The Peccary, with Introductory Notes on the Order Ungulata

4 FOREST AND STREAM.

[Jan._26, 1888.

ofanoldfield,wherethemuleistied andPills is given his liberty.

He

disappearsinthe weeds,andfiveminutes thereaftersets

up

asteady,persistent barking, but in a soft,lowtone.

'"He'sfound em,"saysGregory,

and we

push through theweedstotheoppositeside ofthefield,where

we

find Pills sittingonhishaunches,hiseyes riveted on the top ofa smallturkeyoak,and barkingsteadily.

A

brief in- spectionofthetreerevealsfivequail

among

thebranches,

two

sittinglow down, andthreeclose together near the top,allmotionlessas statues.

_

"Take

delowes'one fust,"saysGregory, bringinghis singlebarreltoshoulderandfiringasbespeaks.

He

drops onebird, I demolishanother,and then cover thetrioin thetreetop,twoofwhichfalltotheshot,butthethirdone goesfluttering

away

badlywounded,and this startsthe balanceof the covey.

They

begin toscatter

away

veiy

which

are plenty; and one particular finechasethrough theopen pinewoodsis

made

in plain sight for

some

two hundredyards. Itresults inthe dog'sfairly outfoot-

mg

and picking

up

therabbit,which hebrings,kicking andsquealing, to hismaster,anddelivers

up

with a look of proud satisfaction. Iwould like to

own

thatdog, I\

couldafford totake

him

toPennsylvania. Buthis

owner

declines to sell at anyreasonable figure, and, leavingj

Gregoryallthe

game

save

two plump

quail, I

make my way

tocamp, with twohoursofdavlighttospare.

And

here,asI live,comesthe dingywiththe Skipper

and

Joe. I

am

admonished to pack

up

lively, asitis decidedto startfortheNorth on Saturday andthe Skipper wishestospend a dayinvestigating the mysteriesofthe

"Stone House," which, tradition says,

was

built

more

than 200 years ago. I thinktradition lies; butallthe

same make

hastetoget

my

duffleon boardthe canoe, and,

Gariacustoltecm,Brooke. YucatanDeer. Mexico.

Gariacusrufinus, (Bourcieret Pucheran) Brooke. Black-faced Brochet. MexicotoEcuador.

Oervmcanadensis, Erxeleben. Wapiti. American"Elk." Vir- ginia,Californiaandnorthward.

Alcesmaclilis,(Linne)Gray. Moose(elk ofEuropeans).Northern United Statesandnorthward.

Banyifer tarandus, (Linne) Gray. Reindeer. ArcticNorthAmer-

ica.

Bangifer tarandusgrcenland.kus, (Kerr). Barren-groundCarihou.

ArcticAmerica.

Banglf&r tarandus caribou (Kerr). WoodlandCaribou. North- easternNorth America.

Family Antilocaprid^e. TheProng-horn Antelope.

AnWpeapraamerieana, 0rd. Prong-horn Antelope or Cabrit.

.Flams westofMissourifromLowerRioGrandetoSaskatche- wan.

FamilyBovid^je. TheCattle.

Bison americanus, (Gmelin) Gray. AmericanBuffalo. Plains he- tweentheRocky Mountains andMissouri River.

Ovibmmoschatus,Blainville. Musk-ox. ArcticNorth America.

THE COLLARED PECCARY

(/). tajaQu).

Adult Male; Drawn

bt the

Author

;

About

One-Seventh the Stze of Life.

lively,butGregorygetsinone

more

shotatalaggard

and

then they are gone,

making

straightfor adense

hammock

100rods distant. Pills behaves admirably.

He

isper- fectlysteadyto shot andtree,doesnot chase,and

when

theexcitementisover proceedstoretrievethe birdsina businesslike

manner

and withoutorders.

He

fixstbrings inthefivedeadquail,and then without a

word

fromhis masterstarts off into the scrubafterthe

wounded

bird,

which

itisevidenthe has

marked

down.

He

isback in lessthanfiveminutes withhis bird.

"You've taught

him

to retrievewell,"I said.

"Neberlearned

him

nothin''boutit,"saidGregory;"he jesstuk

up

do notionhisownse'f."

Pillssoonfindsanother covey,

and

this timeIhavea fairchanceto see

him

get in hiswork,

which

issimple buteffective toa degree.

On

strikingthetrail he roads rapidly

up

tothebirds,andasthefirstonerisesherushes on

them

at topspeedwitha succession of short, shrill yelps

which

sends thefrightened coveyintothe nearest trees,

where

theysit

immovably

watchingthe dogas thoughfascinated.

Then

Pillssquatsonhishaunchesin plainsight of his

game

and changes histonetomild, plaintive baying, remainingsteadyto treeand barkin spiteofshootingand tumblingbirds,untiltheremaining birds takeflight,

when

he suddenlyrelapses into silence and becomes absorbedin

marking them

down. Itisall

verysagacious

and

shows,to

my

thinking,

more

ofrea- son*thaninstinct.

We

followupthe scattered coveyand succeedin get- tinga coupleof stragglers, when,finding

we

have just fourteenquail,Iproposeto quit. ButGregory,likeyour

"true"and"legitimate"sportsman,isintent on

making

a"bag."

I willshootno more, however, and hereluctantly turns his face

homeward. We

^find the

mule

in disgrace throughgetting afore leg tangled in hishalterandhis rope harness in a tangleoftwistsandknots past under- standing. Gregorysoothesandrelieves

him

bythe vigor- ous applications of a club, after the

manner

of mule drivers theworldover,and

we

startforhome,I trailing along behind the cart, for I have been jolted and

bumped

sufficiently over palmetto roots on the'

way

out.

On

the

way home

Pills, whose hunting blood is fairlyup,

makes some

sport byracing the cottontails.

justasthesungetsbehind the pines onthewestside of the bay, pickupthe double-blade fora tiresome paddle of sixmilestothefish-factory.

Two

hours later I

am

in the Stella's cabin smoking lazily, and with a pretty decided notion that

my camping

on the east coastof Floridahas

come

toasuddenend. Nessmuk.

<^tn\nl

^jjiistorg.

THE PECCARY.

With Introductory Notes on

the

Order Ungulata.

by

r.w. shufeldt,m.d., c.m.z.s.

HAVING

^carried

^my

^{sketches of the UnitedStates}

mammals

throughthe ProvisionalListoftheU.S.

National

Museum

toinclude theCetaceans(see

Forest and

Stream,Oct.27,1887), I willinthe present contribu- tiontake

up

thenextgroupdealtwithinthatList,which

we

find tohe theOrder Ungulata,agroup largelyrepre- sented in the existing world'sfauna,and

which

inour countryis fairlyrepresented

by

at least onespecies of peccary,

some

nine or ten species ofdeer andelk,an antelope,lessthanhalfadozenbovinespecies,andas

we

pass into Mexico and Guatemala, by

two

speciesof tapir andanother peccary. Stillpursuingtheplan adoptedin the sketches already informer

numbers

of

Forest and

Stream,I willhere republish theOrder Ungulata as

we

finditin full intheListalludedtoabove. It stands as follows:

Order UNGULATA.

Ungulates.

Subobdeb

ARTIODACTYLA.

Family Dicotylid^e. ThePeccaries,

jykotyles tajacu,(Linne)Sclater.

Common

Peccary. Arkansasto Patagonia.

Dicotijlcs lahiatus, (Cuvier). White-lipped Peccary. Guatemalato Paraguay.

FamilyCkrvid.is. The Dews.

Cmiaeus macroUs,.(Say) Brooke, Mule Deer. Central North America.

Gariacus columhianus,(Rich.)Gray. ColumbiaBlack-tailedDeer.

Pacific slope.

Gariacusvirainianus, (Boddeert)Brooke. Virginia Deer. Canada

toPanama.

Ovisiwrntana, Cuvier. Bighorn:MountainSheep. Rocky Moun- tainregionstoMexico.

Orism»ntartadalli.Nelson. Ball'sMountainSheep. Mountains ofAlaska and southwardinto BritishAmerica.

Mazamamontana,(Ord.) Gill. MountainGoat. NorthernRocky MountainsoftheUnitedStatesandBritishAmerica.

Subobder

PERISSODACTYLA.

FamilyTapiridje. TheTapirs.

Elasmngnathusbairdii,Gill. Baii'd'sTapir. MexicotoPanama.

Masmognathus down*, Gill. Dow'sTapir. Guatemala to Costa Rica.

Nextfollowing

we

findtheListpresenting uswiththe wonderfullyextensiveOrder, theRodentia,whichItrust

may

furnishmaterialforfuture articles; but right

now

let us turn our attention tosome of the leadingfacts science has brought to light, incomparatively recent times,inreferenceto the historyoftheUngulata; then pass to a short sketch of the Peccary, thefirstspecies which appears inthe List accompanyingthiscontribu- tion. In the papersimmediatelyfollowingthisone,

and

before

we

enteruponthe Rodentia,I trust, too,totouch

upon

thelife-historiesofcertainCervidee,Antilocapridse, andBovidseenumerated above.

Duringthe early partof thiscentury,systematiczoolo- gists,guided bythe knowledge thenintheirpossession, werequiteunanimousin dividing the easilyrecognized groupof"hoofed

mammals"

into sections,designated as theArtiodactylaandPerissodcCctyla

—

agroupingwhich excludedsuchanimalsasthe

Hyrax

andElephants, and decided that theselatterwerenotespeciallyrelatedtothe trueUngulate types, but should be placed in separate groups,

which

wereduly createdfor their reception. In recentyears,however,theunceasing laborsofthepale- ontologists, both inour

own

countryandabroad,have broughtto lightthefossil remains of a vast hostofex- tinct types,which careful studyhas

shown

to bethe ancestralandlinking kin

among

not only

modern

peris- sodactyline and artiodactyline ungulate species, with

Hyrax

andthe Proboscidea,butwithotheroutlyingfam-

iliesformerlythoughttobedistinct. Sothat

we

are at present enabled to reconstruct thisfar

more

numerous assemblageofforms,and byassociatingboth theexisting representativeswiththose

now

extinct,

we make

our order Ungulata include

them

all.

Whereupon

again passing inreviewourknowledgeofthe structureofthese animals,

Jan. _26, 1888.]

FOREST AND STREAM. ⁸

we

findthat

we

canstillretainouroldsections,theArti- odactylaand Perissodactyla,as two^clearlydefined sub- orders of the Ungulata, and designate

them

as the Ungidata vera; while

we

throw allthe other species, upon whosestructure

we

arenot nearlysowell informed, into other sub-orders,

and

collectively term

them

the Subungulata, or in contradistinction to the first, the

Ungulatapolydactyla.

Thisarrangement

may

bestill

more

clearly

shown

thus:

Suborders. Exampks.

Ungulata..

UngulataVera..

1Artiodactyla...._]Swine, Ox, Deer.

!Perissodactyla.. Horse, Tapir, Rhi- noceros.

Hyracoidea jHyrax.

Subungulata. Proboscidea... .-jElephants.

iDinocerata and Amblypoda ^•< other extinct

( forms.

Veryexcellent anatomical characters distinguish the Artiodactylafromthe Perissodactyla,whichour limited spacewillforbidentering

upon

here,but

we

willbe per- mittedtonoticethe chief

among

these,andIrefer tothe differences

which

obtainin the skeleton of the feet of these

two

suborders. Aside from

now

well-knowndif- ferenceswhichexistinthearrangementofthe bonesof the wrist and ankle joints,

we

findtbat the artiodacty- lineanimalsareeven-toed, as inthe deer,pigandcamel, the

median

lineof the footpassing

down

between the third

and

fourthdigits (see

C

and

D

ofthefigures).

Now

the perissodactyline animalsare odd-toed,as inthe horse andrhinoceros,themedianline ofthefootpassinglongi- tudinally

down

the centerofthe thirddigit (see

A

and

B

of the figures). It will at once benoticed that these typesof feetareverydifferentfrom

what we

findinthe great elephantine ungulates,as intheelephant(see Fig.4).

In the present connectionitwillbe obviously impossible toenter

upon

the natural history or structure of the highlyinteresting species fallingunderthe Stibungulata.

None

of

them

are

now

representedin the existingfauna oftheUnitedStates.

Taken

asa whole, then, these are

some

of the distin- guishing charactersoftheUngulates: Forthemostpart theyare vegetablefeeders,and of aterrestrial habitat;

theyarewithoutacollar-bone;they

walk

on ^theirtoes,

which

latterare either

armed

with atrae hoof,or pro- tectedbynails,whicharebroad,blunt and rough;their teeth arewell developedand arrayedupondefiniteplans.

A

studyofthe skeletonsofexistingspecies,andthe long arrayofextinctones,recently brought to light,

show

a veinofkinshiprunning throughtheentiregroup, linking

them more

orlesscloselytogether,and even in

some

in- stances pointingto a relationship with other orders,,as

perhapstheRodentsontheone hand,andthe Sireniaon theother.

As

engaginga subject as the studyof the entiregroup ofexistingUngulataprovesto be,withits elephants,its quaintlittlepuzzle the

Hyrax

(ofseveralspecies);itsvast variety of Horses; the Rhinoceroses; the Tapirs; the different types of Swine; allthe Cavicornruminants;

andallthenumerousspecies ofdeerandtheir allies; the Camels and^{theirlrir)d; aa}interesting no I n»j thisstudy

io,itsinterestissimplytrebled,

when we come

totrace back throughthefossilformsreferred to above, the ex- traordinary typeswhich werethe ancestors of this

now

livinghostofanimals.

Ina short articlelikethe presentoneitwillbe outof the questiontotracebackintogeologic times,evenafew ofthese extinctlines ofancestors ofexistingungulates, buttoquote quitefullyfrom LeConte, "itwillbeinter- estingand instructive to run outoneofthesebranches and

show

in

more

detailthe genesisofoneoftheextreme forms. Forthis purpose

we

selectthehorse,becauseit

hasbeen

somewhat

accuratelytracedby

Huxley

and

by

Marsh.

About

thirty-fiveorfortyspeciesof thisfamily, rangingfromthe earliestEocenetothe Quaternary, are

known

intheUnitedStates. Thesteps ofevolution

may

therefore be clearly traced. In the lowest partofthe Eocenebasin(Coryphodonbeds)ofGreenRiver,isfound theearliest-known animal,which is clearlyreferableto the horse family,^viz.,the recently-describedEohippus, ofMarsh. Thisanimal hadthree toes onthehindfoot andfour perfect serviceabletoesonthefore foot; but, in addition,onthe fore footanimperfectfifthmetacarpal

(splint),andpossiblya corresponding rudimentaryfifth toe (thethumb),likeadew-claw. Also thetwobonesof thelegandfore

arm

wereyetentirely distinct.

"Thisanimal

was

nolarger than afox. Next,inthe Middle Eocene (Bridger beds)

came

the Orohippusof Marsh,an animal of similar size,and having similar structure,except that the rudimentary

thumb

ordew- clawisdropped, leaving only fourtoeson the forefoot.

Next came,in the

Lower

Miocene, the Mesohippus,in

which

thefourth toe has

become

arudimentary anduse- less splint. Next came, still in the Miocene, the Miohippus of the United States and nearly allied AnchithereofEurope,

more

horse-like than the preced- ing. The rudimentaryfourthsplintis

now

almost gone, andthemiddlehoof hasbecomelarger; nevertheless,the

two

side hoofs arestill serviceable. The twobonesof the leg have also

become

united, though still quite distinct, jjjhis animal

was

about the size ofa sheep.

Next came,inthe Upper Miocene and

Lower

Pliocene, the ProtohippusoftheUnited States and allied Hip- parionofEurope,an animalstill

more

horse-like than the preceding,bothinstructureandsize. Every remnant of the fourth splint is

now

gone; the middle hoof has

become

stilllarger,andthetwo side hoofs smaller and shorter, and no longer serviceable, except in

marshy

ground. It

was

about thesizeoftheass. Next came,in the Pliocene,the Pliohippus, almost a complete horse.

Thehoofs arereducedtoone,but thesplints of the

two

side toesremainto attestthelineof descent. It differs fromthe true horse in the skull,shape ofthe hoof,the lesslengthofthe molars,

and

some other lessimportant details. Last comes, in the Quaternary, the

modern

horse

—

Equus.

The

hoof becomes rounder, the splint bonesshorter,themolarslonger,andthesecondbone of theleg

more

rudimentary,and the evolutionarychange

iscomplete.'" Professor

Le

Contetookhis figures from Marsh,andIcopied

them

fromtheformer. In

mine

the figuresofthelimbsandthe teeth of these extinct and

modern

horseswerenotdrawn. Copehas traced out the descentofthecamelinvery

much

the

same

manner,and this latterwriterhasofrecent years marvellouslyadded toourknowledgeofthesehighlyimportantextincttypes, andinadmirable schemesof classification,tooextensive

CO.

Fig.2.—Left lateralviewoftheheadofamaleBabirussa, considerably reduced.

Fig.3.—HeadofamaleWart-Hog{Plmcochwrusafricanus);reduced. Figs. 2ane3designedtoshowthe extraordinarydevelopment ofthe caninesinsomeoftherelatives ofthePeccary.

Fig.4.—RightforefootofIndian Elephant; greatly reduced. (AfterFlower.)

Figs,a.—f,—ForefeetofEquusanditsextinctkin. «-Orohippus (Eocene); b.M-esohippus(LowerMiocene); c.Miohippus(Miocene):

<l.Protohippua(LowerPliocene); e.Pliohippus(Pliocene);

/

Equus (Quaternary andRecent).

Figs.A..—D

—

^A.ji.FeetofPerissodactyles; V.D.FeetofArtiodactyles. A. Tapir (Tapirusindicus); JB.Horse{Equuscaballus);

C.Camel(Cameiusbaclrianus); J>.Pig(Susscrofa). ^-J-andJiareXl-5, V x%,andX>x%. (AfterFlower.)

to be_dwelt

upon

here,has

shown

the probable origin of existing families of Carnivores, Insectivores,Quadrumana, etc.,from his Bunotheria; andas

we

havepointed out above, the various familiesoftheorder

now

under con- sideration, from the generalized extinct types of the Amblypoda. The studyof the evolution of structure thatisdisplayed in theremainsofthese ancient forms, ascompared withthe

anatomy

of species still living on the earth,affords a lesson pregnant with facts of the veryhighest importance,

and

well worthy of the pro- foundest contemplation of the trained zoologist and philosophicnaturalist.

"Wepass

now

toabriefconsiderationofthelife-history ofthe Peccary. Thereare but

two

species of these ani- mals, both being confinedto the

American

continent:

the largerofthe two, the white-lipped peccary, beingre- stricted toarangebetweenBritish Honduras

and

Para- guay. Thisanimal{D.labiatus) has a length of about 40in., and is characterized byits whitelips

and

lower jaw;itsgeneral color being nearly black; andas inall wild swine,its

young

are longitudinally striped in their markings.

A

South

American

observersays,^''This species livesinlargebands,sometimes amountingtoathousand, and stretching outforaleague, migratesfrom onedis-

6 FOREST AND STREAM.

^[.Ia.n. 26, 18S8.

trict toanother. Ifthey

come

across a plantation they devastateitbyrooting

up

itscrops;

when

theymeet any thing unusual theyarethrownintogreat alarm, which they expressbya clatter oftheteeth. If ahunterven- turestoattackoneofthese herds,heissnretobe tornin piecesbythe infuriated throng, unless hetaketon tree or escape by flight.

When

excited byrage theireyes flash,theyrubtheirsnouts together, erect theirbristles,

andfilltheairwiththeir cries." Peccaries are notorious in possessing apowerfulscent gland, givingforththrough the oleaginous substance it secretes,themostoffensive odor,

and

unlessthisbeimmediately

removed

afterthey arekilled,ittotally unfits their flesh for

human

consump- tion. Thisisbest

marked

inour

own

species (D. tajagu).

and

thisstructureinducedtheearlydescribersto believe ittobeasecondnavel,an idea which led toitsspecific

name

of Dicotyles,bestoweduponthegenusbyCuvier.

As

willbe seen from ourfigure of apeccary that these little,wild,pig-likeanimalsnot only resemble thedomes- ticated species in theirgeneralform, but theyalsodo, in so far as their different

mode

oflife willallowthem,in alltheir otherpropensities, habits and structure.

One

strikingdifference,however,for peccaries lack anyex- ternalevidence ofatail,an appendageofalmosthistori- cal

fame

in the

common

pig. Further,nothingof strik- ing note particularly characterizes the canine'teeth in these peccaries,whereas

some

of theirforeign relatives are markedlyfavored in thisparticular, as forexample the Babirussasof the island of

Bum and

theCelebes,a specieswhereintheuppercanines actually pierce thelips as

shown

inFig.2,oneof

my

drawings illustrating this article; orthestill

more

remarkablecaninesoftheWart-

Hog

ofthe continent (see Fig.3),wherethese teeth are great,upturnedtusks,protruding far beyondthelimits ofthehps andjaws. Notwithstanding such

marked

dif- ferencesas these,however,the

many

species ofswine, theworldover,bothwild anddomesticated,have nearly a

common

structure,and so far aspaleontology goesto

show

us,theyhave heldtoitinformergeologic periods

"withcharacteristic pertinacity," as is evidenced by the several species offossil types which have beendis- covered. It is said that these animals,iftaken young,

may

beeasilydomesticated,butowingto their fleshbeing

much

inferior tothatofthe

common

varietiesofswine,

and

to theirfrightfulodor,andtotheirnot beingprolific breeders, therehasbeennospecialinducementtounder- takingtheirdomestication

upon

anygreatscale. Usually a female peccary will bear but once during atwelve- month,

and

then'bring forthbut oneortwo

young

atthe time. Omnivorous in their tastes, these animals will feed indiscriminately

upon

roots, fruit, fish, snakes,

worms

orevencarrion,andIhavealready alludedtothe

maimer

in

which

theywilllaywastethe farmer's crops oncertainoccasions. Those

who

have enjoyedstudying theirhabits innature,tell us thattheyresort tothe bur- rowsdesertedbyother annuals, orto the hollowtrunks of trees, todwellinthem:but thatforthemostpartthey areusually

met

roaminginsmall or largepartiesthrough the tracklessforests,wherethehunter

may

easilyfollow

them

bytheirpowerfulscent.

Our

species,the collared peccary, rangesfromthe

Eed

EiverofArkansas,southward,and is not as large an animalasthewhite-tippedoneby4in.initstotallength.

Itis,moreover,lessferociousin its habits,being rather gentlethanotherwise,andlittle disposed to attackany oneoranything.

Commonly

it is

met

eitherinaherd consistingatthemostofnot

more

thanadozenindivid- uals, oratothertimes asingle pah^-,or evena lone one

may

befoundbythe hunter. This speciesisatoncedis- tinguishedfromD. labiatusby the whitish bandwhich passes across theback fromshouldertoshoulder(seeFig.

1). Fortheresttheanimalisclothed ina coat of dark- grayish,bristly hair,whichismarkedlylengthened along theback from headtotail,orwherethetail oughtto be, were onetobefoundthere.

One

writer well describes thefootstructureinthepeccaryin these words,and he says,"Inthefeetthetwo middle(third

and

fourth)uieta- podial bones,whicharecompletely separate inthepigs, areunitedat theirupperends,as in the ruminants.

On

the forefoot the

two

(second

and

fifth) outertoesare equally developedas in pigs,butonthe hindfoot,although theinner(orsecond)is present,the outer or fifth toe is entirelywanting, giving an unsymmetrical appearance tothe

member,

veryunusualin Artiodactyles.

As

inall other existing Ungulates, thereisnotraceofafirstdigit (pollexorhallux)oneither foot."

As much

ashasbeen already contributedtoourknowl- edgeofthe habitsandstructureof the peccary,and in- deedtotheSuinagenerally,thereisa great deal of un- written information in regard to them,whichscience willbe very gladtohave at her

command: and any

in- vestigationsinsuchdirectionsshould be encouraged,"

and

accurate reports of researcheswillbe highly valued.

While engaged in writtingthisarticle Ihave beenmuchas- sistedthrough

my

perusalof thefollowing works: Professor

W.

H. Flower's excellent contribution to theninth editionofthe British Encyclopedia,moreespeciallythe oneonthe"Mammalia,"

and severalon the Ungulates generally, as "Hippopotamus,"

"Peccary," "Horse^"and"Swine." Also the "Osteoloeryofthe Mammalia." bythesame author. Prof. Sir Richard Owen's

"AnatomyofVertebrates,"andhis specialmonographs. Marsh's classicquartovolumeson the "Uinocerata"andothermemoirs by thesame writer. Cope'slong series ofpapersintheAmerican Naturalist,fullyillustrated,and presentingthemostexhaustive accountsoffossilungulates. Huxley's"AnatomyofVertebmtccl Animals,''his"Elements ofComparative Anatomy"(1WJ4J,and

many

of hisnumerousother contributions relatingtoungulate morphology. Caton on "The Antelope and Deer ofAmerica."

SeveralofG. Baur's recentmemoirs; andthe excellentcontribu- tionsof Scott and Osborn,ofPrincetonCollege, to thesubject.

Gill's"Arrangementofthe FamiliesofMammals." vVoitmau's

"ComparativeAnatomyoftheTeethoftheY ertebrata;" the gen- eraltextbooksofGegenbaur, Packard,YViedersheim (Parker's trans.),Glausand Sedgwick,Bellandothers. "Wallace'saccount oftheBahinma^{in his}"MalayArchipelago." Mivart's"Lessons inElementary Anatomy." Chanveau's "ComparativeAnatomy

oftheDomesticated Animals." Darwin's"OriginofSpecies"and

"AnimalsandPlantsunderDomestication." SeveralofGarrod's special memoirs, moreparticularly the one on"The OrderDino- cerata." Le Conte's "Elements of Geology," and numerous specialcontributionsof anumberofother writersupon(hesub- ject.

Range

of

the Quail

in

New

York.

—

The excitement created

among

dogsandolder inhabitantsbythe appear- anceof

two Bob

Whites in our

meadows

last July has raisedthequestions,

What

isthe exactrangeofthe quail inCentral

New

York?

Where

isitfoundnorthofPough- keepsieandeast of

Onondaga

county? And,ineachcase, is its presencenormal,or hasitbeenintroduced?

Can

the readers of the

Forest and Stream

enlighten us?

Florence

A.

Merriam

(Locust Grove, Lewis countv, N,Y.).

Kingfisherin

New York

in

Winter,—-New

York,I

Jan. 22.—Editor Forest

and

Stream:

When

crossing fromPel

ham

toDavid's Island,

Long

Island Sound, on Fridayafternoon, Jan.20, 1888, I

was much

surprised to seeakingfisher(Cerylealcyon)flyingover thewaterclose to the

bow

of the boat, as

we

nearedthe

Government

dock. There

was

considerable ice in the bay,andwith thefieldswhitewithsnow,thisbird, socharacteristic of sunshineand

summer

weather,seemedsadly outof place.

He

utteredno sound as he flew along,andI doubtnot the cheerless nature of hissurroundings(or possibly a severecold)had taken

away

allinclinationonhispartto waive the echoes with his familiar"rattle."

We

have hadsolittlesevereweatherthisseason, untilthelasttwo orthree days, our wanderer possiblythought lie could

manage

tostrugglethrough andsoescape the longflight southward,buthe

must

havefound food rather scarce lately,and

when

he

awoke

this morning with the mer- curyinthethermometercoquettingwith the zero point he probably wishedhimself far

away among

Iris com- panionsina

warmer

clime,where he could bask inthe sunalldaylongand"rattle"'incomfortthe death knell ofinnumerablesmallfishes. Ihave never heard before ofoneofthese birds stayingwith us so late.

The

only other instance of alateobservation ofthisbird thatIfind inlooking over

my

notes

was

on Dec.19,1880,

when

I

saw

asinglespecimensittingona treeover abrook ina

swamp,

near Flushing,L.I.,

when

everythingwasfrozen hardexcept the brook. Isenta notetotheForest

and Stream

atthattimeabout it.—

Robert

B.

Lawrence.

Ice-Bound

Rail.— New

York,Jan.11.—Editor Forest

and

Stream:

On

Dec.23.1887,someboys while playing on the salt

meadows

near Flushing, L.I.,foundfour sorarail(PorzanaCarolina)andsucceeded in capturing onealive. The boysstatedthat thebirdsseemedunable to fly. There

was

considerableice and

snow

around, anditseemsscarcelypossiblethat these birds couldhave obtainedfood. Therewere no

warm

springswherethese birdswere found. I

saw

the captured bird the

same

evening;it

was

confinedin a small box,and seemedun- injuredandingoodcondition.—Robt.B.

Lawrence.

Cardinal Grosbeak

in

New York

inWinter.

— On

Tuesday, Jan. 17, I

saw

on156thstreet,nearEleventh avenue, a

young

male Cardinalis virginianus.

The

speciesisnot

uncommon

inCentralParkinsummer, and hasbeenreported

more

thanonceasoccurring in winter;

but the circumstance is perhapssufficientlyunusualto warrant this brief mention.

—

G. B. G.

(New

York, Jan.

20).

Otter

tn

Delaware.— An

otter, measuring 4ft. in lengthand weighing281bs.

was

capturedinJones's Creek, threemilesfromthistown,to-day. Thisisthefirstotter seen in this section for

many

years.

—

Del. A,

Ware

(Dover,Del.,Jan.8).

'iime j§n$ and

AddressallcmnmunicaV'wnetotheForestandStreamPub.Co.

Antelope

and

Deer of America.

By

J. D. Caton.

Price $2.50.

Wing and

Glass Ball Shooting irith the Rifle. Bif

W.

C. Bliss. Price 50cents. Mile,

Bod and aim

in California.

By

T. S.

Van

Dyke. Price $1.50.

Shore Birds. Price 15 cents. Woodcraft.

By

"Ness*

mule." Price$1. Trajectoriesof

Hunting

Rifles. Price 50cents. The.Still-Hunter.

By

T. S.

Van

Dyke. Priced.

GAME AND FISH PROTECTORS.

r~t

THROUGH

the courtesy of Gen. R.TJ.

Sherman we

_l. have beensuppliedwithadvancesheetsofthefol- lowingportionofthe reportpresented tothe Legislature bythe

New York

Commissioners ofFisherieslastTues- day:

Thereportsof the

Game

andFish Protectorsannexed will

show what

hasbeendonein thisdepartment during thelastyear.

With

afewexceptions,theseofficershave givenvigilant

and

faithful attentionto theirdutiesand have beenassuccessful as the circumstances permitted.

The

work

reportedis greaterinvolume and importance than that of anyprevious year, and the fact

may

be mentioned as .particularlyshowingan advance, thatin- dictments have been latelyfound

by

a grandjuryin Hamilton countyof residents of thatcountyforviolation ofthe

game

laws! Such anoccurrence has hithertobeen thought impossible. It has been the office of grand juries in that county to protect rather than punish offenders.

The^protectorshave been crampedhi their

work

bythe insufficiency of their allowance for expenses. Tin's has beenalludedto informerreports,andthe

remedy

which has been suggested is

now

renewed, viz.: Thatthere should beanappropriationof $5,000putatthe

command

ofthe Commissioners,tobeexpendedin theirdiscretion in necessarymeasuresto facilitate the enforcement of the law by the protectors. The present allowance of traveling expensesis twentydollars and a fraction,per

month

to each protector. In the performance of a month'sduty

which

necessarilyinvolves a good dealof travel, this

sum

byno

means

suffices, and the protector

must

not ouly takefromhissalarytoekeout hisofficial expenses, but mustbewithout

any means

topayforne- cessaryaid,suchasthe

employment

ofspecialdetectives andother assistants, and the hire of boats and other

means

of transportation essential to the service. The additionalallowance

recommended

should not be

made

instated

sums

toeveryprotector,but should begivenby theCommissionersasneededforspecialoccasionsasthey

may

occur. Ifthe appropriation shouldnot be all re- quireditwouldnotbeused.

The nextgreatdifficultythe protectorhastoencounter intheperformanceof hisdutyisthelax publicsentiment that prevailsinthe principal

game

centers. This laxity

isofthesame natureas that

which

exists inregardto

many

other good laws founded for the protection of property

and

the maintenance of order and morality.

The aversion of a

community

to the wholesome re- straintsof a law whichbears

upon

the viciousappetites andpropensitiesofanyconsiderableclasshasitsbadin- fluenceonalllocal officers charged with the adminstra-

tion ofthe law.

Under

thisjurorslearntodisregard the obligationsof their oaths,prosecutingofficers

become

lax andunfaithful and theevil effect extends oftento the judicialbenchitself.

Ttisdifficultto

make

people

who

live intheneighbor- hood of streams and lakes containing valuable fish,or of forests holding choicegame,understandthat thepro- tection of this useful food supply from improvident wasteis

more

then-concernthanit isthatof peopleliv- ingremote andenjoyingits benefits onlyon occasional andexpensivevisitations. The local class aregenerally aszealoustodestroy the choicest

game

astheywouldbe todestroy noxious animals.

They

take no heedof the ultimate consequenceswhich must

come

of theirrath- lessspoliation,but look onlyto thewantsordestructive pleasures of ihe day.

Thev

exemplify in the fullest sense thestory ofthe goose that

was

killed forthegolden egg.

Therepressionof thisvicious spirit of destruction can beeffected onlyby

means

of laws wiselyframedto pro- mote the end inview and faithfully administeredby honestofficers.

One

ofthe greatest obstacles atpresentinthe

way

of theenforcement of the

game

laws istheneglect,from disinclination, of district attorneys to prosecutecases brought bytheprotectors. Thiscriticismisnot

meant

to applytothe prosecuting officers as aclass;foras arale they are asfaithful asanyother class of publicofficers.

Butinmostplaceswhere the public sentiment is bad.

prosecutingofficerslackzealandindependence. Thusit willbefoundthatin the worst poaching localities, as Hamilton,Franklin, Lewis, Cortland, Otsego and some others,the

number

ofoffenders prosecutedtojudgment

issmallcomparedtothe

number

complainedof.

A

case hasbeen reported to theCommissioner wherea present of venison takenout of season

was

sent

by

the law breakertothedistrict attorney of his county,andthat officer,insteadof promptlyreporting the offendertothe grand jury,wrotea note thanking the poacherforthe contrabandmeat!

In thelarger counties,the pressureof businessfalling to district attorneysissogreat thatsome

must

be neces- sarilyneglected. The

murder

cases

must

ofcourse have precedence,and theburglaries, robberies, arsons, rapes, and the higher misdemeanors

must

beattendedto; so offensesagainstthe

game

laws,whicharenotesteemed as of ashighagradeastheyreally are, are pigeonholed and do not receive attention till business of supposed weightierconcern hasbeendisposedof.

Where

awhole-

some

sentimentprevails,incounties less burdened with crimethanthosewhichcontain thelargecities,the

game

lawcaseshave better care, and there aresomedistrict attorneyswhose prompt andvigorous actioninsuchcases has

made

thelawrespected. But often thebest efforts of the protectors are set at naught bythelackof the proper co-operationofthe prosecuting officer. It issug- gestedwhether,inviewofthese considerations,itwould notbegoodpolicyto

make

provision for the protector's cases, either bycreating a separate departmentinthe district attorney's officeincountieswhere theseofficers are over-burdened with business, or by permitting protectors to bringandprosecute suitsthroughoutside counsel-

How

"nottodoit" is well illustrated iua casestefcr*l inthe reportofProtector

Drew

of hisexperienceiuOtsego county. This reportwillbefoundinitsplace

among

the supplementarymatter.

The

protector spent

many

weeks' timeandnot alittleofhisscanty personal

means

inlook- ing up flagrant cases of violations that had been com- plainedof byreputable residents of Otsego county,and afterhaving,with

much

^skillandpains,

worked up some

fifteen cases, inallofwhich he thought he

had

secured ample evidence to warrant affirmative verdicts, he broughtsuitsaccordingly.

They

were all placedonthe calendarof the

Supreme

Court,where the judge, to re- lievethepressure, of an overburdenedcalendar,withthe consentofalltheparties interested,sent thewhole batch

to the County Court, Here,bysome blunder growing outoftheincomingofa

new

district-attorney,theywere

allknockedoffthecalendar',anda

movement

had to be

made

totheGeneral

Term

toget

them

restored. Again they

came

on for trial. For somereason,which, itis hoped, thedistrict-attorney will becalledonofficiallyto explain,thecases,which had beenprepared withgreat care bythelate district-attorney,wereallwithdrawn by his successor without consultation with theprotector.

Theeffectof thissingular proceeding,whatever

may

have beenits motive,was most disastrous to theinterest of protection. Therehad beenfor yearsinOtsegocounty

more

or less violations of the

game

laws,butunderthe stimulus of theprotector's efforts there

was

agrowing

amendment,

andoffenseswhich had formerlybeencom- mitted with impunitywere

now

done onlybystealth;

but

when

thepoachingfraternityfoundthat thedistrict- attorney had,asitwere bya

wave

of thehand,let

them

loosefrom the law'sshackles, practical anarchyset in.

Spearing, netting andevery other device declared con- trabandbythelaw

now

ran riotonOtsegoLake,anda

week had

not elapsed before the lake

was

fairlygutted.

The situation is thus described by an eye witness at Cooperstown:

"The

spawning beds have been swept clean, over l,8001bs.oftrout (not one of

them

weighing less than 5 lbs.)beingluggedoff to Oneonta as the result of one night's rascality,andbushelsof

spawn

leftrottingonthe shore.

Many

ofthesefish

—

^{all of}

them

utterlyunfit to eat

—

^{being taken in the very act} of parturition,were peddled throughour

own

streetsat

two

centsper pound, andall besmearedatthatwithspawn.'" Forfifteenyears or

more

theCommissionersofFisherieshave been adding tothefishsupplyofOtsegoLake,and have in thattime plantedover1,500,000salmon trout. Thefishing ofthe lake

when

theCommissioners

commenced

to restockit,

was

at a low ebb,but at the timeofthe proceedings narrated, had become again very good,

when

by one day'sbad

work

intheCounty Court the laborof fifteen yearswas undone andablowstruckatgoodorder,which tendstothelastingdisgraceofthe county.

As

inthe caseofthe

bomb

throwing at Chicago,ulti-

mategood,however,islikely to

come

outoftheevil. It isnolonger populartotruckletothepoacher in Otsego.

Inviewparticularlyofthelate outrageous proceedings, theBoardofSupervisors have passed aniron-clad law, whichforbidsallfishingexcept withhook andline,for the spaceof five years,inOtsego Lake,and imposes the severest penaltieson ailviolators.

And

it

makes

such provisionforthetrialof cases as willrenderpossible their