New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-04-08
THE FORESTS OF CANADA.
MEASURES AT LAST TAKEN TO PRO
TECT DOMINION's TREES


man there in this. for 1t brought
him immediate wealth. at the expense of his pos
tery. but the destruction OF the hardwood forests
by the farmers was unreasoning as 1t was COM
plete- So thorough it that in counties in
Ontario, once heavily wooded. the of woodland
is now only per cent. Farmhouses stand in bare
expanse with not tree in sight; for their
obvious use as protection against the fierce mid
summer able to few from the
universal destruction. They all ndiscrim-
inately to the logging heap, reduced ashes.
or late years the folly of this wastefulness has
been coming home to the people. and a result OF
this eleventh hour repentance has been the organi-
cation by the various governments OF means de-
signed to prevent further mischief of this nature
and to repair to extent the ravages of the
past. For some years there has been bureau OF
forestry in connection with the Department OF
Crown Lands in Ontario. which has been the
pioneer in this movement in Canada. and the other
Provinces also displaying some interest in the
matter. Most hopeful sign of ALL the Dominion
Government has appointed a Superintendent OF
Forestry; and there has been formed a strong
Canadian forestry association, managed by repre-
sentative men from all sections OF the Dominion,
under the presidency of Sir Henri Jolly de Lot
binere. Minister Of Inland Revenue who for a.
generation has been protesting against Canadian
indifference to the destruction of the woodlands.
RESULT OF BURNING PINES
The Investigations carried in Ontario by the
Provincial Bureau have resulted in satisfactory
discovery. It has long been a theory that where
will not renew the lost trees. but will replace them
with inferior growth. white birch. poplar. bal
and other trees of little value springing I'D
after few years. Enormous areas in Northern
Ontario burned over, and the government Of
the Province impressed with the loss in
natural wealth thus occasioned that il seriously
considered the ACCESSIBILITY of recovering large dis
trfcts with white pine. This abandoned after
some experiments the ground of excessive cost.
and later the Department discovered. to it's great
JOY, that despite theories 70 the contrary white
pine was again appearing in the desolate fire swept
regions After forest fire it appears that dense
growth Of white birch does appear, but these are
followed in year by pine and spruce that
come up in the shade of the deciduous trees These
new forests Of pine are now growing up under
close Government supervision and special Is
taken by Of fire rangers prevent damage
by fire The lumber companies also have their
limits patroled in the summer. Because of these
precautions the immense forest fires that once were
wont to darken the suns light the whole
Province like eclipse almost unknown
Ontario has started a system of pine reserves
One is in Algonquin Park. a Government game
preserve in the highlands of Central Ontario. Here
the pine has been cut once by Iumbermen. but the
new growth will be husbanded, and only cut in
strict accord with the rules laid down by foresters
This reserve is comparatively small but in the
Lake Temagami region, where the forests are vet
virgin. an immense reserve of three thousand
square miles of uncut pineIands has been set apart
Lake Temagami is magnificent sheet of water.
lying far TO the west of Lake Temiscarningue It
Is being visited every summer by an increasing
number of tourists. anglers and hunters, who are
taken in from Temscamingue by Indian guides
and all reports agree that both for natural beauty
and as a field for hunters 1t is superior to auv-
thing yet known in Canada The late Archibald
LaTnpman. the poet. a frequent visitor TO
Temagam and he has described it in one of his
poems
Far in the grim Northwest beyond the lines
That turn the rivers eastward to the sea
Set with thousand islands. crowned with pines
Will aT1ac amt.
Wild for the hunters rowing and the use
wild with the trampings Of the gia9s loose
And the weird magic OF old Indian tales
The pine this reserve will be cut by the Gov
eminent Itself only the fullgrown trees being sac
r1ficed. In this way the younger growths will AL
ways be ready TO take the place Of the trees re-
moved. Lake Temagami viii also be game park
but Il is not probable that regulations as strict az
those which prevail in the Algonquin Park will
be enforced, as in those far northern ATTITUDES
game Is plentiful, and permits will be obtainabe
by hunters.
The Ontario Government has also reserved a
small section of land on Lake Superior, forty
miles east of Port Arthur This township was
burned over thirty years ago and has since
grown up with spruce and pine
THE RESERVATION IN QUEBEC.
Quebec Province has its reservation too. The
Laurentides National Park was set apart in 1895
so as to preserve the forests fish and game 10
maintain an even water supply, and to encourage
the study and culture of forest trees" The mark
lies between Quebec City and Lake St. John: its
area IS 2,53l square miles, d million and a
half acres, and within its boundaries are To he
found the headwaters Of less than thirteen large
rivers 1t is covered by dense forests of pine and
spruce, and licenses to these trees are sold by
the Government, subject rigid cutting Iimita-
tons. Pine trees must have a diameter of IL |
inches, spruce II inches and other trees 9 inches
before they can De touched, and by these regua- |
tons the Government gets a satisfactory income
while the density of the forest is hardly affected
owing to the rapidity with which the young trees
grow when 4 way is cleared for by The re |
moval Of the larger ones. The results with respect
Within the limits of the park are to be found |
black bears. moose, caribou deer beaver and game
by wardens has followed by a perceprfbIe in |
crease in their numbers This is particularly the |
disappearing from the forests when the Govern |
ment passed regulation absolutely prohibiting |
the possession Of beaver pet Criminal offence
Since then they have reappeared on most of the |
sion once generally felt that they were doomed to |
annihilation may now be dismissed. Most Of the |
waters is phenomenal At Grand Lake they have |
six pounds.
One of the problems TO which the Dominion For |
estry Association is turning its energies is the |
forestaton or the vast treeess pratrteS OF North
west Canada Professor Macoun, the botanst OF
study or TINS, gave IL as MS opinion at a recent
meeting that there should be insuperable diff
except on the alkaline stretches. 1t was not the
cold as was popularity supposed. that prevented the
nres that destroyed the trees ana the long, dry
that killed off the young shrubs before |
they got firmly rooted With plenty of moisture
Scotch forester suggested the black Austrian pine
as a tree tnat Would PROBABLY ne readily accl.- |
natized in the Northwest, put Dr. Saunders d. |
rector of the Experimental Farms said that at the
Government farm at Brandon hundreds of these
trees had been planted. but not one had survived |
the second summer. DR.. Saunders said that the