118 EEPOKT OF THE No. 3 



Forest fire control in Ontario will be at a standstill until it is recognized: 



(1) That forest protection is a specialized business requiring a permanent 

 trained organization, and 



(2) That no organization can give efficient service without the adoption of 

 the merit system in making appointments and promotions. 



II. Eeforestation. 



Reforestation is a term which is used in Ontario, in rather a loose way, with 

 various meanings. Eeforestation is frequently spoken of in a broad way to mean 

 the regulation of timber operations to protect the young or second growth; that is, 

 securing a new crop by leaving parent seed trees or undersized young growth 

 which will eventually develop a future harvest. This may be spoken of as natural 

 reforestation to distinguish it from artificial reforestation where a new crop is 

 secured by planting either seed or young plants. 



Ontario presents two distinct problems in regard to reforestation: 



The securing of continuous wood crops on the Crown lands of the Laurentian 

 plateau which comprise at least fifty million acres of northern Ontario. 



The reforesting of the larger waste areas and assisting and encouraging the 

 private waste land and woodland owner of southern Ontario. 



The writer believes that artificial reforestation in the Laurentian plateau of 

 the north is not feasible at present, although many districts within this region are 

 at present almost destitute of the more valuable species such as pine and spruce. 

 Before any consideration can be given this problem we must secure some assurance 

 of reasonable protection for this area. Owing to . the excessive cost of artificial 

 reforesting we must do everything possible to regulate timber operations so that 

 natural reproduction will be given some chance to insure future crops. During 

 this last season we have had whole townships swept over with fire. To re-stock 

 a thirty-six square mile township with pine or spruce would cost at least $100,000.00. 

 Our first problem in the forest regions of the Laurentian plateau is to secure 

 a forest organization which will give adequate fire protection and regulation of 

 cutting in order to insure natural re-stocking. 



Turning to the problem in southern Ontario, where the land has largely left 

 the Crown, we find that there exists only about 9 per cent, of woodland of inferior 

 quality with many townships having less than 5 per cent. 



In addition to the inferior wood lots and smaller waste areas of the farm, 

 there exist throughout older Ontario many large areas of waste land almost devoid 

 of tree growth, and in many cases composed of blowing sand. 



While the industries of southern Ontario must largely depend upon the north 

 for timber supplies, yet it is imperative that an effort be made to reforest these 

 local waste areas if we are to secure a future wood supply. The writer believes 

 that this problem can best be solved by the creation of demonstration forest stations 

 throughout older Ontario similar to that now established in Norfolk county. 

 These stations will not only reclaim waste lands but will supply planting material 

 to private owners and will be a local demonstration of reforestation. 



At the provincial forest station in Norfolk County we have about three 

 hundred acres of forest plantations in various stages. These plantations are thriv- 

 ing and have become splendid demonstrations of what may be expected from work 

 of this kind. The influence of this work is demonstrated in the fact that a large 

 number of private owners in this district have taken advantage of the government 



