CAN-ADI AN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION. 65 



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on the higher lands. That big birch also grows in many places along the north shore 

 of the Sagiienay river. Below this river the forests of Cape St. Nicholas, on the St. 

 Lawrence, are the best situated for the cutting of white birch to get lumber for furni- 

 ture. The harbour of St. Nicholas affords all the desirable accommodation for crafts 

 of the largest tonnage, and the forest of large birch which surrounds it could supply 

 in comparatively exhaustless quantities big logs of the best description. That fine 

 large birch is also found in the southern section of the Abitibi territory. Along the 

 Bell, or upper part of the Nottaway river, there is enough of the fine big birch to cut 

 millions of saw-logs. When this territory is made accessible by the construction of 

 railways, this timber will in all probability afford material for large operations. 



Poplar (Populus balsamifera) and aspen (Populus tremuloides) constitute 

 another growth which is also very abundant throughout the forests of the Northern 

 Region. There are remarkable groves of large aspen between the rivers au Rat and 

 Mistassibi in the county of Lake St. John. Many of these trees attain a diameter of 

 twenty-four inches, but the general average is between fifteen and eighteen inches. 

 This timber is sound, remarkably free from black veins and knots and would yield 

 lumber of the best quality. However, the finest timber of this kind grows in the 

 Abitibi territory, where it attains a diameter of thirty inches and a length of fifty and 

 sixty feet without branches or knots. In the forests of that district, there is enough of 

 this big timber to cut about ten billions of feet B.M., which might be used for making 

 furniture and packing cases. It might also be used to great advantage in the manu- 

 facture of soda pulp. There is no other place where this industry could get its raw 

 material as easily and so cheap, were these forests made accessible by the construction 

 of a railway running along the Bell river, as far north as Lake Mattagami, a distance 

 of about 150 miles from the height of land. Taking only a strip of five miles on each 

 si'de of the river, it would be an easy job to cut from twenty -five to thirty millions of 

 cords of that fine big poplar. 



Tamarack, or larch (Larix Americana) is perhaps more abundant than poplar. 

 The oldest trees have been destroyed by the grub of the larch saw fly (Nemaius Erick- 

 sonii) which has spread devastation all over the Northern Region. Still the dried 

 trees, which are not attacked by rot, could probably be used for several purposes, namely 

 to make railway ties. In the Abitibi district there are enough of those dried trees to 

 make millions of ties. At all events the young trees, a great portion of which weru 

 spared by the sinister insect, continue growing and ere many years will supply a large 

 contingency of the forest industry. 



The following is a very conservative estimate of the products which the forests 

 of the Northern Region could supply to the timber business: 



Saw-Logs. 



line, white and red 325,000,000 ft, B.M. 



Banksian pine 10,000,000,000 ft. B.M. 



Spruce 35,000,000,000 ft. B.M. 



Poplar 10,000,000,000 ft. B.M. 



White birch (bouleau) 10,000,000,000 ft. B.M. 



65,325,000,000 ft. B.M. 

 Pulp Wood. 



Black spruce 406,874,470 cords 



White spruce 15,000,000 cords 



Fir 101,118,607 oords 



Poplar 100,000,000 cords 



622,993,077 cords 

 113985 



