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. j WHEN THE MOOSE DROP THEIR ANTLERS An old Indian tradition asserts that all bull moose of eastern and northern Maine make journeys to the west shore of Moosehead Lake at the close of the year for the purpose of casting their antlers, says a dispatch from Greenville, Me. Charles Anace, a half-breed, says he filled two box cars with discarded moose antlers some years ago and shipped them to New York, where cutlery manufacturers purchased the lot for knife handles! He cleared 300 for a weeks work, he says. The moose of Maine drop their antlers from December 15 to January 1, though a few aged ones may retain these ornaments until February. Old hunters say they could go out in the woods west of Moosehead Lake fifty years ago and pick up a hayrack of fine antlers in a forenoon, though they have not been so plentiful of late. The antlers will keep for an indefinite period when housed and removed from moisture, but they fall to pieces fast when left in the woods. Those shed in the winter remain firm until spring, but as soon as warm weather arrives a small borer gets into them and reduces them to a fine powder in a few weeks. Though thousands of antlers are dropped in the Maine forests every winter no hunter ever finds one the next summer.
