120 CANADIAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION 



future than it is for the present, anyway; therefore we don't tell the 

 lumberman, "Go in and take what you want." We don't even tell him 

 to take a diameter limit. And let me tell you that I have seen more evil 

 come from the diameter limit idea, as practised in the Rocky Mountains, 

 than I could have believed possible. In some places it led to absolute forest 

 destruction. The only sure way, though I know it is not always feasible, ^s 

 to have the forester mark every single green tree which is to be cut ; and that 

 is what is being done to-day on 165,000,000 acres of our National Forests. 

 There is not a green tree cut but what has been marked by the forester. 

 (Applause.) Lastly, they are trying not to over-cut a lesson which ought 

 to come home to Canada if it comes home to anybody. We have suffered 

 from sad experience in over-cutting. To-day Uncle Sam says, "I shall know 

 how much timber there is on a given National Forest ; I am going to at least 

 make a guess as to how fast it grows, and I am going to see to it that we 

 don't cut more than is proper for us to cut. God-speed to you in all your 

 efforts. Thank you. (Applause.) 



THE PRESIDENT : We will now hear from Senator Edwards. 



SENATOR EDWARDS was received with applause and said : Mr. Presi- 

 dent and Gentlemen, I need not tell you that I have been very much inter- 

 ested in these addresss and in what I heard this morning. The papers read, 

 both this morning and this afternoon, were of the most interesting 

 character. The first paper by Dr. Fernow opened the ground for a great 

 deal of discussion, and I for one regret very much that there was no dis- 

 cussion upon it. My opinion is that the good that is to result from such 

 meetings as this is to interchange the ideas between the writer of the paper 

 and others. I am very much pleased to have heard from our Michigan friend, 

 who gave us a short, but very practical address. I was also pleased to hear 

 Mr. Zavitz read his paper from which, as well as from what we have heard 

 from others this morning it is very evident that this subject divides itself 

 into two branches. He dealt more particularly with the branch that applies 

 to the rural districts where the reproduction of the forest for timber for 

 various purposes is desirable; and there is the other and the greater ques- 

 tion of preserving the forests as they now exist in our more northern counties. 

 In December I was asked by the Canadian Government to go to Washington^ 

 in company with Mr. Campbell, the Dominion Superintendent of Forestry, 

 to attend the Rivers and Harbors Convention, and also a Convention on the 

 Conservation of Natural Resources. Neither Mr. Campbell nor myself mad 

 an official report when we returned home. I have not time to go into a thing 

 of that kind exhaustively, but I did write a letter to Sir Wilfrid giving our 

 view of what occurred there. If you wish me to do so I would be glad to 

 read you this letter. (Hear ! hear !) After that I would like to take up, for 

 a short time, the question of our timber resources, and my views as to their 

 conservation. 



