REPORT OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION 





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Reindeer Moss — 



From a statement regarding "Reindeer in Norway," prepared by Mr. N. 



Width for the information of the Bureau of Education of the United States 



Department of the Interior, the following is quoted : — 



"The reindeer moss (Cladonia rangiferinas) is greyish -white when 

 dried, but with a greenish shade when moist; it takes its nourishment 

 chiefly from the air, avidly absorbing the humidity, which makes it 

 swell and become elastic; in a dry condition, however, it is very brittle. 

 It contains flour and gelatin stuff which makes it nourishing to the rein- 

 deer and cattle. 



"It grows very slow- 

 ly. When eaten by the 

 reindeer, which eat only 

 the tops and fine parts 

 of the plants, the moss 

 requires about twenty 

 years to regain its full 

 size. If taken up with 

 the roots, it will hardly 

 grow again." 



There would seem to be a 

 considerable divergence of opin- 

 ion as to how long this reindeer 

 moss or lichen takes to repro- 

 duce itself after being closely 

 grazed. Mr. James White, 

 F. R.G. S., Assistant to the 

 Chairman of the Commission 

 of Conservation, states that 

 in Norway the period of re- 

 cover}^ is from li\-e to seven 

 years. 



The question would seem, 

 howe\'er, to be largely one of 

 locality, as the nature of the 

 soil, the amount of precipita- 

 tion and the extent to w^iich 

 the lichen is eaten down are all 

 factors of ■_ importance, while 

 the fact that when in grass 

 producing districts, the rein- 

 deer is largely independent of 

 the lichens, is one of great 

 importance in arriving at any 

 decision as to what constitutes 



Vegetation, Herschel Island ^ graZUlg lUllt. 



Large Herds — Difficulties A rising from Necessity for Restraint — 



There are now over 200,000 reindeer in Alaska, all of which, in addition to 

 the tens of thousands which have been killed for meat, have come during the 

 last twenty-eight years from the original importation of 1,280 animals, pur- 



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