766 



Canadian Fovestry Journal. October, iqi6 



spection. If the natural resources ex- 

 perts want to see timber, and especial- 

 ly spruce, it is necessary to leave the 

 car window or canoe and get inland, 

 usually a quarter of a mile at least, for 

 the spring floods which overflow the 

 banks of rivers and lakes prevent the 

 maturing of large spruce in any quan- 

 tity along shore. Besides winds con- 

 tribute towards restraining a heavv 

 growth to the water's edge. And along 

 railroads the laxity of control in burn- 

 ing right-of-way cuttings, has often 

 been responsible for long strips of burn 

 both sides of the track. Once inland 

 bevond the influence of these aeencies 

 the density of growth in the north 

 country becomes e\ident. 



In the Upper Ottawa I have found 

 black spruce in thick growth, in areas 

 of over a hundred square miles, which, 

 when followed in their more or less ir- 

 regular outlines, will average 10 to 15 

 cords per acre. Some sections of 10 

 to 25 square miles will yield 20 cords 

 per acre and many localities of 100 to 

 600 acres contain 30 cords per acre. 

 Actual measurements have been made 

 showing 45 to 52 cords per acre on 

 small sections, the number of black 

 spruce trees of 7 inches upwards on 

 such sections being as high as 520 to 

 the acre. , 



Good Navigation. 



The operating facilities of this whole 

 region are particularly attractive ow- 

 ing to the possibilities of steamboat na- 

 vigation in stretches of 50 to 75 miles 

 on lakes and rivers. The whole re- 

 gion of some ten thousand square 

 miles can be reached with compara- 

 tive ease, and that active operations 

 may soon be looked for in this section 

 is quite probable considering that some 

 thirty million cords of spruce, exclu- 

 sive of several million cords of poplar, 

 stand ready for the axe. 



All this wood may be cut, floated 

 down and delivered, for a cost of $3.50 

 to $5.00 a cord, at the great water pow- 

 er sites of the Quinze River situated 

 near the Temiskaming and Northern 

 Ontario Railway, and one hundred 

 miles nearer markets than pulp and 

 paper mills now operating with emi- 

 nent success. 



In a distance of fifteen miles from 

 Quinze Lake to Lake Temiskaming 

 the Ottawa (or Quinze) River can de- 

 velop powers aggregating 250,000 up. 

 Besides this several other water pow- 

 ers farther up the main Ottawa can de- 

 velop 5.000 to 20,000 horse-power each. 



Preached Sermon on Fires. 



On Sunday, Sept. 8th, the Rev. R. 

 A. Robinson, rector of the Anglican 

 Church, Monteith, and who is in the 

 south undergoing treatment by a spe- 

 cialist for eye-strain, visited the city of 

 St. Thomas, and at the evening service 

 in Trinity Anglican Church spoke on 

 the "Causes, Experiences and Conse- 

 quences of the Recent Bush Fires in 

 New Ontario." 



The St. Thomas Journal has the fol- 

 lowing report : — 



"Speaking of the fire and its cause he 

 said it was not accidental, and while 

 some thought campers' were careless 

 with their fires and others blamed the 

 smokers who threw aside cigar stubs, 

 the fact remained that this disaster was 

 caused by the settlers deliberately set- 

 ting fire to the woods to clear the land, 

 and the usual dry spell of July develop- 

 ed a perfect cyclone of fire beyond all 

 control. The men of the township 

 were called out to fight the fiames and 

 in the township of Monteith they were 

 successful, but Cochrane and other 

 townships sufifered severely with a loss 

 of life totalling 450. Gruesome facts 

 were touched on, and settlers' efiforts 

 to escape were detailed, as well as the 

 ready response by all for relief.] 



"This is the sixth bad fire in ten 

 years, and many residents can be met 

 who have been burned out two or 

 three times. This last fire has cost 

 $50,000,000, and unless something is 

 done settlers will leave for the West. 

 ^^'hat is needed is a good commission 

 to look into the whole question of fire 

 prevention and settlement." 



Mr. B. M. Winegar, of the C. P. R. 



Forest Service, has been adding to his 

 excellent record in fire protection work 

 by undertaking large planting opera- 

 tions on the Eastern lines for snow pro- 

 tection purposes. Next spring the 

 planting work will be greatlv extend- 

 ed. 



