ose-like deer of the American Pleistocene,
possibly ancestral to the genus _Alces_. If this resemblance
indicates any close relationship, we have in the Alaska moose a survivor
of the archaic type from which the true moose and Scandinavian elk have
somewhat degenerated. The photographs of the Alaska moose shown
herewith have this double palmation.

[Illustration: PROBABLY LARGEST KNOWN ALASKA MOOSE HEAD--KENAI
PENINSULA, 1899 EXTREME SPREAD, 78-1/2 INCHES--WEIGHT OF SKULL AND
ANTLERS, 93 LBS]

Several heads from the Kenai Peninsula ranging over six feet are
authentic; a photograph of the largest moose head in the world is
published herewith. This head is in the possession of the Field
Columbian Museum at Chicago, and measures 78-1/2 inches spread. The
animal that bore it stood about seven feet at shoulders, but this height
is not infrequently equaled by eastern moose. The weight of the dried
skull and antlers was ninety-three pounds, the palmation being in places
2-1/8 inches thick.

There are several large heads in the possession of American
taxidermists, which, if properly authenticated, would prove of
interest. No head, however, is of much value as a record unless its
history is well known, and unless it has been in the hands of
responsible persons. The measurements of antler spread can be considered
authentic only when the skull is intact. If the skull is split an almost
imperceptible paring of the skull bones at the joint would suffice to
drop the antlers either laterally out of their proper plane, or else
pitch the main beam backward. By either of these devices a couple of
inches can be gained on each side, making a difference of several inches
in the aggregate. But the possession of an unbroken skull is by no means
a guarantee of the exact size of the head when killed.

Since large antlers, and especially so-called "record heads," of any
species of deer command a price among those who desire to pose as
sportsmen, and have not the strength or skill to hunt themselves, it has
become a regular business for dealers to buy up unusual heads. The
temptation to tamper with such a head and increase its size is very
great, and heads passing through the hands of such dealers must be
discarded as of little scientific value. A favorite device is to take a
green head, force the antlers apart with a board and a wedge every few
days during the winter. By spring the skull and antlers are dry and the
plank can be removed. The