Page:Science vol. 5.djvu/121

 PCBBUAItr 6, 18SS.]

��SCIENCE.

�� �� ��The TeUowstone Patk as a bison preserve. Permit me Co tbanic you for your timely reiunrks in No. 103 upon the liireatened extinction ot the American bison. The question seema to be, us you M«te it. whether Ihe bison (anil with equal propriety, Mqt I, a large number of other decadent types) can be nuceafully domiciled within the boundaries □[ the r«llow3tone Parle. Having given this subject care- ~I kUentlon, I am prepared to say that the pmcticB' Itty of the scheme admits of no reasonable doubt. The park itself is to-day one of the (ew regular re- treats of the existing herds of buffaloes, and nothing bnt the protection intended by the laws Is really ne«ded for their preservation. Of late years much has been done by the superintendent and his efficient corps of aids, vigorously seconded by the territorial mtboritJas of Wyoming. But the laws are not yet soflicleiitlj punitcry, and there is no provision for inauriiig the retention, of the animals within the limits of the reservation. The superintendent, in a report, refers to the presence of a few straggling ids at various points in the parli, but apparently

considered them more as 'stra^iers' than as

Mtimate denizens.

If the end in view, as ntggested above, be the fostering of all animals which the national pari; may readily sustain, much more vigorous effort is de- mauded. The importation and eemi-domostlcatinn of snch exogenous forme as are in imminent danger of extinction should be encouraged; and why may we not look with great expectations upon such loenl scientific societies as are alrettdy organiied in Denver and San Francisco? I have never seen a specimen of the Aplocerua montanus, nor have I met any one who has known it in Its native baunls; but It is not wboUy extinct. This species of antelope, incorrectly caHed the Rocky-mountain goat, should be preserved In the park, at all hazards. The big-hom (Ovis mon- ) Is still living in Colorado and elsewhere; but it lot long withstand the ravages of the hunter and inroads of the mining industry. There is a very IK lease of life for the griz/.ly bear under present iditions, and the lieaver is rapidly disappearing. Fortunately for our object, most of these animals have wandered into the park, and but little care will be required to retain them within its borders. Still there is needed some more capable and responsible n secured by legislation; experience has sliown the influence whi A men of nee have been able to exercise in similar cases. committee of the American asioeiation for the ad- seieiic«. appointed at the Nashville able to obtain an appropriation from congress of ten lhau><and dollars, to be applied to the increase of accessibility to the geysers and thermal ■prinEs; and quite recently more has been done in tliat direction, and In the way of stopping I awleseness — -" depredations. Now is the time, and scientific are the legitimate instruments, tor completing "irk bf united action in support of this vast leal earden, and of the collection of represents

��The rooBkrat camivoroua, .m« twenty years ago, and from that time on for ivears, I was In the liablt. with some friends of iflar tastes, of closely searching the river-banks of _* ricinlty, and the waters. Wo. when practicable, t the aquatic mulliisks whir/li then abounded. The

��mu^krats. now nearly extinct among us, were then numerous; and we soon learned that they were excel- lent collectors of shells, bringing out great numbers of the deep-water mussels of several species not usu- ally very easily found by us, and leaving the shells in perfect condition.

In the rocky banks were many caves where shells were thus gathered; and one, especially on the south bank of Rock Island, a lai^ space, well sheltered, and above high water, contained many bushels, — the accumulations, apparently, of a long period, but very fre»h in appearance, and well preserved. Among the species most numerous were Unio cornutiis, U. metaneorus, U. securis, and U. pusiulosus. Many other species were found In leas numbers, — U. rec- tus very rarely (though numerous in the river}, and U. monodontuB never. These heaps we examined with the utmost care, and obtnlned hundreds of fine speci- mens. During those years the muakrats still inhal>- ited these places, and, except In winter, constantly brought out quantities of fresh shells, which we con- sclentionsly appropriated. It was also very common to find heaps of fresh shells on or beside a stump, log, or rock, a few feet, or sometimes rods, from the water. We not infrequently found sliells which had been gathered since the preceding day, as shown by shreds of the soft parts adhering to the shell being undried.

An open question with us, often asked but never answered, was, ' How do the rats open Ibe mussels? ' The drat attempt at an explanation, which I remem- ber to have seen, was In the remarks of Mr. W. S. Lee at a meeting of the Trenton natural-history society (Science, vol. iv. no. 94, p. v.).

Of course, we cannot gainsay what Mr. I-ee has seen, that the animal ' apparently ' held the mollusk's foot with his claws, preventing the closure of the shell. It would perhaps require a pretty strong grip to counteract the force ol the powerful adductor muscles of the mollusk, with the pressure ol ihe rat's paws at the same time tending to press the thell togelher. Again: one cannot help wondering how " the muskrat swnm ashore, holding the mussel be- tween the fore-paws," while the weight of the mussel would tend to pull the animal's head down, and. without the u<e of the fore-paws, how he could swim. We also wonder how, without relaxing his grip, he carried his burden, as was usually the case, to some distance from the water.

In Heience,, vol, v, p. 06, Mr. W, M. Beauchamp gives some curious explanations. He does not state where he saw " the statement that the carnivorous habits of the muskrat have but just been discovered by scientihc men." Of course, everybody who knows the muskrat at all has always known that It is not worth while to bring proof of a fact so universally known.

"The four principal ways in which the muskrats get at the animal In the mussel-shell " may deserve a moment's attention. 1°. In our experience, the Ano- dons among the miiskrat-heaps were very rare: they evidently preferred Unios; and In no Instance were the Anndons in the sbell^heaps found in a condition indicating that one valve had been torn off t« open it. It was not uncommon to find, just along the water's edge, the tracks of the raccoon; and along these tracks were often to be found the Anodons, with one shell lorn off or crushed. The coon seemed to prefer the Anodoii, probably having no means of opening the Unio. 2". The Unios were neper o\i- served with ' the thinner end of the shell,' or either end or edge, broken away. i°. While he ' has beard ' that the rata sometimes gnuw away the hinge-Ilga-

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