MA(.(H'AUIK ISLAM) ANH ll's ITTntK, 



The artificial rearing of black foxes is now 

 a settled industry on Prince Edward Island. Good 

 skins sometimes fetch many hundreds of pounds 

 sterling-, and £1.000 for a single animal as prize 

 stock for breeding purposes is not considei'ed an 

 exorbitant charge. 



Sheep (16) have been fattened on the 

 island, and if the Romney Marsh variety rL'com- 

 mended by His Excellency Sir William AUar- 

 dyce'i"' were introduced, they should thrive 

 satisfactorily. Success might also attend the 

 introduction cf Highland cattle, or even reindeer. 

 The latter recently introduced into the Island of 

 South Georgia are reported to be doing well, and 

 increasing in numbers. 



But in estimating the grazing value of the 

 island, the map area is no indication of the avail- 

 able pasture land. The whole summit of the 

 island is either bare of vegetation or at the most 

 supports only mosses and lichens. The steep 

 hillsides, leading from the sea, carry a very con- 

 siderable clothing of tussock grass and other 

 vegetation, and present possibilities for grazing. 

 The best fodder, including abundance of Kergue- 

 len cabbage, is that on the flat strips of raised 

 beach along the coast, but much of this is so 

 boggy as to be more suited for ducks than for 

 cattle. 



The occupation of the island for any such 

 grazing purposes would undoubtedly have somi- 

 effect upon the native fauna and flora ; for 

 example, the burrows of the prions would be 

 trampled in by the presence of anything like 

 herds of these animals. 

 3. The permanent withdrawal of the lease and the pro- 

 clamation of the island as a National Fawml Re- 

 serve. To my mind, this is the best course to pur- 

 sue, in view of its advisability from a scientific 

 standpoint, and in the face of the great difficulty 



(16) See: "Report on Macquarie Island," liy A. C. Tullock : Pari. 

 Papers No. 7: Holmrl, 191fi. AIho in "The Home of the Hli/.zarcl." 

 Heinemunn and Co. 1015. 



(17) Furnished with a lonjr experience of the Falkland Ids., Hi» 

 Excellency the Governor of Ta-smania could not he hetter e<iuipped to 

 adviHe on the future of Macquarie Island, where many of the njitural 

 conditioiiB are identical. 



