Canadian Forcslrij Journal, October, 1917 



1329 



Canada's Foresters at the Battle Front 



Newsy Letters Telling of War Ex- 

 periences in Forest and Trench. 



Lieut. Alan E. Parlow, Forest 

 Assistant, Dominion Forest Reserves 

 British Columbia, in writing to a 

 friend in Canada, says:- 



"The Forestry Companies seem to 

 have greatly impressed the French 

 with their speed and efficiency though 

 their methods are careless when com- 

 pared with French practice. The 

 experience of our lumber men in 

 managed forests here should make a 

 difference to their attitude when they 

 return to Canada." 



Fire Guarding in France 



Co. Q.M.S. Fred Fischer, Chief 

 Fire Ranger, The Pas, Manitoba, 

 (writing from the Headciuarters of 

 the Forestry Corps, France: 



I may say that our district is do- 

 ing fine work in the pine forests. 

 The timber is fair average but owing 

 to the custom of scoring the trees 

 with long parallel cuts, the bark 

 grows around these scars in ridges, 

 making it necessary to take off a 

 thick slab, which waste is however 

 not lost as every particle of the tree 

 is utilised even to the small limbs 

 which are made into charcoal and the 

 roots into fire wood. The practice 

 of scoring the trees is to obtain the 

 gum which is collected and after a 

 certain process is made into resin 

 products. This industry is of great 

 importance in the country. You 

 may therefore imagine that our opera- 

 tions are not looked upon by the 

 natives with any degree of enthus- 

 iasm, as they depend largely on this 

 industry for a living. 



"The system of fire protection 

 here is very good, if expensive, but 

 the timber warrants the expenditure. 

 The forests are generally divided into 

 squares of about 100 acres or more 

 by fire guards of about 200 feet wide 

 which are cleared, ploughed and kept 

 free from vegetation; wells are sunk 

 at regular intervals insuring a supply 



of water, which is easily obtained 

 at an average depth of 4 to 6 feet. 

 Permanent fire guardians are also 

 kept on the different estates. 



(Fire guards are generally much 

 narrower and the tendency is to- 

 wards decreasing their width. — Ed. 



On Hoiuiizcr Duty 



Capt. L. N. Seaman, Forest Pro- 

 ducts Laboratories of Canada, De- 

 partment of the Interior: Since writ- 

 ing last I have been posted to a 

 Howitzer Battery. We came out 

 here over a month ago and have since 

 been situated in a very warm corner 

 of the line pushing over large pills 

 towards Fritz with a long thrust, 

 and I have good reason to believe 

 with splendicl precision and effect. 

 It is hard work, and trying, but my 

 knowledge of engineering has been 

 of the greatest value to me in moving 

 oui" piece. 



Four-foot Beech 



Pte. Frank Haworth, Forest Rang- 

 er, Clearwater Forest, (writing from 

 France: "This is a finely wooded 

 country^ — some of the finest beech 

 I ever saw. Some of them are as 

 large as 33^2 or 4 feet on the stump. 

 Also some very fine oak. There 

 seems to be very little softwood. 

 Some pine, but very small." 



Lieut. L. C. Tilt, Assistant to the 

 District Inspector of Dominion For- 

 est Reserves in Manitoba. 



An Oak 6 Feet Diameter 



I was down to see an extra fine 

 stand of oak recently in the Forest 

 of Compiegne which runs about oO 

 M. ft. B.M. per acre. This is used 

 as a park now and they are only 

 cutting the trees that blow down. 

 There are numerous oak there 30 

 inches, and 90 feet high. There is 

 one thev have named the Oak of the 

 Allies. It is over 6 feet in diameter 



