The daily Alaska citizen., 1919-09-04
NEW SOURCE OF MEAT ~CrpIA
(ScattIc Times

\ fascinating picture ol an empire re-. claimed for civilization thru the reindeer, and. more remotely, thru the mu~N-o<. r~ pictured by NiIhjalmur >tetan>,ou in an interview pub- Ii~hcd elsewhere in the Times today.
 His observations and predictions are ol especial interest to Seattle because he i- cou- lident this port will handle the rcjudocr-mgat trade of the future, a> jD has handled that trade to datc and with ucrra~rn. herds in the North, the volume of this bu>iuc,, vii. jn- crease year by year.
 In a period ol appro>jmacN twenty years, he points out, the reindeer have increase ed from l. .2SO to nearly 2U)O)0 \. tlc same rate of increase, there should be twenty years hence, 5,OOOO)O to oOD)OOO oj them in A'- a~ha, or practically the limit that the available grazing area will support
 Ten per cent of the herds now may be killed off each year without rcDardmq their increase Twenty years hence thirN-iiNr per cent of the existing herds will be available for packing purposes.
 Inasmuch as the dressed reindeer now are worth $50 each and probably will uo be less valuable in future, the importance of D1is meat supply to the United States aud to ScaD- tIc, as the chief port thru which if will be ~hip- ped into the United States, is readily apparent.
 StefanS~On is not the only Northern au thority who has pointed out the importance of this newest of all Aaska's developments Of icals who have been connected with the de- partment of education in the interior depart mcnt, thru which the government has dealt with the Alaska reindeer, also have discussed this matter and in even more glowing terms than the noted explorer.
 The latter directs attention, however, 10 one point that is of prime importance the necessity for improving the reindeer stock by crossing with American caribou, which are larger animals tho no more hardy. To iIIus~ trate the benefits of expert attention iu this matter, Mir, Stclansson points 10 the improve ment in the Ionghou cattle of Texas during the past two decades.
 The musk-ox. he frankly scatcs k ia mrc potential resource To obtain the first herd of animals will be d matter of difficulty, as they are to be found only in districts rc mote from human habjtation However, he says they are tractabIe undoubtedly can be domcsticaed readily, survive under the same conditions as the reindeer and are more value able because much larger and because pro ducine, i'll addition to q very fine class of meat, quantity of excellent wool.
 However, many years four decades, Stefansson estimates-liII be needed to Ul- crease the herds to such au extent a> to make them important factors in meat production; but he believes it distinctly possible that, forty years hence, they will be an even more inn portant asset to Alaska and Northern Canada than the reindeer
 Needless to say, there always will be market for the meat of both animals in the United States i'll whatever amount 1t may be shipped to Seattle or to other packing CcmterS in this country, both because of it's paIatabIitN and also because reclamation steadily is d,m- inishing the area of available cattle range turnout North America.