Preset ving Mine Timbers 



79 



quarters. They wero ajiiiin rt>|iliii-«'il in 

 tne mine, and aft4>r an fXpoHuro of tlireo 

 years wero re-examined, and while the 

 treated piece wan Hound the untreated one 

 was docaye«l. BeHideH th«»«o teMt», obHer- 

 vationH were made on the treated timber 

 put into main roadH, hexide other timber 

 not treated. Thi> treated timber remain- 

 ed dam|i and freNli, while the untreated 

 crown-trees were dry and Hott o\\ the out- 

 side, Nhowin^' that dei-ay was in pro);roiui. 

 The amount of salt that timi)er will 



iili-orli depiMuU DO the flrnineiw of tha 

 wood and itit dryuetui at the time of treat- 

 ment. Norway flr aliMurb« from flftern to 

 fifty per cent, of \t* wei|;bt, that in, it 

 becomes fifteen tu fifty per cent, heavier 

 after trea'niont, while larch crown-tree* 

 absorb oi '.y ten per cent. 



The cost is about one penny per cubie 

 foot for salt and one farthint; for labor, 

 a total cost of about om- a ml a <|unrter 

 pence per cubic foot. 



Forest Survey of Sweden. 



One Province to be 'Gridironed' as a Test for Suggested Method. 



Tlie conditions in Swedish forests arc 

 80 simihir in many respects to those with 

 which tiie forester has to deal in 

 this country that Swedish forestry me- 

 thods are attracting much attention in 

 ('anada. In the former country steps are 

 now being talcon to secure a valuation 

 survey, or inventory, of its entire forested 

 area. 



In a recent letter Mr. II. 0. Wallin. a 

 graduate of the Swedish State Forestry 

 Institute, now with the Dominion Forest 

 Service, j^ives the followinjj interest inj; 

 note with re^jard to it: 



'This (|Ucstion arose first at a meeting; 

 of several Swedish Forestry Associations 

 in December, 1!M)S. It was considered thai 

 an examination of tfie forests wit!) t!'>» 

 object of obtainin'X reliable information 

 as to the a;;e, jjrowth. volume content, 

 etc., etc., of the timber would be of the 

 ),'reatest value not only for forest man- 

 agement particularly, but also for the eco- 

 nomic life of the country in ;;oneral. 



'Quite lari^e areas of jtovernment land 

 as well as forest under |)rivate owner-siiip 

 have, of course, already been cruised and 

 examined. But as those examinations 

 have been made with different oltjects in 

 view and with very little uniformity as 

 to the methods used, they must be con- 

 sidered of comparatively little value for 

 the ascertainment of the present rise and 

 productive capacity of the forest capital. 



'At the meetinjr mentioned above a com- 

 mission consistinjf of men of larj;e experi- 

 ence in forestry matters was appointed to 

 inquire into a cruisinp method that with 

 the least possible expense would allow 

 for the examination of a sufficiently large 

 percentnjje of the total area to obtain 

 data from which accurate conclusions 

 could be made. 



'The Commission suggest in their report 



that the whole country should be travers- 

 ed by a system of parallel strips 10 metres 

 (10 metres .lU.S ft., practically half a 

 chain) wide. All trees on these strips 

 should be counted, measure! and classi- 

 lied. Every fiftieth of the m(>at<ure4l 

 trees is closely examined as to height, 

 taperng, age, increment, etc., etc. 



'The distance covered by all different 

 forest and soil ty|>es which are rroaaed 

 by the valuation lines are also put down, 

 which makes it jiossible to calculate the 

 distribution of types on the estimated 

 area. 



'The commissioners suggest that, before 

 large sums are spent on a cruise of the 

 whole country, their method be given a 

 trial in one province. Vnr'ninnd, with a 

 forested area of about 1,500,000 heotart>8 

 (3,700,000 acres or nearly .'5,800 square 

 miles), where in the north | art the valua- 

 tion strips should be run 4 kilometres 

 (about 2'{. miles) and in the south 2 

 kilometres (about I'l miles apart. Pro- 

 vided that the strips are 10 metres wide, 

 this gives an eri^mined area of. in the 

 first instnnce, 0.2.'5 per cent, and in ti^e 

 second 0..5 per cent, of the entire ap'a. 

 This is a very small percentage; but, 

 having regard to the large territories to 

 be dealt with, the commission hope that 

 it will prove sufllcient. 



'Usually at valuation surveys made by 

 the government or private concerns in 

 Sweden the strips (10 metres wide) are 

 run at every 100 or 200 metres (about 

 110 or 220 yds.) which eovers 10 or 5% 

 of the total area. 



'The report of the Commission was 

 laitl before the parliament which voted a 

 sum of $16,000 (60,000 "Kronor") which 

 was the amount asked for by the com- 

 missioners to cover the expenses of the 

 valuation survey in Vannland.' 



