CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME. 



105 



D. C. Those interested will be able to profit l)y the results of these 

 experiments. 



We have long had laws to protect our fish and game but the fur- 

 bearers have been entirelj- neglected. Meanwhile they are disappearing 

 so fast that the danger point has been reached. Attention to this 

 resource is highly necessary at this time, both because of economic 

 reasons and because there is danger of its passing beyond our control 

 through its entire extinction. The fur-bearing mammals can be made 

 to pay a large dividend if the capital stock of breeding animals is 

 increased. 



In most of the provinces of Canada, and in many of the eastern 

 states, all of the more imjoortant fur-l)earing mammals are protected 

 (luring the summer season, when their fur is of practically no value. 



Humboldt County. 



■ ys 11. :ir Mnrtiii'.« Ferry, 



The open season is usually limited to five months — November 1st to 

 April 1st. In many places a license has to be procured before fur- 

 bearers can be trapped. In Canada the demand for live animals for 

 breeding purposes has become so great that laws have been passed 

 prohibiting the hunting of fur-bearing animals during the breeding 

 season. 



Each state as it has attempted to protect the fur-bearers has been 

 confronted with difficulty, for many of the fur-bearing mammals are 

 predatory and their depredations on domesticated animals and birds 

 are in many cases serious. In most instances -trouble has been avoided 

 by providing that animals found destroying poultry and live stock could 

 be killed. In many cases where depredations are reported the rancher 

 himself is to blame for not better protecting his poultry and farm 

 animals and as people come to a knowledge of the value of fur-bearers 

 as a national resource there will be more interest in their preservation. 



In eastern states the protection afforded fur-bearing mammals 

 appears to be effectual and adequate. In many places where beavers 



