Railway Fire Protection 



43 



who was the defenJant in the case, cut six- 

 tet'ii trees from the lot owned b_v Mrs. Moore. 

 Hutchinson said it was a mistake, and as 

 soon as possible got his men ofiF the premises. 

 The trees, it was contended, formed a screen, 

 threw a little shade, and added lavishly to 

 the appearance of the summer home. The 

 men had imagined that they were cutting 

 trees from city land, and figured they were 

 working for the general improvement of the 

 island. 



'•In defence Mr. Hutchinson submitted 

 through some witnesses that the loss would 

 be but a temporary one, as the sprouts 

 would shoot up from the stumps and make 

 another hedge or screen in a short time. 

 The willow was a 'terror to grow', and 

 witnesses threw out opinions as to how 

 many inches the trees would grow a year, 

 and how much thicker the trunks would be- 

 come, anil, in fact, went into considerable 

 e.xpert testimony. It was also contended 

 that as the summer home was used but five 

 months the value of the trees was less than 

 it would be elsewhere." 



FOREST INSECTS IN BRITISH COLUM- 

 BIA. 



The ravages of forest insects in British 

 Columbia are exhaustively treated in a bul- 

 letin prepared by Mr. J. M. Swaine, ento- 

 mologist for forest insects of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. Timber owners are 

 advised how to recognize the commoner 

 beetles that infest trees and check them 

 by reasonably simple methods. 



An investigation was made into insect 

 attacks on the bull or western yellow pine 

 area around Princeton, B.C. In most cases 

 the tree was killed in one year but some 

 trees survived two or three seasons. From 

 1,500 to 2,000 pairs of bark beetles would 

 be found in the lower 50 feet of tree 

 trunks. The western pine, mountain pine 

 and red turpentine bark beetles, as well 

 as some secondary enemies, were encoun- 

 tered. 



To control such a situation, Mr. Swaine 

 recommends that a forest entomologist's 

 advice be first obtained in order to deter- 

 mine the exact species of assailant. Begin- 

 ning in the autumn, aflfected trees should 

 be marked for cutting that season. When 

 not possible to float these logs away or 

 saw them in the forest, the next best thing 

 is to fell and bark the condemned trees 

 and burn the bark. As the beetles prefer 

 decaying bark some interesting advice is 

 given on leaving enough slash for them. 



The bulletin describes injuries to white 

 pine, lodgepole pine, Douglas fir and Sitka 

 spruce, the methods of protection being 

 about the same as for yellow pine. Excel- 

 lent pictures accompany the text. 



Those interested may receive copies of 

 this bulletin free by writing to Dr. C. Gor- 

 don Hewitt, Dominion Entomologist, Ot- 

 tawa, Ont. 



RAILWAY FIRE PROTECTION. 



Mr. Clyde Leavitt, Chief Fire Inspector of 

 the Board of Railway Commissioners for 

 Canada, writes: 



"Much progress was maile in 1914 in 

 reducing the fire hazard along railway lines 

 through the disposal of inflammable debris 

 on rights of way, in accordance with the pro- 

 visions of the Kailway Act. In eastern Can- 

 ada, a large amount of this work has lieen 

 done by the various railway companies, led 

 by the Canadian Pacific and Grand Trunk 

 Railways. An excellent example of a good 

 beginning along the Grand Trunk may be 

 seen in the vicinity of Algonquin Park sta- 

 tion, where large quantities of old logs, 

 branches, brush and weeds have been piled 

 and burned, thus very materially reducing 

 the fire hazard in that section of the park. 

 In this case, the work of clearing extends 

 to the laml ailjacent to the right of way, 

 thus greatly increasing the effectiveness of 

 the protection afforded. In consideration of 

 the joint interest in this work and the fact 

 that it covers a portion of the park area, a( 

 well as the railway right of way, the wori 

 is being handled on a co-operative basis, be- 

 tween the Grand Trunk Railway Company 

 and the Department of Lands, Forests and 

 Mines of Ontario." 



CARE FOR THE BIRDS. 



Dr. C. Gordon Hewitt, Dominion Ento- 

 mologist, urges farmers to encourage birds 

 by building nesting boxes and leaving 

 birds undisturbed on wooillots. Bushes and 

 thickets should be permitted to grow for 

 their shelter. He says very few of our 

 birds are really harmful and most of them 

 <lestroy enormous quantities of insects. Dr. 

 Hewitt asserts that too much stress cannot 

 be laid on the urgency of protecting native 

 birds. Farmers should never permit shoot- 

 ing of wild birds. 



THE OAK. 



Downward is sent out a thread-like root, 



Up in the air springs a tiny shoot; 



Day after day, and year after year, 



Little by little the leaves appear, 



And the slender branches spread far and 



wide 

 Till the mighty oak is the forest's pride. 



In fact there's nothing that keeps its youth 

 So far as I know, but a tree and truth. 



— 0. W. Holmes. 



