116 



MARINE AND FISHERIES 



6-7 EDWARD VII., A. 1907 



specially the case. The commonest kind of logs were spruce and cedar, and mingling 

 with these a few pine. 



In the upper half of the journey to Fredericton, a number of small sawmills were 

 noticed here and there along the shore. Evidently they were doing a purely local 

 trade. Quite a number had been abandoned. Nine miles from the capital there was 

 brisk rafting of logs, no less than four steam tugs being employed in this work. The 

 booms and logs extended for 4 or 5 miles along the river. All the mills along this 

 part of the river were driven by steatn and burnt their own sawdust. 



Between St. John and Fredericton, therefore, there is no doubt that neither the 

 niubish nor the sawdust exists in sufficient quantity in the river to do any harm to 

 fish life. But it becomes a matter of interest to ascertain, if possible, what the effect 

 would be if the refuse from all the mills at St. John and up the river did discharge 

 their sawdust, slabs, edgings, &c., into the stream. Because it must be remembered 

 that up to 1899 the law against discharging mill rubbish was not enforced upon the 

 St. John river, and certain other large rivers in Ontario and Quebec, inasmuch as par- 

 liament thought it only fair to the lumbermen to allow them the privilege of getting 

 rid of their waste lumber in the easiest possible way. 



Assuming then, that mill waste were discharged into the St. John river, what 

 would be the effect? If it would poison fish eggs, fish fry, or the minute microscopic 

 life which forms the food of fish fry, we can easily understand that this would be one 

 reason why fish have decreased in nutoiber in this river during the past 30 or 40 years. 

 Let us see. According to the information I received from lumber merchants in St. 

 John, the following is a fair estimate of the cuts of lumber on this great river during 

 the last year or two : — 



Feet, board measure. 



Messrs. Burns & Murchin 10,000,000 



" Hilliard Bros 10,000,000 



" J. E. Warner & Co 10,000,000 



" A. Gushing & Co 43,000,000 



" Murray & Gregory 15,000,000 



" Stetson, Gutter & Go 30,000,000 



" Randolph & Baker 20,000,000 



Dunn Bros 10,000,000 



" John E. Moore 10,000,000 



" Miller Bros 23,000,000 



M. A. Gibson 40,000,000 



The Scott Lumber Co ^ 10,000,000 



Messrs. Murchin & Sons. . 5,000,000 



R. A. Estey 7,000,000 



A. Eraser 10,000,000 



Tobique Lumber Co 10,000,000 



Van Buren Lumber Go 13,000,000 



St. John Lumber Go 33,000,000 



Geo. Murchin 8,000,000 



A number of smaller mills on the St. John and its 



branches in Canada and the United States. . . . 90,000,000 



407,000,000 



Now, on the assumption that each foot of lumber, board measure, will produce a 

 pound of sawdust, the total sawdust would of course amount to 407,000,000 pounds per 

 annum. 



So much for this part of the data required to find the strength of the sawdust 

 pollution of the St. John. 



