{ cxxxv ) 



the ears of every Terra del Fuegian which coukl be brought in, 

 and an enterprising colonist not long after this edict discovered 

 that putting strychnine in the water-holes where these un- 

 fortunate men and women used to drink, produced a rich 

 harvest of human ears and a corresponding expansion of his 

 personal budget. 



We are not here, however, to discuss the human aspect of 

 the question, and it is only necessary to touch upon the 

 preservation of the native races of men in connection with 

 this subject. Some of these races, the Tasmanians for ex- 

 ample, are already extinct, while others, such as the Bushmen 

 of South Africa and the ancient inhabitants of Ceylon, are 

 yearly diminishing. 



The Corporation of the City of London should be mentioned 

 next as having been the real pioneer in the establishment of 

 nature reserves. Here, again, the theory was more that of 

 providing adequate open spaces for an overgrown London 

 than for really conserving, for the benefit of posterity, the 

 fauna and flora of this country. All the same, the result has 

 been highly satisfactory. The action of the City Corporation in 

 this direction dates from the year 1867, so it will be observed 

 that this country is really the first in this highly desirable 

 movement. 



I propose to deal again with some of the reserves that 

 exist in England to-day, and exist owing to the exertions of 

 the City Corporation, but it may perhaps be worth while 

 mentioning that the presence of Epping Forest, Burnham 

 Beeches, Highgate Wood, and several other localities which 

 still harbour much of the wild life of this country, owe their 

 reservation to the efforts of the City Corporation. 



In 1872 the United States of America established the 

 well-known Yellowstone National Park, a reserve of no less 

 than 2,000,000 acres. Here, again, we shall have more to 

 say about this area at a later period, but I believe I am right 

 in saying that the Yellowstone Park is the first real nature 

 reserve that was ever established, i. e. it was established 

 primarily for the purpose of preserving the fauna and flora 

 of the North American continent, and in reviewing the subject 

 generally we must admit, if perhaps with some regret, that this 



