24 THE BEAVER IN ITS RELATION TO FORESTRY. 



6. It protects the adjacent ;!gricultural sections frotu the force 

 and severity of winds, whicli would otl)erwise often do serious 

 damage to crops. 



7. The volume of water in rivers, streams, lakes, and other 

 catch-basins, will be in |)ro]iortion to the extent and density of the 

 forests along their margins and covering their sources. 



8. Increase of humidity of s-nl and air, due to these various 

 agencies, must render forest fires Uss frequent and destructive. 



y. Under such conditions the growth of forest-tree^ would be 

 more rapid, and decomi)osition of tl'ose waste ])iod nets accelerated, 

 whose })resence are now a, great danger to the forest. 



As year after year adds its quota to tiie burnt areas of forest 

 lands, and the annual out-|)Ut of timber decreases in size and 

 quality, thoughtful peoj^le are beginning to com])ute tlie time, not 

 far distant, when the forest must (^ease to be su(;h an important 

 asset and source of revenue and business as at pres-ent. unless 

 measures l)e taken to preserve existing areas from deterioration by 

 fire and wasteiul cutting, and aid nature in the reforesting of large 

 tracts that hav(^ been swe])t by fire. The question may be said to 

 have already passed discussion; tlie best means to acc(im])iish the 

 end is pressing for solution, but with regard to it there is a great 

 variety and wide divergence »f opinion. 



T(j assist in arriving at a coi-rect conclusion, it would be well to 

 pass in review and consider carefully the natural conditions of the 

 forest in ])rimitive times during the period ,)f its greatest develop- 

 ment. What were these conditions, how far have they been 

 changed or completely destroyed, what can be restored in whole or 

 in part,andAvhat steps can science and art take to assist the natural 

 agencies in the work? 



A great change has come over the forest since the advent of 

 Euro})eans. In early times the forest of New Brunswick exceeded 

 any east of the Great Plains in the size and grandeur of its trees — 

 especially the White Pine, whose majestic proportions have ever 

 been a favorite theme for the pen of the poet and brush of the 

 artist. Its floor was seamed by a net-work ot rivers with thei'* 



