732 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



The 



Romance 



Of 



Our 



Trees 



hy 



ERNEST H. 



WILSON, 



M. A.,V. M. H. 



Jlulhot of 

 ARISTOCRAT 

 OF THE 

 GARDEN 



TRtES have ligurcd largely in religion, in 

 mythology, in social and economic life, in 

 art indeed there is no form of human ef- 

 fort that has not heen touched with the benign 

 influence of tree. 



In this volume has been assembled an extra- 

 ordinary body of facts about trees; a practical 

 book for its exposition of their uses, and a fas- 

 cinating book for its continual revelation of their 

 beauty and romance. Illustrated with beautiful 

 pictuies of historic and characteristic trees. 



From a lifetime study and experience that 

 involved travels in all parts of the world, the 

 author has gathered a vast body of interesting 

 and useful information about trees. Through- 

 out the aim has been not merely to provide a 

 manual, but a book that will present the romance 

 of its subject along with detailed and valuable 

 information. 



Beautifully illustrated from unusual photo- 

 graphs. Edition limited to 1,000 numbered 

 copies. 



Limited ediUon. Itluitraled Net, $10.00 



All Orders To 



THE AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION 



Washington, D. C. 



THEE AND SHRUB SEEDS 



Domestic aod Imported 

 "QUALITy IRST" 

 Price Li>t on Request 



Special QuaotitT Prices 



OTTO KATZENSTEIN & CO. 



Tree Seedsmen 



ATLAKTA, OEOROIA 



Established 187 



Orchids 



We are specialists in 

 Orcbldss we collect, im- 

 part, rrow, sell and (zpart tnis class of plants 

 cxclustTcljr. 



Our illustrated and descriptive catalogue of 

 Orchids mar be had on application. Als* spe- 

 cial list ot Ircsblr imported unestablished 

 Orchids 



LAGER & HURRELL 



Orchid Onwuiand Lnportsn 8UKMIT, R. J. 



CANADIAN DEPARTMENT 



BY ELLWOOD WILSON 

 PAST PRESroENT CANADIAN SOCIETY OF FOREST ENGINEERS 



The progress being made toward practical 

 and rational management of the Govern- 

 ment forests in Canada is most gratify- 

 ing. It is however only in its embryonic 

 stage and much work needs to be done. Of 

 course the first and most important thing 

 is fire protection and this is receiving more 

 and more attention. Five years ago a 

 summer like the past would have caused 

 enormous destruction, but in spite of the 

 weather and the numerous fires the loss 

 of valuable timber was not large, Much 

 has been done during the past season by 

 airplanes, not only in locating and report- 

 ing fires but also in carrying men to put 

 them out. Aerial work will certainly in- 

 crease in importance and value very rapidly 

 in this country owing to the great extent 

 of forests and the very meagre means 

 of communication. 



The second great need is for an in- 

 ventory of our forest resources. We must 

 know where the northern limit of mer- 

 chantable timber is and also the eastern. 

 Offerings of timber properties in Labrador 

 are from time to time coming on the mar- 

 ket and there seems to be no reliable in- 

 formation as to whether there is any tim- 

 ber there or no. Some reports say that 

 there is enormous wealth and others that 

 there is timber only on the rivers and sur- 

 rounding the lakes and that the hills are 

 quite bare. Many people when they hear 

 of the rapid depletion of our forests turn 

 over in bed with the comforting thought 

 that we shall only have to go a little far- 

 ther north to get all we need and want. 

 We must know the areas which have been 

 burnt over and whether they are being 

 naturally reforested or not. The areas al- 

 ready cut over must be mapped and the 

 probabilities of a new crop ascertained. It 

 seems fairly certain that one third of the 

 original forests of Canada have been burnt, 

 that is, are not now covered with merchant- 

 able timber, or with timljer that will be mer- 

 chantable in a generation. Here again the 

 airplane is doing yeoman service and it 

 is only by its help that we can get the above 

 information in time to influence our legis- 

 lators to the necessity of making long time 

 plans for the proper use of the forests. 



Knowing approximately the amount of 

 timber which we have and the annual con- 

 sumption we can at once bring the whole 

 forestry problem from the realm of opinion 

 and conjecture down to the basis of fact 

 and business necessity. Knowing how 

 many acres of merchantable timber we 

 have, how much is cut-over, how much is 

 burnt, and about how much is likely to be 

 burnt each year, and knowing the annual 



consumption we can say that we will not 

 reach the end of our supply for a century. 

 In which case the lumbermen and the gen- 

 eral lumber using public can do the wor- 

 rying. If however, it appears that our sup- 

 ply will be exhausted in fifty years or less 

 then the pulp and paper manufacturers 

 and the newspapers will begin to get ex- 

 cited and there will be not only fireworks 

 but constructive action. Fortunately since 

 the majority of timber lands in Canada 

 belong to the Provinces each one of these 

 has only to say, "Gentlemen, you are using 

 our timber faster than it grows, we must 

 reduce your allowance." There will be no 

 question of "mandatory" legislation or in- 

 vasion of property rights. In Canada, a 

 very large amount of revenue in several of 

 the Provinces comes directly from the sale 

 of stumpage and a decrease in the amount 

 of timber cut means a decrease in revenue 

 and a consequent increase in taxation. The 

 question is vital and comes home to every 

 citizen. Therefore the question is, if we 

 have only timber enough for fifty years. 

 what are we going to do about it, not fifty 

 years from now, but at once? What is the 

 proper, business-like and commonsense way 

 to handle the problem? In Europe it has 

 been abundantly proved that you must 

 spend money on your forests if you want 

 to increase your revenue, just as you do on 

 a farm or in a manufacturing plant. You 

 must get the largest possible amount of 

 timber from each acre. Many people seem 

 to think that because a pulp or paper com- 

 pany has large timber limits, several thous- 

 and square miles, that they are in a strong 

 position and have plenty of raw material 

 for the future. This does not follow. 

 There may be large burnt areas, large areas 

 of swamp or water, it is a case where tim- 

 ber per acre is the important point. It does 

 not take a financial genius to understand 

 that it is better to have one square mile of 

 land carrying 20 cords of merchantable tim- 

 ber to the acre within fifty miles of the mill 

 than to have seven square miles carrying 

 three cords of merchantable timber one 

 hundred and fifty to three hundred miles 

 away. There seems to be an idea that it 

 is better business to have large areas of 

 poor timber several hundred miles away 

 from a mill than to take care of future 

 requirements by planting right at the back 

 door of the mill. Our Governments are at 

 present selling the right to cut timber with 

 practically no regulations which will insure 

 the future productivity of the forest and 

 with absolutely no regulations which will 

 improve its condition or keep it on a basis 

 of sustained yield. The amounts spent on 



