Only a line of the commonest twine, Only a pole of alder; None of your beautiful things that shine— Tackle so nice and so high in price That a trout would laugh to be taken twice. And sing like a Swedish scalder For a jump at a sign of a thing so fine, And scorn rough implements such as mine; Only a line of the commonest twine— Only a pole of alder! Wet to the skin in our raiment thin— Never a word of complaining, Never too late in the day to begin; Dropping a hook in the beautiful brook Till day was taking his farewell look No matter how hard it was raining! Ah! few, indeed, would fail to succeed In the angling of life—if they’d only heed The trout-boy’s patience, whatever impede, And his joy, both in seeking and gaining. —Belle A. Hitchcock. THE ALASKAN MOOSE. (_Alces gigas._) The Alaska Moose is the largest of the deer family in America. Alces gigas is a comparatively new species, having been described in 1899. At present it is still quite numerous along the Yukon and its tributaries, though the influx of prospectors and the settling of the Klondike region has already resulted in a marked falling off in Moose and an increase of Moose meat. In the winter this is the staple diet of both Indians and whites, and on account of the high price paid—one dollar or two dollars per pound—many prospectors have found Moose hunting even more remunerative than mining. Alces gigas was first collected by Mr. Dall De Weese, of Canon City, Colo., who spent three months, in 1898, on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, in quest of large mammals for the United States Museum. From the six specimens of the Alaskan Moose which he collected it is seen that this animal differs considerably from the Moose (Alces americanus) inhabiting the east United States and eastern and central Canada, being larger and more richly colored and having a much heavier mandible. Its general color is a grizzle of black and wood brown, darkening along the spine and changing abruptly to clear black on chest, buttocks and lower part of sides.