CANADIAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION 39 



moistens the leaves, branches and trunks as well as the ground, the spread 

 of such fires, if they are so occasioned, is rendered difficult. The chief cause 

 is undoubtedly carelessness or thoughtlessness on the part of campers, hunt- 

 ers, settlers, mill owners and railway companies, and, so long as the Govern- 

 ment regulations are not very stringent, and not much attention is paid to 

 enforcing them, this carelessness and thoughtlessness will continue. When 

 experts at Washington assert that during the summer and fall months of 

 last year, apart from the loss of the merchantable timber, damage to the 

 extent of $90,000,000 was done to the future productive value of the forests 

 of the United States, it is time that an effectual stop should be put to such 

 enormous waste. Public opinion is a great force in .our free Anglo Saxon 

 countries, and this public opinion should be brought to bear, through the 

 press, in strongly supporting the Governments and Parliaments of the 

 Dominion and the Provinces in making more stringent laws and regulations 

 and in strictly enforcing them. 



The points of this paper may be summarized thus : 



The Governments of Ontario and Quebec should each establish a Bureau 

 of Forestry. 



Trained foresters should be permanently employed in the supervision of 

 the forests with a view to the protection, the methodical cutting and the con- 

 tinuity of these forests. 



Holders of licenses should be compelled to cut their timber on some 

 approved forestry plan, to leave standing a certain number of pine and 

 spruce trees on every square mile for the purpose of natural seeding, and 

 should be required to plant annually and protect several pine and spruce 

 seedlings for every tree of these species which they cut down. 



Holders of timber licenses should be required before the close of each 

 winter, to effectually dispose of all debris arising from the cutting down and 

 trimming of their trees. 



Railway companies and mill owners operating within the forest areas 

 should during the summer and autumn months be under strict obligation to 

 protect by night as well as by day from fire, a defined area or strip on each 

 side of the railway or mill with a large penalty for failure to do so. 



A penalty of two years' imprisonment, without option of a fine, should 

 be imposed on all campers, hunters, settlers and others who during the sum- 

 mer months neglect to effectually guard their camp clearing and other fires 

 during the time they are burning, and to put them completely out when 

 they are done with them. 



Whilst Mr. Drummond's paper was being read His Excellency, Earl 

 Grey, President Snowball and the Honourable Sydney Fisher arrived. 



The PRESIDENT : Ladies and Gentlemen, We owe you an apology for 

 our delay in arriving this afternoon. The delay was unavoidable, as there 

 were circumstances over which we had no control. I understand that 

 President Falconer, whom we had hoped to hear in the forenoon, is now 

 present. We should very much like to hear from him now. 



PRESIDENT FALCONER : Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, I don't 

 know whether I owe you an apology or not for my absence this morning. T 

 could not remain more than an hour, as I had a multitude of other duties to 



