1976 



Canadian Forestry Journal, December, 1918 



Air Fighters for Timber Guarding 



On the subject of aerial forest 

 patrol the Montreal Star thus quotes 

 Mr. George R. Sighthall, honorary 

 secretary of the Canadian Division 

 of the Aerial League of the British 

 Empire: 



Among the best services these 

 aviators will be able to render to 

 their country will be forest ranging. 

 The Dominion has such vast terri- 

 tories of timbered lands that it is 

 impossible at present properly to 

 patrol even the fringes of them; and 

 the fire losses of Canada run into 

 millions upon millions of dollars. 

 The forest rangers now go on horse- 

 back or by canoe, taking days and 

 weeks to travel from one point to 

 another from which they can take a 

 survey of the surrounding country, 

 and then, owing to the illimitable 

 territory, are only able to guess at 

 the exact place where the fires are 

 raging. Then it takes them days 

 to get back and set in motion the 

 fire fighting forces of the countryside. 



By the establishment of an aerial 

 forest ranging service, aviators could 

 cover hundreds of miles in a day, 

 and with the knowledge of map read- 

 ing and other sciences they are now 

 learning overseas, would be able at 

 once to locate the position of a fire 

 and fly to the nearest habitation to 

 send out the alarm, and save thous- 



ands of acres of timbered lands from 

 destruction. Mr, Lighthall expressed 

 the belief that by the establishment 

 of such a service the fire losses of 

 Canada would be better than cut in 

 half, and the appalling destruction 

 of the country's timber resources lim- 

 ited. The amount of property that 

 would be saved in one year by such a 

 force would pay for the cost of 

 such service many times over. 



Senator George E. Foster, chair- 

 man of the Aerial Transit Commit- 

 tee of the Aerial League also believes 

 in the practicability of such service. 

 He says: 



"Those of us who realize the im- 

 mense value of the timbered area of 

 Canada must appreciate the fact that 

 the great destruction from fire of 

 our forest reserves must cease if 

 we are to provide pulp and paper 

 for the world, as some of us dream. 

 I am one of those who hope that the 

 Government will see its way to assist 

 in this development.. I am satis- 

 fied that if we do not do so we will 

 be blamed by that splendid band of 

 Canadian heroes who will come back 

 from France and Italy and other 

 fronts, imbued with dreams of na- 

 tional development, and who will 

 blame us if we fail to take the pre- 

 liminary steps necessary in order to 

 gratify their ambitions." 



To Victory Loan Subscribers 



A letter to the Canadian Forestry Journal, by Talbot Lee, Toronto. 



You are now in partnership with 

 the Dominion Government. 



As a Canadian citizen you have 

 always been interested in the conserva- 

 tion of Canada's national assets. 

 Now more than ever it is your con- 

 cern to see that these assets, one which 

 your loan security is based, are not 

 in any way depreciated. 



The forests of Canada, occupying 

 in the main, areas unfit for agricul- 

 tural development, form one of the 

 most important components of our 



national wealth, the exported pro- 

 ducts of which equal those of all 

 other manufactured goods put to- 

 gether. 



Negligence in the past, has con- 

 signed to the flames two-thirds of 

 Canada's original timber wealth. 



The most potent factor in prevent- 

 ing a continuance of this disastrous 

 state of affairs is to be found in the 

 activities of the Canadian Forestry 

 Association. 



Their power to extend these activ- 



