230 KEPORT OF ONTARIO GAME No. 52 



local variety, no great barm would be likely to accrue ; in fact, not more 

 so tlian under tbe present sj'stem; for tbe majority of purchasers would 

 buy from a reputable dealer whose importations would have been 

 franked by a government inspector, and there should be little, if any, ad- 

 ditional difficulty to that experienced at the present time in detecting 

 illegal trafficking in local or indigenous game. It would seem, therefore, 

 that under tlie present graduated licen-se for the privilege of importing 

 and storing game the cold storage firms might be allowed to import 

 game from abroad and deal in the same until March 31st, provided that 

 due arrangements were made to inspect and check the shipments, in ad- 

 dition to the cold storage houses during the extended period. There is 

 little doubt but that in the future various enterprises will develop in 

 the Province in the direction of game farming chiefly for market pur- 

 poses, which will necessitate some modifications of the preisent laws in 

 regard to the sale and cold storage of game, for it is plainly in the in- 

 terests of the public that such enterprises should be afforded reasonable 

 opportunities of marketing their products, seeing that an increase in tlie 

 diversity of wholesome foods available to the public cannot but be of 

 general advantage. It will, however, be time enough to deal with such 

 a situation when the enterprises have been or are in the process of being 

 established. 



Recommendations. 



Your Commissioner would, therefore, recommend: — 

 That under the present scale of license cold storage firms be 

 allowed to import, hold in cold storage and deal in game thus imported 

 up to and including March 31st of each year, provided only that all such 

 importations shall only be released from bond on a certificate being ob- 

 tained from the proper authority; that such certificates must be held 

 on the premises so long as any proportion of the game is held in cold 

 storage; that no game whatsoever be held in cold storage without such 

 certificate after January 16th of each year; and that adequate steps be 

 taken to arrange for the inspection of cold storage premises throughout 

 the period indicated. 



Game Farms. 



In a previous section it has been pointed out that in the raising of 

 game for market purposes there exists an opportunity for profitable com- 

 mercial enterprise, and that any addition to the permanent food re- 

 sources of the community cannot but be advantageous. It has been 

 noted, also, that in the more cultivated sections of the Province a great 

 deal can be accomplished in the direction of increasing the supply, or 

 even the varieties, of game through the efforts of those cultivating the 

 soil, and that not only is such an eventuality much to be desired, but 

 worthy, also, of every encouragement in the interests of the farmers, 

 the sportsmen and the public at large. In the United States these ques- 



