Canadian Forestry Journal. March, iq20 



37 



in policies and procedure, with special re- 

 ference to the revision of the cutting re- 

 gulations. 



Considerable attention is given by the 

 Forest Service to land classification in ad- 

 vance of settlement. The Provincial 

 Forester reports that classification has 

 been completed on 17 townships, and par- 

 tial work done in about 30 others. With 

 the prevailing high prices of pulpwood, 

 there is a great incentive for so-called 

 settlers to enter upon well-tim-bered non- 

 agricultural lands, under the guise of set- 

 tlement, for the primary purpose of 

 making a profit from the sale of timber, 

 but with no real expectation of remaining 

 after the timber is gone. Past experience 

 proves conclusively the great desirability 

 from the viewpoint of good public policy, 

 of restricting settlement to lands actually 

 agricultural in character. That this rule 

 has been many times violated in the past, 

 in all the provinces, is a matter of com- 

 mon knowledc:e, with results alike unfor- 

 tunate for the individual and for the 

 state. 



The provincial forest nursery at Ber- 

 thierville has shipped out during the year 

 a total of nearly one million plants, the 

 great majority of which have gone to 

 pulp and paper com-panies for reforesta- 

 tion of privately-owned lands. A large 

 extension of this nursery is contemplated 

 to meet the rapidly increasing demands 

 for planting stock in the province. 



The provincial authorities have under 

 consideration a plan under which denuded 

 Crown lands of non-agricultural char- 

 acter may be made available for refor- 

 estation by private interests, such as the 

 pulp and paper companies. It is greatly 

 to be hoped that some equitable basis 

 mav be worked out, which will result in 

 a large amount of forest plantip"- on 

 Crown lands. 



The forestry course at Laval Univer- 

 sity has been matcrialh^ strengthened by 

 anialgamaticn with the .School of Surveys. 

 Graduates in forestry will thus have also 

 the diploma for land surveyor, and their 

 services will be correspondingly more 

 valnalde. 



ONTARIO'S PLANS. 



Tlie Provincial Governn'-ent has ;'n- 

 nounccd its intention to reorganize tlie 

 timber administration of tlie iirnvince. Tt 

 is generally assumed that tliis will include 

 llic extension of the responsiliilities of the 

 Forestry Branch to cover at least tlu- 

 technical features of administration as ap- 

 plied to all Crown tinilier lands. .Such a 

 consummation will he greatly in the in- 

 terest of the province as a wliole, as it 

 will lie in tlie liest nernianrnt interest ot' 

 tlic Uinil)ering and pnlp and paper indus- 

 tries 



With he single exception of Nova 

 Scotia, all the other forest provinces 

 which control their own resources have 

 regularly established forest services, 

 whose duty, among others, it is to so 

 guide and control the methods of logging 

 as to facilitate, so far as may be practic- 

 able, the production of a new crop upon 

 cut-over lands. In Ontario thus far, the 

 timber administration has existed primar- 

 ily for the sake of collecting revenue and 

 has not contained any men specially train-, 

 ed along forestry lines. The provincial 

 Forestry Branch, on the other hand, em- 

 ploying a number of trained foresters, has 

 had its activities limited primarily to for- 

 est protection and forest nursery work. 

 The time has now fully arrived for bring- 

 ing the forest into first-hand contact with 

 a technical forestry administration, and 

 the declared intention of the Provincial 

 Government along these lines is entitled 

 to most hearty support. The employment 

 of additional foresters will, of course, be 

 necessary. 



More Planting of Waste Land. 



The Provincial Government has also 

 under consideration the adoption of an 

 extensive program of reforestation. Thus 

 f^r, the provincial forest nursery at St. 

 Williams, has been primarih'- engaged in 

 producing planting material for the use 

 nf fnrmers in Old Ontario, and for re- 

 fo'-estation at the nursery station. The 

 suggestion is now made that ir-nnicipali- 

 ties purchase areas of non-agricultural 

 lands, particularly those subicct to dam- 

 age by drifting sand, and turn them over 

 to the Provincial Government for refor- 

 estation by the Forestry Branch. This 

 1^•onld lie a splendid line of development, 

 and it is to be hoped that such a policy 

 ni;iv be mp^'e effective. There is also a 

 ver}' large field for future development in 

 the reforestation of denuded Crown lands 

 of which there are vcrv large areas. From 

 one viewpoint, however, it would be il- 

 logical for the province to expend large 

 sums of money upon the reforestation of 

 denuded Crowii bnds, while at the same 

 time perhaps millions of young trees re- 

 nroduced naturally are being destroyed 

 by fire every year for la<-k of sufficient 

 funds to provide an adequate patrol. Ob- 

 ^■iously. so long as it is a question of 

 funds, provision for really adequate pro- 

 tection of the natural forest reproduction 

 from fire should take n'cccdence over a 

 peneral program of reforesting denuded 

 Crown lands. The n'-oney spent on plant- 

 ing up a given area would suffice for pro- 

 ttcti'ig mnny times the sainc number of 

 small trees over a considerable number 

 (^f years. Tt is to be hoped, however, that 

 a modest bcsjinning can soon be made to- 

 w:;rd the reforestation of denuded Crown 

 lands, this program to be increased with 



