HEARINGS BEFORE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE. 295 
whole State, and a whole lot of rangers taking care of it; and I do 
not think they have much to do. 
The Cuatrman. That was just the idea, Mr. Rodey, when we con- 
sented to this appropriation in the Senate; that they would be taken 
care of temporarily, for a month or two, until they could be turned 
loose on a Government range. We would not have consented to it 
under any other conditions. 
Mr. Ropry. The various rangers there now would look after them. 
We use it for pasturing largely, but there is room for elk there. 
The Cuairman. The very same thing was said in the conference 
with the Senate committee. There are rangers on all these forest 
reservations, and if turned over to the Department of Agriculture this 
year, then the rangers will be under the Secretary of Agriculture and 
can take entire charge of this work. 
Mr. Bowrgr. Do you state that it will cost a thousand dollars every 
year to keep up these elk? 
Mr. Merriam. No, indeed; that was not put in with exclusive 
reference to these elk, but possibly taking care of other animals which 
might come into the possession of the Government and which it was 
desirable to protect from extermination. Two thousand dollars will 
cover the cost of fencing, as nearly as we are able to estimate it now, 
and the cost of feed would be very little, indeed; and if the forest 
reserves are transferred to the Department of Agriculture and their 
ne oa authorized to take care of these animals, it could be done 
without the additional expense of getting anyone to look after them, 
Mr. Scorr. What part of this appropriation have you used? 
Mr. Merriam. None at all, because we have not bought any fence 
yet; but the Biological Survey has a man now who is laying out the 
line of the fence. 
The Cuatrman. Why did you make thatexpenditure until you knew 
whether Congress would make you the appropriation # 
Mr. Merriam. Because Miller & Lux asked us to take those elk, if 
we are to take them; and we did not want to have them exterminated; 
and we want to know exactly what it will cost to put up that fence. 
Mr. Bowrr. How many acres of ground is it going to cover? 
Mr. Merriam. I do not know how many acres, the equivalent of 
about a mile on a side. 
Mr. Bowrg. Six hundred and forty-eight? 
Mr. Merriam. That would be the minimum that we could possibly 
expect to use. 
Mr. Buriteson. What kind of a fence do you expect to put up? 
The Cuarrman. A Page fence? 
Mr. Merriam. A cena fence about 64 feet high; not so expen- 
sive a fenceas the Page fence. We find that we can get a cattle fence, 
with meshes about 14 inches long and 6 inches or 4 inches between 
the meshes, that will last a number of years: a fence that the cattle- 
men are using. Wecan get that at half of the price that we cana 
Page fence, and we are going to ask bids frem_a number of firms for 
fencing as soon as we have the lines measured. The forest wardens 
could take all the care of the elk after they are transferred, as long as 
it is necessary to employ anyone to do it, if they are authorized by 
the Secretary of the Interior; or if the forest reserves are transferred 
to the Agricultural Department. 
The Cuarrman. It is a good illustration of where Congress was 
