10 JOHN MACOUN ON 



found on the î^ew Brunswick border extend into Qiiebec and south of the St. Lawrence to 

 Montreal. The same conditions obtain in the valley of the St. John River and up the 

 Ottawa to its source. Except in the more southern districts, the elms, maples and beeches 

 occupy restricted areas as they du further east, but the general distribution is the same and 

 the trees of Quebec with few exceptions are the trees of the maritime provinces. The fol- 

 lowing additional species enter Quebec Ijut only along the Ottawa and St. Lawrence valleys. 



Acer dasycarpum, Ehrli. (Broad-fruited maple). Otrya alba, Nutt. (Shell-bark hickory'). 



Cratrgus coccinea,L\nn. (ReJ-fruited thorn). Carpinu^t Caroliniana, Walt. (B ue beech). 



Ulmus fuha, Michx. (Slippery elm). Quercus alba, Linn. (White oak). 



" racemosa, Thomas. (Rock elm). Fopulus moniUfera, Ait. (Cotton- wood). 



CeltU uccidentali^, Linn. (Nettle tree). Jixniperus Virginiana, Linn. (Red cedar). 

 Caryaamara, Nutt. (Bitternut). 



None of the above trees are very abundant and the elms and bitternut are the only 

 species that could be called common anywhere in Quebec. The hickory and nettle-tree cling 

 to the St. Lawrence and are seldom seen elsewhere in the province. 



The northern forests of Quebec are a part of the sub-arctic forests and are composed of 

 only a few species of trees. The more valuable woods of commerce are found south of the 

 watershed of the northern tributaries of the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa, and these con- 

 stitute the present lumber regions of the province. Still further south on both sides of the 

 St. Lawrence and the lower Ottawa lie the fertile lands of the province that in the past had 

 a mixed forest of hardwood trees where tlie ash, maple, birch, beech and elm gave character 

 to the landscape and natural beauty to river, lake and shore. Many areas of mixed forest 

 remain almost untouched in Quebec, and when these forests are cleared away hundreds of 

 smiling farms will take their place. The two most important areas are the Lake St. John 

 district, north of Quebec, and the very valuable and large tract of country towards the 

 sources of the Ottawa. 



Ontario. 



Owing to the position and extent of Ontario its forests are not all nf tlie same character 

 and while in the north and northwest the species are identical with those found in Quebec, 

 those in the south and southwestern peninsula are quite distinct and may be said to be a 

 reproduction of the northern Ohio and Pennsylvania forests. A few words will suffice for 

 the north aitd northwest. What was said of Quebec north and sduth of the St. Lawrence 

 watershed is applicable here. Only the species of the sub-arctic forest find a congenial home 

 in this region and at the head of the streams flowing southward into the Ottawa and the 

 great lakes arc to be found the remnants of the noble forests that supplied material for the 

 devastation of the last half century. It is truly appalling when the magnitude of the 

 national interests at stake are considered, to view the spoliation which has been carried on 

 quite recklessly under the protection of permits and licenses. When one is soberly told that 

 this destruction was necessary in the interests of trade and for the development of the 

 country, one is forced to deny the truth of such statements and to enter a protest against the 

 fallacy concealed in them. If there bad been any just or proportionate return to the fisc 

 from such ojierations the objections might have less force, but when it is realized that for 

 this splendid heritage the people of Canada have directly received only a nominal return in 

 dues and bonuses, the responsibility for such a waste of resources, which should be guarded 



