BOOKS AND CURRENT LITERATURE 175 



spite of the deterioration of the region, the great sum already expended 

 ($10,000,000) would alone justify an attempt at conservation of what 

 resources remain and improvement of present conditions. The Com- 

 mission of Conservation of Canada therefore authorized the investi- 

 gation by Dr. Howe and Mr. White. 1 



Dr. Howe reports upon the forest conditions of the region : that the 

 forests types number four; (1) hardwood type (beech-maple); (2) 

 mixed hardwood-conifer type; (3) conifer type (white pine, hemlock, 

 or swamp conifer); (4) poplar-birch type (on burned over lands, 

 and at present by far the most extensive). The relations of these 

 forest types to soils and to each other are those that have been described 

 for other portions of the transitional belt between Northeastern Conifer 

 and Eastern Deciduous Forests. 



The recommendations for methods of conservation and recuper- 

 ation are as follows: (1) abandonment of all attempts at agriculture, 

 as the region is thoroughly unsuited to such use; (2) careful protection 

 of the region from fire, by governmental ownership of the watersheds, 

 which would result in the growth of a timber crop (hardwoods, espe- 

 cially pulpwood — the pines are doomed) , and the prevention of destruc- 

 tive floods; (3) encouragement of local industries such as the manu- 

 facture of small woodenware, utilizing the canal for transportation, 

 and the abundant water power which is awaiting development. 



Dr. Howe has been commissioned to make further investigations of 

 the possibilities of future forest development. — William S. Cooper. 



1 Howe, C. D., and White, J. H., Trent Watershed Survey. Pp. 156, Com- 

 mission of Conservation, Canada. The Bryant Press, Toronto, 1913. 



