Canadidn Forcslnj Journal, November, 191!^ 



1927 



eight Companies, in addition to 

 which two other Companies arc spec- 

 ially employed on aerodrome con- 

 struction work with the Independent 

 Force, R. A. F. Another interesting 

 fact illr.strating the growth of the 

 Corps is that the production for the 

 first six months of the present year 

 was practically 50% in excess of the 

 production for the whole twelve 

 months of 1917. 



During the first six months of this 

 year, ovef 183,000,000 feet of sawn 

 product have been produced, and, if 

 approximate comparative values are 

 given to the quantities of sawn 

 lumber, round timber, and fuel pro- 

 duced, the value of the sawn lumber 

 is almost 85% oi the total value of 

 the products of the Corps. At the 

 present time, sawn lumber is being 

 produced at the rate of over 1,400,000 

 feet per day and in order to meet the 

 heavy demands of the Armies for 

 standing gauge and other sleepers 

 in connection with their railway con- 

 struction programmes over 350,000 

 sleepers are being produced each 

 week. 



Using the Oak Forests. 



The main sources of supply of 

 standing timber for this sleeper pro- 

 duction are the oak forests of Nor- 

 mandy and Central France, and the 

 immense pine areas of the "Landes," 

 south of Bordeaux. This latter area 

 comprises over 2,000,000 acres of 

 almost flat sand lands, w^hich 

 have been planted with Maritime 

 pine since the end of the 18th century. 

 One of the main sources of supply of 

 sawn timber, in addition to the 

 sources mentioned previously, is the 

 large fir and spruce forests in the 

 mountains of the east of France, in 

 the Department of the Vosges, Doubs 

 and Jura, which are being largely 

 operated by the Canadian Forestry 

 Corps for the French Army. The 

 forests in the former of these Depart- 

 ments are mainly located in moun- 

 tainous country presenting many dif- 

 ficulties from a lumberman's point 

 of view, and in one case the timber 

 has to be lowered by cable to the 

 mill from a slope of over forty-five 

 degrees. 



Loyyiny In/ Rail 

 In most of the operations of the 

 Corps, the logs are transported from 

 the stump to the mill by railroad, 

 since climatic and natural conditions 

 do not permit of adopting the usual 

 Eastern Canadian methods of winter 

 hauling over snow or ice roads, and 

 iloating by river or lake from the 

 forest to the mill. About ninety 

 miles of railroad are now in use, in- 

 cluding short spurs of standard gauge, 

 and long slretches of one metre, 

 three-foot and two-foot gauge track. 

 The cars which are operated by these 

 narrow-gauge railwoads have been 

 mainly built by the Corps and various 

 means of traction are employed, in- 

 cluding steam locomotion, petrol trac- 

 tors and horses. In this connection 

 General Stuart points with pride to 

 a petrol locomotive built by his men 

 in No. 2 District Machine Shop within 

 eight weeks time. The engine is 

 from an evacuated Jeffery truck, the 

 differential from a captured Mulhau- 

 sen (German) truck, and the remain- 

 der of the parts from scrap material 

 of all kinds gathered from the dumps, 

 adapted and utilized for the purpose. 

 To prove its efficiency I need only 

 add, that, at the first Lest, it hauled a 

 load of trucks approximating twenty- 

 one tons. 



Lieut. II. R. Christie, who was 

 formerly a member of the head 

 office stall in the British Columbia 

 Forest Branch, in charge of the De- 

 partment of Operation, has just 

 returned from overseas. He enlisted 

 in one of the iield companies of civil 

 engineers and has seen nearly three 

 years service, was slightly wounded, 

 and received the Military Cross. 

 He is at present on his way to join 

 the Canadian Expeditionary Force 

 to Siberia. He was one of Dr. 

 Fernow's graduates. 



The cost of fighting fires in the 

 three eastern associations of Quebec, 

 the St. Maurice, the Laurentide and 

 Southern St. Lawrence, has only 

 been $2,000 in 1918, as against $15,- 

 000 years ago. This is a remark- 

 ably good showing. 



