174 



Canadian ForcslrX) Journal, April, 1919 



DIVIDEND NOTICE 



'Hie I'\)i('.sl l''ii"e PMeiid of (Can- 

 ada, Inc., announce tlicir inten- 

 tion to pay llicii- preferred and 

 all loo common dividends of 

 '20 thousand per cent on all 

 neglected camp fires and tossed 

 away cigarettes during the fiscal 

 Spring and Summer of 1919. 



Head Office and Worlds 



Does an Ontario Municipahty Own 

 Its Street Trees? 



Canadian Forestry Journal: 



Is it illegal for a property owner to tap the 

 maple trees in front of his property on the 

 boulevard belonging to the street? I notice 

 an editorial in a local paper stating that "there 

 is a by-law against this practice", and "it may 

 not be generally known that all shade trees on 

 the street belong to the town notwithstanding 

 who may have planted them." 



An Ontario Bank Manager. 



The newspaper editorial is probably in error. 

 In Ontario trees planted in front of a piece of 

 property are NOT subject in any way to muni- 

 cipal control. The Ontario Tree Planting Act 

 states as follows: 



"Trees so planted (by municipal council, park 

 commissioner, or otherwise) on highways, be- 

 come the property of the owner of the property 



adjacent to the highway and nearest the tree so 

 planted. Such is the case also with any tree 

 left standing on the highway." 



The same Act allows any municipality to pass 

 by-laws for the following purposes : 



"To regulate the planting of trees on high- 

 ways. 



"To prevent the planting of any undesirable 

 species. 



"To provide for the removal of trees planted 

 on highways contrary to law." 



At the same time the Criminal Code of Canada 

 makes it an offence to damage a tree growing 

 on a pleasure ground, park or garden to an 

 extent exceeding five dollars. Section 533 of 

 the Code mentions a penalty for damaging a 

 tree to the extent of twenty-five cents. 



It would appear, therefore, that no municipal 

 by-law that might have been passed can inter- 

 fere with the ordinary rights of property owners 

 over trees on the highway in front of their hold- 

 ings. Whether a prosecution could be instituted 

 under the Criminal Code against a man tapping 

 trees for sap, on the ground that the tree was 

 damaged thereby is probably aside from the 

 point you have in mind. 



