654 DOMESTIC ANIMALS, DAIRYING, ETC. 



shed their antlers in March, or April, new ones attain full size in 

 about three months. The female does not usually 'breed until the 

 third year. Period of gestation about 8% months. Only one calf 

 produced at a time. While the Elk is not prolific, yet it i.s very 

 hardy. The flesh of Elk is superior in flavor to most venison, 

 though somewhat coarse in texture. In well appointed deer parks, 

 elk increase fully as rapidly as cattle. Fully 90% of the females 

 produce healthy young. An adult male weighs from 700 to 1,000 

 pounds, females from 600 to 800 pounds. 



Management of Elk in Inclosures. In choosing a range for 

 Elk, the natural food supply is important. Rough lands covered 

 with grasses, bushes and trees, well watered with clear streams, and 

 having some forested area, are adapted to their needs. Elk will 

 browse and pasture when snows are not deep. Hay and corn fod- 

 der make excellent forage. Oats and corn make a good grain feed. 



Elk are not so nervous as other deer, hence a low fence will 

 keep them; ordinarily a five foot fence is sufficient. 



Elk may be obtained for stocking preserves at a reasonable 

 price; from $20 to $75 apiece will usually purchase satisfac- 

 tory animals. In inclosures the males sometimes become vicious; 

 when this occurs they should be castrated and thus be saved to 

 produce the finest venison. (Dep. Agr. F. B. 330.) 



MOSQUITOES. 



For many centuries humanity has endured the annoyance of 

 mosquitoes without making any intelligent effort to prevent it ex- 

 cept in the use of smudges, preparations applied to the skin, and 

 in removal from localities of abundance. And it is only within 

 comparatively recent years that widespread community work 

 against mosquitoes has been undertaken, this having resulted al- 

 most directly from the discoveries concerning the carriage of dis- 

 ease by these insects. 



As obvious a procedure as it might seem to be, the abolition of 

 mosquito-breeding places is a comparatively new idea. The treat- 

 ment of breeding places with oil to destroy the larval forms is, 

 however, by no means recent. As early as 1812 the writer of a 

 work published in London entitled "Omniana or Horse Otiosiores" 

 suggested that by pouring oil upon water the number of mosqui- 

 toes may be diminished. It is stated that in the middle of the 

 nineteenth century kerosene was used in France in this way, while 

 in the French quarter in New Orleans oil was placed in water 

 tanks before the civil war, the idea having possibly come from 

 France to New Orleans or vice versa. 



Practically beginning with 1901, there has been a rather rapid 

 increase in antimosquito work by individuals and communities, but 

 this work has not progressed with anything like the rapidity de- 

 manded by the distressing conditions of many localities and in 

 fact of great areas. Yet it is probably accurate to state that more 

 effective work of this kind has been done in the United States 

 than in any other country. This is probably due to the greater 

 prevalence of mosquitoes in the United States than in any other 



