Canadian Forestry Journal, April, 1918 



1621 



The Seignory of Lotbiniere 



Bv L. Garneau, F.E, 



Forest Distriei Inspector Forest Service, Quebec. 



A Forest Worked in Foresight, Where Science 

 in Wood Harvesting Gets Elbow Room. 



This track of timber land is situated 

 on the south side of the St. Lawrence, 

 35 miles above Quebec, in the County 

 of Lotbiniere. At the present time, 

 the forest comprises about 44,000 

 acres, but in twenty vears from this 

 date (1914) an additional 40,000 

 acres will revert to the present admin- 

 istration. These acres are now held 

 by an American Lumber Co., which 

 have the cutting right for that period. 



This forest has been in the posses- 

 sion of the present owner's family 

 since 1672, Louis the 14th having 

 granted it in several parcels in the 

 form of seigniories to the Sieur de 

 Lotbiniere. 



It was not until 1833 that any 

 definite exploitation was undertaken, 

 except for the King Oak. The first 

 cutting contract was made out by 

 a notary, and the jobbers, for the 

 most part tenants on the estate, 

 undertook to cut and roll into the 

 river 100 to 3500 logs made from 

 the best pine (Pinus strobus) in 

 which the estate was well stocked. 

 No log that was net absolutely free 

 from defect was ever utilized, and 

 even at the present time, valuable 

 pine cut 50 or more years ago and 

 discarded as being unmerchantable, 

 are picked up and made into service- 

 able material. The jobbers were 

 paid $12.00 per 100 logs and were 

 obliged to roll them into the river 

 when the spring came, at their own 

 expense. 



The timbered area is practically 

 level with a slight incline from the 

 St. Lawrence to the southern bound- 

 ery of the estate. 



The tract is well drained by the 

 river du Chene and its tributaries, 

 the Cedre, Ormes, Huron, and Bras 

 d'Edmond rivers. 



The soil is a rich loamy sand 

 without croppings of gravel along 



the rivers banks. The climate is 

 severe at times, so that many of 

 the trees suffer from frost cracks. 



The population consists of farmers, 

 who manage their farms in the sum- 

 mer and usually seek employment 

 for the winter in the woods; they 

 are skilled woodsmen, few of them 

 understand the financial side of the 

 exploitation and therefore do not 

 make as large profit as they should. 

 Unfortunately the tendency at present 

 is to emigrate to the cities and towns, 

 and labour, as a result, is getting 

 scarce. 



The personnel consists of the follow- 

 ing: an administrator, mill manager, 

 assistant, forest-engineer, two assist- 

 ants, superintendent ot fires, two 

 assistants. 



The inventory done shows that 

 merchantable material per acre a- 

 mounts to 17,515 feet, so the total 

 merchantaible timber amounts to 766,- 

 720,000 feet. 



.4 Trust Fund 



The object of management is to 

 insure a periodic sustained yield 

 with adequate financial return on 

 the investment; in other words, to 

 handle the forest as a trust fund 

 in such a way that the present may 

 have the largest yields and benefits 

 from the forest for future generations. 



The exploitation and transporta- 

 tion of the material to the mill at Le- 

 clercville is and always has been a 

 simple matter. It has been remarked 

 before that the drainage is excellent, 

 the tributaries of the main river 

 gridironing the tract in all directions, 

 the hauling roads to the rollaways 

 are therefore short, as a result the 

 cost per 1000 feet being $4.00. The 

 driving is also inexpensive, the cost 

 per 1000 feet ranging from 0.25 to 

 55 cents, according to the amount of 



