THE FOREST TREES OF CANADA 1 235 



that which grows ou land fit for agriculture we eliminate most of the hard- 

 wood forests of commercial value. In the rigorous climate of Canada de- 

 ciduous-leaved trees, as a general rule, are found in commercial sizes and 

 quantities onh' on the better sites. Where coniferous forests are destroyed 

 by fire or lumbering operations and deciduous-leaved trees, such as the 

 birches and poplars, establish themselves by means of their hght wind-borne 

 seeds, the change is only a temporar\^ one. The original coniferous forest 

 will eventually re-estabUsh itself by its more persistent growth. 



In Canada there are approximately 150 different species and varieties 

 of trees. Only 32 of these are conifers but the wood of these forms 95 per- 

 cent of our forest products, and the trees themselves cover an even larger 

 proportion of our potential forest area. 



While the actual number of species of deciduous-leaved trees seems large 

 in comparison to their commercial importance, out of a total of some 118 

 species and varieties, only four or five are worthy of comparison with the 

 coiufers. The others form the northernmost fringe of the great interior 

 hardwood forest type of the United States. Many of these species are con- 

 fined in Canada to a narrow strip of territory along the north shore of I^ake 

 Brie and as far as the discussion of Canada's timber resources are concerned 

 they may be classed with exotic tree growth. 



The five native spruce species are all of commercial importance. Spruce 

 lumber formed over one third of the total output of Canadian sawmills 

 in 1914. Spruce pulpwood is used in preference to all others and in the 

 same year formed over two thirds of the total quantity of pulpwood 

 consumed in Canadian pulpmills and exported in the raw or un- 

 manufactured state. The wood has a long, tough, colourless fibre and 

 being free from resin is considered to be the best material for pulp 

 manufactiu'e on the market of the world. 



Spruce is also used for railwa^?^ ties or sleepers, telegraph, telephone and 

 electric light and power line poles, cooperage, mining timbers, fencing and 

 firewood. Of the five native spruce species the white spruce (Picea cana- 

 densis) is the most abundant and the most important commercially. With 

 black spruce {Picea mariana) it ranges from lyabrador to Alaska, extending 

 northward almost to the limit of tree growth and southward into the 

 United States. Toward the northern limits of its distribution the tree, of 

 course, does not reach commercial size being in many cases little more than 

 a prostrate shrub. 



The black spruce {Picea mariana) is of less value, being a smaller, slow- 

 growing tree, often confined to swampy situations and reaching saw log 

 or pulpwood sizes only under more favourable conditions of growth. The 

 red spruce {Picea rubra) is confined in its distribution to the Province of 

 Quebec and the Maritime Provinces. Its wood is considered to be of greater 

 technical value than that of the other spruce species, but it is not usually 

 so abundant on the market as the white spruce. The western species {Picea 

 Engelmanni and Picea Silchensis) are not found east of the Rocky Mount- 

 ains and their utilization is confined to the Province of British Columbia, 

 they being essentially Pacific Coast trees. Their wood is of high technical 



