142 COMMISSION OF C O N S E R V AT I O N 



Agriculture and Transportation. — Our second object in breeding 

 wild animals seems to be less important. The horse will never be sur- 

 passed in general usefulness and the other animals used in agriculture 

 and transportation are excellent in their places. Two animals, how- 

 ever, both of the African fauna, are good subjects for experiments in 

 breeding and domestication for these uses — the zebra and the elephant. 

 The zebra is the only animal of its kind that is apparently immune to 

 the fatal effects of being bitten by the tsetse fly. The zebra is easily 

 domesticated, but seems to lack endurance. If it can be crossed with 

 the horse so as to produce a hardy hybrid also immune to the tsetse fly, 

 the problem of African transport would be partly solved. The domestica- 

 tion of the zebra and its improvements by judicious breeding are pro- 

 jects that are well worth the expenditure of money upon them. The 

 African elephants have been domesticated and trained like their Asiatic 

 relatives and have proved to be equally docile under careful manage- 

 ment. There is little doubt that they could be made equally useful. 



Breeding for Fur. — ^Investigation of the possibility of breeding fur- 

 bearing animals profitably is especially desirable, in view of the failing 

 supply of our better furs. As another committee has reported upon this 

 subject, we do not take it up. 



Breeding for Food. — From an economic standpoint we regard this 

 as an important reason for attempting to breed wild mammals. Game 

 of all kind is becoming scarcer from year to year, and sportsmen go 

 farther and farther in search of it. Even after it is found, the laws 

 upon the subject of sale and export of game often prevent the hunter 

 from carrying to his home or disposing of game that has been lawfully 

 killed. In our zeal to protect our vanishing game mammals and birds, 

 we have in some cases, carelessly passed laws which, if not modified, 

 will prevent the one movement that would do more for game preserving 

 than any other agency that can be contrived. We refer to game prop- 

 agation carried on not by the State alone, but by private enterprise as 

 well. 



EXOTIC SPECIES RECOMMENDED FOR BREEDING UNDER 

 DOMESTICATION 



The breeding of exotic species of the deer family is a promising 

 field for experiment. The red deer and fallow deer of Europe have been 

 successfully acclimatized in many parts of the world. It has been shown 

 that the small Chinese water deer and the Indian muntjac are both 

 suited to European deer parks and no doubt both would thrive in Amer- 

 ica. The water deer are noted for their fecundity, the female producing 

 three or four young at a time. The muntjacs usually produce twins. 



