754 



Canadian Forestry Journal, October, 191 6 



inspectors on speeders to jjatrol the 

 country east and west of the St. Mau- 

 rice territory, giving them enough au- 

 thority over section gangs to use them 

 in emergencies. With such a patrol, 

 the province would be given as good 

 protection as is now secured on the St. 

 Maurice Association's section, where in 

 four years there has not been a single 

 bad fire ; the country is a mass of 

 green, and valuable young growth is 

 ever3^where in evidence. This happy 

 condition cannot be said to apply to the 

 country bordering the right-of-way 

 where patrol has been lacking. While 

 on the eastern end of the line visited by 

 the writer, the timber damage has been 

 less, the western section shows in many 

 places the effects of violent fires during 

 the past three years. For twenty miles 

 west of Parent, the country is com- 

 pletely burned and for miles back from 

 the track. This year witnessed many 

 fires, with some severe destruction. 



The result uf all this forest damage 

 may not be apparent to one unac- 

 quainted with the route taken by the 

 railway. From La Tuque to Notta- 

 way, 250 miles, the country is abso- 

 lutely unfit for settlement. Only 

 here and there in a pocket is a piece of 

 farm land visible. It is claimed that 

 no mineral wealth has yet been discov- 

 ered. Therefore, the only possible 

 source of local freight traffic for the 

 Government railways are the forest in- 

 dustries. If the lumber and pulp- 

 wood are cleaned out at the rate per- 

 mitted for vears past, the La Toque- 

 Nottaway section will be absolutely 

 barren, incapable of producing a ton 

 of goods or a passenger. 



The record of freedom from fires es- 

 tablished on the St. Maurice Associa- 

 tion's section by careful patrol and vig- 

 orous control of all outbreaks shames 

 the policy applied to the balance of the 

 line through forested Quebec. It is 

 not too much to expect that General 

 Manager Gutelius and his stafif will ex- 

 tend the system which they have en- 

 dorsed and aided on the St. Maurice 

 Association's territory to cover the en- 

 tire right-of-way exposed to an equal 

 hazard. 



A suggestion of similar character ad- 

 dressed to the Provincial Government 

 is not unreasonable. The country 

 from Quebec to the Ontario boundary, 

 following the line of the Transconti- 

 nental, divides itself roughly as fol- 

 lows : 



From Quebec to Hervey Junction : 

 fair farming land. 



From Hervey to Parent: rocky, be- 

 coming mountainous. Black spruce 

 and hardwoods, with some balsam in 

 the lower lands. Non-agricultural, 

 with minor exceptions at the Hervey 

 .end. Pretty well lumbered. Pro- 

 tected by the St. Maurice Association. 



From Parent to Nottaway : Jack pine 

 and white birch. A great deal of 

 muskeg. Impossible for farming at 

 present. 



From Nottaway to the Ontario 

 boundary : Good farm land, increasing 

 in fertility from Amos westward. Set- 

 tlement growing rapidly. Crop re- 

 sults said to be satisfactory. Large 

 pulp wood production from settlers' 

 lands, which may find a profitable mar- 

 ket. 



Curbing the Settler. 



A thorough railway patrol is need- 

 ed from La Tocjue to Nottaway, and 

 this is already accomplished on part of 

 the line by the St. Maurice system. 

 On the balance additional measures 

 are necessary. From Nottaway to 

 the Ontario boundary brings the 

 problem of supervision of- settlers, 

 and this is a function of the 

 Provincial Government, At present 

 the bulk of fire prevention is left to 

 local officials called "settlers' guides," 

 who are visited from time to time by 

 provincial inspectors. These "guides" 

 issue permits for clearing fires, and in- 

 struct the settler in the necessary pre- 

 cautions. The wide territory which 

 some of them are supposed to cover, 

 and the fact that some are occupied 

 mainly with store-keeping or other em- 

 ployment, makes it difficult to give 

 thorough attention to the settlers' fire 

 problems. Nottaway, for instance, 

 barely managed to save its cluster of 

 houses from the fires of July and Au- 

 gust. Indeed, the destruction of pro- 

 perty on the Quebec side of the Abitibi 

 country was needlessly high, despite 



