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There is a great field for investigation and work— not only 
for the scientific management of our forests, but to take active 
.steps towards reforestation. 
•British Columbia "has a very large area of country which 
is only fit for the growth of trees. We have thousands of 
acres in the central plateau region now lying in a state of 
barren waste, unproductive and desolate, which would if in- 
telligently planted, produce a good harvest of timber. 
Reforestation should not be left to haphazard seeding, as 
usually our best timber is replaced by inferior trees. 
The Douglas fir when destroyed, is almost everywhere 
being replaced by small hemlock, cedar and black pine. In 
the dry belt, aspen and birch take the place of the spruce and 
the larch. Black or lodgepole pine (pinus contorta) is gaining 
a strong foothold over many parts of Vancouver Island, on 
burnt over ground, by virtue of its strong seeding properties, 
and if it is not checked we shall, ere long, have our magnificent 
Douglas fir replaced by a scrub pine of little commercial value. 
The Western white pine is a very valuable indigenous 
tree and thrives well upon Vancouver Island, but it requires 
nursing and encouragement. 
It is often crowded out in the fierce struggle for supremacy 
by the more fertile and persistent seeding trees. Once it has a 
foothold, it grows rapidly and holds its own, so that it is only 
a matter of getting rooted before the other scrubby fellows 
have pre-empted or got possession of the ground. This applies 
with equal force to the Douglas fir. In some sections of the 
upper country, on burnt over ground, it is interesting to note 
the struggle for supremacy between black pine and larch. 
’Generally it is a matter of which gets' the first start. , If they 
become seeded together, the larch is able to hold its own by 
its more rapid upward growth. 
It is time that nurseries were established for the culture 
of our best forest trees, and active steps taken to scientifically 
supervise all matters of this kind. 
This can only be done by the establishment of a proper 
bureau of forestry. 
