22 RAISING DEER IN THE UNITED STATES. 



wild wapiti of this species are now rare. Although this wapiti is 

 smaller than the American species, the antlers are much larger. They 

 sell at about 15 roubles ($7.50) a pound, and a single pair sometimes 

 brings 120 roubles ($60).° 



The Altai wapiti has been kept in parks in various parts of 

 Europe, notably at TToburn Abbey, where the Duke of Bedford in 

 1896 introduced three stags and several hinds, purchased from Mr. 

 Hagenbeck, of Hamburg. They have done well, but are in no way 

 superior to the American wapiti, with which they interbreed. The 

 Altai wapiti has bred in the Philadelphia Zoological Gardens. 



THE JAPANESE SIKA. 



Experiments in breeding the Japanese sika (Pseudaxis nippon) in 

 Europe and America show that it is one of the most promising of 

 the deer family for park purposes. It inhabits northern China, 

 Manchuria, and Japan, but the Japanese race has been oftenest the 

 subject of experiments in breeding. 



One of the earliest to try this species in European parks was Vis- 

 count Powerscourt, of Powerscourt, in Wicklow, Ireland. In 1860 

 he purchased from Jamrach, the London dealer, a stag and three 

 hinds and removed them to his estate, where they throve and multi- 

 plied greatly. In 1884, after twenty-four years of breeding and in- 

 crease, his herd consisted of over 100 individuals, although 2 or 3 ■ 

 yearly had been shot, many given away, and others sold. Several 

 deer parks in Ireland, England, and Scotland were stocked with this 

 species from Powerscourt, and the animals thrived well in every place 

 to which they were taken. 



In 18*79 Lord Powerscourt wrote: 



Japanese deer require no care of any kind; they are as hardy as fallow or 

 red deer, and the venison is as good. We had a haunch last year with more 

 than 2 inches of fat on it. The haunches are small and of a handy size. & 



Again, in 1884, he said : 



These pretty little deer are the only [introduced] ones which have multiplied, 

 and have also never required any shelter of any kind, nor any winter feeding, ex- 

 cept what the ordinary red deer and fallow deer get, such as hay, etc. * * * 

 The Japanese deer here have undoubtedly interbred with the red deer ; there are 

 three or four deer in the park here which are certainly hybrids, the red hind in 

 each case being the dam. The Japanese are a most satisfactory little deer ; the 

 venison when dressed is about the size of Welsh mutton and very well flavored. 

 The little stags, with their black coats and thick necks, like miniature sambur, 

 are very picturesque and ornamental, and I think they are a decided addition to 

 our varieties of hardy park deer. Some of them are always to be seen in the 

 Society's gardens, but these give no idea of the beauty of the animals when in a 

 wild state in a park. 6 



° Lydekker, R., Great and Small Game of Europe, Asia, and America, p. 67, 1901. 



6 Proc. Zool. Soc. London for 1S79, p. 294, 1879. 



c Proc. Zool. Soc. London for 1884, pp. 208, 208, 1884. 



