26 



Canadian Forestry Journal, January, 1919 



greatest possible care to cut his stumps as close 

 to the ground as he can, to utilise the branches 

 for fuel and to avoid damaging the remaining 

 trees in felling those he has purchased. The 

 upset price in the case of an auction is so fixed 

 that with reasonable care the contractor can 

 make a fair profit in his undertaking. 



The French Lumberman's View. 



Most of us are liable to fall into the error of 

 supposing that scientific forestry is an affair of 

 the government and we are surprised to barn 

 that in France 65 per cent, of the forest area 

 belongs to private individuals, while 21 per cent, 

 is the property of the communes and public 

 institutions. Only 12 per cent, is the actual pro- 

 perty of the State. These communal forests are 

 under the administration of the Forest Service 

 to a large extent and their owners pay a small 

 tax per acre for this service of advice and super- 

 vision. Even the forests owned by private in- 

 divdiuals are subject to State supervision to a 

 less extent. They cannot be cleared or over-cut 

 if such' action is considered detrimental to the 

 public welfare. 



The inhabitants in and about the forests 

 take an enormous pride in the forests whether 

 they are owned by the State, by communes, 

 or by private individuals. With true French 

 frugality they make it their business to see 

 that the regulations of the regime forestier are 

 carried out and that there is no waste due to 

 fires, trespass or careless utilization. This 

 support which publci sentiment gives to the 

 idea of scientific forestry is everywhere in 

 evidence. Providing for the needs of the 

 future generation is an essential part of the 

 national spirit of France. I have been asked 

 by many French people who had no direct 

 proprietary interest in the matter why we 

 Canadians cut such high stumps — and we 

 did cut them high according to French ideas 

 when we first started operating — why we 

 broke so many trees in our felling operations 

 and left so much valuable debris after we 

 were finished with an exploitation. I ex- 

 plained that we were working under pressure 

 of circumstances, that the army demanded 

 increased production of lumber in order to 

 win the war even at the expense of some con- 

 siderable damage to the forest. The answer 

 to this explanation was frequently the ques- 

 tion, "What is the use of saving France from 

 the Boche if all our beautfiul forests were 

 destroyed in doing so. France cannot exist 

 without her forests. What will our children 



and grandchildren do without wood when the 

 forests are destroyed, if the Boche comes or 

 not?" This argument was not sound as we 

 were not destroying th forests, but the extent 

 of public sentiment was plainly shown. 



Municipal Forests. 



Respect for the Forest service and its officers 

 is almost universal. We had many occasions to 

 call on Forest Service officers to adjust matters 

 pertaining to damage to private property in 

 connection with our exploitations. The owners 

 realized that the damage was unavoidable and 

 were always quite willing to submit to the arbi- 

 tration of the Forester and to accept his estimate 

 of the damage. 



The communal ownership of forests in France 

 IS a very interesting condition for study with 

 regard to the possibility of its adoption in some 

 modified form in Canada. While this form of 

 ownership in France is often the result of an 

 adjustment of feudal conditions, many com- 

 munities and public institutions have actually 

 purchased forests as an investment for the bene- 

 fit of their members and the future generation. 

 In the Vosges and Jura Mountains almost every 

 village and town has its communal forest from 

 which it obtains a regular annual revenue. This 

 revenue may consist of the funds obtained from 

 the sale of material cut in the forest applied to 

 local improvements with a resultant reduction in 

 taxes. In many cases dwellers of the commune 

 receive, pro rata, their supply of firewood and 

 wood for fencing, building and construction of 

 different kinds, from the communal forest, In 

 some cases where the population of the commune 

 is small and the forest large and productive the 

 commune becomes a modern Utopia. No local 

 improvement taxes, free firewood, and work- 

 wood and a revenue in actual cash, all derived 

 from the wise investment of past generations. 

 The forest being managed under certain State 

 restrictions has become a permanent source of 

 revenue. 



R. G. Lewis. 

 o 



GROWTH OF SPRUCE. 



It takes about forty years for seedling spruce 

 trees to attain a diameter of one inch, 100 years 

 to makea 6-inch tree, and 150 years to reach 

 the minimum diameter limit of 12 inches estab- 

 lished by the cutting regulations for pulpwood 

 in Quebec for white and black spruce, accord- 

 ing to the ninth report of the Commission of 

 Conservation. 



