about 24 million acres have passed under lease. Not 
a single limit in Ontario, as far as is known, is 
owned by any private party. In Quebec, the amount 
of forest area that has got out of reach of the gov¬ 
ernment by private ownership is almost negligible. 
You will readily understand the great importance of 
governments owning the timber lands. The people 
through their elected representatives can say at any 
time exactly what treatment the forests of the coun¬ 
try shall receive. If they believe the forests are 
worth guarding for the enormous wealth and com¬ 
fort they give us, they can insist that modern fire 
protection systems shall be promptly installed, with 
plenty of rangers and inspectors, the best kind of 
equipment, and generous appropriations from the 
public funds to make the task thorough. 
We Can Do These Things. 
Then, too, the governments being the owners of 
the woodlands, have power to regulate the cutting 
of timber so that a new crop of young trees will be 
sure to follow, and they have power to prevent set¬ 
tlers from burning down neighboring forests by 
carelessness, and power to stop destruction of our 
splendid “watersheds.” 
This surely is a great power to keep within the 
hands of the majority. Some day, with the aid of 
the Boy Scouts who are reading these pages, it will 
be wielded as fully as it deserves to be. 
And now what do you think of the way we Can¬ 
adians are now using our absolute power to guard 
the forests? This table is all facts 
For every twenty trees grown in Canada in a 
year 
We cut down.17 trees. 
We burn down.170 trees. 
17 
