24 



Canadian Forestry Journal, Jan. -Feb., 1912. 



exhausting the supply of merchantable 

 timber in twenty years. 



The chairman also discussed the work 

 of the commission in forestry matters. It 

 had taken an active part in getting the 

 Kocky Mountain forest reserve and the 

 obtaining of legislation in regard to the 

 measures to be taken by railways against 

 forest fires. 



Afternoon Session. 



In the afternon the first item on the 

 program was an address by Dr. J. W. Eob- 

 ertson, who gave a report in some detail 

 on the agricultural survey of the Domin- 

 ion. ITe discussed also seed-selection, 

 weeds and plant diseases and illustration 

 farms. 



The Eocky Mountain Forest Eeserve. 



Mr. E. H. Campbell, Director of For- 

 estry, then addressed the Commission on 

 the Eocky Mountain forest reserve. He 

 referred to the boundaries of the reserve 

 as first set apart by Council and exjdain- 

 ed how it had been necessary to enlarge 

 these. The general principle laid down in 

 marking out the eastern boundary of the 

 reserve was to include all land lying at 

 an elevation of 4000 feet or over, above 

 which agriculture could not be carried on. 

 Timber line was, generallv speaking, at an 

 elevation of 6000 to 7000 feet. The chief 

 trees were Engelmann spruce, Douglas fir 

 and lodgepole pine. The supply of timber 

 was very important for the coal mines of 

 the Eastern slope, and the reserve was also 

 important on account of its including the 

 sources of the chief streams watering the 

 prairies, and hence was important for irri- 

 gation, domestic water supply and power. 



Mr. Campbell then summarized the pro- 

 visions of the Forest Eeserves Act of 1911. 

 He then went on to treat particularly the 

 provisions of the Act. Only portions of 

 the reserve were made into game preser- 

 ves, but in these a very fair amount of 

 protection had been given and the results 

 were noticeable. 



The two great objects of the adminis- 

 tration of the reserve, however, were the 

 protection of the timber from fire and the 

 protection of the water supply. The cost 

 of administration of the forests in Ger- 

 many was at least one dollar per acre, and 

 in tiie United States two cents per acre 

 were allowed for the administration. So 

 far, the government of Canada had not 

 granted even one cent per acre for the ad- 

 ministration of the Eocky Mountain re- 

 serve. There were many sources of dan- 

 ger from fire within the reserve. The 

 greatest of these was the railways. The 

 administration must be got into shape at 

 once, so as to be effective when danger 

 should come. Trails must be built to 

 points commanding a view of the sur- 

 rounding country, so as to discern fires, 



and also all through the forest so that men 

 can get quickly to the scene of a fire. 

 There should also be a system of tele- 

 phones, so that help could be quickly sum- 

 moned. The disposal of the debris after 

 lumbering was also important. A para- 

 mount question was tliat of the reproduc- 

 tion following lumbering. In the admin- 

 istration of the reserve there must be one 

 man at the head, called perhaps an inspec- 

 tor. The reserve must be, for administra- 

 tive purposes, broken up into districts, 

 probably four in number, with a scientific- 

 ally trained man in charge of each. Un- 

 der these there should be a staff of fire- 

 rangers, probably a dozen rangers for each 

 division. 



After resolutions favoring the exten- 

 sion of certain portions of the work of 

 the Committee on Lands and for the 

 establishment of a Dominion Laboratory 

 had been agreed to, it was moved by Dr. 

 Geo. Bryce, seconded by Mr. McCool, and 

 carried; — That Dr. B. E. Fernow be ap- 

 pointed as the special representative of 

 the Commision of Conservation to co-oper- 

 ate with His Honor Judge Mabee, Chair- 

 man of the Eailway Commission, in the 

 granting of regulations, under the law re- 

 quiring railways to protect from fire for- 

 ests through which they pass, and that 

 Hon. W. C. Edwards, Dr. Fernow and the 

 Chairman of the Commission be a com- 

 mittee to further the general purposes of 

 the work in connection with the Eailway 

 Commission. 



It was also moved by Hon. W. C. Ed- 

 wards, seconded by Eev. Dr. Bryce, that in 

 view of the enormous importance of this 

 subject the Commission of Conservation 

 recommends that an appropriation of not 

 less than <:f^l 10,000 be provided for forest 

 protection in the Eocky Mountain forest 

 reserve during the fiscal year 1912-3. The 

 motion was agreed to. 



Dr. J. G. Adami was, on motion, ap- 

 pointed the representative of the Commis- 

 sion, in conjunction with representatives 

 of tlie province of Ontario and the city 

 of Toronto, on a commission to secure a 

 more complete organization of agencies 

 for the suppression of tuberculosis. 



Eesolutions were also passed directing 

 the Committee on Public Health to repre- 

 sent the Commission on questions regard- 

 ing town ]ilanning, approving the experi- 

 ments regarding the use of peat for fuel 

 and urging their continuance, making cer- 

 tain changes in the personnel of the Com- 

 mission in accordance with certain changes 

 in the Dominion and yirovincial ministries 

 and appointing Dr. C. C. Jones and Hon. 

 H. S. Beland as chairmen of the Fisheries, 

 Game and Fur-bearing Animals Commit- 

 tee and the Water-powers Committee respec- 

 ti\ely, and adding to the personnel of cer- 

 tain committees. 



The meeting then adjourned. 



