ENHANCED VALUE OF CANADIAN TIMBER AND WOOD-PULP. lOI 



^3 per mile twenty-three years ago, is now advanced to ^5, and 

 the transfer fee has been raised from ^i to ^5 a mile. The net 

 result of these increases, probably, will be to add .^300,000 

 (;^,'6o,ooo) to the Provincial revenue. 



There are over 24,000 miles of timber territory under license 

 in Ontario. Of this total 12,000 miles was licensed before 

 Confederation. Many licenses were granted before the passing 

 of the Crown timber regulations, which provided that all limits 

 should be sold by auction and should by equity be non- 

 terminable. It is estimated that there are 7,000,000,000 feet 

 of red and white pine standing on licensed territory, besides 

 large quantities of jack-pine, hemlock, and spruce. Hemlock is 

 coming more and more into use for purposes for which pine 

 is too expensive, while jack-pine is rapidly increasing in value 

 owing to its adaptability to railway purposes. Millions of ties 

 are now manufactured of jack-pine timber, and spruce has 

 become almost as valuable as pine itself. One main object of 

 the new regulations is to terminate leases which were made 

 many years ago over districts in which timber is almost 

 exhausted. But until the lumberman surrenders his interest, 

 they cannot be opened for settlement or for re-afforestation. 

 It is also desired, by increasing the transfer fee, to discountenance 

 the traffic in leases and to compel lumbermen to use areas under 

 license for lumbering rather than for speculative purposes. 



The total Provincial revenue from woods and forests for the 

 last ten months has been .^885,892 (^177,178). The revenue 

 from timber dues alone was .^529,422 (^105, 884). Last year, 

 according to the official report, 329 fire rangers were employed 

 on licensed lands at a cost to the province of .^46,621 (;^9344)- 

 Henceforth the total cost of fire ranging will be borne by the 

 licensees. 



