180 FORESTRY IN CANADA. 



2. Types of Forest Growth. 



The Pacific Slope Forests. — These are divided into four types ; 

 The Coast, Dry Belt, Wet Belt and Interior Mountain Forests. 



The Coast Type includes the forests of Vancouver Island, 

 Queen Charlotte Islands and the coast of the opposite mainland, 

 all of which have a moderate temperature and a heavy rainfall. 

 This type consists almost entirely of conifers with a small quantity 

 of Cottonwood,* birch, alder and maple. The chief conifers are 

 Douglas fir, 29 per cent. ; western red cedar, 28 per cent. ; 

 western hemlock, 25 per cent. ; balsam fir, 9 per cent. ; spruces, 

 7 per cent. ; and yellow cypress, 2 per cent. 



The Dry Belt, away from the coast, contains a mixture of 

 western yellow pine, Douglas fir and western larch, with a rainfall 

 of 14 to 25 inches. 



The interior West Belt type is composed of a mixture of western 

 red cedar, hemlock, Engelmann spruce, and a variety of other 

 species. 



The interior Mountain Forests contain chiefly spruce types with 

 alpine fir {Abies lasiocarpa) and lodge-pole pine. Associated with 

 these are poplars, willows, birch, alpine larch {Larix Lyalli) and 

 mountain hemlock in the higher altitudes. 



Some of the above-mentioned important species of British 

 Columbia extend into the western part of Alberta, but not to any 

 great distance. 



The Atlantic Forests. — These include all the Canadian forests to 

 the east of the Rocky Mountains. Sufficient information is not 

 available to give a detailed description of the various types, which, 

 on the whole, do not seem to vary much in character. 



The northern limit of the forests is indicated by a line running 

 from the mouth of the Mackenzie river to the mouth of the 

 Churchill river on Hudson Bay, round the latter and on to Labra- 

 dor peninsula, except the north-east corner of Quebec. In the 

 northern part of this tract the climate is severe and the growth 

 more or less stunted ; on going south conditions improve gradually. 

 The principal species are white spruce, jack pine, balsam fir, 

 tamarack and black spruce, with an admixture of aspen and 

 poplar. To the south and east conditions improve greatly, spruce 



* For systematic names of trees, see pages 181 to 184. 



