'362 Canada. 



722,000 square miles of land in the territories and in 

 Manitoba which contains only timber suitable for 

 local use. 



3. Developmerd of Forest Policy. 



In the development of ownership conditions the 

 realization of the valuable assets in timber growth had 

 not been overlooked by the home government, care 

 of supplies for naval construction giving, as in the 

 United States, the first incentive to a conservative 



•forest policy. 



Even under the early French rule, the grants of land 

 were made under reservation of the oak timber fit for 

 naval use, as is evidenced from a landgrant made in 

 1683. This reservation led to considerable friction 

 as it hampered the colonists in making their clearings 

 on the best lands. Later the reservation was extended 



•to include other timber needed for military purposes, 

 and when the British occupation began, these estab- 

 lished rights of the crown were not only continued, but 

 reservations of entire larger areas for the timber were 

 ordered, notably around and north of Lake Champlain. 

 In 1763, and again in 1775 the home government 



. ordered reservations to be set aside in every township. 

 But the great timberwealth seemed so inexhaustible 

 that the governors paid little attention to the wise 

 instructions of the home government for the creation 

 of reservations, and whatever regulations regarding 

 the cutting of timber were made, failed to be strictly 

 enforced. In 1789 the policy of reserving to the crown 

 all the timber as far as not granted, and giving licenses 



,to cut, was inaugurated; but not until 1826 was even 



