GAME CLUBS, PARKS AND PRESERVES 27 



since without the preserves all the large wild animals 

 were destined to go the way of the bison and the wild 

 pigeon. 



There have been many attempts to add to the ani- 

 mals in the game preserves those not indigenous to the 

 neighborhood. There have been some importations 

 of foreign beasts, such as the wild-boar, for example. 

 But so long as we have the moose, the largest deer 

 that lives or ever did live on the earth, the stately elk, 

 and an abundance of deer, antelope, sheep, goats, and 

 bears, including the largest and most savage of the 

 last-named, there is no need to go abroad for our game. 

 In discussing the birds, I called attention to the fact 

 that States, as well as individuals, in their race after 

 the new, were propagating foreign fowls — the pheas- 

 ants — to the neglect of their own grouse and par- 

 tridges, which are far better birds. So here, I say, we 

 would do well to look, first, after our own and see that 

 the preserves are well stocked with deer, elk, moose 

 and bear before adding foreign animals which may not 

 do well or may prove undesirable. 



Our experiments thus far suggest a general rule, 

 which should be observed by all game preservers who 

 would meet with success — the preserve in any locality 

 should be stocked with the animals which live or did 

 live in a wild state in the neighborhood. 



A good stock animal for preserves in all parts of the 

 country is the common Virginia deer, or white-tail, 

 for the reason that it has always lived, in suitable 

 localities, in all the States of the Union. In the West 

 the mule-deer and antelope may be added to a pre- 

 serve, but these animals, especially the last-named, 



