478 Life-histories of Northern Animals 



RESTORA- But the tremendous slaughter of modern times and 

 methods have told on the Beaver, the rapid shrinkage of the 

 species in point of numbers has led, first, to laws restricting the 

 killing, next to attempts at restocking depleted regions. 



The success of the latter is most encouraging. The 

 Algonquin Park, in Ontario, is a famous illustration of this. 

 So well have the protected Beavers prospered there that now 

 their overflow is restocking the surrounding country. 



In Monroe County, Pennsylvania, the species has reap- 

 peared and will probably continue to increase, as the colony is 

 jealously guarded.^^ 



In the Adirondacks, once famous as Beaver country, 

 then practically bereft of them, the good work of restoration 

 goes on. Harry V. Radford took upon himself the onus of the 

 enterprise. He sends me the following outline: 



"In 1904, at my request, the first Beaver appropriation 

 bill (^500) was introduced in the New York Legislature. It 

 became available the same year. That fall the Commission 

 purchased 7 Beavers, 6 of which were successfully liberated 

 the following spring. This year (1906) I obtained a second 

 Beaver appropriation (;$ 1,000) from the Legislature, and the 

 liberations will soon be resumed. A number of private citizens 

 are co-operating with the State and liberating Beaver on their 

 estates in the Adirondacks. The Adirondack Beaver supply 

 is rapidly multiplying, and there are at present perhaps 50, 

 as against 6 or 8 of five years ago. Unquestionably, the Beaver 

 restocking project is a complete success." ^^ 



Similar good news comes from western Quebec and many 

 parts of the eastern country showing that men have fully 

 awakened to the value and service of this remarkable fur- 

 bearer, especially in the northern part of its range. 



There can be no doubt that the Beaver did more to open 

 up Canada than any other creature or product. It was the 



*^ Rhoads, Mam. Penn. & N. Jersey, 1903, pp. 70-2. 



*^ln 1908 Radford estimated their number at 150. See N. Y. S. F. F. & G. 

 Com., i2th Annual Rep., p. 417. 



