The measurement of plots established on agreement forests was taken over 

 by this section this year at the request of the Timber Branch. The plots on the 

 York County Forest were measured and thinned. 



Next year, the plots on the Simcoe County Forest and some of the plots 

 established by the University of Toronto in the Petawawa Management Unit are 

 due for remeasurement and thinning. 



Volume Tables 



Objective: Construction of volume tables for our principal timber species. 



Co-operation has been furnished in an investigation by a graduate student in 

 the Faculty of Forestry into methods of constructing volume tables on an IBM 

 computer. It is expected to make use of the techniques developed to construct 

 volume tables from the data for about 25,000 trees available in the Department. 



MECHANICAL RESEARCH 



The function of the Mechanical Research Section is to develop, improve and 

 test equipment and instruments to meet the special needs of the Department in 

 protection, utilization and management. The Section is called upon particularly to 

 design and construct unique pieces of equipment to carry out its numerous projects 

 to the best advantage. Consulting and supplying technical advice in the field of 

 mechanical engineering is another important function of the Section. 



The projects described below illustrate the scope of the work undertaken in 

 the past year. 



Forest Fire Pump Tests 



The operation of the forest fire pump and fire fighting equipment laboratory 

 was continued throughout the year. Especial emphasis was placed on testing 

 2-cycle fire pump engine lubricants. Test results showed that the use of a 

 naphthenic base 2-cycle engine oil would increase the endurance of the Mark I fire 

 pump substantially. 



Portable Steam Cooker 



A cooker was constructed for use at fire camps to provide better meals for 

 forest fire fighters, and also to eliminate waste occasioned by inadequate cooking 

 facilities. The cooker permits the serving of hot meals on a 24-hour basis. 



Aerial Forest Tree Seeder 



A seeding device was designed and constructed to sow seeds from a helicopter. 

 Incorporated in the design was a means of closely controlling the weight of seed 

 sown per acre. Field trials were made in the spring and late fall of 1962, and 

 reports indicate that its performance was very satisfactory. However, it took almost 

 a full day to mount the model produced, and a modified seeder will be constructed 

 which will enable it to be quickly mounted and detached from a helicopter. 



Splake Selection Apparatus 



A water re-circulator has been designed for use in the trout hybrid breeding 

 program of the fisheries research section. The construction of a pilot model was 

 started and will be ready for a three-month test in 1963. The intention is to con- 



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