8 INTRODUCTION. 



enrol themselves as members of our association in ac- 

 complishing their work as Foresters. 



My readers would look in vain for a complete and 

 elaborate treatise on arboriculture in this guide. All ^ 

 have aimed at is a concise statement of the general prin- 

 ciples of forestry. These I have condensed and arranged 

 in such a way that they may be within the reach of all 

 who are inclined to study the forestry-question and the 

 important subjects connected with it. 



That the work might be as useful as possible, I have 

 endeavoured, by means of illustrations, to spread abroad 

 an acquaintance with the different species and varieties 

 of trees of which the forests of Canada are composed. To 

 this end, I have presented to the reader engravings of 

 almost every species, one representing the tree itself, 

 another its bough and leaf, and a third the seed. Most 

 of these have been copied from nature, and I have taken 

 great pains to assure myself of the fidelity with which 

 the others represent the objects they are meant to 

 designate. 



As our national as well as our provincial interests 

 are deeply concerned in the forestry-question, I have 

 done my best to make my work useful to all the pro- 

 vinces of the Dominion on this side of the Eocky 

 Mountains. The special character of the sylvan flora of 

 the Pacific coast forbids my including British Columbia 

 in the limits of my work ; that province demanding an 

 entirely distinct description. 



My book is divided into four separate parts under the 

 following heads : First part : the preservation of our forests ; 

 second part : the restoration of the forests ; third part : the 

 creation of new forests ; and fourth part : special subjects 

 connected with forestry. 



