136 CONSERVATION OF CANADIAN WILD LIFE 
the Chicago stock-yards about two years ago the park 
was closed to visitors and the greatest precautions were 
taken. 
The question naturally arises: how are we to dispose of 
the surplus stock of buffaloes? With the present rate of 
increase the time will shortly come when the numbers will 
reach the capacity of the Buffalo Park. This opens an 
interesting field, which I will now consider. 
Tuer FuTurE OF THE BUFFALO IN CANADA 
An obvious step to be taken with a view to disposing of 
the surplus buffaloes from the Buffalo Park is to establish 
small parks in other parts of the Prairie Provinces, where 
small herds could be maintained, which would be more 
readily accessible to the people who are interested in seeing 
and protecting these remnants of the former inhabitants of 
the prairies. Every large city should have its zoological 
park, the educational advantages of which have been so 
conclusively demonstrated in the older countries of Europe. 
It should be possible for cities starting or maintaining such 
parks to obtain buffaloes from the government. 
Domestication.—The greatest value of the buffalo, how- 
ever, lies in the possibility of its domestication. This may 
appear to be a novel idea, but I am convinced that its 
acceptance and adoption would result in inestimable benefit 
to the Prairie Provinces and the country as a whole. The 
greatest need in the Prairie Provinces is an increase in its 
beef-producing capacity. The buffalo is an animal which 
offers great possibilities, being pre-eminently suited to 
prairie conditions, and at the same time it produces a robe 
of no small commercial value. 
The needs of the West in the matter of suitable stock 
have been well stated by the late Mr. C. J. Jones, of Garden 
City, Kansas, whose experience with the buffalo earned for 
