134 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



or on public works, and the standard 

 government wage fixes a high rate for 

 all labor. Eighty per cent, of the 

 donkey engines and blocks, etc., is 

 made in the United States. The wire 

 rope comes from England, while saws 

 and small-mill machinery is mostly made 

 in Canada. Large mills use American- 

 made burners, bands, gangs, log-deck 

 and electrical machinery. The propor- 

 tion of American-made goods is decreas- 

 ing but Canadian prices are based on 

 American prices, plus duty. A com- 

 parison as between wage scales of mill 

 and woods workers shows that wages 

 in British Columbia are about 10 per 

 cent higher than in Oregon. Consider- 

 able Oriental labor is used in the yards 

 but its cost, per unit of production, is 

 equal to that of the labor employed n 

 the western States. 



The climatic conditions are similar 

 except that the heavy rains of the 

 northern coast cause more loss of time 

 in the camps. Cutting is less advanced 

 amid the intricate system of interior 

 waterways in the province, hence the 

 haul to water is shorter. The conditions 

 are similar to those which prevailed 



along Puget Sound and Columbia river 

 in the days of small loggers. The 

 waterways may offset in a measure the 

 disadvantages alluded to but small 

 operations cannot be economical and 

 the day of the hand logger has passed. 

 It is generally claimed by provincial 

 loggers and manufacturers that opera- 

 tions in the Province cost 20 per cent, 

 more than in the States; and this is 

 unquestionably true in the inter-moun- 

 tain districts, at least. It is the log 

 value at points of manufacture that 

 counts in a discussion of competition 

 and this has been shown to be equal; 

 excepting that in the States log prices 

 of water-borne logs are made as at 

 booms while in the Province they are 

 usually for logs delivered at points of 

 manufacture. 



With its wealth of good cedar British 

 Columbia is able to produce enormous 

 quantities of shingles. Unopposed by 

 restrictive duties it may easily capture 

 the shingle business of the United 

 States where the supply of cedar is 

 comparatively limited. The Province 

 also bears an immense amount of 

 pulp timber and water power for its 



Among Inlets and Inside Waters in British Columbia, 

 this scene is characteristic. note the narrow shore lands, well forested, rising to high peaks either 



barren or bearing poor timber. 



