626 president's address. 



a division of rural economy which ought to be the basis of a 

 large national industry. 



It is under this aspect that we have chiefly to consider it, and 

 though we may look upon the conservation of our forests with 

 respect to their influence upon health and climate, and upon the 

 soil itself, we are perhaps still more interested in them as a 

 possible source of direct commercial profit on account of the 

 valuable material they furnish. 



On the other hand we must not forget that they confer an 

 indirect benefit by protecting the soil and altering the conditions 

 of temperature. 



Much lasting injury is done to forests by allowing the pasturing 

 of sheep and cattle in them. Young seedlings which should take 

 the place of those cut down are trampled, browsed down or 

 otherwise so bruised and injured as to be worthless. 



Firing of the undergrowth is an evil which is much misunder- 

 stood. It is often done by settlers to promote the growth of 

 grass; the fire spreads outside the limits of their land, and much 

 devastation follows. The immediate effect is not only to destroy 

 the promising young growth, but also to char the humus and 

 spoil the fertility of the soil. 



It will be well to consider shortly the climatic and hygienic 

 influence of forests. For those who wish to investigate the 

 matter in some detail, I would recommend the perusal of a 

 pamphlet published by the Forestry Division of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture in 1893, entitled "Forest Influences." 

 We have here a series of reports on the different branches of the 

 subject, and there is an able summary of the whole case by Mr. 

 B. E. Fernow, Director of Forestry. As the results are undoubt- 

 edly applicable to a considerable portion of this colony, I will 

 refer to them in some detail. 



Two classes of effects are to be noticed — namely, those on the 

 general climate and those on the local climate. When we build 

 a house we alter the temperature and humidity conditions of 

 the space covered, and so it is with forest cover, but the question 



