462 



Canadian I'urcstry Magazine, October, 1(^20. 



Why Close the Timber Industries ? 



By Roland D. Craig 



The effect of progressive forest ex- 

 ploitation, without provision for suc- 

 ceeding- crops, is being felt in parts of 

 the United States. At a bearing before 

 tiie House Committee on Foreign Affairs 

 in Washington, W. E. Haskell, of the 

 International Paper Company, made the 

 statement that "the Underwood Resolu- 

 tion, which provides for a commission to 

 negotiate for the removal of existing ex- 

 port restrictions on pulpwood cut on the 

 Crow-n lands of Ontario, Quebec, and New 

 Brunswick, is the only measure yet pre- 

 sented to Congress which contains any 

 assurance of a sufficient quantity of pulp- 

 wood to perpetuate the present produc- 

 tirn of our paper mills, to justify the in- 

 stallation of new machines, and to save 

 the great pulp and paper industry of the 

 United States." 



This is not an accurate statement of 

 the situation. The facts are: (1) Th® 

 labour an! manufacturing cost of con- 

 verting pulpwood into pulp is very much 

 less than the cost of converting pulp into 

 paper. (2) The amount of water-power 

 required to manufacture pulp is relative- 

 ly high and, from an economic point of 

 view% the benefit to the community would 

 be increased if such power were used 

 for other purposes. Further, it is notor- 

 ious that, in the Northeastern states, 

 this power is required for more import- 

 ant industries and its release would 

 tmeliorate the present coal shortage. 

 (3) The paper mills of the Northeastern 

 states can purchase pulp from Eastern 

 Canada, the Pacific states, British Colum- 

 bia or Alaska and with anything like 

 present prices, can conduct their opera- 

 tions at a profit. Col. Haskell's state- 

 ment, however, affords further evidence 

 of the serious extent to which the forests 

 of the Eastern states have been depleted. 



A recent report of the Louisiana De- 

 partment of Conservation shows that 

 similar conditions exist in that state in 

 regard to lumber, and points out that 

 L-ouisiana should and must practise 

 forestry, in order that she may not be 

 obliged to pay $15 or $20 per thousand 



feet for freight on lumber brought from 

 tlie Pacific coast twenty years from now, 

 atid because her vast unproductive areas 

 of cut-over lands are a heavy drag upor^ 

 her prosperity. 



With these examples of the disas- 

 trous effects of such methods in the 

 United States, Canadians should not w^ait 

 until an actual shortage overtakes us be- 

 fore we learn the lesson so plainly de- 

 monstrated. 



Re-creating a forest is slow and ex- 

 pensive, but its productivity can be 

 maintained by comparatively inexpen- 

 sive means. These consist of, first, pro- 

 tection from fire and, second, proper 

 methods of cutting. 



No single system of cutting is applic- 

 able to all conditions, any more than the 

 growing of all kinds of farm crops, and 

 technical knowledge of the requirements 

 of the different species is necessary, 

 lender some circumstances, more com- 

 plete utilization of the mature timber will 

 result in satisfactory reproduction. In 

 others, seed trees must be left in order 

 to secure the kind of forest desired. 



The increasing quantities of British 

 Columbia lumber being sold in Eastern 

 Canada is evidence of the already grow- 

 ing scarcity of available timber in the 

 East, and, if the immense pulp and paper 

 industr}'' which has grown up in the last 

 decade is to be permanent, steps must be 

 taken at once to make provision for 

 future crops instead of leaving cut-over 

 lands as barren wastes. 



From A Western Physiciax, Oyen 



Alberta. 

 Canadian Forestry Association, Ottawa. 



A word of appreciation for the good 

 services of ^Ir. Arch. ^litchell, now con- 

 nected with the tree planting car tour- 

 ing the province of Alberta. 



I sincerely hope this work will con- 

 tinue ; it's filling a long felt want in 

 these prairie districts. 



Dr. H. C. Swartclander. 



