Canadian Forestrx Journal October. 191 j. 



223 



BURNING DOWN THE NORTH LAND 



Is Canada paying tiie price for forest fires? , 



Read the stafements in the follozcing article "In 30 years, saysafoi-est 

 expert after recently examining a certain area of ^ orthern Candida, the Do- 

 minion has lost through fires about \6W0W0W0 feet board measure, of 

 merchmtable spruce and pine, zvhkh at 50 cents per 1000 feet would represent 

 the enormous sum of 88,000,000. ' , , ^ 7 ? ij 



Place against that dead loss the cost of a fire patrol system and alio would 

 hesitate to decide ziliich of the two pays? 



Many citizens when they begni to 

 take an interest in forest conserva- 

 tion for the first time are eager to 

 stir up some one to start plantmg or 

 seeding. They are rather impatient 

 with the emphasis which administra- 

 tors and himbermen lay on the need 

 ior protecting existing forests. They 

 want to see something done toward 

 growing new forests. But the more 

 one studies the forest situation in 

 Canada the more one is impressed 



with the fact that the first need is 

 fire protection. We still have im- 

 mense forests ready for the axe. We 

 have forests half grown and quarter 

 grown and for this generation and 

 the next it is of the utmost impor- 

 tance that these forests be saved. In 

 saving the mature or half-grown 

 forest the still younger growth is 

 necessarily being saved too. And, 

 besides, a moment's reflection will 

 convince anv one that it is useless 



