638 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



of natural resources, and as accentuating the importance to the na- 

 tional well-being of aggressive action in their proper use. The need 

 for propaganda in stirring up public interest has greatly diminished, 

 and the Commission may devote its full attention to taking stock of re- 

 sources and to constructive work. The economic lessons of the war, 

 both the positive ones of German forethought and the negative of Eng- 

 land's neglect, were succinctly stated. 



As regards food production, national inefficiency and faulty organi- 

 zation is apparent in the fact that the Dominion cannot completely 

 supply her own requirements, and that much of the food is sold at 

 prices far beyond a legitimate commercial basis. The problems of 

 developing more economical use of coal — of which Canada has only 

 a limited supply — is linked with the problems of making available her 

 waterpowers, with which she is richly endowed. 



Considerable space is given to the forestry situation, and especially 

 to the work of the Commission in organizing forest-fire protection 

 along the railroads, which "we must attribute largely to the tactful- 

 ness, energy, and capacity of our chief forester, Mr. Leavitt." 



Advance information is given of the results of the inventory of 

 cf British Columbia's forest resources. It appears that of the 

 250,000,000 acres of forest, 92,000,000 are absolutely forest soil, but 

 only 33,000,000 carry commercial timber, and again half this area is 

 greatly damaged by fire, so that only about 17.000,000 acres remain 

 intact. The total stand is given as 360 billion feet. 



In the way of assisting agricultural development, a careful survey 

 of a selected county was made as regards everything that afifects the 

 farmers' life, with special reference to the possibility of increasing 

 agricultural production, some obvious lines of improvement suggesting 

 themselves as a result of the survey. 



Waterpower surveys, which have been in part reported upon in 

 special bulletins are continued. In this branch of work some inter- 

 national complications have arisen. One of these refers to the illegal 

 diversion from the Great Lakes of a larger than the permitted share 

 of water by the Chicago drainage canal, against which the Commission 

 is invited to protest. A few years ago, a protest of the Commission 

 v/as successfully entered against the permission to dam the Long 

 Sault rapids of the St. Lawrence, the United States Supreme Court 

 dismissing the company's application. 



The problem of exporting electric power and of electric power 

 development at Niagara Falls is also watched by the Commission. 



