Canadian Forestry Journal, August, igi6 



663 



Looking toward the railway cut at Nushka, where on Saturday, July 2gth, fifty-four men, women, 

 and children attempted to take refuge and were smothered and burned to death. 



covering new areas. However, for 

 years past, there has been a steady 

 decrease in the total area of Crown 

 lands held under license. The re- 

 ports of the Department of Lands, 

 Forests and Mines show, for in- 

 stance, that in 1912 there was a net 

 decrease of 996 square miles from 

 the total area under license in 1911. 

 The reduction in 1913 was 891 

 square miles and in 1914. 184 square 

 miles. In 1915, the reduction was 

 1621 square miles. 



The rapidity with which cut-over 

 lands in Ontario are being sur- 

 rendered to the Crown is shown by 

 the statement of the Department 

 that 307 square miles were sur- 

 rendered, as cut out, in 1912. In 

 1913, 1914 and 1915, the areas so 

 surrendered were 257, 1,111 and 602 

 square miles respectively. New 

 licenses were issued in 1913. 1914 



and 1915 covering 100, 500 and 312 

 square miles respectively. 



A Losing Deal. 



It is perfectly obvious that unless 

 the burned-over and cut-over lands, 

 including those surrendered, by 

 license holders, are allowed to re- 

 stock naturally, so that they can in 

 the course of time be cut over again, 

 the lands fit for cutting and of rea- 

 sonable accessibility will ultimately 

 become exhausted or approximately 

 so. When the pinch begins to be 

 felt, to the extent that new areas of 

 merchantable timber, of suitable ac- 

 cessibility to transportation, can not 

 be located for the issuance of new 

 licenses, there will be an increasing 

 tendency toward the reduction of 

 the forest revenue of the province. 

 During the past ten years, these 

 revenues, which go into the provin- 

 cial treasury and relieve direct taxa- 

 tion to that extent, have averaged 



