Possibilities of a Modern Maple Grove 



By Dr. George Fisk, Montreal, Proprietor of Maple Glen Reserve, Magog, 



Quebec. 



The Canadian Forestry Associa- 

 tion is authority for the statement 

 that 50% of the land in the Domin- 

 ion of Canada is fit only for growing 

 tree crops. The many deserted 

 farms in the outlying districts of the 

 Province of Quebec tend to confirm 

 this opinion, for if we investigate 

 why these farms have been deserted, 

 we learn that as soon as the lumber- 

 men had cropped the neighboring 

 lands of the best lumber, the outly- 

 ing farmers found it difficult to 

 make a living from handling crops 

 without the aid of the tree crops. A 

 move to a new farm in an unlum- 

 bered district provided him with 

 profitable work for the whole year. 

 These farms that have been deserted 

 in this way have soon grown up to a 



second growth, principally of the 

 hard wood varieties, and in many 

 cases with a very large percentage, 

 if not a pure growth of maple. It 

 would appear, then, if lumbering 

 was at one time profitable, and the 

 annual crops were not sufficiently 

 profitable to retain the farmer, that 

 the question of reforesting these 

 farms warrants very careful consid- 

 eration. 



In districts of sandy soil the pine 

 tree is the favorite for replanting, 

 and should be a commercial success. 

 However, the investor could not 

 hope to realize a return on the in- 

 vestment in less than sixty years, 

 the average time required for a pine 

 tree to grow to a diameter of 18 

 inches. This proposition is hardly 



View in Dr. Fisk's Bush, Showing Metal Sap Pipes. 



3 



