11 



Canadian Forestry Journal, januar]), 1920 



destroy it. Trunks and roots of trees also pre- 

 sent effective obstruction to the flow of the 

 moisture from glaciers and snowfields. The 

 roots, penetrating deeply into the earth, open 

 up channels for the sinking of moisture to the 

 lower strata and reach through these lower 

 levels, sprmgs and streams, long after the sur- 

 face flow has gone. 



Forest growth then has a regulating and mod- 

 erating effect upon the extremes of the Rowings 

 of water, and it is these qualities which govern 

 the value of water courses throughout the year. 

 To assure a sustamed and regular How to the 



streams, the forests, with their protective and 

 regulative influence, must be carefully guarded 

 and maintained. This can be most effectively 

 done in the following ways: 



By effective protection against fire; by an 

 adequate service of fire rangers and the con- 

 struction of fire guards; by confining settlement 

 to fertile valleys and keeping hills and moun- 

 tain slopes where agriculture is less successful, 

 under tree plantation; by the more careful cut- 

 ting of timber under skilful surveillance; and 

 by tlie reforestation of denuded or burnt-over 

 areas. 



FORESTRY IN THE UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA 



Cape Town, December, 1919. The South 

 African Journal of Industries, in a recent num- 

 ber, gives an interesting article on Forestry 

 in the Union of South Africa. Insistent de- 

 mands having been made for some years past 

 by all sections of the community that a com- 

 prehensive programme of afforestation should 

 be embarked on, the Union Government de- 

 cided at the beginning of the year 1918 to 

 place a sum of £50,000 on the loan vote for 

 this object. 



The Chief Conservator of Forests .>ets out 

 the position of the Union in regard to natural 

 forest resources, the present acreage of govern- 

 ment plantations, and the schemes of afforesta- 

 tion which are being undertaken. 



NATURAL FOREST RESOURCES. 



In 1913 ,the last normal year, the Union 

 imported 1 7,500,000 million cubic feet of tim- 

 ber, worth just short of £1,250,000 sterling. 

 Nearly 90 per cent of that was coniferous tim- 

 ber, i.e., soft timber, and the Chief Conservator 



of Forests estimates that eve nif fully developed, 

 the natural forest resources of the Union will 

 never likely be able to supply 5 per cent of the 

 requirement;; of the country. 



Assuming, on a very conservative estimite, 

 that an acre of plantation will yield 100 cubic 

 feet of timber per annum, the report points out 

 that it will take 350,000 acres to produce the 

 probable requirements of the country in fifty 

 years 'time. At present there are only 70,000 

 acres of government plantations in the Union, 

 and of these 20,000 acres are for special pur- 

 poses, as, for instance, 7,000 acres in the Tran- 

 skei to provide hut wattles for natives. From 

 the foregoing the need to press on with affores- 

 tation schemes is apparent. 



With the extra funds now provided, certain 

 projects have been selected and started. The 

 work is being confined mainly to mountain land, 

 which is of little value for any other purpose, 

 but the question of accessibility for easy distri- 

 bution of timber has not been overlooked. 



ANNUAL MEETING CANADIAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION 



< 



Chateau Frontenac, Quebec 



Tuesday, February 3 



