Canadian Forestry Journal, May, 1918 1669 



Britain Turns to Canada's Forests 



An Imperial Call to Stop Deterioration of Canad- 

 ian Forest Resources and Realize New Profits. 



"There appears to be no reason 

 why the Canadian forests should 

 not supply the United Kingdom 

 with coniferous timber and meet 

 its growing needs for many gen- 

 erations. 



"Meanwhile the forest capital 

 of Canada is growing less year 

 by year. This we submit, is an 

 Imperial question of the first mag- 

 nitude which deserves the im- 

 mediate attention of the Imperial 

 and Dominion Governments." 



The foregoing statement sums up 

 a conclusion of the Forestry Sub- 

 Committee of the British Recon- 

 struction Committee which has par- 

 ticular interest for Canadians. Prob- 

 ably few readers of the Forestry 

 Journal have thought in times past 

 that the forests of Canada held such 

 a vital relation to the needs of the 

 Mother Country. Yet the fact can- 

 not be contraverted that Great Bri- 

 tain has been to the extent of 60% 

 of her daily needs at the mercy of 

 the Russian timber exporter. Who 

 shall say in these uncertain times 

 what degree of freedom the Russian 

 exporter will enjoy during the next 

 ten years at the hands of his German 

 master? The radical re-arrangement 

 of the political conditions in Russia 

 has given new weight entirely to 

 the counsels of those Canadians 

 who have striven for a larger share 

 of Britain's timber orders even in 

 face of obviously higher freight rates. 

 At the same time if the Canadian 

 people are to take any profit what- 

 ever from the conclusions of the 

 British Reconstruction Committee, 

 they' will have to recognize that 

 no permanent trade arrangement in 

 limber supplies can be founded upon 

 a deteriorating source of raw mate- 

 rials. Canada cannot reasonably pre- 

 sent any plea for a greater proportion 

 of John Bull's timber trade until 

 some guarantee can be given that 



the forestry policies and practices 

 of the coun{ry are capable of assuring 

 permanence in production of forest 

 materials. 



At Russians Mercy 



The Forestry Sub-Conmiittec was 

 composed of men of unquestioned 

 standing and practical knowledge of 

 world wide conditions, such as Lord 

 Lovat, Sir John Stirling-Maxwell, Sir 

 William Schlich, Lord Cavendish. 

 Hon. F. D. Acland, and others. 



"The United Kingdom," they ol)- 

 serve, "is dependent for more than 

 60 per cent, of its timber on the 

 virgin forests of foreign countries 

 which are being steadily depleted. 

 The proportion derived from sources 

 within the Empire fell from 22 per 

 cent, in 1899 to 10 per cent, in 1913. 

 Every year we become more depen- 

 dent on Russia, which in 1913 sup- 

 plied us with nearly half our total 

 imports. We have no means of 

 reckoning how long the virgin forests 

 will last, but unless they are brought 

 under systematic management their 

 exhaustion can only be a question 

 of time. The arguments advanced 

 on this subject by competent students 

 have been supported since 1895 by 

 a steady rise in price. 



Canada^ s Importance 



The only large reserves within 

 the British Empire are those of 

 Canada which are rapidly being 

 depleted by fire. The Dominion 

 Government has initiated measures 

 for their protection, but the problem 

 is both large and difficult. It is 

 one in which the United Kingdom 

 has a deep interest since the Canadian 

 reserves are the only source on which 

 the United Kingdom can fall back 

 if supplies from Russia fail. The 

 arrangement prevailing before the 

 war under which the exports from 

 the Canadian forests were absorbed 

 by, the United States, while the 



