JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



Vol. XVIII JANUARY, 1930 No. 1 



The Socictx is not responsible, as a body, for the facts and opinions advanced 

 in the papers published by it. 



THE USE OF SEAPLANES IN FOREST MAPPING 



LIBRARY 



Bv Ellwood Wilson NEW YORK 



Porester, Lanreiitidc Paper Companv '^«ANICaL 



^'sARDciN 

 In liJO."), when confronted by the problem of making a maj) and 

 estimate of 2,500 square miles of timber Hmits in Quebec, the writer 

 looked into the possibility of using captive balloons, and found that 

 the cost of transporting materials and equipment into the woods and 

 the limited range of country which could be photographed from one 

 ascension would make this impracticable. With the introduction of 

 airplanes hope of using them sprang up. and in l!)!-") an aviator was 

 practically engaged, but no machine could be obtained for the amount 

 of money available. In December of JI)J8, the idea again, came up 

 and the Hon. Jules Allard, at that time Minister of Lands and Forests 

 of Quebec, promised his sui)p()rt in making an experiment, and offered 

 a subsidy of $2,000 toward it. The St. Maurice Forest Protective 

 Association, interested from the standpoint of discovering fires, voted 

 $10,000. It was learned that the United States Navy had turned over 

 to the De]:>artment of Naval Affairs of the Dominion (jovernment ten 

 or twelve seaplanes which had been used in a joint patrol and which it 

 was learned would not be used by this department. Application was 

 made to the Hon. C. C. Hallantyne, Minister of Marine and Fisheries, 

 for the loan of two of these machines, the request being seconded by 

 the Aerial League of Canada and the Canadian Forestry Association. 

 The Minister kindly consented to loan two machines, and on the ."»th 

 of June, one was flown to the base near C^rand Mere. The ]Mlot, Lt. 

 Stuart CrahauL P. N. A. S., immediately returned to Halifax and flew 

 the second machine up. arrixing the 2-';d of June. Seventy-eight per 

 cent of the fires for the season had occurred by this date so that the 

 usefulness of this method of s])otting fires could hardly get a fair trial 

 diis season. Only four lires which required other labor than that of 

 patrolmen to extinguish r)ccurred after this date and one of these was 



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