46
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
NOVEMBER, 1921
A Study in Offspring Herds
What the New York 2:oological Garden Has Done in the Way of Supplying Bison and Deer to Others
By Dr. William T. Hornaday
HE New York Zoological Park, located in the beau­
T tiful
Bronx Park of New York City, has already
animals
elsewhere.
an
enviable
record
as
the
mother
After
twenty
of
herds
years
of wild
of
varied
activities, it is well worth while to indulge in a look
backward to see what has been accomplished.
By
Park's
a
strange
first
important
combination
of
achievement has
one.
It
circumstances,
proved
resulted in
the
to
ile
the
its most
founding
of
the
Wichita National Bison Herd, in southwestern Okla­
homa.
In 1905, the creation by national action of the Wichita
National Forest offered a golden opportunity to estab­
lish a bison herd. in that region. The New York Zoolog­
ical Society approached the U. S. Department of Agri­
culture with an offer to present to the Government a
carefully selected herd of fifteen pure-blood bison, and
deliver them to Oklahoma, provided the Government
1. The European red deer herd in the New York Zoological Park.
Oklahoma
emphasized
the
fact
that
the
new
bison
range was in the Texas fever belt, and solemn warn­
blow to it.
Those animals would not have been solei
for other purposes at any price; but it was felt that
ings came to the director of the Park that the dread
the founding of a new national herd, at an ideal spot,
disease would kill the bison.
for the perpetuation of the 3pecies, justified the su­
bets were
offered that not
the first year.
In Lawton, Oklahoma,
one
bison would
survive
As in many other cases, the director
of the Park had to· assume the responsihility and the
risk
of
action.
He
felt
that
the
S.
U.
BUI'C'au of
preme sacrifice that was made.
In 1913, the great success of the Oklahoma experi­
ment led the Zoological SOCiety to repeat it for the
creation of another national herd.
In Wind Cave Park,
Animal Industry could safely be relied upon to show
southwestern
Mr. Rush how to save the herd from the Texas fever
fully cooperated wi th the American Bison Society in
tick; so the risk was taken.
a new bison enterprise.
During the
Oklahoma,
first year that the gift herd spent in
two of it"
memhers
died of
Texas
and one young animal was aCCidentally killed.
South
Dakota,
the
Government
cheer­
This was undertaken through
the initiative and the efforts of the late Dr. Franklin
fever,
W. Hooper, then president of the Bison
After
pledged
that the
Society, who
Society would furnish at least ten
that, the commendable diligence of Warden Rush, aided
gift bison if the national Government would do the
by advice from the Washington Bureau, soon got the
rest.
situation completely under control
and
permamently
2. The female Barasingha deer and fawn in the park.
of the Wichita national bison herd on its Oklahoma range.
'l'his time the
the
stamped out the Texas fever menace.
Bison
Society furnished
Society provided
for
fourteen head,
their
3. "Black Dog," the herd leader of the Wichita national bison herd.
5. Crating the original Wichita bison herd in
the Zoological Park
and
transportation.
4. Part
.
Some of the deer and bison of the New York Zoological Park, from which have sprung offspring herds elsewhere in the United States and in Europe
would furnish a satisfactory range, fence it securely
and maintain the herd.
r.fhe
offer
Wilson;
was
the
immedia tely
SOCiety
accepted
by
Secretary
selected the range and proposed
The Wichita National Bison Ranch, selected by J.
The more rigorous climate of South Dakota kept the
Altlen Loring, acting as the Zoological SOCiety's agent,
gift bison busy for a full year in getting settled down
proved
ailsolutely
ideal for
its
herd has thriven marvelously.
bison
in their new home and well started in breeding; but
\Vithout any a<lditions
purpose.
The
after that the course of the herd ran smoothly. Now
its boundaries, and the range was established in close
from without, it had increased to a total on January
the herd contains over 43 head, of quality very satis­
conformity
1, 1920,
factory for the founding of a new bison unit.
made
quite
to
those plans.
satisfactory to
In
the
fact,
everything waf'1
Society.
Mr.
Frank
Rush, a Colorado cattleman, was selected as warden
for the new bison range, and custodian of the herd.
of nG head.
Concerning the quality of this herd, we are content
to cite only the testimony of Mr. Charles Goodnight, one
of the pioneer buffalo and catalo breeders of America,
Dr. T. S. Palmer of the U. S. Biological Survey now
calls the Zoological Park bison herd "the mother herd."
And there is a third herd to the credit of the New
whose herd at Goodnight, in northern Texas, is famous
York Zoological
Park authorities selected fifteen of the best bison in
throughout America.
Copenhagen Zoological Garden.
their
his \Vichita herd, 1\11'. Goodnight wrote to 1\11'. Edmund
of breeding bison bought from us by Mr. Nelson Robin­
Seymour,
son and presented to the Danish zoo.
In 1907, when all was in readiness. the Zoological
herd
of
about
thirty-five
head,
choOSing
good
breeders and young animals fit to become successors of
the adult members of the new herd.
males
and
eight
females,
of
There were seven
various
ages.
By
H.
Raymon<l Mitchell, chief clerk of the Park, and Frank
Rush, the bison were personally conducted to Cache,
Oklahoma, and finally landed in safety and good con­
dition in the corrals of the new range.
Previous to shipment, outbreaks of Texas fever in
president
After a visit to Mr. Rush and
of
the
American
Bison
Society,
that "the Wichita national herd is the finest captive
That herd now is being drawn upon by the Govern­
go elsewhere to
help
establish
other herds.
Naturally,
the
It is in Denmark, at
the
It sprang from a pair
Our last infor­
mation reported six head.
Several noteworthy herds of deer have arisen from
herd that I ever saw."
ment for animals to
SOCiety.
withdrawal
of
those
fifteen
choice
animals from the Zoological Park herd was a severe
© 1921 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC
beginnings drawn from our parent stock.
was
due
to
enterprise
of
the
late
Pierce,
who, during the last years
owned
and
lived
upon
St.
Vincent
'&palachicola, northwestern Florida.
The first one
Dr.
Ray
V.
of his busy life,
Island,
just
off
Of all the places
47
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
NOVEMBER, 1921
that we ever have seen in the South, St. Vincent Island
the number has increased rapidly and the deer are
deer would starve.
is the most beautiful, most interesting and most per­
now plentiful.
park animal because they are gross feeders and break
fectly adapted to the requirements of an ideal game
preserve
and
private
hunting-ground.
It
is
highly
diversified; both in its forestry, its vegetation and its
land and water.
like
that, he
If any king ever had a hunting ground
was
luckier
than
most
kings
of
my
acquaintance.
I do not, however, like them as a
It is the fine size of the Indian and Malay S'ambar
down a great deal of small growth which dies and is
deer that render them desirable for colOnIzation in the
Of
wasted as a source of food supply. They also eat the
'
bark from several kinds of trees and are, therefore,
course there are thousands of localities so barren that
very different in their feeding habits from our native
South as food producers without
artificial food.
they could not exist without being fed, but there are
deer, which are dainty browsers.
also others wherein Nature supplies all their wants.
is limited the destruction of food is an important asset
on the wrong side of the ledger.
Where their range
Therefore, I am get­
St.
In quite the opposite direction our herd of European
When Dr.
red deer founded an offshoot herd that now is a going
ting rid of the deer and at the present time have only
Pierce proposed that we should go out and kill a wild
concern and a complete success.
four or five of these animals in my park. "
bull for beef, I assented languidly, i n the belief that it
Burnham, the famous president of the American Game
To hunt and kill
a
desirable
wild
animal
Vincent is a man's job, as I can testify.
would b e a cinch.
try it
on
Now I say, let him who thinks so
once--that's
all!
We
wounded
a lusty bull,
and we chased him through the jungle for five straight
hours.
When the bull finally dived into an impossible
swamp, our tongues were hanging out, and we were
proud and happy to give up beaten.
We were five
miles from the hacienda, and so dead tired that when
the doctor sent a wireless S 0 S message by Sam, we
filed no
objections, but cheerfully waited for a trap
contained
white-tailed
deer;
Pierce wished to have a larger species.
Indian
and
Dr.
We suggested
Sambar deer as a promising experiment.
and all of the deer of the
well in the
Propagating
Association,
Any
Sambar group should do
South, and produce much
good venison.
Dr. Pierce bought a frio from us, a fine buck and two
does, and in every way did the right thing by them.
But the buck went wrong, for
decided
to
establish in the North wood,s of Essex County a fenced
deer preserve of 750 acres, and our advice was asked,
we recommended as best for his purposes the red deer
of Europe.
It is smaller than the elk and not one­
quarter so troublesome; it is hardy and prolific, and
the
bucks
are not
the
dangerous
brutes
that many
white-tailed bucks are in the breeding season.
Our suggestion was adopted, and Mr. Burnham drew
From the very first
In
some reason never
known, and died in the first year, leaving no children.
The beginning was made in 1912 with four
isfactory.
animals.
Since that time many fauns have been born,
order
India)
to
visit
in
barasingha
deer
(of
A French gentleman living
suitable for that island and climate.
We recommended
the barasingha species, and the suggestion was adopted_
We sent forward a breeding trio, and in the first year
the nucleus herd doubled itself.
The owner was de­
lighted; but I have s,"cret fears that ere long he will
awaken to the
fact that he has more deer than he
can well manage, and will be bothered by the surplus.
The barasingha is a beautiful deer of middle size­
next below the red deer.
It is a good breeder, but
nervous and flighty in temperament ,and difficult to ship
without accident.
Mr. Burnham is not satisfied with the red deer as an
yellow.
animal for a small preserve.
herd of
the island of Martinique desired a herd of deer
and the herd has thriven; but for certain good reasons,
He writes me as follows
regarding his herd:
a
that we recently founded, it will be necessary
to cross a bit of blue water.
moment his experiment has prospered and proven sat­
The bull was found dead, a week later.
island
and
his nucleus stock from our herd.
to come and haul us in.
The
Protective
\Vhen Mr . .Tohn B.
Its summer coat is a bright old-gold
bison, deer, tapir, aoudad
The
and
other
hoofed
animals that we have sent to other zoological gardens
"The red deer stand the extreme cold of northern
and parks we do not count, for we do not think of
New York where the thermometer sometimes drops to
them as being on a herd basis all of our own making.
4{) deg.
As for the inbreeding bugaboo, that is another story.
below
zero
without
apparent
inconvenience.
We are in a country of light snowfall, but in excep­
For healthy wild animals living naturally in great open
offspring resulted, but the increase was not what we
tional
to
ranges. there is (in our firm belief) absolutely no evil
had
four feet
these conditions the red
to fear from inbreeding.
This belief is the result of
twenty years of close ohservation of the big game of
The
next year another buck was
a
right
to
expect.
The
sent down.
Sambar
now
Some
on
the
winters
have
of snow.
occasionally
Under
island are very wild and shy, and no one can say how
deer never yard, and
many there are; but Dr. N. Mott Pierce writes that
will
as
got
from
three
they are good providers they
live even under conditions where a white-tailed
the world, and the accumulatio n of many facts.
Linotype Slugs and Catalogues
Printing a University Library Catalogue from Linotype Title-a-Line Slugs
By Howard S. Leach
Reference Librarian, Princeton University
F
filed away in
small wooden galley trays, 12'x6'x:!,4'.
OR the first time in the history of libraries a cata­
other buildings on the Campus and consulted at will.
logue of a large university library is being printed
Its advantages, aside from its duplication and porta­
At either end of this tray
bility, are many.
tacked 2'x10"xl0".
from linotype title-a-line slugs.
This catalogue is the
outgrowth of a Seminary Finding List, started over 20
years ago.
It has been a natural growth, fostered by
A page contains OIl an average sixty­
eight titles, which may be consulted rapidly and almost
at a glance,
while to turn over 68 cards in a card
wholesome demands from university professors for an
catalogue
ever larger scope of usefulness.
greater eye strain.
At first the Finding
takes
very
much
more
time
and
causes
J�ach slug forms a title unit.
The
List contained only such titles as were congregated from
ability to use these title units in various arrangements
the main stacks and reading room in seminary rooms
by the Simple process of sorting makes it possible to
for special advanced study purposes.
A demand from
the Mathematics Department for a printed catalogue of
all mathelliatic books
owned by
the library, without
regard to location, removed their Finding List from the .
category of a Simple seminary list to a complete cata­
The slugs are pulled
out of the main reservoir and when the printing is
finished filed back again to await further use, either
as a part of the large catalogue or in other special
logue of the books pertaining to a university depart­
ways.
ment.
spaces makes the title units all alike in size and min-
A slug was made for each book on mathematics
in the library and a catalogue printed.
In like manner,
Having the title limited to one bar of JOO letter
'imizes the danger of misprints and losses of portions
lists were printed for philosophy, Germanic languages,
of the entry, which is bound to happen if a title is
music, Buropean war, etc., etc.
allowed to run oyer into more than one bar.
The printing of these
larger catalogues for departments lead naturally to a
A title-a-line linotype slug is a solid strip of metal
cumulated Author Finding List,embracing all seminaries
containing spaces for 100 letters.
and most of the outlying departmental libraries, and a
letter spaces the cataloguer places the name of the
copy of this was placed at each point of use.
author with his initials, a short title for the book, the
cumulated list contained 62 8 pages.
The
Demands came for
fuller lists from time to time until the work reached'
a point where not a great many books remained in the
general library for which there were no slugs.
The printing of a title-a-line catalogue for the entire
library was begun in September, 1919.
Slugs were made
Within these 100
place and date of imprint and the library call number.
Here is a sample slug
(shown in two lines instead of
one because of our narrow columns) :
Strange, T. A.
Guide to Collectors.
furniture, decoration.
Eng.
Lond. (J918?) . . . . . 4593. 884
It will be noted from this sample that 14 of the JOO
spaces are not needed for actual letters and are, there­
printing went forward.
fore, filled in with dots that the call number may appear
classification order, which, like the shelf list or official
catalogue, brings all
regularly
classified titles
on
a
given subject together, regardless of their location in
the building.
In other words, it is an orderly series of
broad subject bibliographies, the importance of which,
for reference purposes, is very obvious.
The machine used for making the slugs is the Mer­
genthaler Linotype machine, and the printing is done
on a Multicolor press.
A Farmer's Loading Station
in each bar at the extreme right, thus bringing the
call numbers on the various bars in alignment where
they are most easily read.
The slug for the regular catalogue is 51f2-point type
on an 8-point slug, which automatically gives the proper
spaCing between lines.
I
T is called variously a bag, a sack, a short sack,
For subject headings, a 10-point
type on a 10-point slug is used, and for straight print­
8.
gunny sack, even a poke, providing what part ot
the United
States you happen to be in; but for one
leading purpose, at least-the transportation of grain
from farm to market-its
threatened.
thirty
Grain
sacks
cents apiece
at present.
the
hitherto
universal rule i s
got u p t o
twenty-five
past season;
and
they are lower
But whatever price they command won't
trouble this year those farmers who
own a
loading
station.
The farmer-owned small loading station is one of the
newest
things
in
the
American
grain
industry.
A
typical loading station, recently completed at Shafter,
Cal., indicates the general charaNer, as well as the
merits, of the idea.
bin capacity,
for such books as still remained without them, and the
The first half of this catalogue will be in classed or
in each tray and the whole filed compactly in small
pigeonhole shelves.
provide working bibliographies and special finding lists
as aids to study and research.
a small strip of wood is
About 68 slugs, or titles, are placed
This loading station has twelve­
a total of
72,000 bushels,
and was in­
!;talled by a hundred grain raisers who cooperated.
mouse-proof
and
weatherproof. Concrete pits are installed close by.
The
bins
are
of
metal
and
are
Into
the pits arriving grain is dumped from wagon or truck,
in bulk, and weighed, cleaned, graded and then stored,
by elevator.
The bins are so arranged and connected
that the rapid shifting of grain from one bin to an­
other or to rail road car is easily effected.
Under the Shafter plan, the threshed grain is hauled
immediately from field to loading station in bulk.
Bags
ara dispensed with, and the quick handling averts rat
and squirrel waste at the farm.
The grain remains i n
ing, such as a preface or an introduction, a 10-point
t h e loading station until t h e farmer wishes to sell, o r
rearranged and printed in alphabetical order to form an
type on a 12-point slug.
until cars arrive.
author catalogue.
phasis
When the classed list is completed the slugs will be
The completed catalogue will com­
prise about ten volumes, five of authors and five of
classed
order.
The special
collections
not
classed in
the regular manner will be added in a separate volume.
On account of the enormous expense there can be
but one card catalogue, while a copy of this printed
catalogue may be located at any point in the library or
and
is
desired, may
Black-face type, where em­
be used, and both
light-face type may be used
on the
black-face
same slug.
SuBject headings are made conspicuous by using black­
face type.
To
facilitate
handling
and
alphabetizing,
Wheat, barley, kaffir and gyp corn
are the principal grains of this section, but rice and
beans will be placed in this storage as needed.
As
regards the
financial
aspects
of
the plan,
the
Shafter, farmers say they would have saved the entire
each slug is slipped into a small paper jacket, at the
cost of the station had they had it available for the
top of which is printed the title it contains.
last crop.
When not in actual use for printing, the slugs are
© 1921 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC
This movement toward more efficient han­
dling of grain at source is likely to spread.