 Wall Street, New York City. Yearly by Mail, $1.00. MAILED FREE TO MEMBERS. Copyright, 1915, by the New York Zoological Society. Each author is responsible for the scientific accuracy and the proof reading of his contribution. Extwin R. Sangsorn, Editor and Official Photographer Vou. XVIII. No. 2. MARCH, 1915 ROSWELI. MORSE SHURTLEFF. Mr. Roswell Morse Shurtleff, a member of the Aquarium Committee of the New York Zoo- logical Society, died January 6, 1915, at the age of seventy-five. Mr. Shurtleff was a member of the National Academy of Arts, of several clubs and societies in New York and a veteran of the Civil War. He had been a member of the Aquarium Com- mittee since 1902. PROFESSOR L. L. DYCHE. We regret to have to report the death of Prof. Lewis Lindsay Dyche at Topeka, Kansas, on January 20, at the age of fifty-nine years. Prof. Dyche, in addition to his duties in the State University of Kansas, was also State Game and Fish Warden and devoted his atten- tion especially to experiments in the pond cul- ture of fishes under the conditions existing in Kansas. In this work he had great success. Bringing to this field of effort a wide experience in the study of animals and a keen insight into the nature and limitations of the work, he was able in a short time to secure astonishing re- sults. The particular problem in which he was most interested was the creation of fish ponds that would yield a maximum of food fish at a mini- mum of expense and care. His idea was to give the Kansas farmer something that he could use to advantage and that would be a source of income instead of an interesting plaything. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN He was a regular attendant at the meetings of the American Fisheries Society, and the re- ports of his work and experiments were always with the greatest enthusiasm. The extensive State fish-cultural ponds at Pratt. Kansas, are a monument to his energy and inter- est in this work. His death is a great loss to American fish-culture and his place will not readily be filled. received THE AMERICAN This Society has been doing splendid service along all lines of fisheries work for forty-four years and deserves the support of everyone in- terested in any branch of fisheries or aquatic biology. It has been active in securing the passage of laws for the protection and propa- gation of aquatic animals and its annual vyol- umes of transactions are a mine of information on all branches of the work with which they deal. The transactions for the past forty-three years have been issued in the form of an an- nual volume, but they will henceforth appear quarterly under the editorship of Dr. Raymond C. Osburn of the Aquarium. The first number of the new quarterly (Vol. 44, No. 1) bears the date December, 1914. FISHERIES SOCIETY. A complete index to the first forty volumes of the Transactions of the Society has been pre- pared by Mr. Daniel B. Fearing, of Newport, R. I., and this will be published shortly by the Society. This will be of great service to all those who find it necessary to examine the liter- ature of fisheries work covering the years from 1870 to 1910. The Society enrolls among its members prac- tically every working fish-culturist in the United States and Canada, besides many zoologists of the various universities and others interested in fish and fisheries. At the last meeting, held in Washington, D. C., thirty-four papers were presented, besides motion pictures illustrating methods of fish-culture and the results of con- servation and protection. Mr. Daniel B. Fearing of Newport, R. L., was elected President; Prof. Jacob Reighard of the University of Michigan, Vice-President; Mr. C. W. Willard of Westerly, R. I., Treas- urer; Dr. Charles H. Townsend, Director of the New York Aquarium, Corresponding Sec- retary. and Dr. Raymond C. Osburn, also of the Aquarium staff, was re-elected Recording Secretary. ZOOLOGICAL 4 New Work on Medical Entomology.—In a Handbook of Medical Entomology recently published by Profs. Riley and Johanssen of Cornell University (Comstock Pub. Co., Ithaca, N. Y.), one is not surprised to find that those noxious insects which are aquatic in the larval stage, namely, the mosquitoes, black flies and horse flies, are given considerable attention. The portion of the text dealing with these pestifer- ous aquatic insects amounts to about 70 pages in a total of 256 of descriptive matter. The relation of these pests to such diseases as ma- laria, yellow fever and filariasis is fully dis- cussed, together with the methods of avoiding and controlling outbreaks of these diseases and of the insects by which they are communicated to man. Other noxious insects, as well as mites, ticks. etc., are given the same careful treatment. The descriptive matter is followed by keys for the identification of these “hominoxious arthropods” and by an excellent bibliography. The control of epidemic diseases can be sat- isfactorily accomplished only with the co-opera- tion of the general public, but the public is not readily interested in matters which it does not understand. Much has already been done to familiarize the people with the dangers and the possibility of control of these insect dissemin- ated diseases, but there is still much to be done along this line and the above-mentioned work will find an important place in supplying in- formation. It is so clearly and simply written that one need not be an entomologist nor a physician in order to appreciate the value of the study of these pests and the necessity for controlling them. Its (C5 (0); A NEW SPECIES OF FISH. The New York Aquarium has again exhib- ited in its collections a species of fish new to science. The species in question belongs to the sea-bass family, Serranidae, and was brought to the Aquarium in a small collection from Key West. Florida, by Mr. S. Greenlee, of the Mal- lory Liner Comal. It was first taken by a Key West fisherman, by whom it was held in captivity for some time before Mr. Greenlee obtained it. As a result it was in poor condition when it reached the Aquarium and lived only twelve days after it was received on December 26, 1914. SOCIETY BULLETIN 1209 It was recognized at once as belonging to a new species and a description of it has already been published under the name Dermatolepis marmoratus, by Dr. Osburn and Mr. Mowbray of the Aquarium staff in Zoologica, Scientific Contributions of the New York Zoological Soci- ety, under date of February 25, 1915. The genus Dermatolepis is found only in the warmer marine waters of America; two species being hitherto known on the Atlantic and one on the Pacific coast. The only well known spe- cies is D. inermis, which is fairly common at Bermuda and is an excellent food fish. It lives in holes and crevices in the rocks at the depth of several fathoms and is very shy; darting out after its prey and returning at once to its re- treat. We have no knowledge of the habits of the new species, D. marmoratus, as only the one specimen is The type, which was twenty-four inches long and weighed nine and a half pounds, has been deposited in the collec- tions of the American Museum of Natural His- tory. The specific name marmoratus refers to the marbled coloration of the body. known. Other species described from the Aquarium are Hippocampus kincaidi, 2 new sea-horse from Bermuda, described by C. H. Townsend and Thomas Barbour (Buttetin No. 22, p. 305, July, 1906) and Angelichthys townsendi, a new angel fish from Key West. Florida, described by John T. Nichols and L. L. Mowbray (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 33, Art. 37, pp. 581-583, Oct. 8, 1914). NEW FISH PHOTOGRAPHS. Mr. E. R. Sanborn has recently made a series of excellent photographs in the Aquarium, three of which, Calico Bass, Porkfish and Nassau and Black Grouper are reproduced in this Bu1- LEVIN. Others will be published from time to time. The photograph of a school of Calico Bass (Pomowis sparoides) is the best picture that has yet been made in this dark building. The de- tail is sharp enongh to permit the counting of fin rays in most of the numerous specimens shown. It is seldom that every fish in the tank can be caught clearly on one photographic plate. Mr. Sanborn’s excellent photographs made in the Zoological Park and the Aquarium have long been familiar to readers of the BuLietin. qi Photograph by Elvin R, Sanborn ARIUM = < <- en = = Zz PORKFISH: ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 1211 RONDELET, 1554 GESNER, 1587 THE SEA-HORSE IN ANCIENT HISTORY. By Raymonp C. Ospurn. HESE strange little fishes apparently in- terested mankind in former centuries as much as they do at present and nearly all the older naturalists had something to say of them. To be sure, they knew but little about them, but lack of knowledge is not necessarily a hindrance to a writer, and apparently their ignorance only gave freer rein to their imagina- tion. For one thing, they could not make up their minds where to place it, and as the term “fish” was applied to nearly all aquatic animals, as it often is today, it is not possible to determine just what they thought of its relationships. Rondelet (De Piscibus Marinis, 1554) does not discuss it with the other fishes, but places it be- tween a crustacean and a starfish, in the section on “Insects and Zoophytes.” Gesner (Historia Animalium, 1587) gets around all the difficulties of classification at once by arranging all the aquatic animals in alphabetical order, so in this work Hippocampus appears between another fish, Hepatus, and the Hippopotamus. The accompanying illustrations are taken from the works of Rondelet and Gesner men- tioned; from Mouffet (Theatrum Insectorum, 1684), and from Goldsmith’s “Animated Na- ture,” edition of 1822. All of these are good for their time, but no particular advance in the interpretation of their structure is shown. In fact, the figure from Goldsmith, while much the finest plate, is poorer in other respects than MOUFFET, 1634 GOLDSMITH, 1822 Rondelet’s as the filaments are not shown and the dorsal fin is exaggerated to resemble a horse’s mane. Mouffet shows both sexes, but, as far as I have been able to discover, he gives no discussion, so it is impossible to tell whether he considered them different kinds or whether he meant to show the sexes (the fact that the male carries the egg-sac, being liable to misin- terpretation on this point). It is amusing to note that the older writers were much concerned with the poisonous quali- ties (!) and the medicinal virtues (!) of the sea-horse. Thus Rondelet devotes the major por- tion of four quarto pages (in Latin of course) to a discussion of these matters. He gravely quotes from the Greek writer Dioscorides (first and second centuries A. D.) and from the Ro- man Aelianus (third century A. D.) and others, the interesting information that the ashes of the sea-horse, administered in wine, produce spasmodic coughing, hot flushes in the head, discharges from the nostrils of a fishy odor, swelling of the abdomen, and eventually death. If perchance any should recover, such persons have ever afterward a strong desire for the prox- imity of the water and for continual bathing. Used as a medicine, however, the ashes of the sea-horse mixed with oil of marjoram or with liquid pitch and rubbed on cures baldness of the form known as alopecia, while mixed with water it is a cure for canker and leprosy. Ad- ministered internally it counteracts the poison (sic) of the sea-hare, and is a sovereign remedy for the bite of a mad dog! How such peculiar notions with regard to these dainty little fishes could arise is a matter 1212 of conjecture, but they are of a nature with other statements concerning the qualities of the other animals and plants known to the ancients, especially when they were rare or of unusual form. The name Hippocampus, by which this fish was known to the ancient Greeks and which was borrowed by the Romans, and which is now used as the scientific name of the genus, is not to be translated “‘sea-horse.” Instead it is a combination of two Greek words, the first of which means horse and refers to the body, which is like the head and neck of a horse, while the latter part of the word means a worm or some sea monster and refers to the tail. Rondelet and other older writers go very fully into the deri- vation of the name, apparently to prove to their readers that the Hippocampus is not to be con- fused with the mythical sea-horse with the tail of a dolphin, such as Neptune drove to his chariot and which was written about by the classical Greek authors. The name “‘sea-horse,”” or rather its equiva- lent in the languages of various Mediterranean countries, was in use in the middle ages. Cheval marin, chaval, chevalot were in common. use, as were also a number of other names meaning sea dragon, and sea salamander, sea cock and the like. THE CARE OF YOUNG ALLIGATORS. POND TURTLES AND TORTOISES.* By C. H. Townsenp. OUNG alligators do not thrive in the hands of the amateur, especially in winter, if one may judge by the number of emaci- ated specimens annually presented to the Aqua- rium. The returning Florida tourist usually has some baby alligators, which refusing to feed in our chilly northern climate, are brought to the Aquarium, perhaps during intensely cold weather, in nothing warmer than a pasteboard box. If this last thoughtless act does not finish them at once the attendants are usually able to pull them through with the aid of warm water. Cold-blooded reptiles, such as alligators and turtles, must have warm quarters. They should be kept in aquaria or other vessels into which sunlight can enter, and the vessel placed where it will not become cold. If kept near a window for the benefit of the sunshine, which “The care of these animals being a subject of inquiry at the New York Aquarium, this article has been reprinted from the Buitetin for April, 1907, 2 ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN is life to them, care should be taken that they are also near a heater. The temperature of the ordinary living-room in winter is scarcely high enough to keep alli- gators active, since they need a warmth of 75 to 85 degrees, a higher temperature than the human habitation should have. They require not only warm water, but a place where they can crawl out at times. The water need not be more than a few inches deep, and the platform or small log on which they rest should be placed in such a way that they can climb upon it easily. Alligators in captivity are most comfortable and active when they have access to water that is nearly tepid, and it is their habit to float much on the surface. Pond turtles require not only warm water, but also the heat of the sun. For that reason turtles do not flourish as well in the New York Aquarium as they would in a building more accessible to sunshine. The tem- porary warming of torpid alligators or turtles in boxes set near a heater is useless. If they can not be kept where both air and water are permanently warm, they should be dispensed with. The numerous chilled and weak alligators sent to the Zoological Park each year, are placed in the sunny Reptile House in a tank of water with a steam pipe in it. After a thorough warming up in water of 80 to 90 de- grees temperature, they begin to feed, and in three years will be a yard long, and weigh twelve or fourteen pounds. The State of Florida is making a mistake in allowing the present heavy export of young alligators, which are practically all lost by being carried north. Large alligators are now scarce, and the supply of alligators for leather is almost exhausted. Since alligators and turtles do not feed unless kept permanently warm, it is necessary to first provide them with quarters where they will have a temperature of certainly not less than 75 degrees of both air and water, and the tem- perature should really be higher. They should also have the benefit of sunshine. Forcing cold alligators to eat by cramming food into their mouths is admissible only temporarily. They will eat freely when the water and air are warm enough, and will grow amazingly. They eat such a variety of foods that it is easy enough to provide for them. Alligators and snapping turtles are flesh eaters and may be provided with small minnows. frogs, tadpoles. worms, grubs, crayfish, shrimps, and small crabs, either dead or alive. When these can not be had, they will eat fresh chopped meat, fish, clams, and oysters. Many ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN kinds of turtles will eat all the above named foods, as well as snails, small aquatic mollusks, and insects. Others like very tender, green vegetables, such as tomatoes, lettuce, celery, and various water plants. The food of some species consists largely of the bulbs of sedges, (Cyperus), while with others it is chiefly small water mollusks. Some of the turtles are active fish eaters, and will do well if supplied with live minnows. The wood-“‘turtle” and other species which forage on land as well as in the water, are fond of berries, mushrooms, and many kinds of fruits and vegetables, while nearly all kinds will eat grubs. The box tortoise eats berries, mush- rooms, and some garden vegetables as well as grubs and worms. Turtles should be provided with a variety of foods until the kinds suited to each species are ascertained. | Some species of turtles feed only under water, consequently it is absolutely necessary for them to have water when they are fed. access to If their surroundings can be made to ap- proach natural conditions—that is. if they can have access to a compartment in their quarters where there is dry sand, earth and sods, where grubs, worms, and other food can be thrown in abundance—success in keeping them will be more likely to follow. And it is remarkable how quickly they learn the exact location of food and drink. Once fed in a certain location. they will invariably seek that place when urged by hunger. A SEARCH FOR GIANT GARS. By L. L. Mowzray. N April, 1914, the writer left the New York 4 Aquarium for the Lower Mississippi to make a collection of the fishes of that region, particularly the large gars and eatfishes which are to be found in the largest numbers in the states of Mississippi and Louisiana. There are many places where the gars can be taken, but the most essential point was to secure the specimens as near a railroad station as possible, the journey back to the Aquarium being a long one at best. Maddox, on the Yazoo Pass, Mississippi, was selected owing to its proximity to Moon Lake. where Mr. Ira BE. McGehee makes his head- quarters in carrying on a fishery industry. The principal feature of the work is the taking of the spoon-bill catfish (Polyodon spathula), the 1215 GIANT GARS, YAZOO PASS, MISSISSIPPI eggs of which are used in the preparation of caviar. On arrival at Maddox the fishery was found to be concluding for the season, but on learning that the Aquarium was desirous of procuring a collection for exhibition purposes, Mr. McGehee kindly offered his services and equipment and immediately set to work locating large gars. He stated at the outset, however, that it was too late in the season and that the gars, if taken, would be very weak owing to their hav- ing spawned. The great gar (Lepisosteus tristoechus) rep- resents a very interesting family of fishes and the floor pools of the Aquarium present a very good opportunity of exhibiting it. If specimens are once located safely at the Aquarium it should be a matter of little effort to keep them. The long and short nosed gars, which are ex- hibited in the wall tanks on the fresh water side of the building have been in captivity for twelve years and with sufficient space for free movement the keeping of the giant gars of the Mississippi would be compartively easy. Several weeks of continuous fishing were spent in every known locality of Moon Lake, in an endeavor to secure a good supply of giant gars, but on the second or third day after cap- ture they would either succumb or become too weak for shipment. Mr. McGehee and his men, who are trained in handling the fishes of that region, used every effort possible to keep the fishes with sufficient vitality to warrant the trip north but failed. After having tried repeatedly, without success, to secure the gars, the writer started for New York with a good collection of small fishes from the Moon Lake region, which seemed to be in WORVOOV WUOA MUN *SSV& OOITVO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN great abundance in the lake. Four varieties of sunfishes, yellow bass, rock bass, white perch and mud fish, as well as turtles that had been taken in the various hauls of the seine and held in live cars awaiting shipment were included. Specimens of the large alligator snapping tur- tles which are found in this region were also sent to the Aquarium and still remain interest- ing members of the collection. The long-nosed gars (Lepisosteus osseus) were taken in almost every haul and were more easily handled and lived much better in the live cars than did the giant gars. It was brought to the attention of the writer by several of the fishermen in the locality that gars were known to have been dug up in the mud and that, when the caked mud was washed off, were found to be in good condition. Avail- ing myself of this information I packed a gar, encased entirely in mud, in a box just a trifle larger than the dimensions of the fish itself. This was shipped to the Aquarium, but on ar- rival was found to be dead and from all appear- ances had been dead for some little time. It may be that the fish has to accommodate itself naturally to this comatose state. However, the mud had settled during shipment and a part of the animal was exposed. This may have had something to do with the defeat of the experi- ment. There was no difficulty in locating the gars, owing to their habit of rising to the surface and tal.ing in air which is liberated in bubbles at intervals, after the gars have gone down into deeper water. Walking slowly along the shores of the lake one can watch for the bubbles ris- ing to the surface and thus follow the track of the gars. This method of locating giant gars seems to be never failing ‘and obviates many fruitless casts. Some specimens were taken which measured over eight feet, but it was very difficult. after capture, to keep them alive in the live-cars as they were much weakened by the terrible fight which they put up in their capture. Many sets of the net were made and a number of gars en- compassed but repeatedly they would bite their way through the seine. The seine in which the gars are captured is two and one quarter miles long, made of thread about 14 of an inch thick, woven in meshes of about four inches and is used for the capture of spoon-bill ecatfishes. The net is laid out from a small barge or scow which is towed by a motor boat and reaches across the lake and back. making a spread of about one quarter of a mile. It is drawn in by motor power and eight men 1215 are required in laying it out and drawing it in; which operation takes about three hours. When the specimens are encompassed and the net drawn in, a large dory is filled with water and held at the outside of the net, the side of the dory being pressed down under the water so that the giant gars ean be rolled into it from the net to avoid possible bruising. The water is frequently renewed in the dory, and the gun- wale is kept about six inches above the surface and attached to the scow until the day’s fishing is completed. The gars are taken to a mooring and either placed in a live-car or held in the dory until shipped, in which ease the water has to be frequently changed to prevent it becoming too warm. The changing of the water, how- ever, has very little to do with the keeping of the gars as they continually rise to the surface for air, but sufficient room is necessary to per- mit the specimens to rise and return comfort- ably. On examining the stomachs of several alliga- tor gars I found calico bass, small buffalo fishes. white perch, sunfishes and frogs. The above varieties seem to be their principal diet. The gar has very strong jaws—so powerful in fact that when it seizes the net, with a vigor- ous twist of the body it can go completely through it; tearing a hole of sufficient size to allow its escape. The negroes engaged in the work at Moon Lake claim that an infuriated gar has a strength of twenty horse-power, and when we take into consideration that the net through which he can go so easily is made of tarred cord almost an eighth of an inch in diam- eter, this contention has some basis of fact. AQUARIUM NOTES. Tarpon from New York Bay—During the summer the Aquarium exhibited two living tar- pons about four and a half feet in length, which were captured in pound nets at Belford, N. J.. in the lower part of New York Bay. Both spec- imens were injured in capture and neither lived as long as two weeks. The average commercial fisherman is not a good collector of live speci- mens and seldom handles fishes with the care necessary to insure satisfactory living exhibits. The trained Aquarium collector can bring hun- dreds of fishes from Florida or Bermuda with a loss in transit of little more than five per cent. and the specimens often live in captivity for several years. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN THE DETROIT It is not uncommon for the tarpon to wander northward late in the summer and _ stragglers are taken in pound nets in Long Island and Massachusetts waters nearly every year. Manatee From Porto Rico——The Aquarium received on August 31, a manatee (Manatus latirostris) from Porto Rico, as the gift of Hon. John A. Wilson of San Juan, Porto Rico, who also secured free transportation for the speci- men from the New York and Porto Rico Steam- ship Company. Unfortunately the manatee was injured in capture and did not live quite three weeks. Al- though supplied with brackish-water eel-grass, a food on which the manatees formerly kept at the Aquarium fed freely, it ate but little. One of the manatees received from Florida lived in the Aquarium seventeen months. The manatee from Porto Rico has been pre- sented to the American Museum of Natural History in Mr. Wilson’s name. It was seven feet seven inches long and weighed four hun- dred and thirty-seven pounds. The Detroit Aquarium.—The Aquarium which was completed in 1904 took its place at AQUARIUM once as the most popular museum of the city. Its attendance has always been large; for the past five years the annual number of visitors has exceeded nine hundred thousand and in 1911 exceeded one million. The Detroit Aquarium is situated in Belle Isle Park. The building is 260 feet long and 72 feet wide. It contains +4 glass-fronted ex- hibition tanks and three floor pools, and has res- ervoirs holding 22,800 gallons of stored sea water which is used as a permanent supply. The tanks contain both marine and fresh water exhibits. For the accompanying photograph, the Bur- LETIN is indebted to Mr. Conway who is in charge of the Detroit Aquarium and who was formerly on the staff of the New York Aquar. ium. In the Buttetin for March, 1914, will be found a photograph of the New Boston Aquarium. The public aquarium idea is taking hold, and municipalities all over the country have applied to the New York Aquarium fon plans and methods of construction. The Economic Value of Amphibians.—In the Zoological Bulletin of the Division of Zoology ZOOLOGICAL MANATEE (MANATUS LATIROSTRIS of the Pennsylvania Department of Agricul- ture, May-July, 1913, Dr. H. A. Surface has collected a large number of observations on the food and habits of the thirty species of amphibians known to inhabit that State. The pamphlet also contains descriptions and nu- merous illustrations, but is especially devoted to the study of the useful qualities of these ani- mals. The data on the food were collected from the examinations of the stomach contents and in the more common species large numbers were examined. As was to be expected all the species are largely insectivorous, but many of them also eat earthworms, a few are cannibals, and some of the larger species such as the hellbender and the bullfrog may devour fishes, crayfishes and other larger animals. The bullfrog especially has a wide range of diet and will apparently eat anything that it can swallow—amice, birds, crayfish, fish and small turtles are devoured, as well as other amphibians and larger numbers of all sorts of insects. Attention is called to the fact that none of the am- phibia are poisonous in any way, that any of them that are large enough are good to eat, and that all are ben- eficial to a greater or less extent The paper is written in a very popular style for dis- tribution among the people of the State; but this does not detract from its value to the scientist, who will find it of interest on ac count of the notes on food. enemies, habits, reproduc- tion and distribution. Another somewhat similar paper, though less concern- SOCIETY FROM PORTO RICO BULLETIN 1217 ed with the economic phases of the subject is found in the Michigan Geological and Biological Survey, 1912. This paper, The Amphibi- ans of Michigan, by Crystal and Helen Thompson, deals with the eighteen species of amphibians inhabiting Mich- igan, and discusses the hab- its, habitat, and other mat- ters of interest. lite (CO) Reception at the Aquarium—The reception held at the Aquarium last May was so well attended that the Executive Committee has se- lected the first Monday in May as the date for a reception to be held there annually. More than 600 members of the Zoological Society were present to enjoy the occasion. There were floral decorations, motion pictures, refresh- ments and music, in addition to the regular exhibits of the place. Indeed some of the younger people were dancing before the eve- ning was over. They said the floor was perfect. For the coming reception on May 38, special efforts will be made to add to the attractiveness of the exhibits and to provide a program that will exceed that of last year in interest. The attendance at the Aquarium has fallen off to some extent since the commencement of the war in Europe. It is reported that other museums of the City have also had fewer visitors. ee ae OUR OLD SEA-LION 1218 ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN Imbert Del. LANDING OF At Castle Sandfish or Whiting—This species, (Mala- canthus plumieri) was brought to the Aquarium for the first time in October, 1914, from Key West, Florida, where it is called sandfish. It is known by the name of whiting in Bermuda. The whiting lives on grassy bottoms, making conspicuous tunnels into the eel grass, which may be clearly observed through a water-glass. The tunnels are from five to ten feet long and have a diameter of four to eight inches. The fishes rest in them with their heads pro- truding. They are best taken by trolling and are very often caught at night. The whiting is a very good food fish and reaches a weight of twelve or fourteen pounds in deep water. It attains a length of over three feet, but averages about half that length. The most effective bait for taking it in Bermuda is the spiny lobster or salt water crayfish and the fish is gamy and a good fighter. The usual coloration of the whiting is a rich olive green; the tone of the eel grass in which it lives. At times it exhibits a black band between the eye and the snout. Its habit is to lie quietly, but when alarmed it moves with wonderful rapidity. ei eM. Sam! Maverick Sct GEN. LAFAY ET TB, Garden, New-York, 16 August L824. An Old Print.—Old prints of the Aquarium building, formerly called Castle Garden, turn up from time to time and are usually purchased for the Aquarium library. The oldest so far received is reproduced in this issue of the Bur- LETIN and shows the landing of Lafayette in 1824. The tower at the extreme right of the picture appears only in the oldest of the views of the Battery that are known. A Hardy Sea Lion—The large California sea lion, (Zalophus californianus) in the Aqua- rium was received in October, 1907, and has therefore lived indoors nearly seven and a half years—the Aquarium’s best record for mam- mals. The animai has always been very active, a habit quite necessary for aquatic mammals if they have to live in a building no better lighted and ventilated than the Aquarium. This sea lion is a well behaved specimen of his species, playful enough to entertain visitors and not given to noisy barking. His tendency to fatness which might result in laziness and inactivity, is controlled by careful feeding. Believed to be about two years old when re- ceived, his present age is not far from ten years. Chea GENERAL INFORMATION MEMBERSHIP IN THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Membership in the Zoological Society is open to all interested in the objects of the organiza- tion, who desire to contribute toward its support. The cost of Annual Membership is $10 per year, which entitles the holder to admission to the Zoological Park on all pay days, when he may see the collections to the best advantage. Members are entitled to the Annual Reports, bi-monthly Bulletins, Zoologica, privileges of the Administration Building, all lectures and special exhibitions, and ten complimentary tickets to the Zoological Park for distribution. Any Annual Member may become a Life Member by the payment of $200. A _ subscriber of $1,000 becomes a Patron; $2,500, an Associate Founder; $5,000, a Founder; $10,000, a Founder in Perpetuity, and $25,000, a Benefactor. ZOOLOGICAL PARK The Zoological Park is open every day in the year, free, except Monday and Thursday of each week. when admission is charged. Should either of these days fall on a holiday no admis- sion fee is charged. From April 15 to October 15, the opening and closing hours are from 9 o'clock A. M. until one-half hour before sunset. From October 16 to April 14, the opening and closing hours are from 10 o’clock A. M. until one-half hour before sunset. Applications for membership may be given to the Chief Clerk, in the Zoological Park; C. H. Townsend, N. Y. Aquarium, Battery Park, New York City, or forwarded to the General Secretary, No. 11 Wall Street, New York City. NEW YORK AQUARIUM The Aquarium is open every day in the year: April 15 to October 15, from 9 o’clock A. M. to 5 o'clock P. M.; October 16 to April 14, from 10 o’clock A. M. to 4 o'clock P. M. No admission is charged. PUBLICATIONS PERMA VEDOGHENO. 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