128 



Canadian Forestry Journal, September-October, 1912. 



Discussing Mr. Leavitt 's ])aper, Mr. E. 

 H. Finlayson, of the Doniinion Forestry 

 Service stationed in Alberta, Saskatche- 

 wan and Manitoba, tohl of the harmon- 

 ious results obtained since the first ar- 

 rang-enient of fire patrols on the prairies. 

 Rangers are now established in sections 

 that can be covered once a week. He said 

 that patrols would be found cheaper than 

 fire-guards. 



Mr. James White, secretuvv of the 

 Commission of Conservation, followed 

 with a reference to the old law whereun- 

 der the onus of proof of fires from railway 

 causes rested yc\.1\\ the prosecutor, and 

 spoke of its alteration by Hon. Geo. P. 

 Graham, who caused amendments to the 

 effect that railways should provide fire- 

 fighting forces, and bear the onus of proof. 

 The fact that British Columbia did not 

 agree on the matter of oil fuel for rail- 



ion Forest Reserves for Alberta, read a 

 paper on 'The Organization Work of the 

 Dominion Forest Service in Western Can- 

 ada. ' In this he sketched the size of the 

 Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve of 

 twelve million acres, one of the largest on 

 the continent. He showed its resources in 

 timber, minerals, water-powers and game, 

 and spoke of its high value from a scenic 

 standpoint. The reserve had been divided 

 into five administrative units, varying in 

 size from one million acres to four million 

 acres, each in the charge of a Forest Su- 

 pervisor. Some of the problems present- 

 ed were given. There were no maps of the 

 district, not even such as might be made 

 by rapid reconnaissance. The Forestry 

 Branch had neither funds nor equipment 

 for this work, but was endeavoring to get 

 the Topographical Surveys Branch to un- 

 dertake it. There was no knowledge of 



An Example of Wasteful Lumbering in British Columbia. 



ways after 1914 was also mentioned, the 

 provincial opposition being on account of 

 the detriment to the coal-mining industry. 

 Mr. White bore testimony to the value of 

 the work being done by Mr. Leavitt and 

 urged that in order to secure absolute con- 

 trol of all railways the provincial gov- 

 ernments should adopt similar regulations 

 to those put in force by the railway com- 

 mission in regard to lines under federal 

 jurisdiction. 



Mr. Charles F. Lindmark, Revelstoke, 

 intimated that he would later bring be- 

 fore the association a resolution recom- 

 mending the placing of the forests in the 

 control of an independent commission re- 

 moved from politics. 



Mr. W. N. Millar, Inspector of Domin- 



the kind and state of the timber. While 

 the reserve was under the Forestry 

 Branch, the regulations as to cutting were 

 under the Dominion Lands Office. When 

 the making of these regulations was trans- 

 ferred to the Forestry Branch the latter 

 must study carefully the question of dis- 

 posal of 'slash' as related to reproduction 

 and the keeping down of fires. A better 

 standard of qualification for the rangers 

 was advocated, and in this regard better 

 terms and more permanency of employ- 

 ment and the separation of the service 

 from politics. 



Reducing Waste. 



Mr. J. B. Knapp, assistant district for- 

 ester in the United States Forest Service, 



