92 



Canadian Forestry Journal, August-September, 1914 



PRIVATE CITIZENS AND FORESTRY. 



A member of the Canadian Forestry As- 

 sociation, who is the owner of a flour mill 

 and water power in Central Ontario, 

 writes: — 



' I have been interested in the cause of 

 forestry since I was a boy in my teens. I 

 am a lover of trees and woods. I own 

 here some four hundred acres, about half 

 of it covered with woods. I have control- 

 led this for about thirty years. I am gen- 

 erally considered pretty liberal in money 

 matters for my limited means, but I must 

 plead guilty to being a miser when it 

 comes to cutting down a tree. I never cut 

 a tree down except I have to, or where 

 they require thinning, have reached ma- 

 turity, or are badly shaped. 



'I can look back to the time when I was 

 a boy and see acres of mere saplings that 

 are "now of merchantable size. When I 

 reach the alloted three score and ten years 

 — if I do — I will have cpiite a valuable 

 property in trees. The only thing I don 't 

 like about it is that after I am through 

 with it, whoever follows me may see in 

 each tree so much cash, and into cash they 

 will go. However, I supjiose when I reach 

 the Happy Hunting Grounds, that forestry 

 matters will not trouble me. 



' My woods, of course, were cut over be- 

 fore I got them, and the largest and best 

 trees taken out. I have done no planting 

 except along fences, but I am protecting 

 and helping w^hat I have. It is really a 

 shame to see bare hillsides that were once 

 covered with valuable timber, cleared of 

 all timber and undergrowth, so that now 

 the largest plant on them is a mullein. 

 They will now grow nothing of any use, 

 not even pasture. I can understand good 

 farming land being claered to get the land 

 to raise grain, but why steep hillsides and 

 sand hills were cleared of every vestige of 

 tree life I can never understand. Had 

 they taken the merchantable trees and left 

 the saplings there would have been some 

 excuse. 



'I can see a great difference in the 

 stream that drives my mill. We used to 

 waste as much water as we now have al- 

 together. In summer and early winter 

 the stream is low. Warm days in winter 

 and early spring and a little rain gives us 

 larger floods than we used to have. Years 

 ago a rain would slowly raise the water. 

 It would be higher than usual for, per- 

 haps, three or four days, but not any flood 

 about it. Now, however, it means a flood 

 in a few hours and back to normal flow. 

 The floods cut into the banks and carry 

 away hundreds of tons of good soil every 

 year on this small stream. This is only 

 an index of what is taking place all over 

 the country. 



' I hope the governments will make 



imicli more stringent laws for forest pro- 

 tection and forest reproduction. Private 

 individuals can do a lot in saving our 

 woods and forests, but the great responsi- 

 ])ility now rests with the governments 

 and such organizations as the Canadian 

 Porestrv Association. ' 



REFORM FOR THE OUTSIDE SERVICE. 



Professor Adam Shortt, commissioner of 

 the Civil Service Commission of Canada, 

 has just returned from the United King- 

 dom. He has been making an extensive 

 investigation into the workings of the 

 inside anU outside branches of the Civil 

 Service of Britain, and has gathered much 

 valuable information, which will be em- 

 lioilied in a report which he is preparing. 



Referring to the question of appoint- 

 jnents, he stated to a newspaper inter- 

 viewer that in the outside service the in- 

 fluence of politicians had been completely 

 elin)inated in the appointment of postmas- 

 ters, customs' and inland revenue officials. 

 In the staffs of these departments there 

 was no interference on the part of mem- 

 bers of paidiameut or local politicians. All 

 appointments were settled by the various 

 heads of departments in London, and the 

 district inspector. The Civil Service Com- 

 mission system worked very well in all the 

 centres visited. An extensive system of 

 promotion exists in the postal and inland 

 revenue branches, whereby officials from 

 any part of the country are eligible for 

 appointments in any other part of the 

 country. 'This shows the complete ])rac- 

 tic ability of the efficient working of the 

 service without political interference,' 

 said the Commissioner. — Ottawa Civilian. 



NATIONAL CONSERVATION CON- 

 GRESS REPORTS. 



Two books have been published <lealing 

 with the proceedings of the Fifth 

 National Conservation Congress, held in 

 Washington, D.C., last November. One 

 of them treats of Water Power subjects 

 exclusively, and is an important contribu- 

 tion to constructive literature in this sub- 

 ject. The other book contains the Forestry 

 reports and addresses, which were con- 

 ceded to be the most valuable ever pre- 

 sented at a similar meeting in this coun- 

 try. The books may be had for one dollar 

 each, through N. C. McLoud, Treasurer 

 and Recording Secretary of the Congress, 

 1201 Sweetland Building, Cleveland, Ohio. 



No other organic substance occurs in 

 such abundance as wood, and few if any 

 are more generally useful. About 150,000,- 

 000 tons of wood are still wasted annually 

 in the United States. — Arthur D. Little, 

 Chemical Engineer. 



