GAME AS A NATIONAL RESOURCE. 



23 



One of the most complete records of this kind is that maintained by 

 the Province of Alberta. Under a provision inserted in the law of 

 1907, each resident to whom a big-game license was issued was 

 required to return the license to the Department of Agriculture 

 immediately after the close of the season, accompanied by an affidavit 

 showing the number of animals killed. Failure or neglect to return 

 the license within 30 days after the end of the season constituted a 

 violation of the game law and was ground for the refusal of a 

 license in future. (The latter provision seems to have been modified 

 or repealed in recent years.) At first these provisions were not 

 generally known or strictly enforced, and consequently the returns 

 fell far short of the actual number of animals killed, but as time 

 went on they became more generally understood and the returns 

 were fairly accurate though doubtless always somewhat below the 

 actual number. The records obtained under this law for the 12 

 years 1907-18 are shown in the accompanying table, which also 

 gives for comparison the total number of big-game licenses issued. 

 The limits in Alberta have usually been one deer, moose, and caribou, 

 and two antelope, sheep, and goats, a season. 



Big game killed in Alberta, 1907 to 1918. 

 [From Ann. Kept. Dept. Agr. Alberta for 1919, p. 122.] 



Year. ; Deer. 



Elk. Moose. 



, * t j Moim- Moun- 

 Caribou. ", tain tain 

 ! [ sheep. goats. 



Total 

 lolled. 



Total big- 

 game 

 licenses. 



1907 . 59 



14 



49 ...... 



122 



207 



557 



965 



1,160 



1,486 



2,055 



2,940 



1,993 



1,546 



1,868 



1,892 



450 



1908. ... 125 



37 



45 t 



536 



1909 299 



86 



5 89 40 j 38 



8 ! 126 54 46 



30 ' 101 49 1 56 



40 j 105 j 90 ! 58 



56 i 119 ] 65 ! 42 



78 i I 78 i 61 



34 ! 1 110 ! 40 



28 1 i 83 I 26 



43 I | 57 37 



45 ! 76 1 43 



1,179 



1910 540 



1911 619 



7 184 

 305 



2,021 

 2, 955 

 3,988 

 5,670 



1912 768 



425 



1913 908 



865 



1914 1, 388 



1,335 



7,326 

 5,959 

 4,185 

 4,852 



1915 692 



1916 , 560 



1 1,116 

 849 



1917 705 



1, 026 



1918 828 



900 



4,953 









Total.. 7,491 



8 7,142 



367 ; 634 ' 702 447 



16, 791 



44,074 



ENUMERATIONS OF GAME. 



After securing returns for statistics of big game and game birds 

 annually killed, the next step is to estimate the total stock of each 

 species within a certain State or area. Except for a few species of 

 big game which have been reduced almost to the point of extermina- 

 tion, notably buffalo, elk, and antelope, it has been impracticable 

 hitherto to obtain any comprehensive estimates of this kind. 



The buffalo is now in a state of semidomestication, and it is a com- 

 paratively simple matter to ascertain its total numbers. Thirteen 

 counts have thus far been made in the following years : 1889, 1903, 



