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Canadian Foresfri) Journal, June, I91S 1725 



Forestry Course for Returned Soldiers 



I Commencinj^ March 25, a four 

 weeks' course in forestry for returned 

 veterans who desire to qualify as 

 forest guards was opened in Van- 

 couver under the auspices of the 

 Vocational Branch of the Military 

 hospitals Commission, the classes 

 being" intended to serve students from 

 the four western provinces. It was 

 stipulated that men enrolling should 

 be in fairly good physical condition, 

 have a fair education, and possess 

 previous experience as lumbermen, 

 loggers, trappers or ranchers. The 

 course of instruction will cover lec- 

 tures, demonstrations and field work 

 on the subjects noted below: 



1. Elementary Forest Survey — (a) 

 Use of instruments ;(b) system of land 

 surveys; (c) mapping. 



2. Forest Protection — ^(a) Fire pre- 

 vention; (b) fire detection; (c) fire 

 fighting; (d) fire laws. 



3. Forest Management — (a) Na- 

 - ture of forest; (b) identification of tree 



species: (c) principles of administra- 

 tion. 



The following well-known forest 

 engineers and professors have been 

 engaged as instructors: H. R. Mac- 

 Millan, M.S.F., assistant director of 

 aeronautical supplies. Imperial Muni- 

 tions Board; Judson Clark, Ph.D., 

 fores! engineer; P. L. Lyford, forest 

 engineer; R. D. Craig, M.S.F., dis- 

 trict inspector. Imperial Ministry of 

 Munitions; E. H. Finlayson, B.S.F., 

 inspector of Dominion forest re- 

 serves. Alberta; D. R. Cameron, B.A., 

 B.S.F., inspector of Dominion forest 

 reserves, British Columbia; W. J. 

 VanDusen, B.S.F., district forester: 

 Professor MacLean, University of 

 British Columbia; J. Davidson, 

 University of British Columbia, and 

 Mr. Lighthall of the B.C. University, 

 who is also Dominion land survevor. 



first. He can't kill the Land or 

 Mines, but the Forest is his natural 

 prey. 



Are you aiding the Fire Fiend 

 this year? If not, put out your camp- 

 fire, lighted match and cigarette. 



Millions of acres in Canada are 

 growing excellent timber. New in- 

 dustries are coming to use that 

 timber. Thousands of workmen will 

 be given good jobs. 



But we cannot have both the in- 

 dustries and FOREST FIRES. One 

 kills the other. 



Forest fires are preventible. Put 

 out your camp fire, lighted match or 

 cigarette when in the bush. 



A NATIONAL WARNING 

 Canada will pay her war debt from 



her productive Lands and Forests and 



Mines. 



The Fire Fiend, who is the Kaiser's 



ally, is scheming to finish the Forests 



SETTLING SOLDIERS 

 In many of the schemes of soldier 

 settlement and the encouragement 

 of immigration after the war, there 

 appears for almost the first time some 

 concern for the quality of the land, 

 on which homesteading shall be 

 permitted. We may read in this 

 some hope that examination of soil 

 in advance of settlement may reduce 

 the amazing evils consequent upon 

 indiscriminate "locating." Cana- 

 dians, as a rule, have been slow to 

 recognize that the normal, profitable 

 crop on most non-agricultural soils 

 is timber and that the bitterest ex- 

 perience a government can visit upon 

 a farmer is to establish him in de- 

 fiance of Nature's fundamental laws. 

 One of the primary duties of the 

 Soldiers' Settlement Board will be 

 to guard the soldier-settler from the 

 pitiful consequences of a bad loca- 

 tion. If areas are hastily thrown 

 open without thorough examination 

 by foresters and soil experts, whose 

 advice will be accepted as final, the 

 efforts of the Board will prove worse 

 than useless. It will be a matter of 

 great interest to the Forestry Asso- 

 ciation and its members to follow the 

 work of the Board and ascertain how 

 far scientific guidance in the selection 

 of lands for veterans is allowed to 

 dominate. 



