1911-12 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS, FOEESTS AND MINES. xi 



if not altogether to the United States market for their sawn lumber, and the duty 

 was $2 per thousand feei B.M., our inferior grades were shut out of the American 

 market and became unsaleable, and had to be piled up at the mills. Since then we 

 have gone a considerable distance. The expansion of our own country and the 

 enormous building that is going on of towns, cities and railway construction, are 

 •such that our lumbermen no longer need look to tlie United States market, our own 

 markets being able to use up most of the lumber taken out at a fairly good price, 

 not only for superior grades, but for the lower grades as well. 



Speaking of the state of tlie market during the past year an excellent authority 

 says: "The lumber market was firm, generally speaking, throughout 1912; prices 

 showing on the whole an increase in tendency. The demand for lumber for build- 

 ing purposes was probably never so large, and in the year past the United States 

 demand was good. In Ontario the year appears to have been one of steady prices 

 for medium qualities, but low grades also advanced, as did some of the higher 

 grades." The advance in prices was not confined to pine, but all varieties of timber 

 shared in the increased value. Hemlock particularly, which had been somewhat of 

 a drug a year or so ago, became scarce and more than shared in the general increase 

 of prices. The outlook for the coming winter is of even a smaller production of 

 pine luriiber than during the year last past. 



FlRERANGTNG. 



There were on duty during last summer : In forest reserves, 228 firerangers ; on 

 railways, 193; on lands of the Crown 111, which, with 10 chiefs, makes a.total of 542 

 firerangers employed. 



The timber licensees are required to place rangers on their limits and pay 

 them. Under this arrangement there w'ere on duty on licensed lands during the 

 summer 350 rangers and 8 supervisors, making a total staff in the forest last 

 summer of 900. 



The Department divides the licensed territory into districts and places a super- 

 vising ranger in charge of each district, whose duty it is to see that all limits are 

 properly protected by having firerangers on them. The supervising ranger visits 

 all firerangers in his district and advises them. Should he find any limit unpro- 

 tected he reports the fact to the Department, which takes the matter up with the 

 licensee. If the licensee fails to put on rangers after notice the Department puts 

 them on and charges the expense against the timber limit, and requires that the 

 licensee pay it before he obtains a renewal of his license. The summer of 1912 

 was a very wet one, in consequence of which there were no fires of 'any moment. 



Forest Reserves. 



llie Temagami Forest Reserve, which contains a large quantity of valuable 

 pine timber, cover-s an area of about 6,000 miles. The Village of Gowganda, a 

 mining centre, is in this Reserve, and there is considerable mining and prospect- 

 ing going on in different localities. It. has become a great summer resort, having 

 innumerable lakes and being easily accessible by the Teiniskaming and Northern 

 Ontario Railway. Owing to the number of miners, prospectors, tourists, hunters 

 and others moving about tlirough this Reserve, a large staff of firerangers has to 

 be kept on duty in the summer months. During the past summer one chief 

 ranger and three assistant rangers were on duty in this reserve, with a staff of 137 



