WOOD SUPPLY OF CANADA 109 



waste has prevailed in the past. Forest fires and the absence of 

 replanting has reduced the forest area of Newfoundland to about 

 J-j of the whole area of the country, or some 464,000 acres, bearing 

 White Pine, Spruce {Picea alba and nigra), Tamarack or Red Larch 

 {Ldrix microcdrpa), said to be better than that of the mainland. 

 Yellow Birch [Bitula excelsa), and Poplar. Prince Edward's 

 Island produces the same species, together with Rock Maple {Acer 

 harhdtum), Hemlock Spruce [Tsuga canadensis), and the valuable 

 Cedar (Juni'perus virginidna), which has been largely sacrificed for 

 railway purposes ; but fires and clearings have largely diminished 

 the supply, the annual cut being more than. 17 times the incre- 

 ment. Nova Scotia had 9 million acres of timber land in 1875, but 

 the annual cut was for years 25 per cent, more than the increment. 

 Hackmatack or Larch {Ldrix americdna), White Pine and Hemlock 

 Spruce, are the chief species. New Brunswick had but 6 milHon 

 acres of timber land in 1874, mainly covered with hardwoods. 

 Sleepers of Cedar {Cupressus thyoides) and Hemlock bark-extract 

 for tanning are important articles of export, besides deals, con- 

 sisting mostly of Black Spruce {Picea nigra). In the province of 

 Quebec the lumber industry is still by far the most important trade ; 

 but, whereas in 1874 there were 74 million acres, there are now only 

 62 milHon, 32 milHon of which are under Hcense to cut timber. 

 The species are mostly the same as those of New Brunswick, in- 

 cluding White Pine and a scarce but valuable Oak {Quercus dlba). 

 The wood-pulp industry has grown from an annual value of 160,000 

 pounds sterHng in 1890 to nearly forty times that amount ; and a 

 service of rangers has been organized to prevent forest-fires. In 

 Ontario lumbering has ceased to be the sole industry that it once was ; 

 but almost the whole amount felled is exported, and the demand of 

 the adjoining States of the Union keeps the annual consumption 

 far in excess of the increment. Though two-thirds of British 

 Columbia, or about 110 milHon acres, were under timber in 1874, 

 and almost all was under Government control, destructive fires 

 and wholesale clearing have very much lessened the supply. There 

 is, however, a very extensive timber reserve on the coast, consisting 

 of Douglas Fir {Pseudotsuga Dougldsii), Spruce, Red Cedar {Juni- 

 ferns virginidna), Yellow Cedar {Oupressus nootkatensis), and Hem- 

 lock {Tsuga Mertensidna), the available supply of which is from 

 40,000 to 100,000 million feet. British Columbia has now a wooded 

 area estimated at 285,000 square miles, extending along the coast, 

 river- vaUeys, and foot-hills as far north as Alaska, and producing 

 many useful species besides the Douglas Spruce. There are, 

 however, sixty saw-mills in operation, with an annual capacity of 

 550 million feet. 



