THE SCANDINAVIAN ELK 125 



Trondhjem, which includes the wild regions round Stordal, 

 Vaerdal, Inderoen, and Namdal, was easily first in its return of 

 303 elk, of which 207 were bulls and 96 cows. Next, but 

 a long way behind, came Akershus (containing the capital, 

 Christiania) with 71 bulls and 47 cows, 118 in all; Hede- 

 marken was third with 109 elk ; Christian fourth with 82 ; 

 Buskerud fifth with 77, and South Trondhjem sixth with 74. 

 The long stretch of Nordland returned only 9 kills ; and Fin- 

 marken, the Arctic province, not a single one. Altogether 

 about 850 elk on the average are killed yearly in Norway, and 

 in Sweden rather more than double the number. It must 

 be remembered, however, that on the vast estates belonging to 

 the great landowners in the south and centre of the latter 

 country elk are preserved as strictly as foxes or pheasants are 

 in England, and that, at the same time, there is no legal re- 

 striction to prevent the sportsman killing during the season as 

 many elk, including calves, as he can, upon any property how- 

 ever small ; whereas in Norway he is limited, under penalty of 

 a heavy fine, to one deer for each registered or ' matriculated ' 

 division of the land, and the murder of calves is altogether 

 forbidden. 



The period during which it is legal to kill elk in Norway is 

 nominally from August i to September 31, but this general law 

 is subject to much local modification. Thus, in Nordland the 

 full time of three months is still granted ; in North Trondhjem 

 it is curtailed to forty days, from September i to October 10; 

 whilst in South Trondhjem its duration is for the month of 

 September only. As by the watchful care of the authorities 

 the close-time for any game in any given district of Scandinavia 

 is always liable to extension, it is as well for intending lessees 

 of sporting rights to ascertain exactly the terms of the local 

 enactments, and, if possible, the probabilities of fresh legisla- 

 tion. Some years ago I took a large tract of forest in the 

 province of Jemtland, in Sweden, and had just succeeded, after 

 the first season, in making my quarters fairly comfortable, when 

 the Government passed a law forbidding any elk to be killed 



