Canadian Forestry Journal, March, igi6. 



429 



sent methods of mere exploitation 

 the virgin supplies must be soon ex- 

 hausted, unless adequate provision 

 is made at once for a new crop. 



Next, we have reserves which, as 

 yet, are but lightly drawn upon, but 

 which within the next decade 

 promise to come into market more 

 fully, as the settlements come up to 

 their boundaries and the settlers' 

 wood supplies are giving out. Such 

 are the Duck and Riding Mountain 

 Reserves in Manitoba. Here, every 

 opportunity for more careful study 

 of the silvicultural problems should 

 be embraced, and a thorough pre- 

 paration for technical management 

 should be begun now in anticipation 

 of their coming fully into market 

 soon. 



Where Planting is Needed. 



Then there are a number of re- 

 serves that were not set aside on 

 account of their timber, which was 

 either used up, burned up, or natur- 

 ally absent, but on account of the 

 unsuitability of the soil for farm 

 purposes and the possibility of using 

 it for timber crops. Such reserves 

 are the Sprucewoods Reserve in 

 Manitoba, partly wooded, and the 

 Alanitou Reserve in Saskatchewan, 

 largely without natural growth, and 

 several other sand hill territories. 

 Here, planting operations should be 

 begun at once, first trial plantations 

 with various species and methods, 

 and, after experience has been gain- 

 ed, on a larger scale, with or with- 

 out assistance by natural regenera- 

 tion as the case may be. 



Lastly, there are extensive reser- 

 ves in the northern prairie regions 

 and in the Rocky Mountains which 

 are as yet so far removed from mar- 

 ket as to place them last from the 

 standpoint of the need of technical 

 management. Here the problems are 

 still mainly of administrative char- 

 acter: to prevent further deteriora- 

 tion of the properties, especially by 

 fire ; to regulate the use of whatever 

 resources may be available, like, e.g., 

 pasturage; to improve these resour- 



ces; to make them accessible, and, 

 as far as technical interest is con- 

 cerned, to study the silvicultural 

 problems against the day when they 

 must be solved. 



All reserves, however, once set 

 aside for permanency, should be ad- 

 ministered under systematic work- 

 ing plans, more or less elaborate 

 especially with reference to their 

 utilization; and, if they are to do 

 justice not only to the present, but 

 also to future needs, such plans must 

 eventually provide for the applica- 

 tion of proper silvicultural methods 

 for securing a continuance of wood 

 crops. 



Importance of Planning. 



There is no other productive busi- 

 ness that needs so much planned 

 and conservative procedure as the 

 business of producing forest crops, 

 for the reason that not only do these 

 crops mature slowly, but there is 

 little chance to advance and improve 

 the crop after it is once started; its 

 proper start, therefore, is the impor- 

 tant thing. The manufacturer can 

 change his processes in a few weeks, 

 the farmer from year to year, but 

 the forester once his crop is started, 

 may not change his procedure for a 

 century, and there is only limited 

 chance during the life of the crop to 

 interfere with its development; 

 therefore, the necessity of careful 

 planning. 



If our reserves were all first-class, 

 useful virgin timber, the working 

 plans would be a simple affair. They 

 would consist in prescribing the 

 cutting of the year's requirements 

 in such a manner as to secure repro- 

 duction - — a natural regeneration. 

 But this is by no means the condi- 

 tion, even in the well wooded reser- 

 ves; only small portions consist of 

 mature, useful timber, largely 

 spruce ; large portions, as a result of 

 fires, represent young growth or are 

 grown up to undesirable or at least 

 less useful species, principally as- 

 pen ; some of these aspen stands are 

 rotten and useless ; some areas are 



