“The Bureau of Fisheries report over $6,000,000. worth of fish brought into New England ports during the year of 1916. The fishing fleets of Gloucester, Boston, and Portland total about 512 steamers and sailing vessels.
“At Boston alone the 3039 trips made by its vessels land annually over 98,500,000 pounds of fish valued at $2,159,895. At Portland the catch weighed about 20,800,000 pounds and was worth about $550,000. At Gloucester, the men caught about 66,500,000 pounds in 2864 trips and it was valued at $2,150,000.
“Besides our local fishing ports, the United States Bureau sent 450 black bass, 500 rock bass, 1000 catfish, and 800 sunfish to Gatun Lake in the Canal Zone. They wish to experiment with the fish breeding in these southern waters to supply the demand of people living in that zone. The lake covers an area of 164 miles and offers an ideal place for fish, as it has many islands, shallow sandy shores, and deep and rocky banks, so that almost any fish-mother and house-keeper ought to be satisfied with conditions there.”
As Nita finished reading, Mrs. Remington stood up and said: “O Chief! I think this plan of educational entertainment fine! Not only am I hearing news items of moment to every good citizen but you girls are being trained in composing essays worth while. I will, with permission of Wako Tribe, try this idea with my own girls.”
“How!” responded the girls, and Miss Miller smiled with gratification at the compliment paid her girls and herself.
“It’s Jane’s turn now,” said Zan, turning to the next reader.
“You gave me a poser, Miss Miller, as I couldn’t say much about animal life that Woodcrafters did not know already. But I found that over $30,000,000 is invested in the black fox industry at Prince Edward Island, Canada. Insurance on these valuable animals runs as high as $1500 on a single skin. The fox farms are of recent origin and every successful scientific method is applied to the rearing and care of the foxes so that perfect and valuable furs will result.
“In St. Louis, Mo., a sale of undressed furs opened recently and more than 1,599,000 skins were sold at a valuation of $2,000,000.
“Then, I find that five big game reserves and sixty-seven bird reservations are maintained by the Biological Department of the United States Department of Agriculture. Among them are the Montana Bison Range, the Wind Game Preserves of South Dakota, the Elk Refuge in Wyoming, and the Niobrara Reservation which was intended for birds but has been stocked with buffalo and elk for the present.
“In 1892 the United States Government used its influence to establish a reindeer breeding industry in Alaska. In that year a herd was imported from Siberia and for ten consecutive years an annual importation continued from that country. In that time 1200 reindeer were brought to Alaska and now 70,000 deer graze the plains and valleys from Nome to the Aleutian Islands. Natives own about 46,000 of these deer; and in the public schools and other classes the Indians are taught to judge deer, to train them for sledge-work, and to care for and breed them successfully.”