100 American Fisheries Society 



An important provision of our law which operates 

 against the unnecessary diminution of our forest area, pro- 

 vides for such classification of public lands as permits 

 the sale for colonization purposes of only those which are 

 really fit for cultivation. 



One of the worst enemies of the forest is fire. Our 

 system of fighting this evil is based upon a study of those 

 adopted elsewhere, modified to meet local conditions and 

 perfected according to certain ideas of our own based upon 

 experience. Would I go too far in saying that one of 

 the main causes of our forest fires has been the burning 

 of slash by farmers on the border of the forest? This is 

 now prohibited at any time except for clearing purposes, 

 and then only from the 15th of November to the 31st of 

 March of the following year, except by a permit from an 

 officer of the department who must see that all necessary 

 conditions are carefully complied with. Nobody is per- 

 mitted to set fire to standing trees at any time except 

 when they are at a distance of at least a mile from the 

 forest. Any person who sets fire anywhere inside the 

 forest or even at a distance of less than a mile from it is 

 obliged first to clear the place where he is to make this 

 fire, of all inflammable materials, and to totally extinguish 

 the fire before leaving the place. 



Locomotive engines used on any railway passing 

 through any forest in our Province must be provided with 

 necessary screens or other appliances to prevent the escape 

 of fire or sparks. The engine driver in charge of a loco- 

 motive passing over such a railway must see that the 

 above appliances are properly utilized. For contraven- 

 tion of this law, railway companies are liable to a penalty 

 of not more than $1,000 and nat less than $250. The 

 railway companies, moreover, are obliged, under a penalty 

 of $100, to clear away all combustible materials from the 



