52 



Canadian Forestry Journal, April 1913. 



members of parliament. To cope adequate- 

 ly with the demands of this work, the need 

 of a large increase in the staff at this 

 point was apparent. 



In the field the work has been placed 

 under the supervision of Inspectors. For 

 the administration of forest reserves, dis- 

 tricts have been outlined in accordance 

 with provincial boundaries. In each of 

 them, the staffs in charge of the forest re- 

 serves are to be under the direction of a 

 single field-officer. For these positions 

 men have been selected who possessed 

 large ability in administrative matters, 

 and the highest qualifications for forest 

 administration, and who were calculated t'^ 

 be fitted for developing the work along 

 the best and most efficient lines. 



Protection Work. 



The duties of the Forestry Branch in- 

 clude the protection of the timber on all 

 lands under the control of the Dominion 

 government, no matter whether or not it 

 is included in forest reserves. For the 

 protection of the lands outside of the for- 

 est reserves, a special staff has been main- 

 tained. The work has been put, during 

 the past year, under the supervision of an 

 Inspector. A staff of Chief Fire Rangers 

 have recently been permanently appointed, 

 and they will be engaged throughout the 

 year, in familiarizing themselves with, and 

 planning for, the solution of the problems 

 to be met in their respective districts. The 

 advances made in this department of the 

 work have been greater than in almost any 

 other. The inauguration, through the 

 Board of Railway Commissioners, of a pat- 

 rol by the railway companies of the lines 

 passing through timbered districts has 

 enabled the Forestry Branch, which here- 

 tofore carried out this work, to extend the 

 protection given by its staff to many new 

 areas removed from the present railway 

 lines. The attention of the Inspector of 

 Fire Ranging during the present summer is 

 to be devoted, for a considerable time, to 

 the further extension of the fire patrols in 

 regions hitherto untouched. A trip has 

 been planned which will enable him to se- 

 cure a first-hand knowledge of the vast 

 needs of the timbered area draining into, 

 and lying along, the lower reaches of the 

 Mackenzie river and probably also of the 

 Yukon Territory. 



The increase of the area included in the 

 forest reserves to take in the non-agricul- 

 tural areas at present lying in the van of 

 the rapidly extending settlement is a pro- 

 blem that is an ever-pressing one. Before 

 any land is recommended to be included 

 in a forest reserve a careful examination 

 is made of it. Not only must the timber 

 resources that may be comprised in it be 

 determined, but there must also be investi- 

 gated the nature and agricultural possibili- 

 ties of the soil and the relation of the for- 



est cover to the maintenance and regula- 

 tion of the water-flow of the region. The 

 information furnished in the preliminary 

 reports made by the Dominion Land Sur- 

 veyors is made available to the men carry- 

 ing on these examinations. The decision 

 as to the ultimate disposal of the land 

 can then be based on a broad consideration 

 of the best permanent use that the land 

 can serve for the community. It is keenly 

 felt that this examination should be made, 

 and the decision reached, well in advance 

 of any settlement in the region, in order 

 that new settlers may be guided into the 

 best agricultural regions and may be pro- 

 tected from attempting settlement on lands 

 where agriculture cannot thrive. In all 

 parts of the Dominion, and particularly 

 in the Western Provinces, where settlement 

 of new lands has of late progressed so rap- 

 idly, many unfortunate instances have 

 come under observation of settlers locat- 

 ing, through ignorance, on lands unsuit- 

 ed to their occupation. The result has 

 been a later abandonment of the land 

 with a great loss to the individual and 

 with a greater waste of capital and 

 energy to the country. It may be seen, 

 therefore, that this work of the Forestry 

 Branch has * a much broader scope than 

 that connected with the mere management 

 and protection of forest lands, as it in- 

 cludes the wise regulation of settlement. 

 This last is one of the most important 

 duties of the government. 



As the areas to be examined are in most 

 cases removed from the existing centres 

 of forest reserve management or of fire 

 patrol, this work is organized as a separate 

 division. Men with technical training in 

 forest and soil conditions and in the me- 

 thods of forest reconnaissance are em- 

 ployed to carry on the field work. An 

 agricultural expert with special training in 

 regard to soils has recently been engaged 

 to insure the bringing to bear of the most 

 advanced knowledge on thi^ phase of the 

 problem. The results of the investigations 

 are made available to the public in the 

 form of government bulletins whenever 

 new conditions and new problems are met. 



The areas to receive special attention 

 during the coming summer are the Peace 

 River district, the moruntainous regions of 

 the Railway Belt in British Columbia, 

 some of the areas of sandy, stony and 

 swamp soils in the northern portion of 

 Saskatchewan, and in Manitoba the area 

 lying between Lakes Winnipeg and Mani- 

 toba. 



Tree Planting. 



Another important divi«ion of the work 

 of the Forestry Branch is the extension 

 of tree-growth in the treeless settled re- 

 gions of the prairie Provinces. This is 

 done by the encouragement of private 

 planting. Seedlings of hlardwood species 



