SIZE OF ELK 69 



lished in the great private game preserves that are scattered 

 from New Hampshire and Massachusetts to Minnesota. In 

 addition to these, there are many smaller herds in small 

 private parks. Nearly every city north of the Potomac has 

 a herd of Elk in one of its parks, and other hardy native 

 animals in an establishment known either as a "zoo," a 

 zoological garden, or a zoological park. Thanks to this con- 

 stantly increasing public demand for living collections of wild 

 animals, the American Elk and buffalo are now familiar 

 objects to the children of at least twenty American cities. 



In 1912 a systematic movement was begun for the expor- 

 tation of Elk from the Yellowstone Park and for the intro- 

 duction of them into states and localities now destitute of 

 that species. This work is to be continued indefinitely, and 

 many forest areas will thus be stocked. 



Size of Elk. — Professor L. L. Dyche, an exceedingly 

 careful observer, has contributed a striking illustration of the 

 difficulty of obtaining from a dead Elk an accurate measure- 

 ment of the animal's standing height when alive. The largest 

 and finest male Elk ever taken by him (for the State Uni- 

 versity of Kansas) fell in Colorado on October 21, 1891. I 

 can testify that it is a grand representative of its species. 



As is frequently done, the guide of the party measured its 

 height in a line from the point of the hoof to the top of the 

 shoulder, and recorded 05 inches. This being ruled out, the 

 bottom of the hoof was held parallel with the axis of the body, 

 and the elbow even with the lower line of the brisket. This 

 gave 02 inches. Professor Dyche then pushed the elbow 

 up to the position it occupies in a standing Elk — about five 



