294 The Farm Woodlot 



like the Atlantic coast. The result was an almost un- 

 shakable belief in the existence of an inexhaustible timber 

 supply which should suffice all Canada's needs forever. 

 This impression spread to the United States, and the mass 

 of the people there believe that they can turn to Canada 

 for wood when their own supply is exhausted. This idea 

 of an inexhaustible timber supply was no less fatal to 

 the early development of forestry in Canada than it had 

 been in the United States, and no more easily dispelled. It 

 stands out to-day as one of the most formidable obstruc- 

 tions to the settlement of an efficient forest policy, though 

 investigations have long ago proved its falsity. 



Estimates of the extent of the merchantable forests in 

 Canada, all based on fragmentary and insufficient data, 

 vary widely. Probably the best guess is around three 

 hundred million acres. This is only about three-fifths of 

 the area of the merchantable forests in the United States, 

 and although the export lumber trade has been rather 

 heavy, it is safe to say that far the larger part of the re- 

 maining supply will be needed for the now rapidly growing 

 population of Canada. 



In the earlier days the export trade in lumber was 

 heavier than it is to-day. The concentration of the popu- 

 lation on the Atlantic coast, the network of desirable 

 and navigable streams leading to the sea and the close 

 relationship of Canada to the northern country, which 

 was dependent upon imports for the whole wood supply, 

 made this almost inevitable. The lack of inland trans- 

 portation facilities made its later decline quite as natural. 

 The development of the transcontinental railroads led 

 the settlers to the open prairies of the West and opened 



