CANADA. 499 



The appended tables compiled from the official returns from 

 the countries named will show the chief sources of the pulp supply, 

 viz, Norway and Sweden ; but Canada's name is beginning to appear, 

 and it is fully recognized in Norway and Sweden what a formidable 

 competitor the Dominion is becoming. Last year, the Scandinavian 

 Government caused detailed inquiries to be made in Canada as to 

 the facilities for making pulp, cost of working, etc. A representative 

 of the Dominion Government who went through the Scandinavian 

 woods reports having heard on all sides that there is great anxiety 

 regarding, Canada, especially as the forests of Scandinavia are show- 

 ing signs of depletion. To show the growth of the pulp industry in 

 Sweden, I quote the following figures: The exports in 1872 were 

 5,786 metric tons; in 1888, 38,472 tons. Of late, there has been no 

 such rapid increase. 



The United States is the great customer for wood pulp. Table 2 

 shows how the Scandinavian shipments have fallen off and how 

 Canadian pulp has increased. 



The figures in this table indicate the growth of Canadian ex- 

 ports. In 1890, only about one-seventh of the pulp imported into 

 the United 'States came from Canada; in 1898, it had risen to 100 

 per cent. In like manner as seen by Table No. 5 while Great 

 Britain took only $1,640 in 1893, in 1895 this had grown to over 

 $250,000. 



In the newly established Boletim Commercial issued by the Portu- 

 guese Government, in connection with the consular service, in the 

 number for October, 1898, attention is called to Canada's place as a 

 pulp producer, especially as a rival of Norway. With the inaugura- 

 tion of new lines of steamers to eastern Canada in connection with 

 trans-Atlantic commerce, there seems to be every indication of the 

 business growing to a still greater extent. 



The spruce forests in the northern part of the United States are 

 being rapidly exhausted. As previously noted, the same is true of 

 Scandinavia. In view of the fact that Germany, Austria, and France 

 are conserving their forests with the most rigorous laws, there ap- 

 pears to be no place to obtain spruce fit for this particular purpose 

 except in Canada. True, there are immense forests in parts of 

 European Russia and in Siberia, but difficulties of transportation 

 and lack of enterprise prevent them from being of much account at 

 the present time. No country can do anything in this business 

 without immense forests. It is not always realized what it requires 

 in the way of trees to produce, say, a newspaper. The Christmas 

 edition of the New York World consumed over 270 tons of white 

 paper, which required at least 230 tons of ground wood pulp and 50 

 tons of sulphite. This means fully 200,000 feet of spruce logs; or, 



