ARCTIC RESOURCES 229 



for any other, for the only expected fluctuations are for length and 

 warmth of the growing season. Indeed, the most recent studies tend 

 to show that even the warmth is less important than we had supposed, 

 the length of the light period being the main factor. And this is 

 nearly constant. 



Having determined the amount of vegetation for one year in 

 terms of how many animals of a certain kind can be supported, the 

 grazing expert has next to consider overgrazing — will the beasts 

 trample out and kill some of the vegetation; and will some that is 

 eaten this year fail to appear next year because it has been pulled out 

 by the roots or because it requires several years to grow? 



Potential Meat Production of the Arctic 



With the reindeer for the standard animal, the U. S. Biological 

 Survey has estimated the permanent supporting power of the Alaska 

 ranges at from 20 to 25 head per square mile. In meat production 

 this would fall somewhat between three and seven head of cattle, 

 according to the breed of reindeer and of cattle. All the lowlands 

 north of the heavy forest are grazing territory; for, as we have seen, 

 the permanent snow is found only in mountains or on other high land. 

 We estimate the average Arctic and sub-Arctic grazing value at half 

 the Alaska figures, although there is no reason for doing so except the 

 preference many have for erring by an equal amount rather below a 

 mark than above it. We then have the following figures for the 

 major divisions of the continental and insular low^lands north of the 

 wheat belt (prairies and sparse forest). 



Alaska will support 2,000,000 reindeer on 200,000 square miles 

 Canada " " 10,000,000 " " 1,000,000 " " 



Eurasia " " 20,000,000 " " 2,000,000 " " 



In this estimate we consider 90 per cent of Greenland covered with 

 ice, which is probably not far from right; 75 per cent of Spitsbergen; 

 50 per cent of Ellesmere, Devon, and Heiberg Islands, and 10 per cent 

 of Baffin Island. We ignore Franz Josef Land, Northern Land, and 

 Meighen Island, for their interiors are too little known, though doubt- 

 less heavily iced. All others we consider free of land ice; for, if there 

 be little ravine snowdrifts in some of them (such as the Ringnes 

 Islands or Melville Island), these are inconsiderable when compared 

 with the areas of Arctic lands that are covered with lakes — such ag- 

 gregate snowdrifts must be far less than 10 per cent of the lake area. 



Cattle are now raised on arid lands that support less than one 

 head per square mile. The Arctic, then, with 10 reindeer per square 

 mile, is potentially more productive than the poorest cattle lands, es- 

 pecially if you remember that the real estimates of the grazing ex- 

 perts run to twice the reindeer figure we are using here. 



