106 CALIFORNIA PISH AND GAME. 



have been protected for a number of years an increase is to be noted. 

 California should investigate the success obtained in other states and 

 should profit by their experience. 



A state trapper's license is very desirable for two reasons: First, 

 it eliminates the man who traps for the fun of it, and who is not inter- 

 ested in preserving the furs ; and, second, it furnishes information as 

 to the number of trappers and the amcunt of trapping done. The 

 latter is particularly important in furnishing data on which to base 

 further protective legislation. 



In the beginning of this paper a glimpse of the early fur trade in 

 California was given so as to atford a comparison with conditions at 

 the present time which are fairly well known by everyone. There 

 followed statements which showed the extent of the world's fur trade, 

 and then, possible methods which could be employed to develop the fur 

 industry in (California by conserving the fur-bearers. In conclusion, 

 the urgent necessity for early attention to the prol)lem of conserving the 

 fur-bearers should be emphasized. Now is the time to better conditions, 

 not after it is too late. It has taken millions of years to produce the 

 animals which we have now and yet we sweep them out of existence in 

 a hundred years, or less. Man is able to create great industries which 

 l>ecome a resource to a country, but where is the man or the group of 

 men that can create a resource that compares in the slightest degree to 

 any of the great natural resources? Man-made creations are capalile 

 of restoration but an extinct form of life can never be restored. 

 In this ethical viewpoint we perhaps find the strongest argument of all. 

 But add to this the economic viewpoint and we have an argument in 

 favor of wild life conservation that defies every assailant. Will the 

 people of California heed the handwriting on the wall and properly 

 discharge their duly to the wild life itself, to their state, and to 

 humanity ? 



Summary. 



A casual investigation has shown that there has been a large decrease 

 in the number of fur-bearing mammals in California. This decrease 

 l)ecomes very apparent on comparing the present status of these animals 

 with that of the past. In the early history of California there is much 

 which relates to the abundance and great money value of the fur- 

 bearers. History shows that several companies were formed and many 

 expeditions undertaken in order to develop the fur trade. From 1800 

 to 1812 a number of American ships annually visited the California 

 coast, trading cloth, muskets, and other material for skins. The toll 

 taken of such valuable fur-bearers as the fur seal, sea otter, and beaver 

 led to their practical extermination. The fur trade in this state began 

 to decline al3out 1820, but the Hudson's Bay Company kept up their 

 trade until about 1840. Since that time the procuring of fur has 

 been limited to trappers in the mountain districts. The time has now 

 come when several of the fur-bearers need absolute protection ; others 

 need to be protected during the breeding season, and still others during 

 the time when their fur is of no value. 



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

 bearers have been entirely neglected. Meanwhile they are disappearing 

 so fast that the danger point is reached. Attention to this resource is 

 highly necessary at this time, both because of economic reasons and 



