CHAPTER I 



THE EXTINCTION AND PRESERVATION OF 

 VALUABLE WILD LIFE 



The industrial development of the United States 

 has wrought so many sweeping changes from con- 

 ditions of the past that the American people now 

 are fairly compelled to adjust their minds in con- 

 formity with the new conditions. Forty years ago, 

 the preservation of wild life was regarded chiefly as 

 a sentimental cause, of practical interest to sports- 

 men only. To-day, that cause is not only acutely 

 sentimental, but it has also become intensely prac- 

 tical to millions of American producers and con- 

 sumers. To-day it affects the lumber-pile, the 

 market-basket and the dinner-pail, and is of such 

 practical importance that it demands the attention 

 of the public at large. A few months ago, on the 

 floor of the United States Senate, Senator Gallin- 

 ger declared that it is worthy of the serious atten- 

 tion of every man in public life. It is because of our 

 former destructiveness that we now feel the lash of 

 necessity, and are compelled to conserve, whether 

 we will or not. 



We will endeavor to present a general view of 

 the present status of the wild life of North America, 



