CANADA 8s 



to get these things as to ours, and she will pay the 

 price. And she is much nearer one big market, 

 i.e., the Canadian one, than we are. 



Now to glance at Canada. 



Canada. — Canada has long been looked upon by 

 Britain as a timber El Dorado. We know for a 

 fact that she has a gigantic reserve of untapped 

 timber of the soft woods so largely in demand. 

 All agree that the Douglas fir forests of British 

 Columbia are magnificent. That her forests of 

 other species, spruce, white and red pines, hemlock, 

 balsam fir, cedar {Thtija),'&nd ash contain large 

 amounts of fine timber. This may be admitted. 

 The questions affecting us in this matter, however, 

 are to what extent have the accessible forest reserves, 

 economically accessible from the point of view of 

 the British market, been cut out, and how is the 

 future great competition by America in the Canadian 

 markets likely to affect this country ! Presumably 

 the matter will be guided by the ordinary laws of 

 supply and demand. Canada, we may infer, will 

 sell her material, or the greater bulk of it, in the 

 best market. This market, because the closest, 

 will be the Aifterican one which obviously will be 

 able to offer a higher price. A factor which exerted 

 some influence before the war, that the timber 

 merchants of this country preferred Baltic spruce 

 to either American or Canadian because the former 

 is a closer grained, more durable article, may be 

 left out of account. We shall have to take what we 

 •can get in the future, a habit we have doubtless all 

 acquired during the war. 



