1388 CONSERVATION OF CANADIAN WILD LIFE 
the Canadian West is based, and we cannot afford to dis- 
miss the claim lightly. I have already submitted this pro- 
posal to the Parks Branch of the Department of the Interior 
for consideration, in the firm belief that it affords a solution 
to the question of the disposal of the surplus stock of buffalo 
in the Buffalo Park. There are undoubtedly stockmen in 
the West who would be willing to enclose sufficient range 
unsuited to the production of wheat to permit the main- 
tenance of small herds of buffalo by way of preliminary 
experiment. And I am convinced that the results of such 
experiments would demonstrate that the domestication of 
the buffalo is practicable. Any one who has ridden over 
the Buffalo Park and mingled with the herds there must 
realize that the buffalo are as manageable as the beef steers 
of the range if not more so. They are docile, and untracta- 
ble bulls can be readily dealt with (Plate XIII). 
Cross-BREEDING WITH Domestic CATTLE 
With a view to combining the excellent natural qualities 
of the buffalo, that make it so suited to Western conditions, 
with the beef-producing qualities of the best domestic 
breeds of cattle, efforts have been made from time to time 
to cross the buffalo with domestic cattle. The first records 
we have of such domestication by cross-breeding are those 
of Huguenot settlers in Virginia in 1701, and later in the 
eighteenth century buffaloes were domesticated and bred in 
captivity in that State. It is interesting to note that one 
of the most important of these earlier attempts to utilize 
the buffalo, which are recorded by Hornaday in his mono- 
graph, was undertaken by Mr. S. L. Bedson, of Stony 
Mountain, Manitoba. In 1877 Mr. Bedson purchased 
1 buffalo bull, 4 heifers, and 5 calves. By 1888 his herd, 
which was allowed to range the prairie at will, had increased 
to 83 head, consisting of 23 full-blooded bulls, 35 cows, 3 
