1 64 



CaiKiilidii Forestry Journal, April, ip2n. 



Why The Forest Reserves? 



With no decrease in the demand 

 for wood, and a constantly decreasing 

 supply, it is reasonable to believe that 

 means must be taken to conserve 

 what we have and provide for a 

 future supply. Fortunately the forest 

 is not like the mine. Once the min- 

 eral is out of the mine the mine is 

 useless. The forest, however, can be 

 restored, even though cut clean, and 

 in time under proper management it 

 will yield as good, or ])robably bet- 

 ter, crops than the one first removed. 

 With this object in view the govern- 

 ments of the Dominion and some of 

 the provinces have set aside many 

 million acres as forest reserves. The 

 name "forest reserve" is perhaps not 

 wisely chosen for these areas, since it 

 conveys th eidea to many that their 

 purpose is to withhold the timber in 

 them for use. The term "National 

 Forests" as used by the United State-; 

 for similar areas, would perhaps be 

 more appropriate. The forest reserves 

 are areas that cannot be profitably 

 farmed. They are of such a nature 

 that they would not yield a farmer 



a proper living. The farmer requires 

 good soil and in sucli a position that 

 it can ])v cultivated. Not so with the 

 forester, he asks only for lands the 

 farmer cannot use. In the older pro- 

 vinces there are many instances 

 where areas of soil unfit for farming 

 were opened up for settlement to 

 earnest men and women anxious to 

 make a Imnu- for llicmselves. After 

 drudging away the best part of their 

 lives they were compelled to give up 

 or else they continued until all am- 

 bition had gone and their degenerate 

 families became subjects for public 

 support. Let us hope that the newer 

 prairie provinces will not make the 

 mistake of the older provinces. 



To Aid West's Water Supply. 



As pointed out above, the forest 

 reserves have not for their purpose 

 the locking up of the timber, or other 

 resources within them. The first aim 

 of the reserves is to supply for all 

 time the largest quantity of the best 

 timber which can be produced on it. 

 This means that cutting must be 

 regulated as to quantity, and young 



Sketch Plan 



SHOWING ~- 



PnoPofniON OF Prairie Pudvinces 

 IN RsREST Reserves 



yOiVDjvjlOJ^J Of CANAOA 



Showing the proportion of the prairie provinces reserved for timber production; 14 p.c. for Alberta; 



3.97 p.c. for Saskatchewan; 1.75 p.c. for Manitoba. France has reserved for forest production 



18 p.c; Germany, 25 p.c; Sweden, 47 p.c. 



