English Timber and Underwood. 129 



In spite of ii'on, &c., having taken the place of wood for 

 shipbuilding, as well as for constructional and other purposes, 

 nearly every new invention brings a fresh demand for wood. 

 Our imports of timber .in 1906 were double the figures of 

 twenty-five years before. It may be assumed that substitutes 

 for wood will be found in increasing quantities, and also 

 greater use mad© of preservatives to lengthen the life of timber. 

 Creosote, &c., will, of course, increase the value of inferior 

 and less durable timber. So far increased consumption in other 

 directions has far more than counterbalanced any decreased 

 consumption due to substitutes and preservatives. It seems 

 improbable that the demand for w^ood for our industrial 

 centres, and for all the general development at home and 

 abroad, is likely to decrease to any extent in the near future. 

 Our own consumption of timber has assumed tremendous 

 proportions in recent years, and during the last generation 

 w^e have consumed the timber production of centuries. In 

 spite of the tini1)er production in Germany, of which we 

 hear so much, that country imports huge quantities of foreign 

 timber. 



As is common knowledge, development in new countries 

 and colonies not only largely increases the consumption of 

 wood, but also leads to the destruction of large timber supplies 

 by wasteful lumbering and forest fires. The larger proportion 

 of supplies in the west of America is now consumed on that 

 continent, the development of the prairie provinces and of 

 the pulp and other industries giving rise to a great demand for 

 wood. The whole effect of development of agriculture and 

 ranching is to consume the timber, to destroy the native supplies 

 of timber, and also to stop natural reproduction through the 

 exercise of grazing rights and other causes. Considering the 

 rapid development of Canada during the last ten years, one may 

 expect other countries to develop quickly in the near future. 

 It seems impossible to estimate the consumption and destruction 

 of timber likely to result therefrom. 



It may be argued that steps now being taken to conserve 

 the forests in various countries will result in increased supplies. 

 The whole object of these measures is to prevent waste of 

 existing supplies, and to ensure production of future supplies. 

 Both Canada and the United States of America have now a 

 large forest service, and other countries will follow suit. 

 Norway and Sweden now impose restrictions as to a minimum 

 age at which the timber can be felled and the steps to be taken 

 for reproduction, and obviously these things must increase the 

 price of the timber. 



All persons interested in timber know that what is first 

 quality to-day in nearly all foreign timber was third quality 



VOL 73. F 



