DEAUFORT HOUSE, 
                                    KIDLI NGTON. 
                                       OXFORD. 
 
                                       9/10/31 
 
 
Dear Leopold, 
 
             Just a line to thank you for your 
last letter Dept.29th, and to 6et ahead in clearing 
the Ground for your scheme, as far as I am concerned. 
1. I think it is a first-rate scneme. 
2. Your Greatest difficulty will be in persuading the 
   migratory bird officials in Ottawa i.e. Hoyes Lloyd, 
   that the control is not Going to be removed from 
   their hands. In this I can perhaps help you in some 
   way , as they are in full cooperation with my work 
   already, and my opinion miht conceivably have some 
   weight. 
3- It follows from this thiat the balance (a) between 
   the two nations and (b) between sections 2 and 3 
   of the "iiachineryl' wiill be a very delicate one. In 
   fact, it is obvious that the preliminary diplomacy 
   will be almost entirely the deciding factor in the 
   success of launching the scheme. 
4. - own work only touches this scheme at the moment 
   through the information I have collected on the 
   muskrat cycle in the middle west. There is a certain 
   correlation between this and the droughts and ducks, 
   which should be followed up. I wave Lloyd a note on 
   tais point as he urgently needed information for his 
   duck conference. ihis I gave him in confidence, as 
   it was strictly speaking Hudson's Bay Company stuff 
   which I had not permission to give away. I think no 
   harm done if I also Give it to you, nominally in 
   confidence, i.e. not for puulication, as it will 
   appear in a book next year. ..eimo. enclosed. 
5. You will see from this that there is (a) a certain 
   regularity of drought distribution and (b) definite 
   periodicity recently. 
6. For tree-ring data for Alberta see Lewis(J-o£ Ecolo' 
16,p-3i, ,-) . Also Soper (Canadian Fiield-Nat.35, p. 
   10, 1921, on lonG-period drying up of lakes and 
   ponds in Alberta e.f. 1000-2000 muskrats used to 
   live in dried lake west of Islay in pre-settlement