108 CANADIAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION 



Considerable work has been accomplished during the course of the year. 

 Among other things we ought to congratulate the Government on having sent young 

 men like Mr. Piche and Mr. Bedard to Yale University to study Forestry questions ; 

 and you may judge from the essay which Mr. Piche read this morning how much 

 we have to hope for from these young forest engineers. 



" I must not omit," says the report, "to make mention here of the work recently 

 inaugurated by Mr. G. C. Piche" and Mr. Avila Bedard, forest engineers, having refer- 

 ence to questions of primary importance, the inspection of lands, the protection 

 of forests, the prevention of excessive cuttings, the reproduction of timber forests, 

 either by seeding or by planting, and, on the last subject, to note especially the 

 excellent memorandum recommending the establishment of a nursery, intended, 

 according to the idea of the author, to accomplish the following results : 



" 1st. Reforestation of arable lands abandoned by agriculturists. 



"2nd. Restoration of forest lands ruined by exploitation and by forest fires. 



" 3rd. Introduction of valuable species in our great forests in order to increase 

 their yield. 



" 4th. Reforestation of sandy, bare or treeless districts. 



" 5th. Rapid creation of forests on large areas. 



" 6th. Establishment of vegetation on rocks. 



" 7th. Acclimatization of foreign species. 



"This project, strongly supported by Mgr. Laflamme, has now a prospect of 

 full realization; but I refrain from speaking of it at greater length, because, to speak 

 truth, it is about to be put into effect. See Appendices 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 

 26, 27, 28, and 72." 



This report is signed by the Hon. Adelard Turgeon. 



I ask your pardon, gentlemen, for having spoken incoherently, but, in taking 

 part in this Forestry Congress, I have considered it my duty to listen to all the 

 theories on protection which can be applied to our forest domain, in order to form 

 my judgment later and also to contribute some notes. I speak without any prepar- 

 ation, I come with all my heart, with a good will, interesting myself alike in the 

 welfare of my Provnce and the future of the whole Dominion. 



May I be permitted, gentlemen, to make some suggestions before finishing? 

 It is said that to take care of our forests, there is required a commission free from 

 all political bias, composed of competent men and having full control of sales, of 

 cutting and of everything pertaining to the management of the forest. To this 

 commission should be added a technical service charged with making investigations, 

 and explorations, and with making maps and plans. The work has been already 

 begun, but it is not yet finished. We need to know exactly which regions are suit- 

 able for forest reserves, and which for colonization. It is important that this 

 great question should be elucidated in a perfectly independent way and outside 

 of all questions of political interest, in order that we may in an intelligent manner 

 and by means of men of weight, develop the public domain of this Province. 



Another important question is that of instructing the people in the value 

 of the forests and the importance of protecting and preserving them. We have al- 

 ready established lectures on agriculture ; it seems to me that it ought to be simple 

 to add to these some elementary notions on forestry questions. The leading 

 principles should be taught to every child while he is at school, in order to induce 

 him to preserve the trees of his father's property and to plant new trees on the roads 

 which will be later of such great advantage. Those who have travelled through 



