974 



Canadian Forestry Journal, February, 1917 



Doubtless the strain placed upon 

 the country's resources has compelled 

 many people to examine more closely 

 national sources of income and in this 

 way the forests have assumed an in- 

 terest and importance previously 

 withheld. Then, too, the greatly 

 increased knowledge of the manage- 

 ment of natural resources in the 

 countries now at war has brought us 

 to realize our unfavorable rate of pro- 

 gress in the application of forestry 

 principles. 



The Public Awakening 



During the past year, the Canadian 

 Forestry Association has taken ad- 

 vantage to the limit of its powers of 

 the new opportunities for propagan- 

 dist work. It is gratifying to fmd so 

 many evidences that Governments, 

 corporations, and individuals recog- 

 nize the resonableness of those ob- 

 jects for which the Association has 

 long contended. The record of fores- 

 try progress in 1916 alone would 

 justify our efforts during many years 

 past. We should regard with much 

 satisfaction the many signs of public 

 awakening from coast to coast and 

 look forward to a steady advance in 

 forest conservation in years to come. 



In all parts of the world the forest 

 conservation movement advances or 

 lags according to the local need for 

 and valuation upon wood supplies 

 and the profits from commercial ex- 

 ploitation of forest materials. The 

 great stimulation to the news print 

 paper manufacturing industry in 

 Canada during the past year, due to 

 an increased demand from the United 

 States, has contributed a new basis of 

 values to Canadian spruce and bal- 

 sam forests. It has equally emphasi- 

 zed the gravity of our preventable 

 forest fires and brings into the fore- 

 ground of profitable propositions the 

 replanting of cut-over and barren 

 lands by pulp and paper companies, 

 as well as by Governments. 



The "Idea of, Science" 



Much importance may also be at- 

 tached to the work of the Technical 

 Section of the Canadian Pulp and 

 Paper Association which has de- 

 veloped remarkably during the year. 



The necessity for technical study of 

 industry, wherein the Forest Products 

 Laboratories at Montreal are now 

 playing an important part, is re- 

 cognized today as never before. We 

 may reasonably look forward to the 

 application of scientific methods to all 

 industries engaged in wood manufac- 

 ture, thereby achieving economy and 

 efficiency from the woods operations 

 through to the finished product. 



Ontario's Move 



The action of the Ontario Govern- 

 ment in creating a new department 

 of forest protection under the direc- 

 tion of the Provincial Forester, Mr. 

 E. J. Zavitz, may be taken as the out- 

 standing occurrence of the past year 

 as far as concerns the objects of this 

 Association. The Minister of Lands, 

 Forests and Mines has definitely un- 

 dertaken not only to re-organize the 

 forest protection system which has 

 been admittedly inefficient for a great 

 many years, but to support the new 

 department in the construction of 

 permanent improvements for fire de- 

 tection and fire fighting, and to bring 

 before the Legislature a settlers' per- 

 mit law, applying the plan of 'burning 

 permits' to at least a portion of the 

 timbered area. If thoroughly carried 

 out, as we believe they will be, these 

 provisions as announced by the 

 Minister will tend to prevent periodi- 

 cal destruction of lives and great 

 losses in forest wealth. 



I may be permitted to say also, 

 that while the Association pledges 

 itself to support the Minister of 

 Lands, Forests and Mines in carry- 

 ing out his new policy of effective 

 forest protection, we contend that 

 our critical attitude towards the old 

 system in Ontario and our campaigns 

 to stimulate public sentiment to de- 

 mand a thorough reform were alto- 

 gether justified. The Association's 

 work in Ontario has been an illustra- 

 tion of the need for just such an in- 

 dependent, unhampered body work- 

 ing in the public interest. 



In New Brunswick. 



The Government of New Bruns- 

 wick has undertaken a forest survey 

 and land classification scheme which 



