136 CONSERVATION OF CANADIAN WILD LIFE 



the Chicago stock-yards about two years ago the park 

 was closed to visitors and the greatest precautions were 

 taken. 



The question naturally arises: how are we to dispose of 

 the surplus stock of buffaloes? With the present rate of 

 increase the time will shortly come when the numbers will 

 reach the capacity of the Buffalo Park. This opens an 

 interesting field, which I will now consider. 



The Future of the Buffalo in Canada 



An obvious step to be taken with a view to disposing of 

 the surplus buffaloes from the Buffalo Park is to estabhsh 

 small parks in other parts of the Prairie Provinces, where 

 small herds could be maintained, which would be more 

 readily accessible to the people who are interested in seeing 

 and protecting these remnants of the former inhabitants of 

 the prairies. Every large city should have its zoological 

 park, the educational advantages of which have been so 

 conclusively demonstrated in the older countries of Europe. 

 It should be possible for cities starting or maintaining such 

 parks to obtain buffaloes from the government. 



Domestication. — The greatest value of the buffalo, how- 

 ever, lies in the possibility of its domestication. This may 

 appear to be a novel idea, but I am convinced that its 

 acceptance and adoption would result in inestimable benefit 

 to the Prairie Provinces and the country as a whole. The 

 greatest need in the Prairie Provinces is an increase in its 

 beef-producing capacity. The buffalo is an animal which 

 offers great possibilities, being pre-eminently suited to 

 prairie conditions, and at the same time it produces a robe 

 of no small commercial value. 



The needs of the West in the matter of suitable stock 

 have been well stated by the late Mr. C. J. Jones, of Garden 

 City, Kansas, whose experience with the buffalo earned for 



