fence not less than 3 or 4 square miles of land in the region they inhabit. It would be easy to do this. A strip of land one mile wide, beginning up toward the foothills where the elk habitually stay and extending down into the valley about four miles so as to include about 300 acres of arable land on which alfalfa can be grown to supply feed in the dry season, is all that is necessary. The sale of surplus males and other animals from time to time to zoological parks, etc., would render the herd self-supporting.

FUR-BEARING ANIMALS

Few of us realize what an asset the various states have in their fur-bearing animals. America's list of fur-bearers is a long one; the total number of species and subspecies whose pelts have considerable commercial value as fur is not fewer than one hundred. Among those of most importance may be mentioned the beaver, otter, fisher, mink, fur seal, sea otter, marten, muskrat, skunk, raccoon, weasel, fox, lynx, bobcat, wolf, coyote, and bear. Several of these are represented in the United States by two or more species or subspecies.

Not until recently were several of these species in much demand, but now the lowly muskrat and the much-despised skunk have come into their own. They are now among the most popular and highpriced furs.

As Dr. Dearborn, of the Bureau of Biological Survey, has well said, the demand for fur has existed since primitive man first sought skins to shield his naked body from the cold. This demand is fundamental and will endure while man inhabits the earth and furs are to be had. Its strength can be judged by the volume of trade it supports.

The fact that many of the fur-bearers are predaceous animals. complicates the problem. However valuable the fur of an animal may be, if the habits of that animal be such as render it an enemy of domestic stock or useful game animals, its conservation is not an unmixed blessing. Such animals must therefore receive special treatment. Fortunately, the majority of our fur-bearers are destructive to other useful species or interests only in a small degree or not at all, and it is possible to provide laws and regulations for the conservation and proper utilization that will render their preservation highly desirable.

Some of the more important species are already seriously depleted; some have been even exterminated in many regions where they were formerly abundant. The beaver, marten and mink may be mentioned as examples of this class. Their extermination has been brought about chiefly by excessive trapping and changes in the character of their environment. It is believed that most of

those which have been greatly depleted can be restored and maintained in reasonable abundance if proper laws and regulations be provided for their protection.

The essential principles of the protection of fur-bearing animals are few and easily understood. In the first place, there should be a permanent closed season for a period of years in any region in which the species has become so seriously depleted as to be in danger of extermination. In the second place, no animal should be killed during the breeding season; that is, when its death would mean the starvation of the young; and fur-bearing animals should be killed only when their fur is prime.

Perhaps the most important of these is that relating to unprime skins. It has been estimated that the value of the furs that come to the markets is reduced fully 25 per cent. by the large number of unprime skins. Killing fur-bearers in their breeding season before the family break-up and dispersal in the fall is a wasteful practice. Uniform laws throughout the United States prohibiting traffic in unprime skins should be enacted.

Every trapper or hunter of fur-bearing animals should be required to secure a license good for one year, and he should be required to report at the end of the season the number of animals. of each species taken. This would furnish data essential to determining the value and extent of the fur resources of the state and the relative abundance of the different species. Such statistics would inspire people with a desire and determination to make fur a regular and valuable farm and forest crop.

Under natural conditions or such as can be easily maintained, one or more species of fur bearers may be found in some numbers on many of the farms of the country. Hunting or trapping such animals is a recreation, sport or avocation that appeals strongly to most country boys. If they do their trapping intelligently, they will not only profit greatly by the sport it affords but will also add materially to the income from the farm.

FUR-FARMING

Recently the possibilities of fur-farming have begun to attract wide attention.

Figures compiled by the Bureau of Biological Survey show that there are fur farms in at least 25 states. There are about 500 ranchers raising silver foxes, with 12,000 to 15,000 foxes in captivity.

Other species on the fur-farms are skunk, raccoon, mink, opossum, marten, muskrat, squirrel and beaver. The business, when intelligently conducted, is a fascinating and profitable one and can. be carried on successfully in almost any of the states.

The state agricultural colleges and experiment stations, and state game and conservation commissions should encourage furfarming. The United States Bureau of Biological Survey will be glad to give directions and suggestions as to the methods of furfarming that one must follow to insure success.

In those parts of the country where there are small lakes or ponds surrounded by marshland opportunities for fur-farming are excellent. Usually in each marsh there will be found from a few to many muskrats. With proper care and management, the number can usually be greatly increased and maintained, at the same time permitting a considerable annual catch. And now that the muskrat is so popular as a fur, under the trade name of "Paris Seal," muskrat farming will prove a very profitable side issue on the farm.

MARINE MAMMALS

There remains one important natural resource in which this country is vitally interested, the conservation of which has received practically no attention; and this appears all the more astonishing when we realize that in this natural resource are found not only the largest animals in the world but a number of the most valuable. I refer to the marine mammals-the whales, fur seals, walrus, sea lions, sea otters, porpoises, the elephant seal and other species whose home is in the sea. And it is a curious fact that we know less about these great and interesting animals of the sea than we do of any other group of useful animals.

We know a good deal about the Alaska fur seal; a little is known about the Russian fur seal and the Japanese fur seal, but scarcely anything about the several species in southern waters.

Some years ago, a species of fur seal was not uncommon about the islands off the coast of California and Lower California. In the early part of the last century it was very abundant on the Farallons just off the Golden Gate. One party that visited those islands in 1808 took in two seasons 130,000 fur seals and many sea otters. Another party took 33,740 fur seals in 1810 and 39,555 in 1811. The catch in four years was more than 200,000. It has been thought this species became extinct about 30 years ago. However, the capture of a living specimen in March (1922) near San Diego shows that it is not yet extinct; it further emphasizes our lack of knowledge of the distribution and abundance of our marine mammals. It also suggests the possibility of reestablishing fur-seal rookeries on the Farallons and other islands off the coast of California and Mexico. What a fine achievement that would be!

We know only in a general way what species of marine mammals there really are in the North Pacific; but it is safe to say the mammalian fauna of the Pacific is the richest in the world. There

are probably not fewer than 50 species in the North Pacific and the total number in the entire Pacific is doubtless much greater; but we do not really know. In the North Pacific we may recognize 14 kinds of whales, 12 porpoises, killers, dolphins, etc., one bear, two sea otters, four fur seals, and a dozen hair seals, harbor seals and sea lions.

With few exceptions practically nothing is definitely and authoritatively known of the life history of these animals. Their food and feeding habits, distribution, migrations, breeding seasons and places these are but a few of the many things in the life history of these species about which we would like to know and which we must know before final measures for their protection can be intelligently formulated.

The commercial fisheries of the North Pacific can be properly understood and regulated only in the light of pretty full knowledge of the whales, seals and other marine mammals. We must know just what relation the whales, sea lions, harbor seals and porpoises sustain to the salmon, sardine, herring, cod and other food-fishes of our coast. The relation of the California sea lion to the salmon fisheries has long been a matter of dispute. Conclusive and convincing study of the question has never been made, and no one is in a position to say just what laws and regulations should be enacted regarding those species. The same is true of the whales. Our knowledge of their abundance, distribution and feeding habits is very incomplete.

Not long ago the Moss Landing Whaling Station of the California Sea Products Company reported they had found in the stomach of one humpback whale 1,500 to 3,000 pounds of sardines, besides a miscellaneous lot of smelt, anchovies, shrimp and squid! In the stomach of a sperm whale were found a 10-foot shark, a piece of fur-seal skin and a bunch of fishhooks! Some time ago two killer-whales or Orcas were examined at the Pribilof Islands; the stomach of one contained 18 fur seals, the other 24. At current prices of fur-seal skins those meals cost about $1,000 to $1,500 each!

These illustrations are sufficient to show that these species bear a very important relation to the sardine, fur seal and other commercial fisheries. And they further show the necessity of a thorough study of the relation of these and other marine mammals to the fisheries.

The Moss Landing Whaling Station furnishes exceptional facilities for a study of the whales. The California Sea Products Company which owns and operates this station has very kindly kept certain records, at the writer's suggestion, during the past four years. These records include the following data for each

whale taken: species, sex, length, weight, stomach contents, date when taken, place where taken, and size of embryo, if any.

The total number of whales taken by this company on the coast of California from January 16, 1919, to May 3, 1922, was 832. Seven different species were represented, as follows: bottlenose 1, sei 1, California gray 1, sperm 5, sulphur-bottom 5, finback 33, and humpback 781; total 832.

These figures are of value in that they show the species of whales that now occur on the coast of California and the relative abundance of the different species. It is seen that only one-the humpback-is at all common. The scarcity of the others is significant; indeed, all but the humpback are already commercially extinct. Only the humpback remains in sufficient abundance to justify the establishment of a whale fishery on this coast.

In 1853 Captain Scammon estimated that fully 30,000 California gray whales visited the California coast annually. The small catch of that species shows clearly that it has been almost exterminated on the California coast. It is evident that the humpback whale also will soon be as seriously depleted unless effective measures be taken soon for its protection.

While the whales are the largest animals in the Pacific, they are by no means the only ones that are in grave danger of extermination and that need protection.

In the early days the southern sea otter was common on the California coast and about the islands off the coast of Lower California. According to old Spanish records 9,729 sea otters had been taken on the California coast prior to 1790. The O'Cain expedition in 1803-4 took 1,100, the Winship expedition took 5,000 in 1805-6, and a party under a man named Campbell took 1,230, all on the California coast. From these figures it is evident that the sea otter was formerly very abundant on the California coast and that the environment was a very favorable one. It seems that it should be possible to reestablish the sea otter in those waters. While none has been seen for several years, there is good reason to believe a few still survive.

The Guadalupe fur seal was at one time common about certain islands off Lower California, but none was seen since 1892 until in March of this year, when one was captured near San Diego. This would indicate that there still exists a remnant of a herd that can again be built into one of commercial importance.

Up to a few years ago the great elephant seal existed in considerable numbers at Guadalupe Island off Lower California. It is now almost extinct; only prompt action can save it. On the same coast and in the Gulf of California sea turtles were very abundant not long ago; now they are said to be very rare.