26 THE CANADIAN FOKESTERS 



provinces ought even to compel tliem to do it, and the 

 foresters should be obliged, by a regulation passed to 

 that effect, to re-plant all clearings which they shall find 

 have been made on the crown-lands. 



People, doubtless, will exclaim against all this as im^ 

 practicable, too costly, eic, but fhey will be wrong. Lei 

 us look, for our edification, at what the different European 

 governments have done. They would have thought 

 themselves remarkably fortunate if they had nothing 

 but the filling up of bare spots to trouble them. Their 

 enormous outlay wa3 caused by the necessity of re- 

 planting whole districts menaced with absolute depo- 

 pulation, as well as with entire denudation of wood. 

 Let us take care lest we find ourselves in a like peril ; 

 the steps to avoid which should be taken before it 

 becomes too great. 



Another operation which will be found advisable in 

 the restoration of the woodlands is the pruning of the 

 young trees, to insure their regular growth, and of the 

 old trees, to insure them a prolonged existence, and to 

 repair any accident of which they may have been the 

 victims. Of this operation I shall give a special descrip- 

 tion when I speak of the establishment of new forests, 

 a subject which will furnish matter for the third part ol 

 ray work. 



