334 NEWFOUNDLAND 



Newfoundland will keep her deer for many centuries to 

 come if all shooters are licensed, and the number of deer 

 shot by each person does not exceed three. Thus putting 

 the death-rate at the highest estimate of three animals 

 each to 4000 shooters, 12,000 would be killed out of 

 200,000, that is a depreciation of 6 per cent. Now this is 

 a much smaller rate of killing than takes place amongst 

 the stags of Scotland, and they are undoubtedly on the 

 increase. Ninety-nine per cent, of the interior of Newfound- 

 land is only fit for a caribou preserve, and the authorities 

 now recognise this. 



It is a great pity that so little has been done in the way 

 of domesticating the Newfoundland caribou, and that for 

 causes easily explained only a few have been caught and 

 tamed. From their greater size,^ strength, and ferocity 

 during the breeding season the stags are too unsafe to 

 keep, but something might be done with the does on a small 

 scale, the stags being killed when they reached the age of 

 three years.^ 



The Governor of Newfoundland, Sir William MacGregor, 

 is much interested in the importation of Norwegian reindeer 

 into Labrador, where he believes they will be of much ad- 

 vantage to the natives. Owing to the generosity of Lord 

 Strathcona, a ship-load of these animals will shordy be sent 

 to Labrador, and it is intended that the Esquimaux of the 

 north coast will be put in charge of them as herdsmen. 

 Personally I think that it will be a mistake if these careless 

 little sea-rovers are assigned to this task, and that the deer 



* Peter John had a stag for three years. It was perfectly tame and could be 

 handled until the third year, when it became so dangerous to all persons that he 

 was obliged to shoot it. 



^ It is a common theory that two-year-old stags cannot beget good stock. This 

 is quite erroneous. A large percentage of calves of all deer are sired by these 

 youngsters, and are as good and strong as those begot by adult animals. 



