1906 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



209 



Hirers suddenly decided that no more 

 detailed figures would be available for 

 publication. 



"For the purpose for which these 

 statistics were intended to inform the 

 readers of the trade journals not only 

 the amount of available stock, but 

 where it could be found, as well a 

 generalization or grouping of totals 

 did not answer, so, from that point of 

 view, the statistics given out by the 

 Forest Service are not especially val- 

 uable. They are valuable, however, 

 as affording information of the ex- 

 tent of the lumber industry, the dis- 

 tribution of the various woods that 

 enter into lumber commerce, and the 

 rapidity with which the timber re- 

 sources of the land are being exploit- 

 ed. In the table published in the re- 

 port of the St. Louis meeting, the 

 Forest Service estimates that from 

 seventy to eighty per cent of the total 

 lumber cut is represented. The totals 

 were a little short of 27,000,000,000 

 feet, indicating that the total cut of 

 the country was betweent 35 and 40 

 billion feet of lumber. But these fig- 

 ures are only a part of the work that 

 has been undertaken by the Forest 

 Service in co-operation with the Na- 

 tional Lumber Manufacturer's Asso- 

 ciation, and it is only in connection 

 with the other work that they attain 

 their greatest value. It is the aim 

 of the Service to obtain figuees of the 

 total timber resources of the country, 

 the increase by growth and the total 

 drain upon those resources. When all 

 this information is secured with a fair 

 degree of accuracy, it will be both val- 

 uable and interesting." 



The recently issued re- 



incanada P ort of the superintend- 



ent of forestry for the 

 Dominion of Canada, for the fiscal 

 year ended June 30, 1905, contains 

 some interesting information regard- 

 ing the progress of forestry in Canada. 

 Superintendent Stewart points out the 

 great difference in forest conditions 

 between the countries of the Old and 

 New World, and states his conviction 

 that European methods are not en- 



tirely practicable in Canada. The re- 

 port emphasizes the necessity of train- 

 ed foresters in the Dominion, and ad- 

 vocates educational advantages in for- 

 estry. Strong emphasis is laid upon 

 the necessity for adequate fire protec- 

 tion. The fire ranging system, which 

 has been 'put into operation in some 

 districts with considerable success, is 

 described. 



The importance of proper cutting 

 is emphasized by Superintendent 

 Stewart, as second only to fire protec- 

 tion. Forest reserves have already 

 been created in the Dominion, but only 

 for two reservations have working 

 plans been instituted. 



The distribution of seedling trees 

 for forest planting, to settlers in the 

 Northwest a co-operation system, 

 which was begun in 1901 is alrealy 

 assuming vast proportions. Some 

 1,860,000 were listributed during the 

 year. 



An unusually dry spring 

 Forest Fires } ias made conditions for 



forest fires peculiarly 

 favorable in the Northwest. Close to 

 Vancouver, B.C., fires of considerable 

 magnitude have destroyed much val- 

 uable timber, and a fire in Lynn Val- 

 ley destroyed hundreds of cords of 

 wood and shingle bolts belonging to 

 the Hastings Shingle Manufacturing 

 Company. The mining town of Ber- 

 lin, Wash., was almost completely des- 

 troyed, and along the Great Northern 

 and Northern Pacific railways forest 

 fires have kept firefighters at work. 

 Skyomish and Monroe, Wash., were 

 for a time seriously threatened, pre- 

 vious to a heavy rainfall. ( hying to 

 the failure of the Washington Legis- 

 lature to provide sufficient funds to 

 carry on the work of fire fighting be- 

 yond last year, the timber owners, 

 headed by the Weyerhaeuser syndicate, 

 are providing a fund, and wardens will 

 be placed in the field to organize vol- 

 unteer crews, where fires are discover- 

 ed. 



The most serious damage caused by 

 forest fires so far this season, has 

 been done in the upper peninsular of 



