Canadian Forestry^ Jonrnal. April, Kj^o. 



167 



tiatural forests. The longer an area is 

 kept under forest management the 

 better th eretiirn. In Switzerland 

 there are forests which have been 

 under management for four centuries 

 and they yield a net revenue of $6.20 

 per acre per year, or at the rite of 

 $992 per quarter-section. 



Fire Patrol Comes First. 



The first step in getting the Do- 

 minion forest reserves in shape for 

 actual administration under somewhat 

 intensive forestry practice, was the 

 institution of a system of patrol by 

 rangers. The secret of success of 

 such patrols lies not so much in th ■ 

 actual fighting of fires as in the pre- 

 vention of fires and putting them out 

 while still small. A large percentage 

 of the fires are started by campers, 

 not deliberately, but through careless- 

 ness. They leave camp fires wdthout 

 extinguishing them. The fires 



smoulder for a time, then break out 

 and consume many acres of timber. 

 It is the forest duty to remind camp- 

 ers to put out their fires and to post 

 warning notices. The ranger also 

 gets in touch with settlers and warns 

 them of the danger of clearing by 

 fire during the dry season. If the 



ranger discovers a fire on his beat he 

 puts it out, or if this is an impossible 

 task to perform alone he ' ummons 

 such help as is available. The tele- 

 ])hone has been found a wonderful 

 aid in summoning assistance, but 

 this is not enough. Therefore w^ 

 must have trails and roads in order 

 to ensure quick travel from o:-'e part 

 of the reserve to another. These roads 

 also serve as an excellent place from 

 which to fight a fire which is retard- 

 ed whe n it strikes a strip of earth 

 clear of growth. Lookout towers set 

 on hill tops at various places 

 throughout the forest are also a 

 great aid. From their tops a view 

 can be obtained over mile^ of terri- 

 tory, and the column of smoke which 

 marks a fire can be located. 



All these trails, roads, lookout 

 towers and telephones are prelimin- 

 ary steps in forest management. The 

 foresters aim is to get his forest in 

 such shape that a crop of timber can 

 be taken ofif year after year and still 

 enough timber can be left to provide 

 for similar crops year after year for 

 all time. Young growth must be 

 coming on all the time to replace the 

 trees removed. To secure this repro- 



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1 



A dense shelter bell on the Brooks' Demonstration Farm, Southern Saskatchewan. 



