161 



of such a class, who, when once established in the country, could train their assist- 

 ants. Officers of this stamp would, in the course of a few years, be in a position 

 to furnish the government employing them with such information as would 

 render the inauguration of a sound forest policy comparatively easy. It may be 

 objected that this plan would involve considerable expense, but what would the 

 heaviest outlay under this head amount to after all, but an infinitesimal premium 

 of insurance against the average annual loss sustained through these fires, leaving 

 all other considerations out of sight." 



To the question as to whether it would be deemed arbitrary on the part of 

 government to make it imperative upon the settlers to plant a certain number of 

 trees on their homesteads, it was replied : " I would consider such a provision one 

 suggested by ordinary prudence. In the treeless districts these plantations would 

 insure a continual supply of fuel, and afford shelter to the land. And here again 

 the necessity of practical foresters in a district makes itself apparent. In order 

 that the settler may derive the fullest benefit of such woodlands, the trees should 

 be planted in positions where they would be of real service to the arable land. 

 I would go even further in suggesting that where new town lands were laid out 

 for settlement, the position to be occupied by the plantation should be selected 

 in such manner as to afford protection to the more exposed districts. The new- 

 comer should also be advised as to the description of timber best adapted to the 

 soil, etc." 



Returning to the subject of the difficulty of raising white pine, the question 

 was raised as to whether it would not be advantageous to replant sections of 

 the country with spruce a rapid-growing timber the witness said : " Most 

 decidedly. 1 imagine however that it would be only in rare instances where it 

 would be necessary to incur the expense of planting ; regulations providing for 

 the proper protection of the young trees would answer the purpose in view. At 

 the same time the government should offer inducements, either to farmers or 

 limit-holders, to devote a small portion of their lands to the cultivation of both 

 native and foreign trees, and ascertain from time to time the rate of growth, etc. 

 The government should provide either the seeds or saplings upon which the 

 experiments were to be made." 



A member remarked that in the spruce country, by ten or fifteen years, you 

 would get quite a good crop ; but it would take a long time to grow trees from 

 the seed. When eight or ten inches in diameter let them stand ten or fifteen 

 years, and they will yield good cutting timber. 



Spruce is used in England in very large quantities. The Maritime Provinces, 

 the Gulf ports and the lower St. Lawrence ship a very considerable amount. 

 Norway is the principal source of the European supply of this wood, but it is a 

 very small size, battens 6^ inches wide and boards as narrow as 5 inches. 



A considerable portion of the trade between the north of Europe and Great 

 Britain is in the shape of manufactured goods flooring boards, window sashes, 

 doors, mouldings, frames, etc. There are many obstacles to the successful prosecu- 

 tion of this trade with respect to Canada. In the first place the manufactured goods 

 imported from the north of Europe are used principally in the construction of 

 the inferior class of houses, aud of factories, warehouses, etc. These manufactures 

 are cheap ; orders for them can be speedily executed, and can be forwarded with 

 dispatch at a moderate rate of freight to all the principal ports of Great Britain ; 

 such as are consigned for sale are also sold at very low prices, labor being cheap 

 in those countries, and the mills close to the seaboard. On the other hand the 

 builders of first-class houses in which Canadian lumber is probably used, have 

 their orders carried out under their own supervision, and were it otherwise the 

 time necessary to forward orders, the delay that might attend their expedition to 



11 (F.) 



