Rotation Cutting in British Columbia. 569 



and notably that of the United States in the Rocky Mountain and 

 Pacific Coast forests where the conditions and species dealt with 

 are in many instances similar to those of British Columbia. 



Rotation-cutting demands that the forest shall produce annu- 

 ally an amount of timber equal to that of which it is denuded, 

 and that there shall be a proper proportion of trees of the requis- 

 ite ages remaining in the stand. Briefly, the forest problem for 

 the Province to solve is to induce and maintain upon logged-oflf 

 lands an adequate second growth ; and wherever possible, to se- 

 cure the reproduction of Douglas fir to the exclusion of less valu- 

 able species, and at all costs to protect the growing forest from 

 even the menace of fire. 



Our ignorance of the actual stand of timber is distressing. Ex- 

 perience teaches us that the estimates of stands of merchantable 

 timber rise decade and decade as new areas are discovered, and 

 the definition of the term "merchantable" admits a more liberal 

 interpretation. Timber becomes merchantable by lapse of time 

 as the minimum cutting limit is lowered, and timber of poorer 

 quality, lighter growth and less accessibility is pressed into use. 

 The following figures are taken from "The Timber Supply of the 

 United States," Kellogg, 1907. U. S. Census estimate, 1880, 

 gave total stand as 856 billion feet. After 25 years cutting and 

 burning "The American Lumberman" in 1905 estimated it at 

 1970 billion feet. The U. S. Census estimate for conifers in 1880 

 was 420 billion feet. Five hundred billion feet have already been 

 cut, and it is estimated that there are still 1,400 billion feet in the 

 two western forests alone. The "Pacific Lumber Trade Journal," 

 1907, credited British Columbia with 150 billion feet. Fernow's 

 estimate in 1908 was 300 billion. These are some of the most 

 glaring under-estimates which have been officially made. 



In discussing the question of rotation-cutting it is necessary to 

 use arbitrary figures for the area of our forest and our stand of 

 timber as a hypothetical basis upon which to work. The Forestry 

 Commission has had the best possible facilities for arriving at 

 these figures, and therefore greater reliance may be placed upon 

 the probable correctness of their interpretation, than upon that 

 of others originating in less authoritative sources. For the pres- 

 ent purpose, therefore, 15 million acres will represent the area of 

 forest to be dealt with, and 200 billion feet the entire stand of 

 timber. It may be objected with reason that the future forest 



