A Brief History of Forestry. / In Europe, the United States and Other Countries

by B. E. Fernow

Of management on forestry lines on these reserves there is so far little to be heard, except an effort to keep fires out.

Quebec has followed this example of Ontario, first by setting aside the Laurentides Park in the Saguenay region, (1,634,000 acres), which, like Algonquin Park, was more in the nature of a game preserve. During 1906-7, however, under a law authorizing the Lieutenant Governor to set aside forest reserves, over 100 million acres were placed in reserve. Apparently, however, no administration of this preserve in the forestry sense is as yet attempted.

British Columbia, which until lately was only concerned in disposing of the well timbered crownlands, after having disposed of the best parts, has placed under reservation the balance, and a forest commission of inquiry has been constituted to devise further measures in the interest of forestry. Its report, appearing in 1911, gives a very clear statement of conditions in the province and the promise of active organization of a better service.

Of other attempts to foster forestry interests may be mentioned a law in Quebec, passed in 1882, providing a bonus of $12 per acre for tree planting, which seems to have remained without effect; another, providing for a diameter limit of 12 inches on the stump for pine and 9 inches for other kinds (these dimensions are now varied) inaugurated in 1888, may have preserved some young growth on the limits, although, since pulpwood is now the main product, and supervision has been inefficient, not much may be expected from such laws. Indeed, the chief of the forest service reports that 60% of the regeneration is of the inferior balsam fir.

In Ontario, a very competent Commission was created in 1897, with a noted lumberman, Mr. Bertram as president, to formulate methods of reform; but the able report remained barren of results.

The Dominion has been active in encouraging tree-planting in the prairies. The Agricultural Experiment Station at Ottawa not only set out object lessons by planting some 20 acres of sample plots, but for a number of years distributed plant material to settlers. This work was later taken over by the Forestry Branch and increased to a larger scale, some 85 acres being in nursery, and the distribution having grown to 15,000,000 seedlings in 1910.

Ontario, under the direction of its Department of Agriculture and in co-operation with the Agricultural College at Guelph, has lately embarked in two movements of amelioration, namely, establishing a State nursery from which plant material at cost, with advice as to its use, is given to farmers, and purchasing and reforesting waste lands in the agricultural section.

Tariff legislation is another means which is in the hands of the Dominion government to be used for encouraging forest conservancy. It has, however, so far not been used directly for such purpose, fiscal and commercial policies being uppermost. But the provinces have in this respect helped themselves by encouraging manufacture rather than export of raw materials, Ontario leading in this matter by prohibiting export of unmanufactured logs from Crownlands in 1898. Other provinces impose an export duty on pulpwood cut on crownlands, as does also Ontario.

At present writing, a reciprocity agreement with the United States is under contemplation, which would admit wood products from Canada free of duty—an arrangement which whatever its commercial advantages bodes no good for a conservative forest policy.