Sierra County advocate. [volume] (Kingston, N.M.) 1884-1960, 1900-09-07
TRADE In ANIMALS.
Many Queer Species Listed 40 Live
Material.
shipped Alive From All Parts OF the
World-rrtces raid for DULL
frogs, Turties, snAkes
and Hugs.

kingdom, nor any corner OF the world
that Is not ransacked and explored
nowadays for the purpose OF collecting
natural history curiosities To supply
the commercial demand. Special expe-
ditions are sent TO remote and almost
inaccessible regions TO gather strange
and rare animals. for which the market
is as unfailing rs for any staple product
Of the soil or the factory Firms deal
ing in such merchandise in n large way
are located In most big cities both in
this country and abroad, and. Judging
| from the comprehensiveness OF their
catalogues, II would seem ms II there
| was nothing that flies or walks or
swms that they ARE not prepared to
| furnish on short notice at list prices,
says Rene Bache, in the Philadelphia
Saturday Evening Post.
One OF these catalogues ndvertses
large assortment of "liye material" az
II is termed From this document one
learns that he cnn obtain large bull
frogs at three dollars u dozen. alive and
kicking; mcdum-siycd hulfrogs are
cheaper, costing only 81 rs for IL. Tur-
ties are two dollars n dozen for
adults" and small ones FOR aquaria
are offered at IS cents each Pond
snnls, lin assorted LOTS are listed at
s5 cents dozen crnyflsh cost one dol
lar dozen. and nevis are IS cents
each In ordering craydish. II is request-
ed thnt few days notice be given ia
which to secure them in case he stock
should be low. No such reservation,
however, Ia made in the case OF earth
worms, which come at GO cents dozen.
II is safe "a say that any small boy viii
furnish earthworms under this rnte.
1t will be understood that all the
nbove animals are shipped alive. The
catalogue quotes small alligntors at 30
TO 75 cents apiece. Live rattlesnakes
come higher especially the diamond
rnttlesnakc, which costs from five to
twelve dollars Economical persons
however, may prefer ground rattle
snake Mt one dollar. The copperhcad
is supposed to be bout as deadly MS he
rattlcsnnkc, and may be obtained for
Two dollars, while chicken snakes. king
snakes and garter snakes sell ah low ~
30 cents each.
Crabs are not offered alive but In nj
cohol. and in this shnpe one can buy
sand crabs, blue crabs, spider crabs,
fiddler crnbs, mud crabs and hermit
crabs at prices running from ten TO
seyentytlye cents apiece. spider crabs
being the dearest. Insects, similarly
preserved, are so cheap as TO tempt
purchase. Squash-bugs cost only 30
rents n dozen, while giant water bugs
come at only half that price. Earwigs
are quoted ut 10 cents dozen. nnt-
lions at ten cents each, crickets at so
cents dozen, l7-yenr locusts at ten /.
cents npiecc md June bugs at 30 cents
n dozen. lorsenies invite the buyer At
only ten cents the fly. true wnsps"
my be obtained for the same price,
aud bumbcbees foot the list at Blk .
gents.
In London, which Is the great bug /
market of the world, nuctions OF IN
scctgarc hcldcycry year, and nt-itling
prices nre paid sometimes for rare
specimens As much ns $500 has been
brought by n single butterfly, while an
out-of-th wny beetle may be valued at
many times its weight In gold.
Hamburg is great market for Wild
animals. largely from Africa. that city
having an important trade with the
Dark Continent. 70 London comes
much material Of the same sort from
Australia and New Zealand and rnany
rare creatures are obtained from sail
,rs who fetch them from various parts
u the world. An American dealer. not
'cry long ago. made special trip to
White bay, New Zealand, for the pur-
,ose or procuring kind of lizard
allied the "sphenodon," which Is re-
,arded hv eciar'isfe re wonderful
inasmuch ns it Is the only
uryiyOr OF an entire order OF reptiles,
II the other genera and species having
ong since become extlnct. This lizard.
which is known to the native Maoris
s the "tuntera." Is about foot and
alf long and. Oddly enough, seems 10
ave aiIinitieg with the crocodile. OF
curse. all the knnRarOos, wombats
nd ilightlcss birds come from Aus
ralia or New Zealand. Awhile ago the
merican dealer above referred To
lade n special trip to South America
pr the purpose of obtaining guanaco
aud steamer ducks. The
uanaeo is chiefly interesting because,
ke the llamn. il is representative OF
he camel tribe on this continent. The
Gamer duck is particularly odd. inas-
iueh as il flies when II Is yomngs but
innot DO SO after it has matnred. The
lult bird beats the water with its
ings as II swims. and this suggested }
ie name given to the species at "A
.riod when all steamers were side
heelers. IL cannot rise in flight. for
ne reason that. as IL gets older, it's
ings do not develop in proportion TO
J increase in weight.