RESULTS OF BEAVERS' WORK 161 



t unity and practically every colony would have been 

 sacked within a very few months, and small indeed 

 would have been the number of survivors. How 

 to devise a sound scheme which would be fair on both 

 trapper and beaver is no easy task. But the Govern- 

 ment has been so careful and far-sighted in its game 

 laws, having set a standard which might well be 

 considered by other countries, that I offer these 

 suggestions with due humility in the hope that 

 they may do some good. To open up a definite 

 tract of country for a certain period has the 

 disadvantage that it would mean the killing off of 

 every beaver in that tract, and would entail a great 

 deal of expense to the Government in the way of 

 patrols in order to prevent poaching in the closed 

 territory. Probably the soundest scheme would 

 be to licence every trapper, and furnish him with a 

 limited number of labels, one to be attached to 

 every beaver skin before allowing it to be sold. 

 This would serve the double purpose of limiting the 

 number of beaver killed, and keeping track of the 

 total amount with the least expense. Of course it 

 would be necessary to make the selling of any un- 

 labelled skins absolutely illegal, with punishment 

 severe enough to make it effective. Imprisonment 

 alone could do that, as the penalty would be most 

 likely to fall on those to whom the very name of 

 prison is most appalling. The number of labels 

 issued should be strictly limited with due reference 

 to the number of beaver. No beaver should be 



R.B. M 



