274 ANIMAL COMPETITORS 
from the Caucasus to Kamchatka; the widely 
spread Virginia or white-tailed deer; the mule 
or jumping deer of the West; the blacktail of 
the Pacific coast, and many intermediate sub- 
species. 
All these are now protected by law as the 
only means of saving the several species from 
total extinction by men who, to say the least, 
are utterly selfish; and there seems no good 
reason why some of them should not be cul- 
tivated, so as to form herds whose flesh and 
skins may be regularly sold as are those of 
cattle and sheep. This is doubly desirable as 
an economic movement, since it will not only 
add to the food-resources of the nation but may 
be a means of utilizing tracts of rough sterile 
land which otherwise will continue to lie idle. 
That venison is good food needs no proof, 
but it is not generally understood that besides 
having a most attractive flavor, and lending 
itself well to various methods of cooking, it is 
in composition and nutrient quality very sim- 
ilar to beef, and exceeds mutton in food-value, 
while quite as easily digestible. Venison is in 
constant demand—far greater demand than 
