CANADIAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION. 33 



ignorant of farming conditions prevailing, ignorant of the duties of citizenship, an 

 element eventually unpleased, and, finally, unpleasant because unpleased. Such bene- 

 volence does not create happy homes in which the fireside gleams cheerfully ; it creates 

 homes in which dissatisfaction and envy are raised to the detriment of the country. 

 Settlement must be properly directed, and must be permitted only on absolutely agri- 

 cultural land. 



As far as Crown lands are concerned, there cannot be any doubt but that all 

 Crown lands having the character of absolute forest land should be reserved from 

 entry. Government ownership of absolute forest land, in its influence on the lumber 

 industry, agriculture, navigation and public health, is vastly superior to private 

 ownership of absolute forest land. Large tracts are required for the successful prac- 

 tice of business forestry on absolute forest land, and such large tracts should always 

 remain under control of the -Crown. Far-sighted forestal _operations can be ex- 

 pected in the .long run only from the long-lived community not from the private 

 individual. 



The provincial legislature can enact, for the benefit of Crown forests, any laws 

 which may safeguard the permanency of forests in the very interest of the common- 

 wealth, a possibility which it is rather difficult for the private individual to secure. 



The political platforms of the Canadian parties are unknown to me. It seems 

 to me, however, that every party should be willing to adopt a plank reading: 'All 

 absolute forest land shall be singled out; all absolute forest land belonging to the 

 Crown shall be strictly reserved ; farming on absolute forest land shall be discouraged/ 



PROFESSOR ROTH. I am delighted to be with you and thank you for the courtesy 

 extended to me. You will pardon my shortcomings, however, for I came here really 

 to listen and to learn; I came for the inspiration which one gathers from hearing dis- 

 cussions such as we have heard this morning. I am prepared, however, to support in 

 the fullest measure what Dr. Schenck has said about state forestry, or provincial 

 forestry, or Dominion forestry being very much superior to private forestry. I have 

 ventured to express the opinion at a former meeting that that was the experience all 

 the world over that the commonwealth is the good forestry, and almost the only 

 forestry. 



With regard to the selection of what is absolute forest land, I think you will have 

 the difficulties that have been met with everywhere. The fnn- ^ -tiler made his mis- 

 takes. The people have cleared millions of acres of land when have gradually drifted 

 back into forest land, because they were unfitted for agricultural purposes. This mis- 

 take was made in Europe, and was repeated in the New England states. I suppose 

 you are all aware of the fact that in the New England states there are several millions 

 of acres of land which were regarded as agricultural lands forty years ago, and were 

 even cleared and improved, and yet have proven totally unfit for continuous farming, 

 and have reverted to woods or are waste. So that to-day the New England states 

 '(small country as it is) have several millions of acres less farming land than they 

 had forty years ago. 



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