138 CANADIAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION 



black spruce, the white pine reproductions being far behind the other 

 species. Where the woods have been thinned out, as in the case of cutting to 

 a diameter limit, the reproduction is almost entirely balsam and our forests 

 are deteriorating; because of the reduced percentage of spruce and the 

 greater facility with which balsam reproduces itself. There are large areas, 

 burnt many years ago, on which a heavy growth of white birch and aspen 

 first came up, and under which the soft woods have now begun to grow. If 

 asked to give a fairly accurate estimate of the lands in this timber belt which 

 may be classed as brulee or burnt over lands, I would say about 16 per cent. 

 Nearly all of the burns have more or less young growth on them, so that they 

 are not worthless, and if protected will soon become very valuable. Most of 

 the burns are the result of fires which occurred anywhere from twelve to 

 thirty years ago. Invariably they follow drivable streams, and from what 

 can be learned from the Indians and from our records of the past few years, 

 the river drivers are mainly responsible for them. The river drivers of the 

 lumber and pulp companies have been a most fruitful source of our fires, and 

 our Governments have been paying for fire protection with one hand and 

 burning up the country with the other. 



Most of you are familiar with the status of timberlands in Quebec. 

 Originally the Government laid out the country bordering on the drivable 

 streams in berths or limits, averaging ten mile of river frontage by five 

 miles in depth, and sold the stumpage on these sections at auction to the 

 highest bidder, granting him a license to cut the timber on payment of an 

 annual ground-rent and so much per thousand feet, B. M. Quebec Eule, pay- 

 able at the time of logging. These licenses must be renewed yearly, can pass 

 from one party to another by will or sale and are accepted by the banks as 

 collateral. This system is theoretically an ideal one, as the Government con- 

 trols the cutting and can at any time improve its regulations, but there are 

 two serious and very practical drawbacks to it. The first and most important 

 is that the Government has the right at any time to or>en up lands under 

 license for settlement, without in any way compensating the holder for the 

 loss of his timber. It grants him the right to remove the timber before the 

 date on which he must renew his license, but as the settler usually waits until 

 within a few weeks or days of this date before making his application, the 

 limit holder has no opportunity to remove the timber. This method of open- 

 ing the land for settlement amounts to confiscation. 



SENATOR EDWARDS : You are wrong there ; they are not paid by the 

 lumbermen. 



MR. WILSON: The ordinary sealers. 



SENATOR EDWARDS : But the Government has sealers who check all those 

 estimates. 



MR. WILSON: They check only when they are asked to do so. When 

 we have had any difficulty with the jobbers or they with us we have sent for 

 the Government inspectors, but the Government dues are paid on the 



