1912 AND FISHEIIIES COMMISSION. 167 



this Province would be beneficial, for it would eliminate to a great 

 degree the trespasses perpetrated by means of the firearms which on one 

 excuse or another are now taken into the reserves, and would, moreover, 

 greatly facilitate the detection of such offences. It is not, of course, 

 intended to imply that firearms, even though sealed, should be allowed 

 generally to be carried in the reserves, for unquestionably the prohibition 

 of the carrying of firearms altogether is the surest means of affording 

 protection to the game, but that in those cases where the law cannot be 

 enforced without undue hardship the system indicated should be avail- 

 able to guard against the weapons being made use of while the owner 

 was staying in or traversing the reserves. 



As before noted, the forest reserves of the Province contain a grea't 

 quantity of valuable pine, and there is, of course, to be found in them 

 also an abundance of timber suitUble for pulpwood and other purposes. 

 In some of the reserves lumbering concessions, granted many years ago, 

 are still in force, but it is to be noted with satisfaction that the Govern- 

 ment has had this matter under its consideration with the result that 

 arrangements have recently been made to buy out the lessees in the 

 Algonquin National Park. There can, indeed, be little question that 

 ordinary lumbering for commercial purposes is neither calculated to 

 improve the scenery nor to add to the pleasure of tourists visiting the 

 reserves, and is, moreover, a source of considerable danger to wild life, 

 so that it would appear that the efforts of the present administration 

 to abolish lumbering in the reserves cannot be too highly commended. 

 There are, indeed, such vast areas of forest lands available for pulpwood 

 and other timber in the Province that there would appear to be no excuse 

 for throwing open any further concessions in any of the reserves in the 

 future, more especially so as the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway will render 

 accessible a new area capable of meeting the demands for pulpwood, 

 at least, for many years to come. The pine on the reserves is undoubt- 

 edly very valuable and in regard to the belts of these trees, as of other 

 varieties of timber, it is to be noted that in the best interests of the 

 forests it is often advisable to remove yearly a percentage of trees, which 

 having attained old age will otherwise fall and decay, or for other 

 reasons connected with the attainment of full growth by the bulk of the 

 timber, as also, of course, in the event of an area having been burnt 

 over. It has been proved in other countries that under scientific direc- 

 tion and management forests can be made to produce an annual crop, as 

 do other products of the soil, without impairing the available quantity 

 of timber and without in any w^ay injuring the scenic effects. It would 

 seem, therefore, that if a permanent forestry corps were established, 

 one of its duties might well be to care for the reserves after this fashion, 

 but in any case it may be observed that, were it deemed advisable for 

 one reason or another to remove timber from the reserves, it would 

 appear that the operation might with advantage be undertaken by the 

 Government for the benefit of the public treasury, for after all, under 

 the license system, the bulk of the profits is diverted into private pockets. 



