330 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



PREPARING A BOOM. 



HERE~THE BIG LOSS ARE BEING ASSEMBLED AND WILL LATER BE MADE INTO A BOOM AND TOWED DOWN 



THE COAST TO THE SAW MILLS. 



sinks. This process is continued until 

 the logs form a rounded pile extending 

 10 or 12 feet above the water-line and 

 for a considerable distance below. 

 Cables are then passed over at each end 

 from the outside log of the original raft 

 to the corresponding log on the other 

 side and firmly secured. The raft when 

 finished resembles a great sheath of 

 grain, except it is bound at both ends in- 

 stead of the middle. From -tOO to 800 

 thousand board feet can be towed in a 

 single section of this kind and without 

 danger of loss from storm. This form 

 of rafting is especially valuable for 

 hemlock, which shows a tendency to 

 sink. If the front end of a hemlock log 

 in a water section boom dips down ever 

 so slightly when in motion, the down- 

 ward thrust of the water will force it 

 out of place, and after turning a somer- 

 sault under the boom, it simply rolls out 

 and is free. 



The future of this great tidewater 

 timber country, and, in fact, of all the 

 British Columbia forest lands, is of par- 

 ticular interest to the forester and con- 

 servationist. Since so much of the 



country is non-agricultural, it is funda- 

 mentally suited for continual forest pro- 

 duction. Natural growth and controlla- 

 ble fire risk encourage this end. Such 

 use of the territory assures not only a 

 permanent asset to the Province, but a 

 reserve timber supply which, because 

 of its availability to water transporta- 

 tion, will be distributed among the mar- 

 kets of the world. The first step is the 

 utilization of the existing forests since 

 the trees are now over mature. The 

 cutting will be incomplete and wasteful 

 because the market permits utilization 

 of only the best. Following this era of 

 lumbering will come a long regeneration 

 period, when the cut-over land, either 

 naturally or with the help of man, will 

 come back into forest. The second and 

 successive forests will never equal the 

 first because the market by then will 

 not have the heritage of the trees cen- 

 turies old to draw on, and will be con- 

 tent with smaller sizes and lower 

 grades. 



It is not without regret that these in- 

 comparable tidewater forests are con- 

 signed to the commercial needs of ad- 



