94 Our Field and Forest Trees 



nothing except the nails which hold them together 

 and the time of the rangers who build them. But 

 steel towers are thought preferable and are 

 advised for the future. 



The densely wooded banks of western rivers 

 are safeguarded in Canada by power patrol boats. 

 These carry fire-fighters and fire-fighting apparatus 

 into parts of the forest which could only with 

 great difficulty be reached by land. There are 

 now (1916) ten of these boats safeguarding the 

 Dominion forests from flames. 



Next to the problem of reducing the waste of 

 the forest itself comes that of reducing the waste 

 of forest products. 



If the wood used for timbering mines is of a 

 sort able to endure strain, and if it is so treated 

 by chemicals that it can resist damp, there will be 

 a longer interval before the mine-props must be 

 renewed. 



If the chemicals extracted from wood or from 

 wood ashes can be obtained from sawdust, slabs, 

 and shavings, which now too often go to waste, 

 trees need not fall on purpose that these things 

 be made. 



In recent years Canadians have been realizing 

 that the timber resources of their country are by 

 no means unlimited. On the contrary, they must 

 manage thriftily to make their forests meet the 

 growing demand for wood within the bounds of 

 their country. So, in 19 13, the Forest Products 



