September 20, 1912] 



SCIENCE 



359 



bility of the protection of birds-of-prey 

 and beasts-of-prey, and still less of the 

 enormous numbers of species of animals 

 that have no sporting or economic value. 

 Mr. Stebbing's article also gives a list 

 of the very large number of reserved areas 

 in India, which are described as "Game 

 Sanctuaries." His explanation of them is 

 as follows : 



With a view to affording a certain proteetion 

 to animals of this kind (the elephant, rhinoceros, 

 ruminants, etc.) and of giving a rest to species 

 which have been heavily thinned in a district by 

 indiscriminate shooting in the past, or by an- 

 thrax, drought, etc., the idea of the Game Sanc- 

 tuary was introduced into India (and into other 

 parts of the world) and has been accepted in 

 many parts of the country. The sanctuary con- 

 sists of a block of country, either of forest or of 

 grassland, etc., depending on the nature of the 

 animal to which sanctuary is required to be given; 

 the area has rough boundaries such as roads, fire 

 lines, nullahs, etc., assigned to it, and no shooting 

 of any kind is allowed in it, if it is a sanctuary 

 pure and simple; or the shooting of carnivora 

 may be permitted, or of these latter and of every- 

 thing else save certain specified animals. 



Mr. Stebbing goes on to say that sanctu- 

 aries may be formed in two ways. The 

 area may be automatically closed and re- 

 opened for certain definite periods of years, 

 or be closed until the head of game has be- 

 come satisfactory, the shooting on the area 

 being then regulated, and no further clos- 

 ing taking place, save for exceptional cir- 

 cumstances. The number of such sanctu- 

 ary blocks, both in British India and in the 

 native states, will cause surprise and pleas- 

 ure to most readers, and it can not be 

 doubted but that they will have a large 

 effect on the preservation of wild life. The 

 point, however, that I wish to make is that 

 in the minds of those who have framed the 

 game act, and of those who have caused 

 the making of the sanctuaries — as indeed 

 in the minds of their most competent crit- 

 ics — the dominant idea has been the hus- 



banding of game animals, the securing for 

 the future of sport for sportsmen. I do 

 not forget that there is individual protee- 

 tion for certain animals; no elephant, ex- 

 cept a rogue elephant, may be shot in 

 India, and there are excellent regulations 

 regarding birds with plumage of economic 

 value. The fact remains that India, a 

 country which still contains a considerable 

 remnant of one of the richest faunas of the 

 world, and which also is probably more 

 efficiently under the autocratic control of 

 a highly educated body of permanent offi- 

 cials, central and local, than any other 

 country in the world, has no provision for 

 the protection of its fauna simply as ani- 

 mals. 



The conditions in Africa are very differ- 

 ent from those in India. The land is por- 

 tioned out amongst many powers. The 

 settled population is much less dense and 

 the hold of the white settler and the white 

 ruler is much less complete. The possibil- 

 ity of effective control of native hunters 

 and of European travelers and sportsmen 

 is much smaller, and as there are fewer 

 sources of revenue, the temptation to ex- 

 ploit the game for the immediate develop- 

 ment of the struggling colonies is much 

 greater. Still, the lesson of the extinction 

 of the South African fauna is being taken 

 to heart. I have had the opportunity of 

 going through the regulations made for 

 the shooting of wild animals in Africa by 

 this country, by our autonomic colonies, 

 by France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and 

 Belgium, and, with the limitation that 

 they are directed almost solely towards the 

 protection of animals that can be regarded 

 as game, they afford great promise for the 

 future. But this limitation is still stamped 

 upon them, and even so enthusiastic a nat- 

 uralist as Major Stevenson-Hamilton, the 

 warden of the Transvaal Government Game 

 Reserves, who has advocated the substitu- 



