50 



At first carried on in a crude manner, the exploitation was confined to 

 the woods along the water courses and along the seashore, where ready 

 means of transportation were at hand, but with the growth in population, 

 in civilization, in industrial activity, the development of railroads 

 and improved means of transportation, the need for forest products grew, 

 and the art of the lumberman and the wood-worker experienced the won- 

 derful development we know to-day, so that in magnitude of interests the 

 business of exploiting the forest, manufacturing and purveying its pro- 

 ducts is next to the business of producing and handling food materials, the 

 largest in all fully civilized countries. 



I have dilated yesterday on the enormous and ever increasing needs 

 for wood materials in our modern civilization, but in order to accentuate 

 the great importance of the business of the lumberman, the necessity of his 

 existence, 1 am tempted to add just one way of stating what the lumber 

 business means in comparison with other interests, at least to the people of 

 the United States, and I dare say a similar comparison could be made for 

 Canada, a comparison which was made on the basis of the Census of 1880 

 by Prof. James, but holds probably still approximately true : 



LOG JAM, MADAWASKA, 



Photo by Houghton W. Wilsor 



