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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



ing a period of nine months, while a 

 hornless buck may be found any month 

 or again bearing antlers in various stages 

 of growth. 



And it is an interesting and undeter- 

 mined question whether the prolonged 

 breeding season does not result in many 

 bucks carrying their horns much beyond 

 the normal period in the North. If, as 

 the writer believes, the horn growth of 

 the male is purely a sexual manifestation, 

 and incidentally providing a means to bat- 

 tle with the numerous rivals, and are shed 

 in the North long before they can be of 

 use against wolves and other predatory 

 animals, then, with the Panama deer mat- 

 ing throughout most of the year, it may 

 result in the carrying of the fully devel- 

 oped horns much longer than usual. With 

 the tapir and many other large animals 

 the prolonged breeding season was no- 

 ticeable, but to a lesser extent among the 

 birds. 



UNITED STATES OWNERSHIP OE LAKE SITE 



NECESSARY 



Conceding that Gatun Lake is the 

 most essential factor in the canal system, 

 it is evident that the entire basin and the 

 surrounding shores should be under the 

 exclusive sovereignty of the United 

 States, while the main watersheds should 

 also be under some form of supervision. 

 A canal zone 10 miles wide may have 

 seemed in the beginning a sufficiently 

 large tract to be taken out of so small a 

 republic as that of Panama, just as the 

 constitutional restrictions on the size of 

 the District of Columbia seemed reason- 

 able at the time. 



When it is finally appreciated that 

 more than one-third of the superficial 

 area of Gatun Lake and practically all 

 the watersheds upon which the mainte- 

 nance and the purity of the lake depend 

 are within the sovereignty of another na- 

 tion, seriously interfering with our con- 

 trol from a commercial, engineering, 

 sanitary, and military standpoint, the 

 present limitations appear unfortunate. 

 While the consideration of this feature 

 of Isthmian geography may not be ger- 

 mane to the original purposes of our ex- 

 ploration, yet no one can spend weeks 

 traversing the proportionately large 



sheets of water lying beyond the zone 

 without being impressed with the lack of 

 governmental control. 



Any enlargement of our territory 

 under the existing treaty with Panama, 

 which, fortunately, covers future read- 

 justment of our holdings, should be un- 

 dertaken at the earliest possible time, for 

 with the springing up of many native 

 villages about or near the shores of the 

 lake, the costly preparation of land for 

 agricultural purposes, the use of the 

 waters as a convenient medium for 

 travel and shipments, any interference 

 therewith a few years from now will be 

 at the expense of vested rights, making 

 the condemnation more costly and, what 

 is more to be feared, causing endless 

 friction with the Panamanians, who will 

 resent their dispossession after enjoying 

 the many benefits of the inland water- 

 ways, regardless of how such occupation 

 may interfere with the purposes for 

 which the lake was created. 



SETTLEMENT ENCOURAGED 



Already both whites and natives are 

 buying up or taking possession of large 

 tracts of riparian lands just outside the 

 boundary and along the now navigable 

 valleys, in easy communication with all 

 parts of the zone by boat or rail. Colo- 

 nization schemes are in the bud and re- 

 garded with a somewhat favorable eye 

 by our government, for we are told in 

 official communications, in lectures, and 

 by illustrated articles the wonderful fu- 

 ture of the zone and adjacent lands for 

 the enterprising agriculturists from the 

 States. 



On the Pacific slope, where there is no 

 connection with or drainage into Gatun 

 Lake, and again in the great forested 

 tracts along the Atlantic coast, there are 

 doubtless many opportunities for fruit- 

 growers, stock- raisers, or lumbermen; 

 but on all lands bordering or draining into 

 the lake every effort should be made to 

 prevent or restrict permanent settlements 

 or any other occupation materially inter- 

 fering with the control and protection of 

 the lake waters. 



Engineering Reasons. — The duty of 

 watching and measuring the precipita- 

 tion during periods of excessive rainfall 



