/'o /,' />//,' >' ASSOCIATION 31 



students giving lectures and lessons on best methods. What a wonderful change would 

 be brought about in the productiveness of the forest, if this were carried out. Trees 

 could be planted where needed, poor varieties cut out, thick patches thinned, and the 

 product utilized in many ways, merchantable logs or trees sold from time to time, and 

 the whole forest looked upon as the most valuable crop the nature of the soil could 

 produce. Authentic statistics can be obtained, particularly in Germany, of the net 

 value of forest product extending over long periods. The writer will give an instance 

 which came under his own observation in 1902, when visiting Scotland. A patch .of 

 spruce forest containing eleven acres had just been cut down and sold en bloc to the 

 owner of a portable saw-mill, the timber was fifty years old. and so from the amount 

 received the proceeds were easily calculated and it was found, taking the opinion of 

 the agent of the estate as to the rental value of that particular land, that the timber 

 had given three times as much rent per annum than if the land had been rented for 

 agricultural purposes. Of course it was not good land for cropping, but well suited 

 for young spruce, as an examination of the yearly growth fully testified and by which 

 the age of the trees was tested. 



The occupation of forester and farmer would appeal to many people, and with 

 personal care and attention would become a profitable pursuit, pleasant and agreeable, 

 away from the hurly-burly of city life. Personal attention to this style of forest 

 would give a much larger growth of feet per acre than in a forest reserve which could 

 not possibly receive the same care. In a minor degree there are many farmers in old 

 settlements who would find it more profitable to devote a part of their farms to tree 

 growth. All uneven or hilly land should be planted, the main business being farm- 

 ing, tree growth secondary, just as in the northern districts sylviculture should be the 

 main business and farming subsidiary. There is another feature of forest manage- 

 ment in townships partly settled which should be considered. Very often abandoned 

 farms are sold or offered for sale by the municipality for taxes, and also denuded 

 lands on which there is no clearing. It would be well to give the township power to 

 acquire these lands and hold them as a municipal property; in time they would be- 

 come valuable and a source of income. Let them be held as township forest reserves, 

 and to show how the idea is growing of the value of young trees, Mr. Thos. South- 

 vurth, of the Forestry Bureau, has had application already from some townships seek- 

 ing to acquire this very power; give it to them by all means, it would help to in- 

 crease the value of all timbered lands and give a new view of the worth of our rocky 

 back country and help to transform what is in many cases looked upon as a worth- 

 less wilderness into one of the most beautiful of all nature's scenes, a country covered 

 with forest. 



The incidental but very real value of keeping a considerable area in every district 

 under forest cover has not been touched upon as it does not come within the scope of 

 this paper. 



The CHAIRMAN. I am sure we have been very much interested and delighted with 

 the paper just read by Mr. Bertram, and it is a paper which will merit a good deal of 

 thought and discussion. He has brought out some very important points which are 

 worthy of our deepest consideration, and the matter will be now open for discussion. 



Mr. SILVERTHORNE. Mr. Chairman, I have been'amused, at some statements made 

 on this subject years ago, and one is that the same timber would not follow the same 

 timber. I thought it was a very discouraging thing, for we have great areas of pine 

 land, and it would be very unfortunat' indeed if some similar timber to it would not 

 follow. Now, I do not know how that idea originated, but it was contrary to any ex- 

 perience that we have had in our locality. And by that, I mean in this locality. I 

 can show you within ten or twelve miles of Toronto as nice a growth of pine as ever 



