What is Forestry ? 



(So mucJi interest lias been expressedin the Circular recently issued by the 



Association entitled 'What is Forestry. '' that it 



is here reproduced.) 



What Is Forestry? 



Forestry is the science and art of mak- 

 ing the best permanent use of the forest. 



For What Purpose? 



To increase the wealth and comfort of 

 man. It seeks to preserve forests only in 

 so far as these may minister to man 's 

 well being. 



Does It Demand That No Trees Be Cut? 



No. It aims to have every acre of land 

 in the country put to its highest use: 

 Wheat land to wheat, pasture land to 

 l>asture; pineland to pine; spruce land to 

 spruce, and so on. It would clear farming 

 lands as soon as that may be done profit- 

 ably, but it urges that absolute forest 

 land be so cut over that a new and bettter 

 crop of trees will take the place of the 

 virgin crop. 



What Is Absolute Forest Land? 



Land that will never grow anything 

 profitably but trees. 

 What Interest Has Canada in Forestry? 



Over half the soil of habitable Canada 

 is fit only to grow trees. 



Is Not Lumber Going Out of Use? 



On the contrary, in spite of concrete, 

 steel and other substitutes, more lumber 

 is being used today the world over than 

 ever before. The price of timber is con- 

 stantly rising. Nearly all the countries 

 of the world are importing timber. Can- 

 ada is one of the very few timber-export- 

 ing countries. In her large forest area 

 Canada has a resource which should go on 

 increasing in value every year. 



Would Forest Preservation Kill Lumber- 

 ing? 



No. Forestry does not prohibit the cut- 

 ting of ripe trees any more than agricul- 

 ture forbids the cutting of ripe wheat. 

 It simply asks that cutting on non-agri- 

 cultural lands be done in such a way that 

 a new and better crop will come on. It 

 also asks that timber areas be protected 

 from fire and from injurious insects, so as 

 to save both the mature trees and the 

 young forest, the hope of the future. It 

 looks to riiaking lumbering (timber har- 

 vesting) just as permanent a business as 

 farming. 



Would Not Forests Crowd Out Farms? 



No. All the land that the forester asks 

 for permanent forests is land unfit for 

 farming — too poor, too hilly, too stony. 

 The attempt to farm this land results in 

 poverty, abandoned farms, man-made 

 deserts. On the other hand, the mainten- 

 ance of forests on such lands means a 

 distinct gain to agriculture, especially in 

 regard to moisture conditions, wood sup- 

 ply, wind-breaks, covers for insectivorous 

 birds and evenness of stream flow. Every 

 interest in the country, in fact, is bene- 

 fited and none injured by retaining forests 

 on non-agricultural lands. 



Is Forestry Worth While? 



It is. The value of forest products in 

 Canada in their first stage of manufacture 

 (in the sawmill yard) is estimated by the 

 Dominion Forestry Branch at $170,000,000 

 per 3'ear. This timber is at the base of all 

 our manufacturing. It forms a great pro- 

 portion of our transportation business, 

 and the maintenance of forests on the up- 

 lands keep our streams in even flow, thus 

 preserving our water supplies and water 

 powers. Forests are also great health re- 

 sorts and game preserves. 



Have We Not Plenty of Timber? 



We used to think so, but now we know 

 that a few decades will see the remainder 

 of our virgin timber cut. Some authorities 

 think the United States will have ex- 

 haustetl their virgin timber by 1930 or 

 1935. Then, if they should come to Can- 

 ada to get their supply, our authorities 

 tell us our timber would last seven years. 



What Can Be Done? 



The first thing to do is to stop forest 

 fires which consume at a dead loss seven 

 or eight times as much timber as the axe 

 of the lumberman. The great factor in 

 this is the educating of public opinion. 

 When the pifblic is aroused forest fires will 

 stop. Much can be done by disposing of 

 the debris left after lumbering, by screen- 

 ing smokestacks of locomotives, regulating 

 times of settlers ' brush-burning, and by 

 patrolling timber lands to reduce the dan- 

 ger from tourists, campers, prospectors 

 and from lightning. When forests are pro- 

 tected, then will come methods of refor- 

 estation. 



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