388 



Canadian Forestry Magazine, August-Septeuihcr. 1920. 



Another Bill Rendered— Canada Pays 



Forest Fires Set by Human 



Agencies Again Rob the 



Country of Basic 



Assets 



The forest fire scourge will present 

 the Canadian people with another 

 monster bill for 1920. Tliere are not 

 enough accurate records to compute it 

 at,' the date of writing, but the adding 

 niftchine is clicking merrily, and the final 

 red total will overtop the figures of 

 any year since 1916. 



Most of this year's forest bonfires 

 were preventible. They started from 

 people. Some were campers who left 

 their cooking fires blazing; some were 

 settlers who while clearing off a patcli 

 of land with fire cared nothing if half 

 the countryside were consumed in the 

 same line of flame. Many originated 

 with the railroads, and an inexcusable 

 number from woods' employees. The 

 effect on Canada's reserve of wealth is 

 the same whatever the cause. 



Killing Off Our White Pine 



Pine as a commercial wood has passed 

 off the stage of scores of Eastern Can- 

 adian counties, and the areas once bear 

 ing these precious timber trees are in 

 most cases growing up in valueless hard- 

 woods. Canada's remaining pine stock 

 is gathered up into a relatively small 

 pocket of Western Quebec and Eastern 

 Ontario. Yet with all our knowledge of 

 that fact and of the damaging conse- 

 quences to many great industries and 

 flourishing towns dependent on pine 

 logs, one big blaze this year cleaned out 

 15 square miles in a single section of 

 Quebec. Lightning furnished the cause 

 in this particular case, but only in a few 

 areas of Canada is lightning a prime 

 offender. 



Part of "The Great Brule." on the headwaters of the Assineau River, Alberta. 



