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any but one or two ports, and above all the short season of open navigation, are 

 so many obstacles in the path of the Canadian manufacturer. 



It might be added to the foregoing that English dwellings of the best class 



O O O Cj O 



are not constructed with so much uniformity of style as they are on this side of 

 the Atlantic. An enterprising firm might, no doubt, surmount some of these 

 difficulties by establishing a depot for the sale of its goods, and forwarding a 

 plentiful supply of stock during the summer season ; or, better still, appoint as 

 agents in Europe firms of high standing in the trade, likely to be able to dispose 

 of large consignments. But to succeed it would be necessary to possess enter- 

 prise, capital, and an intimate acquaintance with the details of English building 

 operations. 



As to hemlock, it was thought that when pine becomes more scarce and 

 costly it would come into demand. If its peculiar qualities were as well known 

 in Europe as in the United States, it would be generally used there also for the 

 flooring of large warehouses, particularly where grain is stored. 



" In respect to fires, forests in Europe are differently situated from those in 

 this country. They are not in such unbroken stretches as they are here. Except 

 in parts of Russia and the north of Sweden, there are numerous villages scattered 

 through them. Most of the inhabitants of those villages are employed in the 

 forests, either as charcoal-burners or otherwise. Every forest of any extent has 

 its regular staff" of officers and rangers, whose special duty it is to watch over its 

 safety. Open spaces and broad belts of cleared land are kept up on purpose to 

 prevent fire from spreading. The ground is not encumbered with such quan- 

 tities of debris as is usual in this country. There are no inexperienced settlers, 

 no reckless workmen, and no careless hunters at hand to court the ravages of this 

 destructive element. The people employed in the forests are interested in their 

 preservation, and stringent police regulations control all others. Notwith- 

 standing all these precautions, fires do occasionally occur ; but of late years they 

 are becoming rare, 'and on a smaller scale. Probably very few fires occur from 

 lightning, as it is almost invariably accompanied by heavy rain-storms and if a 

 fire should occur from lightning the rain would almost invariably put it out. In- 

 quiries directed to this point had resulted in tracing two great fires in the Ottawa 

 Valley to lightning, but they occurred some time ago." 



The question of the influence of forests upon the climate of the country and 

 of the effect of clearings being raised, Mr. Thayne replied : " I have endeavored 

 to obtain information upon this point, but without results that would enable me 

 to form a definite opinion. Unfortunately such meteorological observations as 

 have been registered were made at points too far from the influence of forests to 

 be able to denote any but the most trivial changes during the comparatively 

 short period that the subject has received attention. These observations, to be of 

 real use for the purposes referred to, should be made at many points scattered 

 over a wide area. There can be little doubt that the clearings made by the 

 settlers, and more particularly by the forest fires, must already begin to exercise 

 a certain amount of influence on the climate of this portion of the Ottawa Valley. 

 Still, the total absence of any observations at or above this point renders it 

 impossible to express any opinion on the subject." 



The effect of planting upon the prairies being referred to, its importance was 

 urged in the strongest terms : " In the various accounts I have read of the prairie 

 land of the North-west, I find frequent mention of the sudden changes of tem- 

 perature. Severe frosts occur sometimes after the crops have been sown, and 

 again before they have been reaped ; or the temperature of the night is often 

 much lower than that of the day. Then these plains are exposed to violent 

 tempests through the cold currents of the Arctic regions coming into contact 



