Semi-weekly herald., 1910-04-04
RAISE ELK TO EAT is NEW.
EST PLAN TO LESSEN cos7
tBy William F. Curtis. Correspondent
of the Chicago Record Herald.

of the Chicago Record Herald.
WASHINGTON, Mar. 23.-The meat
supply of The country might be in.
| creased considerably II The wild elk
which are now giving so much trou.
BILE to the authorities and ranchmen
OF Wyoming were to be domesficafed
and bred for the cattle market
Droves of more than 10000 elk inhabii
the Yellowstone park during the sum
mer months. and, when the winter
snow covers the valleys there, they
migrate southwark into Jackson's Hole
and other sections of Wyoming, where
they have grazed for centuries. But
their feeding grounds are now occu.
pied by farms. and are inclosed with
wire fences SO that it Is not only
very difficult for them to get food.
but thousands starye to death every
winter.
The legislature of Wyoming has h,i.
namely appropriated money to buy
food for them, and several benevolent
associations have been trying TO get
congress 10 set apart permanent pas
tnre for them in one OF The forest re.
serves. But the most practical So
lrtion of this little problem that has
yet been suggested Is 10 distribute the
animals in small lunches among farm
crs who will be willing to breed Them
for meat. The venison OF the elk is
not so tender as that of the deer. but
IL quite as good as that of the ante.
lcpe, and has an excellent flavor. 1t
cells for a high price. so cents and
- cents and sometimes dollar a
pound in the city markets. and is con
sidered IA great luxury 1t is as good
as half the beef that is sold in the
ordinary market, and both the fiber
and flavor can be improved by feed.
ing and breeding. An ordinary elk
weighs about as much as The average
steer, and the meat supply of the
country might be increased very much
in that way.
No wild animal is more easily do
mesticated. The elk is naturally tame
and docile, and requires the same
feed as ordinary cattle. Elk breed
regularly and rapidly and the young
reach maturity in three years.
There are three game farms in the
United States where venison is raised
fnr th, unarLat Ouo Go in NJ,ipn a.,
other in Pennsylvania, and a third,
near Mason City, Iowa, is kept by a
man named John w. Briggs, who
makes considerable money selling AMI.
mails to park commissioners and pri-
vate preserves and for yenison in the
market. He realizes from $50 to s35
per head for his deer, and when he
kills buck for market he sells the
antlers for s. additional. lie has n
corral inclosed by eight feet of woven
wire, with sheds for shelter The
natural food is REINFORCED by corn, al
falfa and clover, but the deer does not
need more than onefifth of the fodder
OF an ordinary steer; and hence they
are not so expensive to maintain They
breed rapidly. averaging one fawn per
doe per year The mating season is
in November, the fawns are born in
May or June, and usually the young
does have single fawns, but when they
are four or five years old they usually
have twins.
A few cents increase in the price of
a pound of meat or a dozen eggs, or a
basket of fruit or vegetables, makes a
tremendous difference in the cost of
living in great city like New York,
where not less than 100000 600 is
spent for food every year. 1t is es.
timated that each of the four million
inhabitants of Greater New York eats
an average of one pound of meat a
day, which, al an average price of 20
cents pound, would make the total
annual expenditure for that sort of
food about $S0,0O0,000 and the expen-
diiures for fish, eggs, poultry, bread,
butter fruit, vegetables and other
things are quite as great.
The American Grocer has made a
general estimate of the expenditures
for different articles of food as fol.
lows: