240 REPORT OF THE No. 3 



stumped and cropped, but the greater part has been used for pasture farms and 

 wood lots. The approximate areas of the different types are as follows: — 



Broken and stumped 50 acres 



Broken and partially stumped 100 " 



Second growth in pasture 300 " 



Pine stumps and pasture 350 " 



Mixed growth along creek bottoms 100 '■ 



Swamp 100 " 



There were no buildings on the property of any great value at the time of 

 purchase. One six roomed bungalow was built and made ready for use for the 

 winter. As the property was not taken over until September of 1922, most of 

 the work done was of the nature of clearing up and cultivation of the soil. Owing 

 to the unclean condition of the land, no seed beds were sown. A few nursery 

 beds were put in containing 400,000 seedlings from St. Williams and twenty-five 

 bushels of butternuts were planted. 



PROVINCIAL FOREST PLANTATIONS. 



SAND BANKS. 



During the past year, the work at the Sand Banks has been put on 

 a permanent basis. A foreman has been placed in charge and a house and 

 a few acres of land purchased to serve as headquarters. In addition to this, a 

 storehouse and workshop combined and a stable have been erected during the 

 summer. As the work of checking the sand dunes is not expected to show tan- 

 gible results until the trees planted have put on a few years' growth, and as the 

 sand still continues to cover up privately owned property, the government has 

 offered to purchase land which is thus endangered as well as that which has 

 already been covered up. A flat rate of fifty dollars an acre for agricultural and 

 forested land, and ten dollars an acre for sand covered land has been decided 

 upon, and up to the present most of the land owners adjacent to the banks have 

 sold their property at this price. 



By having control of these fringes of good land and especially by insuring 

 permanency of the remaining clumps of mature cedar, the work for the future is 

 safe guarded. Also, some of the land thus acquired is suitable for nursery work, 

 and already a large quantity of planting material has been transferred from St. 

 Williams to nursery beds here, awaiting final planting on the banks. 



The work of tree planting was continued during the spring. The protective 

 belts of willow and poplar were widened and supplemented where necessary.- 

 Large areas, where the drift was most severe, were planted solid with limb 

 material. In addition to the planting on the exposed areas, a number of small 

 plantations were set out in corners of good fields and in protected places. 



SIMCOE COUNTY. 



Simcoe is the first of the counties to take advantage of the offer of 

 the government to reforest waste land. The tract purchased consists 

 of one thousand acres of light soil in Vespra Township about eight miles from 

 Barrie. At one time this section of the township was covered with big pine, and 

 since it was cut, small areas have been farmed with varying success. The greater 

 part, however, remains unstumped. 



