Canadian Forcslri/ Journal, May, 1918 



1695 



A Survey of Sugar Groves 



By G. C. Piche, Chief of Forest Service, Quebec 



A survey of maple sugar groves in 

 various parts of the province was 

 begun last fall by the Forestry 

 Branch. The object of this survey 

 is to gather accurate data on the 

 following: 



1. The proportion of the various 

 species of trees in each grove, to 

 determine the influence, if any, of a 

 mixture of trees on the yield of the 

 sap, etc., etc. 



2. The influence of the soil. 



3. The influence of the topography 

 of the ground. 



4. The temperature. 



Notes are also made on the equip- 

 ment available, the methods of tap- 

 ping the trees, of gathering the sap 

 and also on the yield of sap, by 

 species of maples, by a number of 

 trees, and as influenced by the frost. 



Information is also bemg gathered 

 on the methods of makmg syrup and 

 sugar, and, finally, a statement 

 showing the profits or losses of the 

 industry will be made up. 



All reports will be compiled at the 

 Forestry Branch by counties and by 

 districts; thus before long complete 

 and careful statistics concerning this 

 valuable industry will be available. 



Sugar now sells at a high price. It 

 is, therefore, in the interest of our 

 farmers to work their sugar groves 

 so as to secure their own supply of 

 sugar and syrup. 



All the owners of sugar groves .'le- 

 siring to help in the survey are in- 

 vited to write to the chief of tie 

 Forestry Branch, Quebec, who will 

 be glad to receive any information 

 that can be given. 



B. C. Gets Forest Products Laboratories 



Efforts which have quietly been 

 exerted for several months past, 

 looking to the establishment in Van- 

 couver of a branch of the Forest 

 Products Laboratories of Canada, 

 are now certain of success. The 

 new laboratory will be equipped at 

 the outset with all necessary machin- 

 ery and appliances for the carrying 

 out of wood testing experiments on 

 the lines pursued at the parent labor- 

 atory maintained by the Dominion 

 Forestry Branch at McCill Univer- 

 sity, Montreal, where invaluable work 

 has been carried on. Scientific dem- 

 onstrations in tree chemistry w^ere 

 initiated in 1913, the wood-testing 

 department being added in 1914. It 

 is proper to mention here tliat the 

 setting up of the Forest Products 

 Laboratories by the Canadian Gov- 

 ernment was due to recognition of the 

 great work done for the lumber and 

 pulp industries at the United States 

 Laboratories at Madison, Wis., es- 

 tablished six or seven years ago. 



This institution really represents the 

 joining up of a number of wood-test- 

 ing stations built up in various 

 parts of the United States years 

 earlier by Dr. Fernow, who at that 

 time held the position of chief forester 

 to the United States Government. 



The result of the many requests 

 reaching the Dominion authorities 

 from the coast — the more especially 

 since the starting of the spruce pro- 

 duction campaign by the aeronautic- 

 al branch of the Imperial Munitions 

 Board^ — was seen in the arrival at 

 Vancouver late in March of AV. B. 

 Campbell, B.Sc, assistant superin- 

 tendent of the Montreal Labora- 

 tories, with instructions to commun7 

 icate with the B. C. Forest Branch, 

 the Munition Board, B. C. I'ni- 

 versity heads, and leading lund^er- 

 men, with a view to the speedy estab- 

 lishment here of a wood-testing unit 

 which doubtless will, after the war, 

 form the nucleus of a much larger 

 scheme to be carried out in behalf 



