Bags of 1,400 pheasants were got in the carly days of our settlement in Shanghai but not now. With the best will in the world the pheasant families could not Keep pace with man, when_ as greedy for killing as that. But it is Africa where man's dominion is most evident. I possess a copy of the Quarterly Review " for the year 1900, It contains an article entitled, "An Age of Ex termination." Tt says, "We have to face the fact that the destruc tive tendencies of mankind have been rendered so efficient by modern improvements in weapons thit the extermination of a large number of the most interesting amd beautiful species is only A matter of time." More's the pity for once exterminated a_ species never can be recovered. Here are some of the facts it gives; "In 1836 a Mr, Harris counted 1,500 hartebeests and quaggas in one herd at the Cape. The clatter of their hoofs was astounding." Where are they now? Far up country. One firm of cutlers in Sheffield needed the tusks of 1,200 elephants a year." No wonder elephans are being preserved. T need hardly point out that fur bearing animals are experiencing such a proof of man's dominion that already silver fox farms have been established in Canada to save the species alive.
"And all the earth." What does Moses mean by that? He means that man can do as he likes with the earth itself, that is, have dominion over it And so He has None of us realize the tremendous changes that man has made in the earth. Germany was once solid forest, the remains of which are the Black Forest in Baden. What we call "characteristic plants" of various countries are nothing of the kind. Italy is associated in our minds with the vine and olive, but these were introduced quite late and the Romans took the vine to France. of which we think it "characteristic." Most of our
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.