332 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



Photo by E. A. Sterling. 



OVER 20,000 BOARD FEET IN THIS. 



THIS MAGNIFICENT PRODUCT OF THE FOREST, WHOSE DIAMETER IS ABOUT NINE FEET, IS A DOUGLAS FIR. MANY SUCH 

 TREES WILL CUT 10,000 TO 20,000 BOARD FEET. THE ROUGH ROOT-LIKE GROWTH IN THE TRUNK IS NOT PART OF 

 THE TREE. 



spruce, hemlock and balsam. Spruce is 

 the least abundant,' but of the highest 

 value of the three. The other two are 

 woods of the future, the present market 

 absorbing only limited quantities of the 

 lumber. This, however, is only because 

 of the abundance of other woods which 

 received earlier recognition. The west- 

 ern hemlock is far superior to the east- 

 ern species and suitable for many pur- 

 poses as construction material, while 

 balsam, although less strong, is equal 

 in other respects and has the advantage 

 of lighter color and more uniform tex- 

 ture. Both balsam and hemlock are ex- 

 tensively utilized in making paper pulp, 

 and while their present lumber value is 



not great, their low stumpage value 

 makes them an attractive and promising 

 investment. A $5,000,000 paper mill at 

 Powell River, with a capacity of 225 

 tons of paper per day, uses spruce and 

 hemlock almost exclusively for pulp. 

 They also use considerable balsam and 

 like it. 



Logging on this entire stretch of coast 

 line is naturally one of the largest and 

 most interesting phases of the timber 

 exploitation in the region. Its begin- 

 ning was near the early centers of set- 

 tlement, and it is now developed and 

 extended far up the coast. In advance 

 of the present operations were the 

 "hand loggers," a peculiar development 



