1Q6 CANADIAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION. 



trees by the after lumbering fire may on the other hand mean the laying waste of the 

 tract for a long time, for in the absence of seed trees of the desirable species the 

 ground can only become occupied by weeds and such inferior trees as birch and poplar, 

 which on account of the lightness of the seeds may be blown in from great distances. 

 The destruction of the small trees and seedlings by such slash fires is indeed often the 

 ruination of what was once a valuable forest so far as the future production of valua- 

 ble timber is concerned. The destruction of the soil itself is of course much the 

 greatest possible calamity, for not only does it remove for all time the possibility of 

 restoring the forest but it brings about the most dangerous possible condition as re- 

 gards stream flow. The rain falling on such a soil-burned area runs quickly downward 

 bearing with it a full load of ash and silt. Streamlet unites with streamlet to form 

 lorrents in every gully. The torrents unite to form floods in the larger valleys. Reach- 

 ing the level agricultural lands the floods spread out and slack the speed of their 

 waters sufficiently to deposit the coarser gravel and sand as they flow onward peeking 

 the shortest course to the ocean. Could any contrast he greater than that of a moun- 

 tain stream before and after the destruction of the forest by fire. In the first case we 

 have the spring streams flowing perennially from that unsurpassed reservoir, the forest 

 soil, with its blessing of pure water, and steady flow for domestic use, for power, for 

 irrigation, and for navigation. The forest destroyed, the streams become torrents 

 during rains which rushing valleyward loaded with silt and debris from the steeper 

 slopes, may become agents of destruction or irresistible power. This destructive power 

 is shown by the carrying away of bridges, homes, and even whole villages ; in the silt- 

 ing over of the agricultural lands of the valleys often making them entirely worthless. 

 tnd in the filling up of the river and harbour channels by the deposit, as the flood 

 finally slows down, of the finer particles of their soil load robbed from the mountain 

 side. 



Just a little over a century ago, the French people under the influence and mis- 

 application of Adam Smith's teachings regarding ownership of property, divided up 

 much forest property which had been formerly held by the state. As private owners 

 are always prone to do, the new proprietors proceeded to lumber their little holdings. 

 This lumbering with its following fires destroyed the forest of about a millions acres 

 in twenty mountain compartments in the Alps, Oevennes, and Pyrenees. The denuda-"" 

 tion of the million acres caused the destruction of some eight million acres of once fer- 

 tile soil in the valleys by erosion and silting, whole communities becoming impo- 

 verished. The French government has since spent $20,000,000 in reforesting the de- 

 nuded mountain slopes, but so great has the injury been from the erosion of the soil 

 that it is estimated that $30,000,000 more will be required to complete the task. 



FOREST OWNERSHIP. 



From what has already been said of the functions of the forest it will be evident 

 lhat the state which has in its care the interest of all the people and of future genera- 

 tions as well as present populations is logically the only rightful owner of large areas 

 oi non-agricultural lands. Private ownership always means utilization for private 

 advantage. In the great majority of cases the only interest the private owner has is 

 Inat of financial profit and in most cases it is desired that the returns be realized at 

 an early day. Even when private forest properties are managed conservatively there 

 is in America practically no guarantee that should the property pass to heirs or the 

 personnel of the ownership change in other ways that the conservative policy would 

 be continued. This, however, is not the most important feature. Private ownership, 

 meaning as it does, that private and local interests only will be consulted in matters 

 of policy, it follows that a forest which may be of the utmost importance in con- 

 serving the water supply of a city, or of an area requiring water for irrigation, or some 



* plant, may nevertheless be exploited as the immediate interest of the private 

 owner dictates wholly without regard to the injury inflicted on industries at lower 



