APPENDIX F CXXXV. 



ing of free illustrated lectures and by the holding of Conventions in 

 different parts of Canada. The literature and lecture work goes 

 on steadily with an ever increasing field, but without change to note 

 from year to year. On the other hand, the most notable feature of 

 each year's work is the Convention. Each year a different part of 

 Canada is selected for this gathering, and every effort is made to adapt 

 the program to the needs of the Province and district in which the 

 Convention is held. 



In 1913 the experiment was tried of holding the Convention 

 in the City of Winnipeg. Many felt that this was attended by a 

 very considerable risk since the general impression is that there are 

 no forests on the prairies, and, therefore, that the people of Central 

 Canada would not be interested and would not attend. 



On the contrary, however, the Convention proved both that the 

 prairie Provinces contained a great deal of timber, which because of 

 its nearness to a large farming population is of great value and that 

 the public was interested in the question. It was also shown that the 

 rate of growth in these Provinces was quite equal to that in some 

 European Countries, which have made a great success of Forestry. 

 This was brought out particularly in the paper of Mr. R. H. Campbell, 

 Dominion Director of Forestry, which paper was entitled "Man- 

 itoba: A Forest Province." In it he compared Manitoba's Forest 

 Resources with those of Sweden, showing that the advantages were 

 on the side of Manitoba. Tree planting on the prairies, which under 

 the direction of the Dominion Forestry Branch has resulted in the 

 setting out of over 23,000,000 trees, was also gone into at length, 

 and the relations of forestry to prairie agriculture fully discussed. 



The Convention was participated in by representatives of the 

 forestry, lumbering, agricultural, railway, banking and commercial 

 interests and aroused great interest throughout Central Canada. 



Two exhibits added much to the value and interest of the Conven- 

 tion. The first of these was a display of native woods of Manitoba, 

 collected and arranged by the Dominion Forestry Branch. The size 

 and value of the oak, spruce, pine, poplar, elm, willow and other 

 trees was a great surprise to most of those who visited the exhibit 

 and gave them a new conception of the value of those forests within 

 the bounds of the Prairie Provinces. The other exhibit was that of 

 insects injurious to the forest, prepared by the Dominion Department 

 of Entomology, Ottawa. This subject has become so important 

 that the exhibit was constantly surrounded by lumbermen and others 

 who were concerned to learn what could be done to protect their 

 property from the ravages of these insects. 



The Association has continued to press forward its aims, par- 



Proc. 1914, 10. 



