BRITISH FOREST II V AND ITS FUTURE PROSPECTS. 165 



pulp, and paper in Canada amounts to about £16,000,000 a year. 

 The exports of wood products, chiefly from Quebec and Ontario, 

 amounted in the year ending 30th June 1898 to 27,000,000 

 dollars in value. Of these, about 15§ millions came direct to 

 Britain, while about 9Jr millions went to the United States. 



Unfortunately, no adequate steps have yet been taken by the 

 Canadian Government for the proper conservation and the 

 business-like management of her vast forest resources. But, 

 under any circumstances, the timber she is able to place upon 

 the market in great quantities is soon likely to be driven up in 

 local value by the growing necessities of the United States and 

 the competition of Britain. 



Interesting details with regard to the forest industry of 

 Canada will be found in an article on " Canadian Trade with 

 Great Britain," in the Contemporary Review for January 1900 

 (pp. 66, 87); but an article on "Canada and the United States," 

 which appeared in the Times of 17th March 1899, describes the 

 position of affairs so well that I venture to quote the following 

 extract from it : — 



" Canada possesses in great quantity certain raw materials 

 which are essential to the maintenance of some important 

 American industries. Among these, none are more important 

 than timber. It is a fact that, in the Northern Hemisphere, 

 Canada is rapidly becoming the only country which can afford 

 to export timber. The other countries which possess it in excess 

 of their manufacturing requirements are Russia, Norway, and 

 Sweden. It is a topographical peculiarity of the Russian Empire, 

 that the rivers traversing the principal timber districts flow into 

 the Arctic Ocean. They are, therefore, useless for the purpose 

 of floating out logs to the markets of the world ; and, so far, no 

 method of land transport has ever been devised which will carry 

 timber for long distances cheaply enough to bring it into practical 

 competition with water-carried logs. The forests of Russia may 

 for the present be regarded as commercially inaccessible. Norway 

 and Sweden, which do export timber, are hardly able to supply 

 the deficiency of Germany. All other nations requiring timber 

 of the sorts grown in the Northern Hemisphere, must look to 

 Canada for their supply. 



" First among these nations will soon rank the United States. 

 It is fully recognised that, owing to the depletion of the forests 

 of the Northern States, the timber supply of the United States 



