Canadian Forestry Journal, September, 1919 



347 



A Variety of Trees. 



The conditions peculiar to the forest in this 

 region are first: The extreme density; second, 

 numerous tree species; third, buttressed roots, 

 hard and dark in color, somewhat like ebony. 

 The greater number of the trees are from 2 to 

 4 feet in diameter breast high, and 90 to 125 

 feet high, and as a rule 60 feet clear of limbs, 

 and with very little taper. The dense growth 

 of palms from 20 to 50 feet high, the climbing 

 leaves and the small plants growing all over 

 the larger trees give the forest an aspect totally 

 different from the northern forest. 

 Wasting Mahogany. 



At present there is no market for any of the 

 woods except mahogany and Spanish (cigar 

 box) cedar. On the area examined, consisting 

 of 14,000 acres of actual mahogany land there 

 were about 7,000 mahogany trees of commer- 

 cial size and about 250 cedar. The trunk, 

 especially the bark, is very much like the ordin- 

 ary white elm. The crown while large is un- 

 like the elm, rather irregularly branched. The 

 tree grows to a diameter of about 6 and 8 feet; 

 those above 7 feet being rare. In the dense 

 high forest it frequently attains a height of 75 

 feet to the crown, but in the vicinity of the 

 Savannahs is much shorter. The mahogany is 

 always the tallest tree in the part of the forest 

 where it is growing, always successfully over- 

 topping all the other trees. The rate of growth 

 on trees from 2 to 4 feet m diameter seemed to 

 be from 4 to 6 rings to the inch. 



The trees are felled with long-handled axes 

 and cross-cut with saws. The logging is very 

 wasteful on account of the logs having to be 

 perfectly sound and with little curve or crook. 

 Then besides the minimum sized log is 16 feet 

 in diameter and 12 feet long, so the waste is 

 enormous. The logs are hauled with oxen, 

 six yoke of oxen hauling about a thousand 

 feet board measure, or four or eight wheeled 

 wagons. 



In the river the logs, which float very low in 

 the water, are handled loose or in rafts. Lon- 

 don and New York are the largest markets. 



Preston, Ont., July 24, 1919. L. C. TILT. 



MAKE THE GUILTY PAY! 



(Montreal Star.) 

 When one considers how valuable lumber is 

 to-day, the destruction of large forest areas by 

 fire, which are now being reported, makes de- 

 pressing reading. Canadian forests are valu- 

 able beyond computation, and their preserva- 

 tion is a matter of national concern. 



It is to the credit of the Dominion and Pro- 

 vincial authorities that steps have been taken 

 to preserve our forest lands, but very much yet 

 remains to be done. There is abundant proof 

 that a large percentage of forest fires can be 

 traced to careless actions on the part of settlers, 

 hunters and others. Those who gather around 

 camp-fires and march away, leaving embers 

 aglow, should be indicted for criminal careless- 

 ness. There is no excuse for such gross stup- 

 idity. Lives in addition to monetary loss are 

 annually sacrificed to it. 



TERRIFIC FIRES IN UNITED STATES. 



(Press Dispatch) 



Racing over mountain ridges of Western Mon- 

 tana and Northern Idaho, forest fires which 

 have been burning during July continued 

 to spread destruction, and threatened several 

 small towns which have been severed by flames 

 from communication with the United States 

 Forest Reserve headquarters at Missoula, Mont. 



The fire near Henderson, Mont., jumped the 

 mountains into the Mullan Gulch country, 

 where there is said to be practically no oppor- 

 tunity to stop it. The fire near St. Regis, Mont., 

 crossed the Clark's Fork river, and is spreading 

 unchecked over a large area. Only with favor- 

 able weather conditions is there any possibility 

 of controlling the flames. District Forest Service 

 officials said. 



It was reported that the sheep caught at 

 Alberton between two cross-fires and destroyed 

 numbered 1 ,700. 



One of the worst fires in the district was said 

 to be in the Salmon Forest, just across the Idaho 

 line, south of Dillon. The fire is sweeping over 

 the mountain on a six-mile front with the wind 

 blowing a hurricane to fan the flames. 



THE CIGARETTE ONCE MORE. 



(Nelson, B.C., News.) 

 A small bush fire was put out by D. Cam- 

 eron and W. Billington on the Granite road. 

 The blaze was thought to have been caused by 

 a cigarette stub tossed away by a passerby. It 

 only burned out a few yards of brush, but if 

 it had not been rvoticed in time would have re- 

 sulted in a serious fire, as it was close to the 

 ranch homes on the road. It is pointed out 

 that persons walking or riding on the country 

 roads should be extremely careful about throw- 

 ing away matches or stubs of cigarettes and 

 cigars, as in this hot, dry weather the flames 

 spread rapidly. 



