Canadian Furesirij Journal, March, 1918 



A Tree Made Famous by the War 



By POLLOIXIII POGUE 



1613 



Along the Pacific coast from Alaska 

 to Oregon grows picea sitchensis, the 

 spruce that the war has made famous. 

 For many years it grew and fulfilled 

 the function of existence without 

 getting any particular publicity. It 

 is the largest of the spruces and al- 

 ways contributed a large proportion 

 of the spruce cut of British Columbia. 

 In 1915 it formed about half the cut. 

 Under the commercial name of silver 

 spruce, its lumber was favorably 

 known for its strength, lightness, and 

 lack of taste and smell. These 

 cjualities made it a favorite wood for 

 box making and co-operage work, 

 especially desirable for boxes intended 

 for foodstufTs. It was also used in the 

 manufacture of laminated wood, and 

 large doors for garages, freight houses 

 and dock sheds. 



While lacking the structural 

 strength of Douglas fir, it was used in 

 building construction for framing, 

 sheathing, joists, subfiooring and 

 shelving, and for many other light 

 uses. The different species of spruces 

 collectively have for many years sup- 

 plied more lumber and the spruce cut 

 has had a higher total value than any 

 other kind of timber in Canada. In 

 1915 spruce lumber valued at about 

 $24,000,000 was produced in Canada. 

 Silver spruce was also called giant 

 spruce, Sitka spruce and tideland 

 spruce. It is not found in any other 

 province of the Dominion. Its aver- 

 age value under any of these names in 

 1915 was about $15 a thousand feet 

 board measure. 



A Forest Parvenu. 



The war has taken silver spruce out 

 of obscurity, given it a new^ name, 

 aeroplane spruce, under which it is 

 worth eight or ten times as much as 

 it was und^r any ot its old plebeian 

 names. When the great aeroplane 

 construction programmes ol the Allies 

 created an enormous demand for the 

 highest grade of spruce available, sil- 

 ver spruce woke up one morning and 

 found itself famous. Previous to this, 



the white spruce stood higher in 

 popular favor. Designers and con- 

 structors of aeroplanes, however, 

 recognized the special c[ualities of 

 silver spruce which make it desirable 

 for airplane building. Full grown 

 trees average 150 leet in height 

 and four feet in diameter. Some trees 

 grown to a height of 200 feet and a 

 diameter of between 10 and 15 feet. 

 The tall straight trunks, tapering very 

 little, provide the long wing-beams 

 and other parts on the aeroplane for 

 which long lengths of timber are re- 

 quired. A length of from 18 to 35 

 feet is demanded for wing beams on 

 various types of planes, and silver 

 spruce is the only tree that will fur- 

 nish such long straight sticks. Silver 

 spruce is "also unusually clear, tough 

 and strong for its weight, which is 

 only 25 pounds to the cubic foot. 



It is extraordinarily even in the 

 grain and long in the fibre. It is non- 

 resinous, odorless, and does not warp 

 or split. The northern silver spruce 

 w^hich grows in British Columbia, is 

 the best of the species, and the only 

 really satisfactory timber for aero- 

 plane construction. It is especially 

 fine in texture, clear, and free from 

 defects. There is no difference be- 

 tween sapwood and heartwood. The 

 color of the wood is white. It is soft 

 and easily worked. The silver spruce 

 of Northern British Columbia sur- 

 passes for the construction of aircraft, 

 timber found anywhere else in the 

 world. 



Cost of Airplane Spruce 



The Imperial Munitions board is 

 paying S125 a thousand for B.C. aero- 

 plane spruce. This seems a high price, 

 but it is only selected timber that will 

 bring this price. The freight charges 

 on spruce from this province to the 

 aircraft factories of Eastern Canada 

 is over $100 a thousand. 



The spruce actually worked into 

 aeroplanes costs the government 

 much more than these figures mdi- 

 cate lor there is considerable waste. 



