The public's knowledge of the fur trade in Canada is necessarily slight. The fur trade is conducted in remote districts; there is nothing sensational about it, and it is not much given to talking about itself. Consequently there are many misconceptions about its present state. Some probably imagine that it is still a matter of trapping at will in any district and always finding an abundance of fur. Others believe that the advance of civilisation and excessive trapping have almost entirely destroyed the animal population, and that furs are becoming dangerously scarce. The truth, as so often happens, lies midway between the two extremes, and this article will attempt briefly to explain the salient points of the situation to-day.