114 



Canadian Forestry Journal, December, 1914 



but few hoped to live long enough to 

 see the day when a man would really 

 be sent to jail for setting forest fires. 

 Now it has happened. The Lower 

 Ottawa Forest Protective Associa- 

 tion has had a good many men fined 

 for setting fire to their slashings to 

 clear off their farms, contrary to law, 

 at a time which endangered the sur- 

 rounding forests. But the Associa- 

 tion found that many of those fined 

 considered that the more trees burn- 

 ed the moi'e land cleared, and that a 

 fine was a sm.all price to pay for 

 clearing their own farms — no matter 

 what happened to the adjoining 

 forest. It was, therefore, decided to 

 press the matter, and as a result the 

 delinquent was convicted and sent to 

 jail for three months. 



We do not present this in any vin- 

 dictive spirit. We are sorry for the 

 man who has had to go to jail. But 

 if Canadian forests are to be saved 

 somebody had to begin the unplea- 

 srnt business of teaching men that 

 arson is punishable whether in town 

 or in the forest. In the past individual 

 timber owners have hesitated to 

 l)rosecute because of the attitude of 

 public opinion, and because of the 

 fear of retaliation by more fire upon 

 their particular holdings. Now the 

 union of owners known as the Lower 

 Ottawa Forest Protective Associa- 

 tion has acted, and it is the duty of 

 every good citizen to give them their 

 countenance and support. This is 

 not a matter which concerns the 

 Lower Ottawa or the Province of 

 Quebec alone ; it concerns every 

 township in Canada where there is 

 standing timber, nay, it concerns 

 every part of Canada in which there 

 is a man, woman or child. This in- 

 difference to forest fires and to the 

 incendiaries who start them has been 

 one of the scandals of North Ameri- 

 can civilization. 



This is not a ease of vindicating 

 the rights of private property as 

 against the rights of the citizen. The 

 timber that is burned does not, in 



the ultimate analysis, belong to any 

 individual or corporation. It be- 

 longs to the people of Canada. What- 

 ever the lundjermen get out of it the 

 public get at least three times as 

 much. In spite of this the Lower 

 Ottawa Forest Protective Associa- 

 tion will be subjected to much criti- 

 cism by the people with whom they 

 have to deal, and, possibly, to re- 

 crimination. It is the duty of all 

 (. anadians to support the Associa- 

 tion and to endeavour to bring pub- 

 1 c opinioii into the right attitude on 

 (liis question. Until public opinion 

 is right no army of fire rangers, how- 

 ever large, or however well organ- 

 ized, will protect our Canadian for- 

 ests from their great enemy 



A NOVA SCOTIA OPPORTUNITY. 



Tlic Maritime Farmer, in a recent 

 issue, refers to the natural park in 

 connection with the Dominion Experi- 

 mental Fruit Station at Kentville, 

 Nova Scotia, and to the value of this 

 park to the people of the province. 

 The Kentville Station embraces about 

 three hundred acres of land, of which 

 nearly one-half is in the form of a 

 deep glen, the sides of which are cov- 

 ered with virgin timber of large 

 growth. In urging the selection of 

 this site for the station, the committee 

 of the Fruit Growers' Association ap- 

 pear to have taken into consideration 

 that this was one of the few remaining 

 pieces of primeval forest readily ac- 

 cessible to the people. The idea was 

 a very good one, but fruit growing 

 and forestry are different businesses, 

 and it is doubtful if those in charge 

 of the station know just what to do in 

 order to protect and handle the forest 

 to the best advantage. At cretain 

 seasons the tract is liable to be endan- 

 gered by fire,* and what to do with a 

 forest to get the best results does not 

 fall within the training of a horticul- 

 turist. It would be a good thing if 

 some arrangement could be arrived 

 at whereby the Department of Agri- 

 culture could avail itself of the tech- 



