84 



Canadian Forestry Journal, June 1913. 



here is where the people's indifference so 

 often shows itself. A sense of the beauties 

 of nature and the capabilities of making 

 those beauties add to the comfort of the 

 home and the protection of crops, does not 

 occur to them, or if it occurs, there is the 

 thought that it will entail a . little extra 

 work for which the dollar may not be im- 

 mediately forthcoming. They may not want 

 certain trees burnt; 'but there — the land 

 has to be cleared, let it run. ' * Destroys the 

 humus, what is that? Nothing better for 

 the land than wood ashes.' Fire has run 

 into A 's land, 'Well, A wants his laud clear- 

 ed up also. ', Fire reaches B's and burns a 

 few cord of wood. B rather resents this; 

 but as it has cleared a few acres for him, 

 * does not want to be unneighborly. ' Reaches 

 unsettled land, ' well, that will not hurt any- 

 body. ' If Crown officials should ask ques- 

 tions — nobody knows anything. If these 

 people want to be free of trees, why in all 

 conscience do they not go to the prairie? 

 Why should the welfare of those who are 

 seeking to make their farms what every 

 farm in the country is capable of being 

 made, a place of beauty, a home, a centre 

 of associations, be constantly threatened? 

 Why should these be perpetually confronted 

 with the dread of having all on which their 

 hopes are fixed swept away? 



The vast amount of liberty enjoyed in this 

 Dominion as compared with that of the 

 country of origin of many settlers, has de- 

 veloped into license. The future is nothing 

 to men with this idea — there is no love of 

 the land; they live for self. That these 

 are in a minority, I do not doubt; but 

 is the country to suffer because of them? 

 However we may incidently occupy o'lr- 

 selves, we are a nation of farmers, yet we 

 cannot confine ourselves to farm subjects. 

 A greater spirit of patriotism must prevade 

 us and thought for others. 



If tho^e who are causing this annual loss 

 to the Dominion will not realize their duties 

 and obligations, those who are in the ma- 

 jority and can make them, must enforce 

 the observation of greater care in respect 

 of fires. Instead of fire rangers we want 

 an efficient gendarmerie the personnel of 

 which should, besides their other duties, 

 take cognisance of every fire possible and 

 report every case where the same be not 

 under proper control. The mere knowledge 

 amongst settlers that they are linder obser- 

 vation, would cause greater care to be 

 taken. A force of this kind, should be per- 

 manent, formed of picked men, and no party 

 matter. Recruited from the right sources a 

 body of this kind would form a valuable 

 nusceus for defensive organization and 

 would be more highly thought of than Fome 

 militia units, officered by men leading a 

 town or village life instead of by yeomen. 

 I doubt if such a corps would cost more 

 than the present rangers; but if it did, the 

 results obtained would, in my humble opin- 

 ion, justify the expenditure. 



It will take many a day yet before the 

 fertile farms of this northern district can 

 be thoroughly safeguarded from fire. How 

 many of thpse men buoyed up with hopes 

 for the future, will ever attain their object 

 unless the powers-that-be put their foot 

 down and not only say that this wanton de- 

 struction must cease; but see that it does 

 cease. The political support of those who 

 would thwart the honest endeavors of a 

 party determined to enforce the very mod- 

 erate demands of those who say that the 

 fire danger has got to stop, is not worth 

 relying on. The system also of giving ap- 

 pointments to party heelers (one side is as 

 bad as the other) instead of selecting the 

 best men, militates against the proper en- 

 forcement of the law. Few can count on 

 holding a berth beyond the life of a Par- 

 liament, that appointment is coveted by half 

 a dozen other village Solomons of the same 

 party, so the holder rests and is thankful 

 and is careful to look the other way when 

 there is much smoke about. 



The Canadian Forestry Association will 

 have the hearty backing of all true Canad- 

 ians in any scheme it may undertake for 

 the conservation of the forest areas. 



There is one point that must not be over- 

 looked in this question and that is the birds. 

 These constant fires often at breeding time, 

 destroy quantities of them. 



The balance of nature is so upset in this 

 district, (Dry den. Out.) that where there 

 should be thousands of grouse, there are 

 only dozens. The natural increase is barely 

 sufficient to keep pace with their destruc- 

 tion by their various four-footed foes, with- 

 out counting the pot-hunters. 



Give me the trees with hoary frost in 



winter-time 

 And I will call this country mine. 

 Give me the trees in budding spring 

 And I will all their beauties sing. 

 .Bid me to stay where fire has swept and all 



must die. 

 And I will spread my wings and iSy. 



EFFICIENCY IN THE CIVIL SERVICE. 



Civil service reform, in Canada, has usu- 

 ally been taken to be synonymous with the 

 problem of eliminating party patronage 

 . . . Mt is well to put an end tO the 

 filling of government offices by irresponsilple 

 patronage committees, but this is only a 

 negative reform. It will not of itself ensure 

 B,n efficient service, and an efficient sei-viee 

 is urgently required. In a country like Can- 

 ada where the tasks assigned th6 central 

 government in the development of omr re- 

 sources are so great, it is of the first im- 

 portance to attract men who can measure 

 up to their work, to reward them fairly 

 with kudos or with cash, and to organize 

 them to secure the best results. — Queen's 

 Quarterly. 



