298 The Farm Woodlot 



Sir Henry Joly de Lotbiniere, had begun early to agitate 

 the question of introducing forestry methods and estab- 

 lishing forestry branches in the official administration, but 

 they could not get a hearing. The belief in the inexhausti- 

 ble timber supply was against them. It was, however, 

 their efforts which made possible the progressive move- 

 ment following the meeting of the American Forestry 

 Congress at Montreal in 1882. At this meeting the fire 

 problem formed the chief subject of discussion, and as a 

 result of it, various forest fire laws were passed in the 

 different provinces. Ontario led in this movement. In 

 1885 their laws were strengthened by the initiation of a 

 ranger system in which the limit holders paid one-half 

 the cost of the rangers, thus giving the lessees a direct 

 interest in the protection of the forest. The benefits of 

 this system were so marked that it was soon copied in Nova 

 Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec. Even the Dominion 

 government followed suit. 



The influence of these protective systems were very 

 plainly felt and a very active interest aroused in the wel- 

 fare of the forests. They began to take their place among 

 the valuable resources of the country. Ontario established 

 a bureau of forestry in 1883, but allowed it to degenerate 

 into an immigration office in 1907. Quebec placed its 

 work on a more permanent basis by placing it in the hands 

 of technically trained men, who supervised the cutting on 

 leased lands. This work was a success. In 1898 a forestry 

 branch was instituted in the Dominion Department of the 

 Interior and a Superintendent of Forestry was appointed. 



As in the United States, these officers at first accom- 

 plished nothing, but they gradually came to practical 



