134 



Canadian Forestry Journal, September, 1913. 



ing in addition to the young forest growth 

 and the j-^oung standing timber, 200 cords 

 of fire wood. In many cases the settlers 

 protected their farm houses by ploughing 

 fire guards around them. At Hastings 

 Village the danger was so great that three 

 hundred men were called out to fight the 

 flames, and finally succeeded in controlling 

 them. Just outside of Peterboro a blaze 

 which required the efforts of fifty men to 

 put it out, ran unchecked for two or three 

 days. At Gravenhurst the flames made 

 terrible inroads upon the forest and the 

 property of citizens, and it was not until 

 the fire brigade and the citizens of the 

 town had worked for forty-eight hours 

 that the danger was really overcome. The 

 town of Orillia was enveloped with smoke 

 for many days on account of numerous 

 blazes round about. At Parry Sound the 

 settlers, lumbermen and railway men were 

 fighting the flames day and night. The 

 villages of Ardberg and Boakview were 

 saved only after prodigious efforts on the 

 part of the fire fighters. Superintendent 

 Bartlett of Algonquin Park reported a fire 

 of very serious proportions raging in Liv- 

 ingstone township. Details of the destruc- 

 tion are not to hand however. 



The Ottawa Valley was visited by a 

 great number of fires of sizes of greater 

 or less magnitude, some of which did great 

 destruction. The Mer Bleue at Carlsbad 

 Springs was the centre of raging forest 

 fires. At Constance Creek, Aylwin, Kazu- 

 bazua, Wilson's Corners, and many other 

 points, there were blazes which seriously 

 damaged property and wholly destroyed 

 the young growth in the wooded area. 



Belief from the terrible drought did not 

 come until the 20th of August when rain 

 fell to the extent of from 1 to 3 inches 

 over practically the whole East. In North- 

 ern Ontario particularly its blessings were 

 felt. Many localities were blessed with 

 heavy thunderstorms, and the period of 

 cold weather immediately following added 

 to the effectiveness 'of the rain through 

 preventing rapid evaporation of the mois- 

 ture which had entered the soil. It is im- 

 possible to estimate the benefits from this 

 single period of precipitation, but un- 

 doubtedly had the rain not come, or had 

 the wind risen, the losses would have been 

 apalling. 



The prairie district suffered more or less, 

 although Chief Forester Leavitt, of the 

 Commission of Conservation, who made an 

 extended trip West in the month of July, 

 reported that the losses were not as great 

 as in many other years. A greater degree of 

 moisture was felt in the mountainous 

 provinces of Alberta and British Co- 

 lumbia, and no great amount of destruc- 

 tion was wrought. However in Vancouver 

 Island great anxiety was felt on the part 

 of the lumbermen holding timber limits 

 because the dry weather had been respon- 



sible for several bad outbreaks, and the 

 forest wardens were forced to work night 

 and day with all the help they could pro- 

 cure. 



Until some regular system of compiling 

 the losses from forest fires throughout the 

 Dominion can be instituted, it will be im- 

 possible to state the actual loss which has 

 taken place during the danger season. It 

 is fair to estimate that this season's havoc 

 amounts to fully half a million dollars. 

 Further reports from the Province of Que- 

 bec and British Columbia will serve to 

 indicate to what extent the forest wealth 

 was depleted. 



COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION AC- 

 TIVE. 



The Commission of Conservation and 

 the Department of Lands of British Colum- 

 bia have entered into a co-operative ar- 

 rangement for a study of the forest condi- 

 tions and forest resources of British Co- 

 lumbia. Dr. H. N. Whitford has been 

 employed by the Commission of Conserva- 

 tion to begin the work of collecting in- 

 formation along the above lines from all 

 available sources. Dr. Whitford was for 

 years a member of the Forest Service of 

 the Philippine Islands and has published 

 a bulletin on their forest resources. 



The large amount of material which has 

 been collected by the British Columbia 

 Forestry Branch will be supplemented by 

 information to be secured from all other 

 possible sources including the Forestry 

 Branch of the C.P.R. and statements by 

 timber cruisers, limit holders, surveyors 

 and others. The C.P.R. Forestry Branch 

 has collected a great deal of valuable in- 

 formation with regard to forest conditions 

 and forest resources of the southern part 

 of British Columbia, and much of this in- 

 formation is to be made available through 

 a co-operative arrangement between the 

 Commission of Conservation and the au- 

 thorities of the C.P.R. 



This work is part of a general study 

 which has been undertaken by the Com- 

 mission of Conservation, having for its 

 object the approximate determination of 

 the amount of timber in each of the var- 

 ious provinces of Canada. 



In the Prince Albert District of North- 

 ern Saskatchewan, a similar study of for- 

 est conditions and forest resources is be- 

 ing carried on for the Commission of Con- 

 servation by Mr. J. C. Blumer. This part 

 of the work is being conducted in co- 

 operation with the Dominion Forestry 

 Branch. 



Mr. Blumer first took up forestry work 

 as a student in 1901, and studied forestry 

 at the University of Michigan in 1905-6. 

 For the past three years he has been a 

 resident of Saskatoon, Sask. 



