Canadian Forestrij Journal, April, 1917 



1051 



reduced in numbers by causes that 

 were unavoidable the following spec- 

 ies were menlioned, and their habits 

 and status and the cause for reduc- 

 tion described; the elk, deer,caril)ou, 

 musk-ox and sheeji. The great re- 

 duction in our wild fowl due to the 

 absence of adequate restrictions and 

 the limiting of spring shooting were 

 discussed. 



Why Preserve Wild Life 



Cogent reasons were advanced as 

 to why we should conserve our wild 

 life. The value of these resources to 

 the nation was dealt with under three 

 heads, namely, recreative, economic 

 and educative. The recreative value 

 of wild life is important in as much as 

 it increases human efficiency. It 

 takes men from their offices to the 

 forest at least once a year and there- 

 by increases their resourcefulness and 

 self-reliance. The value of wild life 

 as an attraction to the sportsman 

 should not be affected by any reasons 

 of sentiment as the ethics of a good 

 sportsman consist in recreation and 

 not in securing the bag limit. Canada 

 was favored above all countries in the 

 world in having its big game areas so 

 nearly accessible to its centres of 

 population. 



A Source of Food 



The economic value of our wild life 

 should appeal to all, especially in 

 view of the increased cost of living. 

 Dr. Hewitt pointed out that in our 

 wild life we have a potential food 

 supply of very great value. The 

 immense non-agricultural and forest 

 areas could be made productive, he 

 suggested, by the careful conservation 

 of our deer wliich would constitute a 

 native -food supply, and the state of 

 Vermont was cjuoted as an example 

 in this respect. He further stated that 

 the barren ground caribou are not 

 only essential to the natives in North- 

 ern Canada but that they constitute 

 a resource of the greatest value from 

 the point of view of a potential food 

 supply and a source of skins for 

 manufacturing purposes. On a small- 

 er scale this has been demonstrated 

 in the case of the domesticated rein- 

 deer of Alaska. In his opinion there 



is no reason why, at some future date, 

 the caribou herds should not be so 

 utilized as to provide an important 

 part of our meat supply under 

 Government control, or supervision, 

 and i)rovided the principles of wild 

 life conservation are correctly and 

 adequately applied. 



Danger to Fur Bearers 



It was pointed out that the fur- 

 bearing aniials of North America 

 contributed a most important ad- 

 dition to the revenue of the Dominion. 

 They constitute an important section 

 of the national wealth and should be 

 carefully protected from undue ex- 

 ploitation, of which there is great 

 danger at present. 



He referred to the example of 

 Greenland in which the fur-trade is 

 the monopoly of the Danish Govern- 

 ment. 



Big game hunting was not to be 

 despised, for in some parts of Canada 

 the inhabitants subsisted entirely in 

 the money thus brought into the 

 country; this is particularly true in 

 certain sections of British Columbia, 

 which is our greatest big game region. 



Reference was made to the econ- 

 omic value of our insectivorous birds; 

 a subject with which the lecturer has 

 dealt with on previous occasions. 

 The great importance of our insec- 

 tivorous birds as destroyers of and a 

 natural check on insects affecting 

 agriculture cannot be too strongly 

 emphasized and is becoming more and 

 more realized. 



In the Breeding Season 



In discussing the principles of wild 

 life conservation, Dr. Hewitt pointed 

 out that the great necessity was pro- 

 tection during the breeding season to 

 all classes of game mammals and 

 birds. The protection of the females 

 and the young was necessary in the 

 case of most animals and the wisdom 

 of insuring such protection has been 

 demonstrated by the manner in which 

 the moose have increased in New 

 Brunswick and Nova Scotia. 



The most important step, however, 

 that has yet been taken to insure 

 conservation of wild life is the es- 

 tablishment of refuges or reserves. 



