Canadian Fon'alrij Jounuil, June, IDl. 



1141 



Can Canada Sell John Bull His Wood 



Supply 



Some Reforms In Present Methods 

 are Discussed by Overseas Officer. 



THE following article was pre- 

 pared by Captain Douglas Weir, 

 B.S.A. ; M.Sc.; officer in charge, 

 Forestry Branch, Canadian Forestry 

 Corps, with the assistance of Staff 

 Sergeant A. V. Gilbert, a graduate of 

 Toronto Forest School, and was read 

 by Col. Gerald White at one of the 

 meetings of the Imperial Institute 

 held in London, England. 



Germanifs Timber 



"The Timber imports from Ger- 

 many consisted mostly of Fir (Pine) 

 and Spruce, but a great deal larger 

 proportion came from Russia. The 

 Fir is a variety of Pinus sylvestris, 

 well known in this country as Scotch 

 Fir and the spruce is Picea excelsa. 

 To the trade in this country the Fir 

 is usually known as redwood and the 

 spruce as whitewood. These timbers 

 have for years had Canadian com- 

 petitors such as Douglas Fir, White 

 Pine, Norway Pine and Spruces. 

 The Douglas Fir, however, has been 

 imported chiefly as large structural 

 timbers, along with American South- 

 ern Pine. This latter is known here 

 as Pitch Pine while the Douglas Fir 

 is called Oregon Pine or British Col- 

 umbia Pine. For general construc- 

 tion and manufactured articles white 

 pine, red pine and spruces have been 

 in demand, but of recent years the 

 price of white pine has been pro- 

 hibitive. The rapidly decreasing sup- 

 ply of this timber in Canada must 

 also be noted. The Norway or Red 

 Pine is considered superior to the 

 European Red Wood but the Can- 

 adian Spruces have not been received 

 so favourably, as it is held that they 

 did not work up so nicely. These 

 were, of course, the Eastern Canadian 

 Spruces but the large imports from 

 British Columbia of Sitka Spruce 



during the War, for the manufacture 

 of aeroplanes have shown this to be 

 a lighter, stronger and more durable 

 timber than the eastern species. 



Where Canada Failed 



It is important to note here the 

 chief difficulties encountered in the 

 past, in the entry of Canadian Species 

 into competition with the European 

 ones. The most important, of course, 

 is transportation. This difficulty is 

 off-set by the fact that Canadian 

 timbers have, in the past, competed 

 successfully here and more especially 

 since the British Columbia Govern- 

 ment sent their Chief Forester to this 

 country to advance the interests of 

 their timbers. 



The question of finance also enters 

 largely into the discussion. The Bal- 

 tic exporters have worked harmon- 

 iously with British merchants in 

 shipping limber on six months' notes, 

 etc., whereas Canadian timber men 

 have insisted on their timber being 

 paid for before it left Canadian ports. 

 In addition the former have paid more 

 attention to having their own repre- 

 sentatives here wdio studied the Brit- 

 ish markets closely, and their export- 

 ing firms would send timber here in 

 varied forms to conform very closely 

 to the uses to which they were put. 

 Of recent years Canadian firms have 

 shown more enterprise in haying 

 agents here, and the further applica- 

 tion of this principle, in the future, 

 should advance the use of Canadian 

 timbers greatly and aid in solving 

 the question of finance. 



Loss by Shrinkage' 



Another dilTiculty has been that 

 timber from Canada did not arrive 

 here in as good condition. Before 

 the completion of the Panama Canal 



