ELK IN THE OZARK MOUNTAINS. 35 



Question 8. Is there at this time, or would there be in case the laws were 

 revised, any general demand for elk meat? At what price? 



Answer. In answer to this question, we can be guided only by the very 

 limited demand, owing to the law prohibiting the sale of elk meat. We do, 

 however, receive orders from parties not familiar with the law, and letters 

 from many asking us if we are permitted to sell. From the fact that as 

 high as $1.50 per pound has been paid for this meat in New York City and 

 Canada, and that the best hotels and restaurants pronounce it the finest of all 

 the meats of mammals, we are of the opinion that if the laws were such that 

 domesticated elk meat could be furnished it would be many years before the 

 supply would make the price reasonable compared with other meats. 



Question 9. What price per pound would you consider necessary to make the 

 production of elk meat profitable? 



Answer. Elk meat can be produced in many sections of this country for 

 less cost per pound than beef, mutton, or pork. 



Question 10. What laws, state or national, at present interfere with the 

 production and sale of elk meat? What are your recommendations for revising 

 these laws? 



Answer. The remedy to the state and national laws is very simple, and at 

 the same time just and equitable. By simply adding or inserting the word 

 " wild " before the name of the animal protected. To guard against abuses, 

 a certificate from the owner of domesticated animals should follow them, and 

 proper penalties should be imposed for any violation of the laws. 



Question 11. Would the elk be adapted for browsing in the Appalachian 

 forests from Pennsylvania south to Georgia? 



Answer. Yes ; I am quite familiar with the Appalachian range, and consider 

 it ideal. 



Question 12. Are they as useful as goats in clearing out underbrush? Is it 

 best to use both goats and elk? 



Answer. They are more useful, as they will browse as low as goats and twice 

 as high. I would earnestly recommend the use of both goats and elk for clearing 

 up brushy land and fitting it for tame grasses. Elk and goats get along well in 

 the same inclosure. 



Question 13. What area will they clear up per year in your section? Keep 

 cleared ? 



Answer. So much depends on the amount of underbrush as to the average 

 amount elk and goats will keep cleared. The conditions in a mountainous 

 country are much more diversified than in a level one, the growth of underbrush 

 and timber often changing radically in a fourth of a mile. The average condi- 

 tions in this range of mountains can only be estimated approximately. Our ex- 

 perience has taught us that to get the best results, after stocking with elk and 

 goats, it is best to wait one year before seeding, then continue with elk and 

 goats two years more ; when, if properly seeded and pastured, an open wood- 

 land pasture of tame grasses will be obtained (Plate V). To accomplish this, 

 our estimate would be an average of one elk and two goats to 5 acres. When 

 the underbrush and weeds have been eliminated by elk and goats, they will be 

 very slow in coming in again. The life has been destroyed by the continued 

 browsing on bud and leaf, and not only is the stem dead but the root also. The 



