The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1901-07-20
Canada,s Forest Wealth.


The award Of the grand prize to Canada
for her forestry exhibit at the Paris Ex-
position was not unexpected, says the OF
iowa correspondence Of the New York
Sun. The exhibit is collective one from
the whole Dominion, and it occupies little
more than 1000 square feet of space. 1t
is made up of very complete representa-
ton of the Canadian woods, with the prin-
cipal articles exported from Canada in a
semi manufactured form. OF the III
species Of trees indigenous to Canada,
twenty six are included in the exhibit, the
remainder being of small economic value or
of rare occurrence No other country is
80 rich in forests, and it is not surprising
that the Canadian authorities bent all their
energies in making this exhibit complete
in order to demonstrate to the world this
principal source of Canada wealth.
Much attention was given in the en-
deavor to impress the European paper
manufacturer with the importance of the
pulp forests and pulp industries of the Do
minion. This line of enterprise is so new
as not only to be of special interest to such
to such visitors at the French capital, but
its vast possibilities for this country are, as
yet, just beginning to be appreciated by
Canadians. Carefully prepared statistics
and information upon this subject were
collated and printed by the Govern
ment for distribution from the Canadian
section at the Exposition.
The Dominion census of 1881 first men
tons pulp mills, but it was merely the be-
ginning of the Canadian pulp and fibre in
dustry. There are now thirty five impor-
tant pulp and fibre mills, some of the latest
established being on gigantic scale, the
largest having capacity of $50 tons of
pulp day The total output of these
mills is now about 100 tons per day, and
the capital invested in the industry is be-
tween S15, 900, 900 and $40, 900, 900 a
considerable proportion of WHICH is from
the United States. This development has
been due to specially favorable combina-
ton of circumstances Not only is Cana
dian pulp spruce Of exceptionally good
quality for paper manufacture, but the
forests are the largest in the world, com
paratively easy of access, and possess album
dant water power. The supply in Canada
is virtually unlimited, and the area of
growth may be regarded as almost confer
minous with the geographical boundaries
Of the Dominion. From the Labrador
peninsula on the east and along the north
ern shores of the st. Lawrence, the spruce
grows abundantly, and extends over that
great triangle between Hudson Bay and
the Atlantic Ontario has an abundance
Of pulp spruce, and it stretches northward
almost to where the Mackenzie river flows
into the Arctic Ocean On the Pacific
coast, along the mountainous bays of Brit
sh Columbia, the spruce is found more
abundantly as exploration is pushed north
ward. The Douglas fir, although partak
ing more of the nature Of balsam than
spruce, is a good pulp wood, and the trees,
towering $50 feet in the air, and measur-
ing from thirty to fifty feet in circumfer
ence at the ground, have made the timber
of the coast famous.
This forest growth, which modern science
has made so serviceable to man, is album
dant around James Bay and extends north
ward on both sides of Hudson Bay but
receding few miles from the coast and
reaching almost to the shores of Hudson
Strait on the east and the Arctic channels
on the west. The great peninsular of
Labrador, thousand miles long and about
the same in width, larger in extent than
Great Britain, France and Germany com
bined, abundantly wooded, is but very
small part of Canada's pulp spruce area
From calculation based in the forestry
reports of 1894 it is estimated that about
40 per cent. Of Canadian territory consists
of woodland and forests. 1t gives forest
area of 400, 900 square miles, and if
half Of that is spruce there are about 450,
900, 600 acres of pulp wood in Canada.
By the present methods of manufacturing
newspaper cord of spruce wood, of $50
feet board measure, will make half a ton
of sulphate or one ton Of ground pulp
Newspaper stock is made up of 20 per
cent. of the former and 80 per cent Of
buC ldOlCI IL ID CcblIhdOCQ tlldI dH dCIC vi
spruce contains, ON an average, about 1000
feet, board measure, and would make
about five and half tons of sulphate or
eleven tons Of ground pulp
IF the production Of ground pulp be es-
timated at ten tons to the acre, there is
the incomprehensible amount of four billion
and half tons of pulp in sight in Canada.
But this estimate is below that of DR.. Bell,
the explorer of the Geological Survey of
Canada, who places the area of the north
ern forests of the Dominion at 1857,
900, 900 acres. IF half of this is spruce
it would yield total of $3.50, 600, 900
tons of ground pulp. Great Britain and
the United States consume yearly 900, 600
tons of wood pulp, which is the product of
80, 600 acres of spruce. If, therefore,
the entire amount were taken from Cana
da it wonld take fifty years to exhaust the
present supply according to the most con-
sentative estimate. But as spruce repro
duces itself to the size best adapted for
pulp manufacture within period of thirty
years the problem of exhaustion is evident
ly in the very remote future as far as the
spruce forests of Canada are concerned
Although Canada has already gigantic pulp
mills supplying distant markets, the indus
try is still in its infancy in this country,
and it is destined to become one of the
leading sources of wealth in the Dominion.
Do