1622 



Canadian Forestry Journal, April, 1918 



snow and ice in the forest during 

 the driving season. 



Danger from Fires 



The fire danger has always been a 

 menace to the estate but up to the 

 present time, no serious damage 

 has been caused. Surrounded as 

 we are by settlers and having a 

 railway passing through the heart of 

 the forest the danger is, indeed great, 

 specially during the month of May 

 and the first week of June, before 

 the young green vegetation has cov- 

 ered the forest floor, the greatest 

 precautions must be taken to put 

 out any incipient fires. 



Half the cost of patroUing the 

 railways right of way is borne by 

 the American Co., our superintendent 

 havmg authority to call on any of 

 their men in case of a serious con- 

 flagration. The right of way is pa- 

 trolled after the departure of a train 

 from Laurier or Yilleroy Stations 

 to either end of the estate. The 

 fire ranger travels on a track veloci- 

 pede and is equiped with a canvas 

 bucket and a Quebec combination 

 axe, mattock and shovel. As many 

 as 19 incipient fires have been put 

 out in a day. A monthly fire report 

 is kept, which states the number 

 of fires, their location, amount of 

 damage and their origin. Wells have 

 also been dug at every mile along 

 the right of way and telephone lines 

 installed through the forest. A spec- 

 ial gasoline motor is used to bring 

 up a fire fighting crew, when occasion 

 demands it. The cost of the fire 

 service is not more than one cent 

 and a fraction per acre. 



Tamarac Recuperating 



The forest has suffered from the 

 Tamarac saw fly as did all the other 

 timbered regions in the province; 

 as a result nearly all the merchantable 

 Tamarac is dead. There is, however, 

 a vigorous young growth coming 

 up. This tract of timber did not 

 suffer to any noticeable extent from 

 the spruce bud worm; the reason 

 perhaps being that the prevailing 

 winds, from their seat of origin, did 

 not pass over the forest. 



It has been decided that the selec- 

 tion system by divisions can best 

 fulfil the object of management on 

 this estate. 



In former years, the jobbers choose 

 their own "Chantiers" or cutting 

 areas; as was natural, they were 

 confined to the river banks, and 

 the maturing timber beyond a certain 

 distance from the rivers was rarely, 

 if ever, touched by the lumber jack. 



The new regulations distribute the 

 cutting areas over the whole track, 

 a portion, called a division, being 

 cut over a certain period, usually one 

 or two years. The size of the division 

 varies according to the amount of 

 timber it contains. Natural bound- 

 aries, such as rivers and swamps, 

 are chosen as much as possible. 

 The division is divided into com- 

 partment a mile square, or containing 

 640 acres. These compartments are 

 required for scientific calculation and 

 orientation. The compartments are 

 divided when necessary into working 

 blocks (chantiers) which are under 

 the control of a jobber. 



Roman numerals are used to des- 

 ignate the divisions, the compart- 

 ments have figures and the working 

 blocks letters. 



The trees to be felled are marked 

 by the forester and his crew before 

 the jobbers begin their work. The 

 regulations contained in the contract 

 with the jobber serve as a guide to 

 the marking crew. No hard and 

 fast rule is followed in the marking, 

 as many trees below the diameter 

 limit will have to be felled. These 

 are trees which are liable to be 

 broken or damaged by falling trees 

 which have been cut in the neighbor- 

 hood; trees which left would be 

 subject to wind throw; infected trees, 

 suppressed trees and damaged trees. 

 On the other hand some trees will 

 have to be left standing which have 

 the required diameter but must re- 

 main as wind breaks and seed trees. 



The Cutting Plan 



A jobber, before undertaking a 

 contract specifies to the administrator 



