HISTORY OF CORBIN PRESERVE — ^MANVILLE 435 



As a result, "The Corbin herd was at one time considered the finest and 

 largest herd of pure-blooded buffaloes in the world" (Baynes, 1931: 

 75) . Salt licks were provided for the bison, deer, and elk. All winter 

 long corn was fed to the boars. Hay and bran were put out where 

 the animals could get them when needed. An efficient system for 

 patrolling the boundary was instituted. In 1891 the ponds were 

 cleaned out, many eels "and other varieties of cannibalistic fish" were 

 destroyed, and trout were introduced (Spears, 1893) . 



Many of the introduced animals soon became acclimated and multi- 

 plied. By 1891, 10 of the bison cows were in calf; the elk herd had 

 increased by 50 percent ; 6 of the moose dropped young. Gamekeepers 

 reported three or four different herds of wild boars. AVithin a few 

 years it was estimated there were as many as 4,000 of these introduced 

 species within the Park, and many of them were sold (Squires, 1956). 

 Needless to say, the situation was becoming impossible, even on a tract 

 of this size. 



Baynes (1931 : 126) has vividly described conditions as they existed 

 in 1904: "Going through this hardwood belt the most striking thing, 

 perhaps, was the total absence of young growth. Not a single sapling 

 was to be seen — not a single seedling; the animals had accounted for 

 them all. And so it is throughout this vast preserve; scarcely a hard- 

 wood seedling anyAvhere. No doubt, no end of nuts and seeds are 

 eaten up by the wild boars, but those that are left to sprout can 

 scarcely put out a leaf before it is nipped off by some passing deer or 

 elk. Nor is this condition limited to the deciduous trees; there is 

 practically no young growth of any species whatever that serves as 

 a browse for the animals I have mentioned. That is to say there are 

 no young balsams or hemlocks, for instance, but the spruces and the 

 white pines, not being eaten by the deer and elk, spring up and grow 

 like weeds in every clearing." 



Systematic thinning out of the population was necessary, and shoot- 

 ing, particularly of the deer, seemed the only practical solution. It 

 was recognized that this was necessary, especially in a fenced area 

 such as the Corbin Preserve, or overcrowding would soon lead to 

 deaths from hunger, degeneration, and disease. Many animals were 

 disposed of to zoological parks and other institutions; as late as the 

 1940's many deer were sold for meat. 



Predation has never been too serious a problem on the preserve. Red 

 foxes, bobcats, and an occasional Canada lynx were present in the 

 early days. Hunters were employed to control them; bloodhounds 

 and foxhounds were imported, but were unsatisfactory for the purpose, 

 and took to chasing deer instead. Gray foxes and black bears, able 

 to cross through or over the fence, introduced themselves. In the 

 unusually deep snow of 1949-50, bobcats killed 22 deer (Silver, 1957: 

 120) . More recently, wild dogs have made their way into the pre- 



