CANADIAN rnni.sTHY ASSOCIATION 93 



three years the members of the union have been discussing this forestry question, 

 and at the last annual meeting the following resolutions were unanimously adopted 

 and forwarded to the Government: 



* Whereas, in many sections of settled Ontario the process of deforestation has 

 been carried on far beyond the proportion between woodland and cleared land shown 

 by the experience of other countries to be necessary to the best maintenance of agri- 

 cultural conditions of climate and water supply; 



' And whereas, a very considerable proportion of lands thus deforested are totally 

 unfit for agriculture, and, in consequence, are at present unproductive; 



' And whereas, the feasibility of profitably maintaining such area of forest lands 

 has been demonstrated in this province; 



' And whereas, the present method of taxing farm woodland discourages their 

 preservation : 



' And whereas, the supply of wood products necessary for the general interests of 

 the province is rapidly diminishing ; 



' Therefore, the Ontario Agricultural and Experimental Union would strongly 

 urge upon the. Government the necessity, 



' (1.) For establishing at the earliest possible date a School of Forestry, where 

 instruction will be given in practical methods of dealing with forestry problems ; 



' (2.) For collecting accurate information from the municipal authorities as to 

 the amount of lands unfit for agriculture in the settled townships of Ontario ; 



' (3.) For undertaking the practical re-forestation of areas sufficiently large to 

 afford forest conditions, as a demonstration of the utility of the work on these lands, 

 which, from their surroundings, enjoy practical immunity from fire; 



' (4.) For considering some means of adjusting taxation so as to encourage rather 

 than to discourage the preservation of farmers' wood lots.' 



This from an organization as progressive and as far-reaching in its work as the 

 Experimental Union, is, I think, very encouraging. Public sentiment on this ques- 

 tion is growing and as a result of, the sentiment already evident the Government has 

 felt warranted in taking some decidedly progressive steps at its present session. It 

 has seen wise, while establishing larger permanent forest reservations and improving 

 the regulations regarding the cutting of timber on the Crown lands, to also emphasize 

 the importance of farm forestry and to bring this branch of forestry under the foster- 

 ing care of the Department of Agriculture. So that both the Department of Crown 

 Lands and the Department of Agriculture will now be working to put forestry in 

 Ontario on a better basis. 



Organization, education, and co-operation have been the watchwords of the De- 

 partment of Agriculture in developing the agricultural resources of the province, and 

 these we expect will be the watchwords in promoting farm forestry. 



As the Minister of Agriculture has already announced, an educational campaign 

 will be commenced among the farmers to place the matter before them in its proper 

 light. The Farmers' Institutes have been the schools through which the farming 

 public has been effectually reached in the past and will be utilized in this case. 



Some of the prominent points to be emphasized in this educational campaign will 

 be the economic value of the wood lot as a source of supplies for fuel and for manu- 

 facturing purposes; the proper management of the wood lot so as to get the greatest 

 possible growth of the most valuable species adapted to the soil and surrounding con- 

 ditions; the rational harvesting of the wood crop, the same as any other crop, when it 

 has reached maturity; the best means of securing natural regeneration and continuous 

 cropping; and in this connection the reckless waste caused by allowing the cattle to 

 brouse at will in. the wood lot, which is indeed more wasteful than allowing them to 

 pasture at will in the cornfield. 



A forest nursery is to be established at the college this spring from which we 

 hope soon to be able to send out thousands of young forest trees to assist the farmers 

 in tree planting and reforesting. Complete details for the management of this work 

 are being worked out as rapidly as possible, but in brief they will be based on the 



