38 



Canadian J-orcstry Journal, January, 1920 



prise, which looks for immediate or nearby le- 

 sults. Only large, long-lived corporations may 

 be an exception and industries like paper manu- 

 facturies, with heavy investments in operating 

 plants, relying on a continuous supply of raw 

 material. Their position is peculiar, and not to 

 be confused with most lumber companies. 



7. The interest in forestry of the commun- 

 ity, municipality, and state is three-fold; namely 

 in the assurance of continuous supplies for 

 wood using industries, in the influence of the 

 forest cover on water conditions, in the utili/a- 

 t'.on of all land areas to the best advantage. 



8. This communal interest establishes the 

 right of the community to control the handling 

 of private forest property at least to the extent 

 of protecing itself against damage in the three 

 directions of preventing its abuse and the turn- 

 ing of productive into waste lands, possibly 

 also enforcing silvicultural methods. This gives 

 the state the right to interfere; whether the fed- 

 eral, state, or municipal government is the most 



, practical influence is not predicated. 



9. Silviculture -the art and operation of 

 securing reproduction of wood crops, is based 

 largely on empiricism, and its methods vary ac- 

 cording to local conditions and judgment. No 

 two foresters may agree on procedure in a given 

 case ,and yet both may be successful. It is 

 therefore impracticable to prescribe procedure 

 with assurance; it is also difficult to inspect and 

 control procedure. 



10. Silvicultural success depends upon the 

 combined effects of species, soil, climate, weath- 

 er and size of operation. While financial con- 

 siderations favor large continguous felling areas 

 and rapid explaitation ,silvicultural considera- 



tions necessitate small, disconnected felling 

 areas, and, if natural regeneration is to be relied 

 upon, slow removal of the mature crop; hence 

 accessibility to every part of the forest pro- 

 perty, involving large capital outlay, is a silvi- 

 cultural necessity. Woodlot forestry is differ- 

 ent from that practiced on large areas. If one 

 wants to apply forestry it must be on large 

 areas, say one of 30,000 acres, and the owner 

 must be able to cut anywhere so as to take ad- 

 vantage of changing conditions. 



WmCfl REGENERATION? 



11. Natural regeneration while apparently 

 cheaper than artificial reforestation because not 

 requiring visible outlay, entails slow, i.e., ex- 

 pensive , removal, waiting for seed years and 

 luck in weather, while artificial regeneration 

 can be forced to success but requires definite 

 capital outlay. Success by natural regenera- 

 tion is largely a matter of luck; for if all ele- 

 ments are favorable you may get results. If 

 any one of these conditions fails, then it is 

 necessary to apply art at once, through artificial 

 means. 



12. All points considered, forestry as a busi- 

 ness can be successfully applied only or mainly 

 by the community, municipality, or state. 



The problem here involves the prevention of 

 nuisance on private lands, or the conversion of 

 timberland into waste land, through improper 

 handling by the private operator. The private 

 individual can not be expected to engage in 

 business which will show results only in the 

 lifetime of a man, and he will not figure on 

 returns for his children or his children's chil- 

 dren. 





ALBERTA'S LOSSES $2,250,000 FOREST RESERVE FIRES 



Calgary — Fire losses on the forest reserves in Alberta 

 during 1919 aggregated more than $2,250,000, or greater than 

 the estmiated loss of the previous ten years. The loss in 1918 

 was approximately $1,000. These figures were issued by the 

 Forest Reserves Inspectorate. Fires swept over 548,000 acres 

 of forest reserve in 1919, while 20,000 acres were burned over 

 in 1918, which was chiefly open land. 



