WATER POWERS OX MERSEY RIVER, \. S. YORSTOX. ()()1 



power. Even at the tigure 15,UU0 the power to be got is enor- 

 mous, and with the aid of electricity it can be adapted to ahuost 

 a'ny and all purposes, both close at hand or at a considerable 

 distance away. 



The writer made a trip last summer down the -Mersey river 

 and was at that time very much impressed with the great 

 possibilities for water-power development, and the more I have 

 thought over it since the greater has been my wonder that it 

 has not been taken advantage of. The Mersey has always been 

 one of our best rivers for lumbering operations, and many mil- 

 lions of feet have annually been shipped away to all parts of 

 the globe. Almost the whole of the lumber, however, has gone 

 in a ruugh state, and is manufactured in other places ; and this 

 is just the point which I cannot reason out, for why should the 

 real manufacture of this lumber be done in other places when 

 the Mersey furnishes power at one-quarter the average cost in 

 other places. It would seem to me that there are almost 

 unlimited possibilities in the manufacture of wooden ware of 

 all kinds. Besides all the articles in hard and soft wood 

 required for the building trade, there are innumerable smaller 

 articles that could be made, such as broom handles, tool 

 handles, pegs and lasts, etc., in fact, no article so small as long- 

 as it uses up all the good parts of the wood, and there is no 

 waste as there is when only rough lumber is shipped. There is 

 plenty of room, and lots of the best hardwood for a good fur- 

 niture factory. Hitherto, immense quantities of hemlock have 

 been cut on this river, and as the logs are stripped of bark 

 before they are rafted, the hemlock bark has been lost alto- 

 gether, but with a tannery on the river, or even improved 

 facilities for getting it out, another profitable industry could 

 be started. I shall not enlarge on the i>ulp industry, for it 

 seems to have been well demonstrated already, although per- 

 haps, more mills might be added. I think, however, my 

 remarks about the product of the saw mills might well be 

 applied to the pulp mills also, that is, that the process of manu- 



