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THE OLD-WORLD ELK 



especially coveted. Oil-tanned it was highly 

 prized for clothing; slings of elk skin served to hurl 

 stones and other missiles in medieval battles; 

 the skin of the legs, removed without splitting, 

 was used for gun sheaths and pouches for various 

 purposes. 



Elk hair was formerly well esteemed by up- 

 holsterers, being deemed intermediate between 

 the hair of horses and of cattle in quality. Cush- 

 ions were filled with it, the covering being of the 

 skin of the same species of animals, and saddles 

 covered with elk skin and padded with elk hair 

 were in common use in an age when the lack of 

 roads adapted for wheeled vehicles raised the 

 saddle into a position of great importance. 



Elk antlers were a common decoration for the 

 gables of old-time palaces and hunting lodges, and 

 for the gateways of parks; from the antlers clever 

 artificers fashioned chandeliers and articles of 

 furniture; from them skilled lathe-workers and 

 carvers made the handles of knives and a multi- 

 plicity of utensils, and from fragments otherwise 

 unused was produced the glue of the cabinet 

 makers. 



The hoofs of elk were in demand in medicine, 

 and if only the hoof of the left hind foot possessed 

 therapeutic value, there were still three other 



