244 REPOKT OF ONTAKIO GAME No. 52 



materially to diminish the rislvs of petty or local favouritism in appoint- 

 ment, or the retention of incompetent or lazy officials. Moreover, once 

 a district had been staffed, organized and equipped, it should be possible 

 to more or less satiBfactorily meet the difficulty of fixing open seasons 

 for game to accord with the climatic and other conditions prevailing 

 therein. i 



If it were possible to separate the protective service of the commer- 

 cial fisheries from that of the sporting fisheries, and that of the sport- 

 ing fisheries from that of game, doubtless many of the obstacles to 

 efficient administration would materially diminish, but plainly the main- 

 tenance of three separate services would be impracticable on the score 

 of expense, and in addition to this, the areas in which the various pur- 

 suits are conducted and the characteristics of the operations them- 

 selves are so intimately connected in many instances that it would be 

 almost impossible to apportion the duties to the various officers of each 

 service. Consequently, the three services have to be more or less com- 

 bined in one. It is apparent, therefore, not only that the district offi- 

 cers or inspectors should be as at home on water as on land and that a 

 proportion of their permanent staffs should be especially qualified in 

 either one or the other direction, but also that it would be necessary in 

 determining the districts to apportion a reasonable and fair proportion 

 of the vast fishing areas of the Province to each. In this regard both the 

 great lake and inland fisheries would have to be considered. It would, 

 of course, be possible to subdivide the provincial fishing and land areas 

 in a multitude of different ways for each of which some advantages could 

 be claimed, but in view of the fact that although some measure of decen- 

 tralization in regard to the protective services appears to be necessary, 

 this should not be carried to an extreme for reasons, amongst others, of 

 economy. The following allocation of districts is suggested in the belief 

 that it fulfills the main requirements of the present situation : — 



(1) The eastern counties of the Province up to and including the 

 counties of Kenfrew, Hastings and Prince Edward. 



Main Fisheries: St. Lawrence Kiver, Bay of Quinte, and eastern 

 portions of Lake Ontario from Prince Edward County east to the St. 

 Lawrence Kiver, the Rideau Lake system and the Ottawa River. 



(2) The counties of Haliburton, Muskoka District, Simcoe, York, 

 Ontario, Durham, Victoria, Peterborough and Northumberland. 



Main Fisheries: Lake Ontario westward from Prince Edward 

 County, Kawartha Lakes, Lake Scugog, Muskoka Lakes and Lake 

 Simcoe. 



(3) The western peninsula south of and including the counties of 

 Halton, Wentworth, Brant, Oxford, Middlesex and Lambton. 



Main Fisheries: Niagara River, Lake Erie, Detroit River, Lake 

 St. Clair, St. Clair River and Thames River. 



(4) Counties of Peel, Waterloo, Perth, Huron, Bruce, Wellington 

 and Dufferin. 



Main Fisheries: Lake Huron. 



