FUR-FARMING IN CANADA 123 
Isaac Bonine, of Niles, Mich., breeds both elk and Virginia deer, 
and has had thirty years’ experience. He prefers elk because they 1e- 
quire less care than deer. Elk winter well on hay and corn fodder with 
a small amount of grain and thrive in summer on blue-grass pasture. 
While deer do reasonably well on the same food, they thrive better when 
fed vegetables and in that latitude 1equire some sort of winter shelter. 
An elk 1equires no shelter. While Judge Bonine has doubts as to the 
piofit of growing deer and elk for the venison, he thinks that breeding 
them for park purposes can be made very remunerative. He has a 
number of elk for sale. 
G. W. Russ, of Eureka Springs, has a herd of 34 elk. They have 
abundant range in the Ozarks on rough lands covered with hardwood 
forest and abundant underbrush. He reports that the animals improve 
the forest by cleaning out a part of the thicket. Fully 90 per cent. 
of the females produce healthy young, and Mr. Russ thinks he could 
make the business of growing elk for market profitable, if the law 
would permit him to kill and export domesticated elk. He has an offer 
of 40 cents a pound for the dressed carcasses in St. Louis. He thi.ks 
that large areas now unutilized in the Alleghanies and Ozarks might 
be economically adapted to produce venison for sale and he regards the 
elk as especially suited for forest grazing. They should have about 
twice as much range as the same number of cattle. 
J. W. Gilbert, of Friend, Neb., has been raising deer and elk for 
seventeen years. He has at present 30 deer and 16 elk on prairie 
pasture. He regards elk as the more profitable and has never had a 
barren cow elk. 
T. J. Wilson of Lewisburg, Ohio, began 1aising deer and elk a 
few years ago, with three head of each at the start. He has not suc- 
ceeded so well with dee: as with elk. Deer require a higher fence and 
more care. Elk do well on hay, corn fodder, and rough feed, and if 
they escape from an enclosure may be driven back like cattle. He 
originally paid $165 for two adult elk and a fawn. He has sold $300 
worth of stock and has now a herd of 12, worth a thousand dollars. 
Your committee has the names and addresses of about a dozen 
other successful bieeders of the American elk, but the time at our dis- 
posal did not permit our obtaining particulars of their experience. 
BREEDING THE VIRGINIA DEER 
Testimony as to the hardiness of the Virginia deer and the profits 
of breeding them is not so unanimous as it is concerning the wapiti; 
but the general opinion is that with suitable range, plenty of good water, 
and reasonable care in winter, the business of growing the animals for 
