186 REPORT OF ONTARIO GAME No. 52 



It would seem, therefore, that in the reorganization of the service 

 for the protection of game the objective to be attained is a force, numeri- 

 cally less than at present supported, but carefully selected for energy, 

 discretion and capability, well disciplined and organized, and with each 

 and every member independent of other avocations or business affilia- 

 tions for a livelihood, and that, also, pending such reorganization and 

 during the process of its institution some special officers should be main- 

 tained at the disposal of the Department to act in the capacity of secret 

 investigators of information that may be received, no matter from what 

 locality, and, if necessity arises, as competent representatives of the 

 Government to arrest and indict violators of the law. 



Big Game. 



The largest existing species of the deer family is the moose which is 

 still to be found in the wilder portions of the Province. The head of a 

 moose forms a magnificent trophy, and for this reason, if for no other, 

 the moose would be eagerly sought after by the big game hunter, but in 

 addition to this the flesh of the moose is most palatable and the carcass 

 has, in consequence, a very considerable value. While it has been found 

 that in captivity the moose is the most sensible of all deer, the least 

 timid and the least easily upset, it is none the less, when running wild, 

 of a shy and retiring disposition in so far as man is concerned. It would 

 seem, indeed, that for its perpetuation in a wild state, at least, it re- 

 quires a considerable range of wild and wooded territory where it will 

 not be affected tqjiny appreciable extent by the presence of man during 

 the greater portion of the yeag, and that it will rapidly disappear from 

 a district before the encroachments of civilization. Consequently, it is 

 only to be expected that as the Province opens up the available moose 

 areas will gradually diminish. There are, however, many sections of the 

 Province which never will be suitable for agriculture or in all probabil- 

 ity adapted to the requirements of any considerable population, so that 

 with due care and management it should be possible to perpetuate the 

 moose in Ontario for a very long time to come. 



At the present time there are undoubtedly considerable areas in- 

 habited by moose, and undoubtedly, also, considerable quantities of 

 moose still remaining in certain of them, but every year the retreats of 

 the creature are diligently searched by an increasing number of hunters 

 during the open season, and as transportation and other facilities render 

 their retreats more and more accessible, it is only too apparent that the 

 drain on the supply is likely to be very much in excess of the normal in- 

 crease. More particularly so will this be acknowledged to be the case 

 when it is remembered that the settlers in these regions, as well as the 

 Indians, rely in large measure on the moose for at least their winter 

 supply of meat, and that in the villages and settlements of the remoter 

 regions moose meat is still, unfortunately, a fairly common commercial 



