VALUE OF WILD LIFE TO THE NATION 11 
ply? In view of the fact that the fur-bearing animals of 
the north furnish not only luxuries but also necessities, what 
greater opportunity could we have of establishing the fur- 
bearing industry on a sound, practical basis? It was not 
without reason that furs constituted the first lure that at- 
tracted the outside world to Canada. This country con- 
tained the greatest variety of valuable fur-bearing animals, 
for the possession of which men risked everything, includ- 
ing their own lives. Now our agricultural lands constitute 
that lure, but the remnant of those fur-bearing animals is 
still with us. Conservation of our natural resources is 
taking the place of exploitation. We should apply the doc- 
trine to the fur-bearing animals and thus secure their full 
value to the community. And it cannot be stated too often 
that conservation means the protection of natural resources 
from injudicious exploitation and their provident utiliza- 
tion. Our northern territories, under proper administra- 
tion, could become not only a valuable source of food supply, 
but also one of the chief fur-producing areas of the world. 
The mineral wealth in our northern territories constitutes 
a valuable natural resource awaiting development, and it 
should be remembered that such development will be ren- 
dered more possible by the presence of an adequate food 
supply such as I have mentioned, which fact indicates an- 
other economic aspect of this problem. 
Barren-ground Caribou as Source of Meat and Clothing.— 
The development of a ‘‘wild”’ food supply, by which I mean 
the caribou in our northern territories from the Labrador 
coast to the Yukon, would fulfil three objects: First, it 
would supplement the meat supply from domesticated 
animals and add to the area of productive land in the coun- 
try. Caribou furnishes one of the finest of meats, and under 
proper protection and adequate supervision there is no 
reason why we should not in the future develop a caribou 
meat industry, and export frozen caribou from the north. 
