Fauna and The animal and plant life of Greenland pertain rather to American than to European forms. The reindeer, white hare, Arctic fox, ermine and polar bear are generally distributed, while the wolf and musk ox are seen occasionally in northern Greenland. Hagerup, a Danish ornithologist, records 139 species of birds in Greenland, of which only 61 species are denizens of the country. Gunnar Anderson places the Greenlandish floral species at 286, only 60 per cent of the recorded species of Iceland.
Agriculture and Industries.— Short sum mers and severe climate forbid agriculture, ex cept in gardens of Danish officials, where are raised with difficulty carrots, lettuce and tur nips. The only industries are the domestic cur ing of skins and rendering of oil from the sea game killed by the natives.
Danish authority was for merly limited to the southern portions of Green land. In 1917, however, the United States ceded, in part payment for the Danish West Indies, its right to any and all parts of Green land acquired through discovery or temporary occupation. Under this treaty Denmark now dominates all Greenland. Its royal officers con trol the administration, religion and education of the native population. Greenland is divided for administration into the North and the South Inspectorates, each being governed by a Royal Inspector appointed by the King of Denmark. Besides exercising magisterial powers, the In spectors supervise the agents of the Royal Greenland Trade Commission, the Danish and the Moravian missions, and subserve the in terests of the Eskimo. The outcome of this efficient administration has been extraordinarily successful. The Danish Eskimo form one of the few subject races that have passed under the domination of civilized nations without suf fering decadence and gradual extinction. In late years the field of administration has been considerably extended through the inclusion under Danish control of the widely separated Eskimo of the Angmagsalik district, in 65° 37' North latitude, on the east coast, and of the Etah natives between the parallels of 76 and 78 degrees on the west coast. The future wel fare of these isolated communities is thus assured.
Home government exists among the Eskimo in the form of municipal councils, which are organized under the regulations formulated in 1872 by the Danish Minister of Home Affairs.
The local priest presides, and in the proportion of one to 120 natives Eskimo members are elected from the providers (skilled hunters). They adjust minor offenses and relieve distress among the old and suffering through distribu tion of the Greenland Fund, which is formed by allotment of 20 per cent of all sums paid for domestic produce by the Royal Greenland Trade Commission. The capital of the North Green land Inspectorate is Godhaven, on Disco Island, the chief settlement in the colony, and that of the South Inspectorate, Godthaab.
Religion and Minister of Public Worship of Denmark appoints and pays the officials of the Danish Mission, while the Moravian Mission is maintained by chari table contributions. Religion and education are efficiently fostered by these devoted mission aries.
is the prevalent speech. For more than 60 years considerable native literature has been published in Greenland, written and printed locally in the dialect. While the publications pertain largely to biblical sub jects, hymns, psalms and catechisms, yet they include biography, travel, stories, etc., of popu lar interest. They are often illustrated litho graphically by native artists. Since 1861 an Eskimo periodical has been issued at somewhat irregular intervals.
Commerce and The monopoly of the Royal Greenland Trade Commission has existed since 1774. It controls all trade and fixes the price of both domestic products and imported articles. No foreigner can reside in the country, or trade with its inhabitants, ex cept by special permission. Greenland is divided into trade districts, each under a chief administrator—often called governor — with assistants at selected outposts. In 1914 there were exported products to the value of about $260,000. Seal skins and oils formed 70 per cent of the values, and salted fish 12 per cent. The imports from Denmark that year were mostly provisions and clothing, valued at about $140,000. The largest output of cryolite in the world is that of Ivigtut, which is controlled by an American Company under license. In 1915, 4,569 tons of cryolite, valued at $10,000, were shipped to the United States. Other minerals are found in uneconomical deposits. Coal of inferior quality is visible in many places, but is rarely used for fuel (peat being more eco nomical) owing to difficulty of transporta tion.