NOTES AND COMMENTS 815 



The legislature of the Province of Ontario has this year passed new 

 legislation in an act to preserve the forests from destruction by fire. 

 It provides for the creation of fire districts and the appointment of a 

 Provincial Forester, which position Mr. E. A. Zavitz occupies, to exe- 

 cute the law. It provides for a close season from April 15 to Septem- 

 ber 30, during which the setting out of fires is to be under control by 

 permit and gives authority to the Alinister of Lands for taking other 

 usual precautionary measures. An important feature is the charging 

 of costs against the owner for any work that the Forester finds neces- 

 sary to remove any danger, like burning debris, etc. Injunction by 

 court proceedings is provided against railway companies neglecting the 

 • prescribed precautions. Co-operation with municipal councils in run- 

 ning down defaults against the law and for the recovery of costs are 

 provided; and for the purpose of ready adjudication Crown timber 

 agents or rangers may be appointed justices of the peace, and such 

 justices may create a number of constables who can call on any citizen 

 for assistance under penalty. Penalties are also imposed for throwing 

 away burning matches, ashes, and for other offenses. Broad powers 

 are given to the Provincial Forester. 



Mr. Zavitz, with Mr. J. H. White as assistant, has organized the 

 service under trying circumstances as regards securing personnel. 



The Forest Products Laboratory of the Canadian Forestry Branch 

 has prepared an interesting diagram on forest products from Canadian 

 tree species, which groups the uses into four groups, namely, wood 

 used as such, pulp and paper industry, distillation industries, rhinor 

 industries, which latter is subdivided into direct, from trees (maple 

 sap, gums, naval stores), extraction with solvents, hydrolysis, alkali 

 fusion. Not less than 200 products are named as derivatives from 

 tree growth, some few, to be sure, appearing in several places. 



The Canadian Forestry Journal reports that recent experiments went 

 to prove that sawdust is useful as a fire extinguisher. It was found to 

 be very successful in quenching fires in oil, and much superior to sand 

 for fires in tanks of inflammable liquids. Experiments were conducted 

 with tanks of burning lacquer, though the same principles appear to 

 apply largely to tanks of burning oil. The floating sawdust forms a 

 blanket that shuts off the air from the flames. The sawdust blanket 

 was completely successful in putting out the fires in these tests. It 

 made no difference whether the sawdust was wet or dry. 



