136 Forestry Quarterly 



for the prairie provinces of 13,000,000,000 feet of spruce saw 

 timber. 



While these figures are for the most part only rough approxi- 

 mations, they indicate clearly the depleted condition of these 

 forests, which, beyond a doubt, contained many times their 

 present stand of timber before the advent of the white man, which 

 has so generally been followed by large and destructive fires. 

 With adequate protection from future fires, these great areas 

 would gradually reestablish their former productivity of timber 

 wealth. 



During the past summer an investigation was made by the 

 Commission to determine the conditions under which the repro- 

 duction of commercial tree species is occurring most advan- 

 tageously in the coastal region of British Columbia. Particular 

 attention was paid to the effect of fire upon the reproduction of 

 Douglas fir, which is the most valuable and most widely distrib- 

 uted species in the province. The study was conducted by Dr. 

 C. D. Howe, of the Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto. 

 The investigations made by Dr. Howe show, in the first place, that 

 the burning of logging slash, at selected times and under proper 

 supervision, not only greatly reduces the fire hazard, but favors 

 the reproduction of Douglas fir by exposing the mineral soil. 

 However, repeated fires, and fires occurring during dry periods, 

 not only destroy the young growth, but the seed trees as well, 

 thus preventing or greatly retarding the establishment of a 

 stand of commercial species. As a general rule, a sufficient number 

 of seed trees is left after logging, so that one fire leaves enough 

 for seeding purposes. Each fire thereafter, however, reduces 

 them in proportionately larger quantities. Thus, through the 

 diminution of seed trees, each fire makes it increasingly difficult 

 to reestablish, by natural means, the forest on the successively 

 burned areas. On this account, in many sections, reproduction of 

 valuable species is wholly inadequate in amount, or is entirely 

 lacking, since each successive fire diminishes the earning capacity 

 of the area, from the point of view of timber production, unless 

 artificial planting be resorted to ; and this is impracticable at the 

 present time, on any large scale, on account of the great expense 

 involved. The same results can, however, be secured at rela- 

 tively slight expense, by providing more adequate protection from 



