1286 



Canadian Forestrij Journal, September, 1917 



Pacific Coast States and placed fur- 

 ther heavy contracts absorbing prac- 

 tically the entire output for six 

 months ahead. So far as the actual 

 demand for sole leather in British 

 Columbia is concerned, a conserva- 

 tive estimate places it at 250 "sides" 

 daily, (a side being half a hide). 

 This is equivalent to 120,000 "sides" 

 per year. As above stated, British 

 Columbia produces 25,000 hides 

 (equal to 50,000 "sides") per year, 

 so that the local market would more 

 than absorb our local production of 

 leather. 



The above facts would seem to 

 make a very good case for the estab- 

 lishment of a sole leather industry 

 in British Columbia, the raw ma- 

 terial being abundant and the con- 

 suming market steady. 



Difficulties in the Way 



We now come to the influences 

 which have prevented the establish- 

 ment of a tan-bark and tanning in- 

 dustry up to the present time. 



Up till a few years ago, western 

 hemlock was in little demand as a 

 building material, the name suggest- 

 ing the inferior eastern species. The 

 prejudice against hemlock was so 

 strong that timber limits containing 

 a large proportion of this timber 

 were almost unsaleable owing to mills 

 finding difficulty in marketing hem- 

 lock lumber. Practical education 

 has changed this and to-day the pre- 

 judice of prairie consumers has been 

 removed, western hemlock command- 

 ing a price commensurate with its 

 true value. In addition to this, hem- 

 lock is being very largely used as a 

 pulp wood and its use in this con- - 

 nection will undoubtedly increase 

 very greatly within the next few 

 years. 



It may be asked why hemlock bark 

 in British Columbia cannot be mar- 

 keted and used in the same way as 

 the inferior eastern hemlock bark, 

 the more so since its tannin content 

 is so much higher. The difficulty 

 is purely an economic one. In East- 

 ern Canada there is a steady demand 

 for hemlock bark at prices which 

 make the peeling and marketing of 

 the bark quite an adjunct to the 



eastern timber industry. There the 

 lumbermen send a section of their 

 river-driving gangs back to the woods 

 in early mid-summer to peel and pile 

 tan-bark for drying, and before the 

 fall rains it is hauled out of the woods 

 on wagons. On the Pacific Coast 

 this plan is not practicable, owing 

 to the different logging methods in 

 use and to some extent to the diffi- 

 culty of haulage. Here most of the 

 logging is done by donkey-engines 

 and the log receives rough treatment 

 in hauling over the ground to the 

 loading deck, the comparatively soft 

 hemlock bark becoming torn and 

 pitted with stones and pebbles, which 

 greatly lessen its market value. Ef- 

 forts have been made by parties 

 wishing to make experiments on a 

 commercial scale, to secure regular 

 supplies of hemlock bark from the 

 loggers, but there appears to be a 

 disinclination on their part to bother 

 with the matter, as they did not 

 feel assured a regular market will 

 exist. 



Experiments Needed 



This situation is obviously one 

 which should be studied by our pro- 

 vincial forest department. Some way 

 can be found for creating regular sup- 

 plies of the bark and it appears to 

 the writer that the best plan will be 

 to demonstrate to the loggers that 

 it will pay them to peel the logs and 

 market the bark. The process ot 

 extracting tannin from the bark is 

 a simple one and the cost of establish- 

 ing an experimental plant for manu- 

 facturing dry tannin extract would 

 be comparatively small. Once the 

 government have assured themselves 

 of the feasibility of the business, 

 there is not the least doubt that 

 capital would readily be forthcoming 

 lo establish the industry on a large 

 commercial basis. If the manufac- 

 ture of dry tannin extract were car- 

 ried en in British Columbia the pro- 

 duct could be shipped to any part 

 of the world, as the freight on the 

 concentrated material would enable 

 it to compete with similar products 

 in the world's markets. Such in- 

 dustry could without doubt be es- 

 tablished in conjunction with the 



