Crosskill, W. H (1904) Prince Edward Island, Garden Province of Canada. 2nd edition. The Provincial Government, Charlottetown, P.E.l. 115 pp.

When the second edition of this provincial government-produced publicity book on Prince Edward Island was published in 7.904, the author, W H. Crosskill, included for the first time a short section headed ’Forestry’ which I include in full. it must have been the creation of the Forestry Commission the previous year that prompted the insertion. Crosskil/ was presumably a civil servant assigned the task of compiling the material, and the source of the forestry information is likely to have been officials in the Department of Agriculture which was the government department responsible for the Commission. The brief statement on the forests gives a general picture of the forest at the beginning of the twentieth century, at a time when the amount of improved farmland was peaking.

REFERENCE:

McAskill. J. D., A. (1987) The people's forest. The Island Magazine. No. 22. Prince Edward Island Museum and Heritage Foundation, Charlottetown, P.E.l.

Glen W. M. (1995) Prince Edward lslandAgricu/tura/ Land 7887-1986. Management Notes No. 9. Forestry Division Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Charlottetown, P.E.l.

Glen, W. M. (1995) Prince Edward Island Forest Legislation 7773—1988. Forestry Division, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Charlottetown, P.E.l.

Forestry The forests of Prince Edward Island once extensive and mantling For“? remnants. the country to the water's edge, now consist of small isolated areas. The woodsman’s axe, forest fires and the fore-time prosperous ship-building industry have swept away the "Forest primeval”, leaving but insignificant growth of the cone- bearing soft wood species, the commonest being the balsam, fir or var, and spruce; and still less of pine, larch, maple, poplar, beech, birch and cedar. An approximate of the area of forest and woodland in 1894 was: Forest and Woodland, 797 square

miles, woodland 39.85 per cent. Much of this, though wooded, is covered with small growth only.

Tree species.

A F0’9§”Y By an Act of the Legislature passed in 1903, a Forestry Commission was appointed comm’ss’on' for the purpose of the protection and afforestation of such crown and private lands as may be suitable for timber culture and forestry.

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