Nezi's and Notes. 127 



enrolled in this work and extinguished 731 fires. The fire loss 

 of $3,500,000 in [911 was reduced to $67,000 in 1912, and to 

 $23,000 last year. 



The Forest Service of the Province of Quebec now employs a 

 total of sixteen professionally trained foresters. Nearly all these 

 men have received their professional training at the Forest School 

 at Laval University, Quebec. 



During the summer of 1913, the Quebec Forest Branch had 

 fourteen parties in the field, each in charge of a technically 

 trained forester. The work undertaken by ten of these parties 

 was a valuation survey of unlicensed Crown timber lands. Of 

 such lands, there are approximately 125,000 square miles in the 

 Province of Quebec. The Crown lands under license aggregate 

 approximately 70,000 square miles. The revenue from these 

 lands during the past year has aggregated nearly one and three- 

 quarter million dollars. 



In addition to the ten parties engaged as above, four parties 

 were engaged in an examination of licensed lands, to determine 

 the boundaries of permanent forest reserves. It is the policy of 

 the Quebec Government to segregate non-agricultural forest lands 

 into permanent forest reserves as rapidly as the necessary infor- 

 mation can be secured. 



The Canadian Northern Railway has taken a very progressive 

 step in connection with the prevention of fire along its lines by 

 the appointment of Mr. William Kilby as Fire Inspector. Mr. 

 Kilby is to have general charge of all phases of the Company's 

 fire protection work. This practically involves the creation of a 

 new department in the Company's organization. This includes 

 right-of-way clearing, fire patrols through timbered country, and 

 the construction of fire guards through prairie sections in Alberta, 

 Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The prosecution of these lines of 

 work is required by the Railway Act and the orders of the Board 

 of Railway Commissioners. 



The Canadian Northern is the first large railway company in 

 Canada to organize a special department to handle fire-protection 

 work. Experience has demonstrated that the best results in this 

 class of work are secured by specialization. The example of the 

 Canadian Northern might be followed to excellent advantage by 

 other lines. 



