CiuKuluin Forcslrii JoiirnaL M(U]. H)!'. 



1097 



T 1 



1 Forests Give B. C. Treasury Over 2 Millions I 



Increases in the value of Ihe natural 

 producls of the Province produced last 

 year were shown in optimistic reports 

 submitted in Legislature of British 

 Columbia by Premier Brewster in the 

 course of his budget speech. These 

 reports showed the following most 

 satisfactory results: 



1916 1915. 



Forest $35,528,000 S29.15O.O00- 



Mines 42,300.000 :'..;, OOO.OOO 



Fisheries 14,538,320 11,515,086 



.\griculture 32,259,157 31,127,801 



The estimated value of production 

 in the forest industries was S35,528,- 

 000, an increase of more than SG,000,- 

 000 over the total for the previous 

 year, and greater than for 1914 or 

 1913. The production of shingles and 

 boxes has shown a noticeable increase. 



Better prices and increased ciuan- 

 tity of demand have produced a 

 noticeabe revival in the lumbering 

 industry. As against this, shortage 

 of labor, difficulty in securing material 

 such as wire rope, car shortages, and 

 increased cost of production due to 

 general rise in prices of commodities 

 have exerted a considerable effect in 

 preventing development which would 

 otherwise have taken place. In spite 

 of this the total cjuantitv of timber 

 scaled for the year, 1,280,000,000 feet, 

 shows a twenty-five per cent increase 

 over that of the previous year, this 

 increase being general throughout all 

 districts. 



The export lumber trade was 

 severely handicapped by the scarcity 

 of tonnage throughout the year, and 

 the cjuantity shipped overseas was 

 consecjuentlv reduced from 58,000,000 

 feet in 1915 to 44,000,000 feet in 191G. 

 Placed as she is, British Columbia will 

 have every opportunity of doing an 

 important export trade when the 

 tonnage situation is re-established. 

 Such trade was particularly desirable 

 as a stabilizing influence, so that the 

 Coast industry may be less dependent 

 upon the Canadian Prairie market. 

 VoY the past year, however, the 

 Prairie demand has been most satis- 



factory, while shipments to Eastern 

 (Canada were double those of the 

 year before. Persistent effort is made 

 by the Provincial Government to 

 advertise the merits of British Col- 

 umbia forest products and to assist 

 manufacturers who are entering new 

 markets. 



Including nearly 8180,000 from the 

 taxation derived from the crown grant 

 timber lands, the Province drew from 

 forest sources in 1916 a revenue of 

 $2,000,000 which is slightly in excess 

 of the amount for 1915. For the 

 coming fiscal year the direct forest 

 revenue, apart from such taxation, is 

 estimated at $2,300,000, an amount 

 including various royalty arrears 

 which are now being called in. The 

 improved outlook is shown by the fact 

 that last month's forest revenue was 

 the largest since the war began, w^hile 

 the collection for the month from both 

 royalties and timber sales broke all 

 previous records. 



There is, at Ottawa, an independent 

 Society numbering four thousand five 

 hundred members, and known as 

 The Canadian Forestry Association. 

 Its object is the conservation of our 

 forests from preventable waste, and 

 it does so by spreading timely and 

 useful information amongst those in- 

 terested. I have just received from 

 this Association a little leaflet headed 

 "Who loses?" and am recjuested to 

 pass on some of the facts contained 

 therein. It may be remembered that 

 this subject was dealt with in these 

 notes about a year ago, when I tried 

 to show how vitally the forest re- 

 serves of Canada affected us all, and 

 to point out the necessity of pre- 

 serving them from unnecessary des- 

 truction. — Melfort, Sask., "" Journal 



"You are drawing the blood of a 

 future generation in Canada when 

 you misuse the forest resources of 

 the country." — Sir George E. Foster. 



