{"http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.14288\/1.0059888":{"https:\/\/open.library.ubc.ca\/terms#identifierAIP":[{"value":"ac4d9275-e754-4e4f-88ed-47a9707e5758","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/www.europeana.eu\/schemas\/edm\/dataProvider":[{"value":"CONTENTdm","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/alternative":[{"value":"FOREST BRANCH.","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/isReferencedBy":[{"value":"http:\/\/resolve.library.ubc.ca\/cgi-bin\/catsearch?bid=1198198","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/isPartOf":[{"value":"Sessional Papers of the Province of British Columbia","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/creator":[{"value":"British Columbia. Legislative Assembly","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/issued":[{"value":"2016-03-21","type":"literal","lang":"en"},{"value":"[1915]","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/www.europeana.eu\/schemas\/edm\/aggregatedCHO":[{"value":"https:\/\/open.library.ubc.ca\/collections\/bcsessional\/items\/1.0059888\/source.json","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/elements\/1.1\/format":[{"value":"application\/pdf","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2009\/08\/skos-reference\/skos.html#note":[{"value":" PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA\nREPOBT\nOP\nTHE FOEEST BEANCH\nDEPARTMENT OF LANDS\nHON. WILLIAM R. ROSS, K.C., Minister\nH. R. MACMILLAN, Chief Forester\nFOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 3 1st\n1914\nTHEGOVERNMENTOF\nTHE PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.\nPRINTED BY\nAUTHORITY OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY.\nVICTORIA, B.C.:\nPrinted by William H. Ctjllin, Printer to tho King's Most Excellent Majesty.\n1915. Victoria, B.C., January 28th, 1915.\nTo His Honour Franks Stillman Barnard,\nLieutenant-Governor of the Province of British Columbia.\nMay it please Yopr Honour:\nHerewith I beg respectfully to submit the Annual Report of the Forest Branch\nof my Department for the year ending December Slst, 1914.\nWILLIAM R. ROSS,\nMinister of Lands. REPORT OF THE FOREST BRANCH,\nDEPARTMENT OF LANDS.\nDecember 31st, 1914.\nHon. William R. Ross, K.G.,\nMinister of Lands, Victoria, B.C.\nSir,\u2014Four matters made the year 1914 remarkable from the point of view of forest administration in this Province. The first was the passage of the \" Timber Royalty Act,\" which defined,\nfor half a century ahead, the stumpage price of Crown timber; the second was the strenuous\nand successful struggle with one of the worst Are seasons ever experienced in the West; thirdly,\nin spite of the unprecedented conditions created by wars and financial depression, the forest\nrevenue was well over $2,000,000; while, fourthly, previous conjectures as to the large amount\nof timber remaining in the Crown reserve were confirmed by the results of exploration.\nThe \" Timber Royalty Act\" attracted widespread attention on account of its bold application\nof the modern legislative theory which calls for the retention by the State of a due share in\nthe unearned increment upon natural resources. By establishing a sliding scale under which\nthe Government is assured a full proportion of future increases in the selling-price of lumber,\nthe Act made it possible for the Government to give stability of tenure to the lumbermen without\ninjury to the public interest. Financial institutions are now able to accept timber licences as\npermanent investments. There is no doubt but that the added strength which has been given to\nBritish Columbia timber titles by this Act was of great effect during the stress of the past few\nmonths in maintaining faith in this, the most important, class of Provincial securities and in\nenabling investors and manufacturers to meet their obligations.\nThe fire season was one of the worst in the history of the West, being comparable in most\nways with that of 1910. But although there were more fires in 1914 than in any year on record,\nthey resulted in far less damage than has occurred in many previous seasons; a gratifying\nresult to which the efficiency of the patrol and fire-fighting system of the Province undoubtedly\ncontributed. We have only to observe the effect of weather conditions in the American States\nto the south of us to realize how strenuous conditions were. Over $1,600,000 was expended there\nupon timbered areas no larger than those of this Province, and yet the cost to British Columbia\ndid not exceed $400,000 for fire-fighting and patrol. Property damage was estimated at about\nthe same amount.\nFuture forest revenue will depend upon the protection from fire of the young forest now\nin various stages of maturity on the non-agricultural lands of the Province. This young growth,\ntogether with the large quantities of unalienated mature timber, will in a very few years be\nrequired for use and become valuable. The present fund available for fire-protection is not\nsufficient to protect such areas from fire. The direct interest of the public is so great in the\nprotection of these timber lands, some of which will begin producing revenue in a very few\nyears, that as the fire hazard increases in their vicinity it may become necessary to ask that a\nlarger Government contribution be made toward the cost of their protection.\nBut a portion of the Province has so far been covered by the forest survey of the past three\nseasons, yet the merchantable timber definitely located in the Crown reserve already reaches\na considerable total. The boundaries of no less than 954,950 acres of unalienated statutory\ntimber land have been established on the official maps of the Province, without including any of\nthe areas covered by reconnaissance during the past season. The preliminary reports concerning\nthe latter show that an additional 30,000,000,000 feet of timber were located by our field parties\nin 1914; and when the full reports have been tabulated the Crown reserve will receive a further\nmost satisfactory increase on account of unalienated timber that is included in this large stand.\nThe market problem confronting the lumber industry and the Government's efforts to assist\nin solving it, are dealt with in the following report. The first hint of war temporarily paralysed I 6 Department op Lands. 1915\nbuilding operations in the market supplied from the Pacific Coast. The lumber industry, which\nwas in a weak condition following the inflation of a year ago, was brought to a dead halt. The\neffects are now felt in every community throughout the Province by every class of the population, for this industry furnished our greatest export product, met the adverse balance of trade\nin every community, and provided settlers with a market for both their labour and their produce.\nIn the majority of the villages and towns in the Province prosperity will return quickest through\nrevival in the lumber business. There is no lack of timber to cut; there is no lack of mills to\ncut it. It is the market that must be sought, both in Canada east of the Rockies and in the\nUnited States from the Mississippi Valley eastward, in Australia and the Orient, and to a certain\nextent in Europe. An aggressive campaign for the capture of these markets is now under way\niu the North-western States, lumber manufacturers and the Federal Government pushing it\ntogether. I cannot too strongly urge that the most important duty of the Forest Branch at the\npresent time is to assist in extending the markets for British Columbia's forest products. If the\npresent opportunity is lost the lumber industry of this Province will have a long uphill fight in\nestablishing its position.\n\"ROYALTY ACT.\"\nIn 1888, when the Legislature first dealt in a comprehensive way with the disposal of Crown\ntimber, a royalty of 50 cents per 1,000 feet B.M. was established as the standard figure for\nstumpage upon all logs cut for sawmilling purposes in the Province. It was not until the timber\nasset of British Columbia took on a new importance, with the issue of licences covering some\n14,000 square miles during the years 1905-6-7, that the question of readjusting the stumpage rate\nwas brought forward. In issuing those timber-cutting licences it was expressly provided that\nthe royalty to be paid when logs were cut was not to be any fixed amount, but w7as to be subject\nto increase at the discretion of the Legislature, so that as the commercial value of the timber\nincreased the Provincial Treasury should receive its due proportion of the increment. A\nproposal to make an immediate increase of 25 cents in the royalty was brought forward soon\nafter this, but the financial depression of 1908 caused the matter to be postponed until the\nend of 1912, when a revision of the Act was made and submitted to the Legislature at the\nbeginning of the following year. The draft proposal was for certain fixed increases fo be made\nin the royalty during the ensuing period of ten years. This tentative proposal formed a basis\nfor keen discussion, and in the upshot it was decided to postpone legislation for a year. Investigation of the whole subject was carried on until in February last the result was embodied in\nthe \" Timber Royalty Act.\"\nSince under the system of timber licences the Crown and the licensees share between them\nthe stumpage value of the timber held, the main object of the Act was to define the terms of\nthe partnership. As security of tenure was essential for the development of the lumbering\nbusiness, it was necessary to provide for a long term of years. Future changes in stumpage\nvalues, however, can only be guessed. Hence a sliding scale had to be devised in order that\nthe stumpage obtained by the Government in time to come might reflect any change in timber\nvalues, up or down.\nSince these values are the difference between selling-price and cost of manufacture an exact\ndetermination of royalty could only be made after a complete audit of the books of every\noperating concern. As a practical matter the sliding scale had to be based on some simpler\nmethod than this, and accordingly the average selling-price of lumber was taken as the barometer\nof stumpage value. A certain initial increase, to take effect at the year's end, was made in\nthe existing royalty; no further increase was to be made until the selling-price of lumber had\npassed the $18 level; and the future was provided for by enacting that the stumpage payable\nto the Crown at any future date should be the 1915 royalty plus a certain percentage of the\nincrease in the average selling-price of lumber over $18.\nThis \" Timber Royalty Act\" attracted a great deal of attention in other countries, and was\nmuch discussed in the press as an important example of advanced legislation. A summary of\nits provisions is as follows:\u2014\n1915-19: Royalty, 85 cents and 50 cents on grade, for Coast districts; 50 cents on\nBritish Columbia rule for Southern Interior; 65 cents for Northern Interior.\n1920-24: Royalty increased by not more than 25 per cent, of any increase over $18 in\naverage selling-price of lumber. 5 Geo. 5\nForest Branch.\n1 7\n1925-29: 30 per cent, of increase over $18.\n1930-34: 30 per cent, of increase over $18.\n1935-39: 35 per cent, of increase over $18.\n1940-44: 35 per cent, of increase over $18.\n1945-49: 40 per cent, of increase over $18.\n1950-55: 40 per cent, of increase over $18.\nIn order to obtain the necessary data upon which this sliding scale will be based, the average\nwholesale selling-price of lumber in the Province must be ascertained each year.\nORGANIZATION.\nDistribution op Total Force, British Columbia Forest Branch, 1914.\nPermanent.\nTemporary.\nG\nu\nd\ng\n'0\ns\nForest District.\nt3 +3\nup\n,0-2\n02\n0>\no\nrM\nrJ.\nO\n'\u00a3\nin \u00abj\nS|\ni~ tri\n5 p\nM %\ncrj\nC\nca\non\n'S3\n\u00a3\nr\/J\ntr\nOJ\n'ri\nOJ\n'3\nto\nB\n3J\n1\ns,\n05\nQrS\n\u00a3 0\n0)\n0\nc\n0\nC\nrt\nc\n|\n0\n0\na\nCj\nO\nrt\nIf\n? s\nrfS\nSo\nIs\n0\nH\n-d\nc\nrt\nD\n3\nCl\no\nk,\n03\n1\n\na \u00b0\n02 0-\nOS\nt. r-l\nPlanks, boards, etc., dressed one side, not dutiable....\n190,768,000\n31,348,000\n12,824,994'\n390,866\n$12,13\n12 11\n2 31\n1 90\n207,702,000\n49,291,000\n$2,377,262\n645,670\n9\n53\n222,116,000\nPieces.\n58,220,000\n17,206,050\n$2,715,800\n134,795\n32,781\n257,053,000\nPieces.\n63,720,000\n82,887,000\n$3,022,932\n134,624\n152,402\n9\n3S1\n$2,883,436\n$3,309,958 I 22\nDepartment of Lands.\n1915\nImports into the Canadian Prairie from the United States\u2014Concluded.\nFeet B.M.\n1913.\nValue.\nAverage\nper M.\naj\noi .\n02 IN\nIs\nfifc\n. QJ\n-u >\nfl o\n<\" 11-1\nOh\nkS\nas\nFeet B.M.\n1914.\nValue.\nAverage\nper M.\n\u00a7 .\nJ~ I\u2014I\nC- cr.\nOJ i-l\nQ r-\nQJ\n-r-i >\nfl o\nOJ rl\nPlanks, boards, etc., dressed one side, not dutiable\nSawn boards, etc.. dutiable\t\n106,299,000\n17,843,000\n$1,552,760\n303,971\n$1,856,731\n78,361\n65,153\n$2,000,245\n$14 61\n17 04\n49\n64\n71,130,000\n5,996,000\n$842,227\n86,002\n$11 85\n14 34\n33\n66\n124,142,000\nPieces.\n32,996,000\n34,003,000\n77,11 ,000\nPieces.\n13,112,000\n10,456,000\n$928,229\n29,920\n18,112\n$ 2 37\n1 92\n48\n59\n$ 2 28\n1 73\n60\n69\nTotals\t\n.$976,261\nFurther competition which cannot possibly be eliminated during the next decade is that of\nthe Prairie Spruce Mills, which cut 225,000,000 feet annually, and the Western Mills of Ontario,\nwhich send 50,000,000 feet a year. For several years past British Columbia has cut 1,000,000,000\nfeet to 1,200,000,000 feet of lumber for the Prairie trade. So acute was the building depression\nin 1914 that only about 700,000,000 was cut for the Prairie trade, and not all this quantity was\ndelivered.\nThe situation plainly calls for general reorganization, for the mills of British Columbia\nhave looked to the Prairie for a sufficient market during the past ten years. The output capacity\nfor these mills is as follows:\u2014\nSawmills, 1914.\nForest District.\nNo. of\nMills.\nCapacity per\nTen-hour\nDay.\nCapacitv per Year\nof 300 Days.\nCranbrook\t\nFort George\t\nHazelton\t\nIsland \t\nKamloops \t\nLillooet\t\nNelson \t\nPrince Rupert . . .\nTete Jaune Cache\nVancouver\t\nVernon \t\nTotals . .\n46\n16\n12\n50\n20\n21\n32\n18\n1\n89\n29\n1.153,200\n200,000\n41,000\n1,594,000\n683,700\n20,000\n877,000\n392,000\n100,000\n3,176.000\n2S2.00O\n334\n8,518,900\n345.960,000\n60,000,000\n12,300,000\n478,200,000\n205,010,000\n6,000,000\n263,100,000\n117,600,000\n30,000,000\n952,800,000\n84,600,000\n,555,570,000\nThe Prairie market has never yet in any one year taken over 60 per cent, of the output of\nthese mills; the export market has not in any one year in the past decade taken 4 per cent,\nof the annual output. Manifestly the only relief which will enable the lumber industry to meet\nits obligations is an extension of export markets. 5 Geo. 5\nForest Branch.\nI 23\nThe part played at present by British Columbia in the export trade of the Pacific Coast is\nshown in the statement of the foreign exports for 1914:\u2014\nExport Cargo, Shipments, 1914.\nAfrica \t\nAtlantic Coast\t\nAustralia \t\nUnited Kingdom and Continent\nIndia \t\nSouth Sea Islands\t\nJapan \t\nChina \t\nWest Coast of South America .\nCalifornia \t\nNew Zealand \t\nHawaiian Islands \t\nPanama\t\nPhilippine Islands \t\nEast Coast of South America .\nAlaska\t\nMexico\t\nCentral America \t\nTotals \t\nFrom British\nColumbia.\n,521,137\n439.892\n850,426\nS24,265\n153,631\n,710,153\n.082,327\n,290,139\n983,927\n806,400\n368,949\n38,031,246\nFrom Washington\nand Oregon.\n3.045,051\n26,209,981\n176,706,113\n30,106,409\n11,543,134\n8,606,427\n8,853.809\n122,545,014\n7S,3S2,689\n1,045,801,406\n11,486,055\n35,963,438\n19.293,733\n12.513.5S3\n7,,945,010\n6,516,625\n5,324,474\n104,703\n1,610,947,654\nThe same necessity for expansion of markets exists in the North-western States as In\nBritish Columbia. British Columbia, therefore, in striving for sufficient markets to keep her\nmills operating, will be forced to meet the keen competition of the American mills. The nature\nof that competition may be judged from the fact that, although the market in the Canadian\nPrairie has never been great enough to take more than three-fifths of our output, the Americans\nhave in nearly every year of the past five supplied at least one-fifth of it. Although there is\nnow free lumber into the United States, only 40,000,000 feet were shipped from British Columbia\nto the United States in 1914, as compared with,the 77,000,000 feet imported into the Canadian\nPrairie from the United States during the same period.\nTo find and hold a wider lumber market will tax every resource of both manufacturers and\nGovernment through years of effort. There can, however, be no argument about the necessity\nof making an attempt.\nThe extension of markets for British Columbia is such a public necessity that it should\nengage the attention of the Government as the largest shareholder and as trustee of the public\nprosperity, though obviously no great improvement can be expected until the selling-price of\nlumber is again greater than the cost of producing it. This selling-price can only be increased\nby the operators of British Columbia and the North-western States.\nThe mills of the Western States with their 12,000,000,000 feet annual capacity will eventually\ndetermine the price at which lumber will be sold in export markets, both in the Canadian Prairie\nand elsewhere. Therefore, to stay in business, the British Columbia logger and manufacturer\nmust meet American costs. That is the first essential. The present great variation in costs\nbetween different manufacturers in this Province shows that the average production costs may\nbe reduced even as things are, while changing economic conditions in the near future will make\nthis easier. Cheaper production and a more aggressive marketing system to bring consumers\ninto closer touch with manufacturers are problems to be solved by the industry.\nThat the lumber industry has not yet sufficiently effective salesmen in the Prairie is\nshown by the number of farmers still without implement-sheds. The Conservation Commission I 24\nDepartment of Lands.\n1915\ninvestigating this point found that the proportion of implement-sheds to farms in the different\nprovinces was:\u2014\nManitoba.\nSaskatchewan.\nAlberta.\nFarms.\nImplement-\nsheds.\nFarms.\nImplement-\nsheds.\nFarms.\nImplement-sheds.\n94\n14\n94\n21\n92\n55\nImplements are not more necessary to farmers than lumber to protect the implements. It\nhas been a question of personal salesmanship.\nThe Government can rightfully help the lumber industry to advance into new markets in\nthree ways: Firstly, by furnishing the lumberman data as to the strength and other characteristics of our timber for advertising purposes ; secondly, by studying foreign markets and supplying\ninformation to the trade; thirdly, by making British Columbia products known in the markets\nwhich British Columbia manufacturers are endeavouring to enter. The wisdom and the propriety of this work cannot be too strongly urged. One of the most important Government\nobligations in forest-management in British Columbia is to cause the forests to bear their full\nshare in the support of the community.\nThough the Forest Branch endeavoured to make a systematic beginning in this work this year,\nthe war unfortunately interfered, but information secured by the Branch has already resulted\nin the placing of important trial orders in British Columbia. Through co-operation with the\nDominion Department of Trade and Commerce a great deal of information has been placed\nbefore British Columbia operators. Sample exhibits of manufactured lumber products have\nbeen sent to Dominion Trade Commissioners in important foreign lumber-importing countries.\nInformation concerning the markets and foreign countries for special products has been secured\nfrom the actual importers and supplied to exporters here. Where foreign opportunities have\nbeen discovered samples have been sent.\nTHE PULP AND PAPER INDUSTRY.\nOne of the unlooked-for effects of war was the sudden flood of orders received by the pulp\nand paper mills of the Province. But for the shortage in available shipping there would have\nbeen a very large increase in their output. Even under existing circumstances business has\nbeen very brisk, as the following figures show:\u2014\nTons.\nShipments of paper 45,S16\nShipments of high-class chemical pulp 10,698\nTIMBER SALES.\nAreas of Crown timber which are not obstructing agricultural settlement and which are not\nneeded for present development are not being put on the market. Every endeavour is being\nmade, however, to sell the following classes of timber: Small quantities of timber adjoining\nareas now being logged over where such timber would be wasted if not cut in connection with\nexisting logging operations; areas of timber easily accessible to new railways, the cutting of\nwhich will aid in the development of new communities; timber standing on land needed for\nagricultural settlement; timber needed by pulp-manufacturing companies; and, finally, saw-\ntimber, cordwood, mining-props, poles, shingle-bolts, or any other material necessary to supply\nthe wants of the small operator or of settlers. Small contractors represent a growing class\nwho are greatly assisted by the privilege of purchasing from the Government, because they can\nthus obtain timber on reasonable terms and in any quantity or location suited to their means\nand needs. Slash left after tie operations on the C.N.P. Ry., North Thompson Valley.\nBrush-piling on timber sales. This one is located near Clinton in the Dry Belt. The\nforest is an open stand of Douglas fir. Note the low stumps. 5 Geo. 5\nForest Branch.\nI 25\nFor various reasons prices realized by timber-sales during 1914 have averaged somewhat\nhigher than those commonly secured by private owners for similar timber, the average price for\nthe 4S,605,000 feet of timber sold being $1.15 per 1,000 feet. The average for each species in\nthe different districts wras:\u2014\nAverage Sale Price by Species, 1914.\nSaw-timber.\nBoard-feet.\nPrice per M.\nFir\t\n25,224.000\n14,596,000\n1,018.000\n6,159,000\n215,000\n223,000\n639,000\n531,000\n$1 32\n1 12\n1 33\n52\n58\n80\n1 82\n50 \u25a0\nTotal\t\n4S,605,000\n1 15\nIn general, the yrear 1914 was one of severe depression in the lumbering business. Such\nconditions naturally affected timber-sales. The volume of the timber-sale business in 1914 is\nshown by the following table:\u2014\nTimber-sales awarded by Districts, 1914.\nDistrict.\nNo. of\nSales.\nArea in\nAcres.\nEstimated Quantity.\nEstimate of\nRevenue.\nBoard-feet.\nPoles.\nPiles.\nTies.\nCordwood.\nPosts.\nSaw-Mm~ber.\nCranbrook \t\nFort George . . .\nIsland\t\nKamloops\t\nPrince Rupert..\nTete Jaune ....\nVancouver \t\nVernon \t\n6\n9\n1\n'io\n1\n2\n30\n2\n447\n1,240\n160\n1,669\n7\n333\n3,491\n360\n760,000\n3.166.995\n1,013,000\n1,949,000\nil5,000\n49,053,248\n175,000\n' 100\n7,500\n2,255\n2,823\n21\n52\n12,520\n6,000\n1,400\n1,000\n1,200\n200\n3,815\n25,0(\nK)\n$ 3,309 25\n11,089 73\n1,359 70\n3,971 50\n93 81\n741 90\n61,434 19\n345 29\nTotals \t\nPulp-timber.\nVancouver \t\n61\n10\n7,707\n20,425\n56,232,243\n221,845,663\n12.678\n232\n18,520\n7,615\n25,000\n82,345 37\n267,613 32\nTotals \t\n71\n28,132\n278,077,906\n12,678\n232\n18,520\n7,615\n25,000\n$349,958 69\nBoth to the Forest Branch and the public the most important matter has been the sale of\nfractions adjoining existing operations, and the sale of small quantities of timber to small loggers\nor contractors. Such purchasers do not, as a rule, apply for timber until they are in immediate\nneed of it, and then delay in selling may kill the sale. I hope to effect improvements in the\nprocedure under which timber-sales are being handled, so that these may be handled more\nexpeditiously in future.\nLogging on areas under timber-sale during the year was seriously affected by the depression\nin the lumber industry. The poor market for logs after the outbreak of war rendered it necessary to extend for one year several sales for which the contracts were expiring within the next I 26\nDepartment of Lands.\n1915\nfew months. The volume of logging and the revenue actually derived from timber-sales during\n1914 is shown in the following table:\u2014\nDistrict.\nQuantity cut from\nTimber-sales durins-\n1914.\nNet Revenue including Stumpage,\nRoyalty and Rental.\nBoard-feet.\n29,146,913\n4,540,059\n1,026,119\n933.128\n581,228\n14,850\n417,961\n$46,950 81\n11,288 90\n1,373 78\n946 44\n3,000 18\n303 77\n531 S3\nTotals\n36,660,258\n$64,395 71\nThe receipts from timber-sales have already become an appreciable item in the revenue of\nthe Forest Branch; and as the markets for lumber increase, and as transportation facilities\nimprove in the districts where the Province holds in reserve large quantities of timber, this\nsource of revenue will become of great importance For instance, timber explorations by the\nForest Branch have shown that, particularly in the northern valley of the Hazelton and Fort\nGeorge Districts, there are billions of feet of merchantable timber which will sooner or later be\nmade accessible. This timber will produce revenue w7hen transportation is provided, and will\nsupport large lumber and pulp-manufacturing enterprises. Its future value depends only upon\nfire-protection.\nIt has been found advisable to cruise and advertise in advance of application small areas\nof timber in those districts where loggers and contractors depend upon purchasing a proportion\nof their needs from the Government. During 1914 the quantity of timber cruised and advertised\nin this manner w7as as shown in the following statement:\u2014\nTimber now offered for Sale.\nArea\nin\nAcres.\nEstimated Quantity.\nTotal\nEstimated\nValue.\nincluding\nStumpage\nand Royalty.\nDistrict.\nOJ\no\nrr,\n3\nO\nm\nw\nQJ\ns-S\n\u20226\no\no\no\nu\nTR\n02\nO\nCh\n\u2014< w\nW bX)+-> \u25a0\np.\np\no\nO 5\nBJ Or\nOrH\no\nSaic-timber.\nCranbrook \t\n1,880\n1,088\n1,511\n1,933\n562\n8,785\n13,872\n200\n2,448,792\n5,638,000\n1,500,000\n12,877,090\n1,137,000\n17,725,000\n159,137,811\n375,000\n15,000\n50,000\n28,500\n34,000\n12,970\n2,653\n1,800\n30,775\n10',763\n837\n2,boo\n1,542\n$ 4,658 00\n5,638 00\n3,400 00\n15,598 51\nPrince Rupert . . .\nTete Jaune \t\n1,719 00\n20,395 75\n240,875 51\n907 50\nTotals. .\nPulp-timber.\n29,831\n1,346\n200,838,693\n16,220,000\n140,470\n4,453\n41,538\n837\n122\n2,000\n1,542\n22,315 85\nTotals. .\n31,177\n217,058,693\n140,470\n4,453\n41,538\n959\n2,000\n1,542\n$315,508 12 5 Geo. 5\nForest Branch.\nI 27\nIn addition, there has been a quantity of timber cruised, and now awaiting advertisement,\nas shown below :\u2014\nTimber not yet offered for Sale.\nArea.\nEstimated Quantity.\nDistrict.\n02\nCJ\nIH\nrp\n03\no\nn\n\u2022a\no\no\no r\nOS 2-r\n\u25a0O 3\nTJ\no\n0\ntr\nV\n0\no\n01\ns\nm\n+J\nO\non 5\no\nm\no\no\nw\n0>\nEstimated\nValue,\nincluding\nStumpage\nand Royalty.\nSaw-timber.\nFort George ....\nHazelton \t\nVancouver\t\nKamloops \t\nPrince Rupert . . .\n19\n115\n5,344\n11\n50\n147,000\n25,021,688\n397,000\n330\n837\n480\n2,106\n290\n10,283\n1,330\n2,500\n$ 420 00\n459 00\n47,180 00\n100 00\n490 00\nTotals. .\nPulp-timber.\nVancouver \t\n5,539\n2,601\n25,505,688\n35,520,000\n330\n3,423\n290\n10,283\n1,330\n2,500\n44,400 00\nTotals..\n8,140\n61,085,688\n330\n3,423\n290\n10,283\n1,330\n2,500\n$93,055 00\nAreas cruised for sale purposes during the year were chiefly fractions remaining in districts\nnow being logged, important areas not being placed on the market. That the stumpage value\nof scattered fragments should amount to close on half a million dollars is a very strong argument\nfor the most effective fire-protection in the timber reserve of the Province.\nClean logging and the leaving of the ground in shape for settlement (where the land is\nagricultural) or for the production of another forest crop of valuable species (where the ground\nis non-agricultural) are aimed at by the timber-sale regulations. The character of these regulations depends upon local conditions, the idea being to require every purchaser to log according\nto the standard set by the best loggers of the district, and to dispose of slash in a manner which\nwill favour reproduction of the most valuable species. In fixing the upset price for sales allowance is made for the estimated cost of carrying out such regulations.\nEach purchaser deposits before logging 10 per cent, of the estimated value of the sale.\nThis deposit is not refunded until the logger complies satisfactorily with the regulations. On\nnearly all sales so far completed compliance with regulations has been satisfactory. Only iu a\nfew cases has it been necessary to retain the 10 per cent, deposit mentioned above, to cover the\ncost of slash-disposal.\nIn the Coast District the force of Rangers has not been sufficient to administer timber-sales\neffectively, for during the summer the men on duty were occupied entirely with the supervision\nof fire-fighting and patrol. Clean logging such as will return to the Government full stumpage\nvalue for the timber on each area sold can only be secured by frequent checking-up of high\nstumps, long tops, and logs left in the woods by careless operators, which in the aggregate may\namount to half or even more of the timber which would be taken off by good loggers. Inspection\nof each sale should be made at least once a month to protect the Government's financial interest\nin the timber, and the cost of such inspection would be more than met by added revenue.\nUp to the present clean cutting and slash-burning have been the only measures enforced\nby the Forest Branch iii timber-sales. Other regulations have not been considered feasible for\nthe class of land now being logged and in the present condition of the lumber business. There\nare three ends to be met\u2014the prosperity of the logger, the complete utilization of the timber,\nand the encouragement of a second crop. No system of cutting should be introduced which will\nunduly increase the cost of logging without returning results commensurate with the cost. Under\npresent conditions there is often a loss of profit where only a portion of the stand is taken owing\nto the great cost of the improvements necessary for logging, the fire hazard created, the probability of loss by fire or windfall after the first logging, and the increased cost of slash-disposal.\nTherefore the regulations in Forest Branch timber-sales are being based upon clean cutting and\nbroadcast slash-burning. I 28\nDepartment of Lands.\n1915\nIn nearly all situations where timber-sales have taken place it is believed that broadcast\nslash-burning will both remove the danger of future fires and assist in producing a valuable\nsecond growth. If not, modifications of the regulations must be tried; but, whatever the modifications, they cannot be enforced with success unless the cost is sufficiently low to leave the logger\na profit.\nA sample of the timber-sale regulations used in mixed fir and cedar on the Coast is quoted\nbelow:\u2014\nThe following trees will be cut: All living and dead and down Douglas fir and cedar trees and\nall hemlock and balsam trees 20 inches and over in diameter at breast height, containing 50 per cent,\nor over of merchantable timber suitable for the manufacture of any grade of lumber, as directed by\nthe officer of the Forest Branch in charge.\nStumps will be cut so as to cause the least practicable waste, and will not be cut higher than\nthe diameter of the tree at the point where it is cut, and in no case higher than 30 inches on the\nside adjacent to the highest ground, except in unusual cases in the discretion of the officer of the\nForest Branch in charge.\nAll trees will be utilized to as low a diameter in the tops as practicable, so as to cause the least\nwaste, and to the minimum diameter of 10 inches when merchantable in the judgment of the officer\nof the Forest Branch in charge. Log-lengths will be varied so as to provide for the complete utilization\nof merchantable timber.\nBrush will be disposed of as follows: After logging, brush will be burned broadcast by the lessee\nat his own expense, as directed by the officer of the Forest Branch in charge.\nMerchantable trees designated for cutting which are left uncut, timber wasted in tops and stumps,\ntrees left lodged in the process of felling, and any merchantable timber which is cut and not removed\nfrom any portion of the cutting area after logging on that portion of the cutting area is completed\nshall be scaled, measured, or counted as hereinbefore provided, and paid for as follows: At the rate\nof $1.50 per 1,000 feet, such sums to be due upon receipt of account.\nThe cost of carrying out such regulations is only a few cents per acre. The results appear\nup to the present to be excellent.\nThe regulations are varied in different forest regions. The following regulations were used\non sales of tie-timber in lodge-pole pine forest in Cranbrook District:\u2014\nThe following trees will be cut: All trees suitable for the manufacture of rail-road ties, as\ndirected by the District Forester at Cranbrook.\nStumps will be cut so as to cause the least practicable waste, and will not be cut higher than\nthe diameter of the tree at the point where it is cut. and in no case higher than 18 inches on the\nside adjacent to the highest ground, except in unusual cases in the discretion of the officer of the\nForest Branch in charge.\nAll trees will be utilized to as low a diameter in the tops as practicable, so as to cause the\nleast waste, and to the minimum diameter of 8 inches, when merchantable in the judgment of the\nofficer of the Forest Branch in charge. Log-lengths will be varied so as to provide for the complete\nutilization of merchantable timber.\nBrush will be disposed of as follows: Tops will be lopped and all debris resulting from the\noperation will be brought into as close contact as possible with the ground, as directed by the District\nForester at Cranbrook.\nThe first pulp-sales made under the \" Forest Act\" were completed during 1914, when\n222,000,000 feet of timber, chiefly hemlock, spruce, and balsam, comprised in eleven tracts covering 19,555 acres, accessible from salt water in the Vancouver Forest District, were sold to one\ncompany under a thirty-year contract. The prices realized for the various species, in addition\nto royalty, were :\u2014\nSpecies.\nBoard-feet.\nPrice\nper M.\nFir \t\n4,311,000\n29,911,000\n43,449,000\n47,112,000\n96,932,000\n130,000\n$1 13\n94\nCedar \t\n70\n19\n22\nWhite Pine\t\n1 00\nTotal\t\n221,845,000\nMeans are provided in the contract for increasing the royalty on this timber in accordance\nwith the terms of the \" Royalty Act.\" 5 Geo. 5\nForest Branch.\nI 29\nThe greater part of the area covered by these pulp-wood sales is non-agricultural and\nvaluable only for the production of timber. Therefore all the sale contracts require complete\nutilization of timber and such slash-disposal as will bring about conditions conducive to the\ngrowth of another timber-crop. Such regulations must necessarily be adapted to the particular\nneeds of each sale. The clauses quoted below are representative of the efforts of the Forest\nBranch to accomplish such management as is now economically possible on the Coast.\nThe following trees will be cut:\u2014\nAll living and dead and down cedar and fir trees, containing 50 per cent, or more of timber\nsuitable for the manufacture of pulp or lumber ; all living and dead spruce, hemlock, and balsam-fir\ntrees 10 inches or more in diameter at the stump, containing 50 per cent, or more of sound timber;\nand all cedar suitable for telephone and telegraph poles, as directed by the Forest Officer in charge.\nStumps will be cut so as to cause the least practicable waste, and will not be cut higher than\nthe diameter of the tree at the point where it is cut, and in no case higher than 30 inches on the side\nadjacent to the highest ground, except in unusual cases in the discretion of the officer of the Forest\nBranch in charge.\nAll trees will be utilized to as low a diameter in the tops as practicable, so as to cause the least\nwaste, and to the minimum diameter of 10 inches for cedar and Douglas fir, and 6 inches for hemlock\nand balsam fir and spruce, when merchantable in the judgment of the officer of the Forest Branch in\n-lengths will be varied so as to provide for the complete utilization of merchantable\nAfter logging, brush and slash will be burnt by the lessee\nor according to the instructions in writing issued by the\ncharge. Lo,\ntimber.\nBrush Will be disposed of as follows :\nas directed by the Forest Officer in charge\nForest Officer in charge.\nThe cruising completed by the Forest Branch has shown that comparatively large quantities\nof fine pulp-timber still remain available on Crown lands, both in the Island and Vancouver\nForest Districts, and in the valleys of the Nass, Babine, Finlay, Parsnip, Willow, and Bear Rivers.\nThese timber areas are being held under reserve so as to be available for future industries.\nLOGGING INSPECTION.\nThere were 926 logging operations in the Province during 1914, distributed as shown below :\u2014\nDistrict.\nLogging\nOperations.\nHand-\nloggers.\nCranbrook ....\nFort George . .\nHazelton \t\nIsland \t\nKamloops ....\nLillooet\t\nNelson\t\nPrince Rupert\nVancouver . ..\nVernon\t\nTotals\n117\n22\n13\n102\n47\n22\n166\n1\n166\n100\n100\n132\n170\nThough inspection of logging operations by the Rangers was kept up through the year, each\noperation was only visited once in six months on an average, the small number of Rangers\nemployed greatly hindering the work during the summer fire season. Yet, even so, the results\nwere excellent in enforcing the timber-marking regulations upon which so much revenue depends,\nin preventing the employment of Orientals, stopping logging upon unsurveyed licences and preventing trespass, and in securing co-operation of operators in slash-burning and closer utilization\nof timber. As market conditions improve it will gradually become possible for the Forest Branch\nto raise the standard of utilization in logging operations to that set by the best loggers. Such a\npolicy will, when adopted, work out to the profit of all concerned. Similarly, the Branch can do\na great deal to reduce the risk of serious fires by keeping in touch with loggers and securing\ncompliance w7ith the provisions of the \" Forest Act.\" I 30\nDepartment of Lands.\n1915\nGenerally speaking, the aim of inspection is to give service to the logger to secure the prompt\ntransaction of business and prevent trespass. A number of trespasses occurred, however, in 1914.\nThe extent of these may be judged from the following table:\u2014\nDistricts.\nNo. of\nCases.\nArea\nin\nAcres.\nQuantity Cut.\nFeet, B.M.\nLineal\nFeet.\nCords.\nTies.\nAmount\nrealized.\nCranbrook \t\nFort George . . .* .\nKamloops \t\nLillooet \t\nNelson \t\nPrince Rupert . . .\nVancouver\t\nVernon \t\nTotals . . .\n16\n3\n8\n16\nD\nO\n13\n8\n69\n515\n37\n260\n20\n300\n398\n33.887\n230.2S5\n276,532\n339,351\n19,596\n621,000\n1,144,974\n30,809\n7.325\n17.556\n41,435\n45,441\n24,635\n196i\/2\n318\n260\n895\n60\n70\n32,792\n17,S20\n2,086\n1,144\n10.\n567\n74\n1.599\n2,662,625 167,201\n1,709% 53,842 I 10,507\n361 65\n,477 99\n320 06\n.439 96\n,685 25\n365 05\n,815 15\n964 80\n$S,429 91\nThe facilities offered for making small timber-sales are having an undoubted effect in\nreducing trespass.\nVery few infractions of the timber-marking regulations now occur, though the temptation\nis sometimes great enough. Two seizures were made for improper marking of logs.\nRAILWAY PERMITS.\nThe worst danger in railroad-construction has been the fire hazard created by slash from\nthe cutting of ties and timbers on lands adjoining the right-of-way; and as a considerable portion\nof the 2,000 miles of railway which has been under construction in this Province is in hitherto\nunopened forests, the whole future of the lumbering industry in many new regions has depended\nupon effective supervision of this hazard. The system under which the railway companies have\nbeen required to obtain permits for all cuttings has proved very effective in securing clean logging\nand brush disposal, while, by defining cutting to definite areas, it prevented desultory operations\nand the mere culling of extensive stands of timber.\nSample Regulations governing Permit Cuttings.\n1. All tops to be lopped, and slash and debris resulting from the cutting must be piled to keep\npace with the logging operations in compact piles in such manner that it can be burned without\ndanger to the standing timber; such debris to be burned by the railway company, as directed by\nthe District Forester at Lillooet.\n2. When approaching boundary-lines, timber to be thrown, where practicable, in towards the\ncutting area, thereby leaving at least 50 feet free of slash and debris along these lines.\n3. Where brush is dense, a fire-break consisting of a trail cleared of all inflammable material\nfor a width to be left to the discretion of the District Forester.\n4. No long butting will be allowed; where timber is too heavy butted to work into square timber\nneeded, same shall be cut into short log-lengths, and be utilized, except in cases of defect.\n5. Stumps must be cut so as to cause the least practicable waste, and should not be cut higher\nthan the diameter of the tree at the point cut, except in unusual cases.\n6. All trees must be cut to as low a diameter as practicable in the tops, so as to cause as little\nwaste as possible.\n7. The right is reserved to alienate any lands for agricultural purposes, covered by this permit,\nwhich do not carry timber in excess of 5,000 feet per acre.\n8. The District Forester to be advised in writing one week previous to commencement of any\noperations on this permit.\n9. Cutting by settlers under section 9 of the \" Forest Act\" will be allowed on any portion of\nthe area. 5 Geo. 5\nForest Branch.\nI 31\nDuring the year fifty-four permits, covering 51,000 acres, were issued to the Pacific Great\nEastern, Canadian Northern Pacific, and Kettle Valley Railways. The location of the cuttings\nwas as follows :\u2014\nForest District.\nNo. of\nPermits.\nVancouver .\nFort George\nKamloops\nVernon ....\nLillooet . . .\n6\n26\n2\n9\n11\n54\nAcres.\n3,860\n21,284\n630\n12,878\n12,355\n51,007\nWhile every facility has been given the railroads to obtain necessary construction material,\nthe interests of settlers have been borne in mind, so that the granting of permits should not\ninterfere with the needs of local residents for cordwood and other timber. Where agricultural\nareas were involved the land has been logged, cleaned up, and thrown open for settlement as\npromptly as possible. It should be noted, also, that the considerable areas of timber land dealt\nwith indicate large timber resources in the regions opened up by the new lines\u2014resources\nthat will assist settlement by attracting capital and labour for the lumbering business which\nhas pioneered development in so many regions of the West already.\nA general view of the effect of the regulations under which permits covering 189,283 acres\nhave been issued during the past .two years shows that this matter has been handled in a very\nsatisfactory manner. While exercising close supervision, the District Foresters and Rangers\nhave secured the co-operation of railway officials, with the result that the fire-danger on lands\nlogged during railway-construction has been reduced to a minimum.\nFOREST INVESTIGATION.\nAlthough the first and most pressing duty of the Branch has been forest protection and\nadministration, it is plain that in the long run the progress of the work depends on a better\nknowledge of our forests, and though, under present circumstances, money should not be spent\nin acquiring information which cannot now7 serve any purpose, there are certain points upon\nwhich the Branch must be informed before wise policies can be developed. Some of the more\nimportant points requiring investigation are the conditions affecting reproduction of various\nimportant commercial species, so that brush-disposal and cutting regulations to favour those\nspecies may be developed as far as is commercially possible; the rates of growth of the various\nspecies in different types of soil, necessary in order that we may know how soon another crop\nof merchantable timber will be produced; and the volume in board-feet of trees of different\nsizes of each species in different regions, so that cruising may be based on exact methods, and\nnot on guesswork.\nThe staff of the Forest Branch up to the present has not been sufficient to undertake any\nsystematic investigative work such as that now carried on in other forest administrative organizations of equal importance. The officers of the Forest Branch are, however, fully aware of\nthe importance of this branch of the work, and as opportunity offers are collecting the data which\nwill form the basis of sound forest administration in the Province.\nThe greater part of the 75,000 acres logged over in British Columbia each year is land\nwhose only possible crop is timber. The continued prosperity of the Province depends upon the\neventual adoption of systems of logging or slash-disposal that will encourage on such lands the\nnatural reproduction of valuable tree species. To do this we must know what conditions affect\nregeneration. I 32 Department of Lands. 1915\nThe most important species, in point of commercial value and area logged over each year,\nis Douglas fir. A co-operative study of the conditions affecting Douglas fir second growth on\nthe lower coast was made during the summer by the Commission of Conservation and the Forest\nBranch. The following is a summary of the results obtained by Dr. Howe, of Toronto University,\nwho was in charge of the work for the Commission of Conservation:\u2014\n\" During the past summer an investigation was made by the Commission of Conservation to\ndetermine the conditions under which the reproduction of commercial tree species is occurring\nmost advantageously in the coastal region of British Columbia. Particular attention was paid\nto the effect of fire upon the reproduction of Douglas fir, which is the most valuable and most\nwidely distributed species in the Province. The study was conducted by Dr. C. D. Howe, of the\nFaculty of Forestry, University of Toronto. In this work the Forest Branch co-operated by\nassigning a Forest Assistant to work with Dr. I-iowe, and by furnishing a considerable amount\nof information from the head office at Victoria. It is expected that Dr. Howe's report will be\npublished at a later date by the Commission, and that copies will be available for distribution.\n\" The report emphasizes the fact that the popular assumption that nature alone will provide\nsatisfactorily for the replacement of valuable commercial forests on cut-over and burned-over\nlands is only partially true. Nature is oftentimes wasteful in her methods, and needs to be aided\nby man in order to secure the best results. This is particularly true in regard to forest resources.\nThe detailed investigations made by Dr. Howe show, in the first place, that the burning of\nlogging-slash, at selected times and under proper supervision, not only greatly reduces the fire\nhazard, but favours the reproduction of Douglas fir by exposing the mineral soil. However,\nrepeated fires and fires occurring during dry periods not only destroy the young growth, but the\nseed-trees as well, thus preventing or greatly retarding the establishment of a stand of commercial species. As a general rule, a sufficient number of seed-trees is left after logging, so\nthat one fire leaves enough for seeding purposes. Each fire thereafter, however, reduces them\nin proportionately larger quantities. Thus, through the diminution of seed-trees, each fire makes\nit increasingly difficult to re-establish the forest on the repeatedly burned areas. On this account,\nin many sections reproduction of valuable species is wholly inadequate in amount or is entirely\nlacking, since each successive fire diminishes the earning capacity of the area from the point of\nview of timber production, and makes artificial planting the more necessary; and this is\nimpracticable at the present time on any large scale on account of the great expense involved.\nThe same results can, however, be secured at relatively slight expense by providing more adequate\nprotection from fire on cut-over lands, especially those bearing young forest-growth at the present\ntime. In a sense, protection of young growth is more essential than in mature timber, since the\neffect of fire is so much more disastrous, a single fire entirely destroying the young trees, while\nthe old timber is very fire-resistant, being covered by a thick covering of bark. The additional\nprotection needed naturally means the employment of a larger patrol force than has previously\nbeen practicable on account of the limited funds available.\"\nThis investigation has shown that broadcast burning of slash after logging is completed will\nfavour the natural reproduction of Douglas fir. Subsequent fires will, however, kill out the\nsecond growth. The conditions affecting the regrowth of the remaining commercial species of\nthe Province have not yet been studied, though field officers of the Forest Branch are securing\na certain amount of data for their particular districts.\nNo thorough study has yet been made of the rate of growth of any of our timber on different\nsites. I propose paying some attention to this work during the coming year, in order that some\nopinion may be formed as to the length of time necessary to grow a second crop in logged and\nburned districts. This information may be gained by the existing staff at slight expense.\nThe merchantable contents of trees vary so greatly in different localities that volume tables\nmust be based on actual measurements before accurate estimating is possible. Volume tables\nhave been made of the important species of the lower coast and are printed herewith. S.s.ss,\n\u25a0:,:,.\u25a0;.\n- s:* vj , \u25a0 :.-7 , ..- - Sr;7\n\u25a0 .- \u25a0 ^ -ym MffiM# \u25a0\u25a0-\u25a0\n*\u00bb, -, \"... .. 'i Si,'\nDouglas fir sixteen years old, 1,200 trees\nper acre, on area burned once.\nSecond-growth fir on area logged about\nfifty years ago, near Tort Moody. Not burned\nsince logging.\nLogged and burned twelve years ago ; 5,000 fir, 1,300 cedar, and 400 hemlock seedlings per acre,\nnear Shawnigan Lake. An area burned severely at least twice. Before the last fire it was well covered with\nyoung fir-trees, the remains of which can be seen, by careful observation, in the foreground.\nBurned twice since logging, the last being a light ground fire. Compare abundance\nof reproduction with that on areas burned only once.\nM O\n4^\/M;v^.M\n.' >**..'\n.^MM-frM.--:'MM ;!MM':-: Y^M^MMM'-M^M.v- .\n-' \u2022slSW'SSS.rfv\n,.*M''\n;... s\nYoung flr and hemlock killed by fire in 1914. The seed trees have been killed, so\nanother stand cannot re-establish itself here. 5 Geo. 5\nForest Branch.\nI 33\nVolume Table for Cedar.\n(Giving Merchantable Contents, British Columbia Rule, under Present Conditions, with no\nAllowance for Breakage or Defect. Compiled from Measurements taken of 354 Trees on\nthe Lower Coast.)\nD.B.H.\nShort.\nMedium.\nTall.\nD.B.H.\nShort.\nMedium.\nTall.\nInches.\nInches.\n20\n190\n290\n410\n42\n1,440\n1,895\n2,340\n22\n260\n375\n530\n44\n1,650\n2,125\n2,600\n' 24\n335\n475\n660\n4B\n1,865\n2,370\n2.875\n26\n420\n585\n800\n48\n2,090\n2,640\n3,175\n28\n510\n705\n950\n50\n2,330\n2,925\n3,515\n30\n600\n835\n1,115\n52\n2,580\n3,220\n3,865\n32\n710\n975\n1,300\n54\n2,835\n3,525\n4,250\n34\n825\n1,125\n1,485\n56\n3,195\n3,840\n4,650\n36\n960\n1,290\n1,685\n58\n3,360\n4,150\n5,080\n38\n1,100\n1,475\n1,890\n60\n3,630\n4,480\n5,530\n40\n1,260\n1,675\n2,100\n(Giving Merchantable Contents,\nAllowance for Breakage or\non the Lower Coast.)\nVolume Table for Hemlock.\nBritish Columbia Rule, under Present Conditions, with no\nDefect. Compiled from Measurements taken of 207 Trees\nD.B.H.\nShort.\nMedium.\nTall.\nD.B.H.\nShort.\nMedium.\nTall.\nInches.\nInches.\n16\n220\n300\n410\n30\n1,030\n1,440\n1,730\n18\n300\n410\n530\n32\n1,230\n1,680\n2,040\n20\n385\n530\n670\n34\n1,450\n1,950\n2,380\n22\n480\n670\n830\n36\n1,680\n2,260\n2,780\n24\n590\n830\n1,020\n38\n1,930\n2,580\n3,200\n26\n715\n1,010\n1.235\n40\n2,200\n2,920\n3,620\n28\n865\n1,210\n1.470\nVolume Table for Douglas Fir.\n(Giving Merchantable Contents, British Columbia Rule, under Present Conditions, with -no\nAllowance for Breakage or Defect. Compiled from Measurements taken of 726 Trees\non the Lower Coast.)\nD.B.H.\nShort.\nMedium.\nTall.\nD.B.H.\nShort.\nMedium.\nTall.\nInches.\nInches.\n22\n350\n440\n600\n44\n2,250\n3,020\n3,810\n24\n420\n560\n750\n46\n2,550\n3,370\n4,230\n26\n510\n710\n920\n48\n2,875\n3,750\n4,675\n28\n610\n880\n1,130\n50\n3,225\n4,150\n5,130\n30\n730\n1.075\n1,375\n52\n3,580\n4,565\n5,610\n32\n890\n1.280\n1.650\n54\n3,960\n5,000\n6.090\n34\n1,060\n1,520\n1,955\n56\n4,350\n5,475\n6,580\n36\n1,250\n1,770\n2,280\n58\n4,775\n5,950\n7,075\n38\n1,470\n2.050\n2.640\n60\n5,230\n6.460\n7,575\n40\n1,700\n2,350\n3,010\n62\n5,750\n7,000\n8,080\n42 ,\n1,970\n2,675\n3,400\nSome measurements for volume tables for the Interior districts are being collected this\nwinter.\nMuch new information has been gained during the past three seasons concerning the range\nof commercial timbers in the Province, and it is now clear that the forests of British Columbia\nare more extensive and more valuable than is indicated by botanical or forest literature.\n3 I 34\nDepartment of Lands.\n1915\nThe survey of the timber resources of the Province conducted by the Commission of Conservation in co-operation with the Forest Branch is still going forward. It is expected that field-\nwork will be completed during the coming year. The Commission has shown great interest in\nthe matter and have assisted generously in the prosecution of investigations.\nLAND CLASSIFICATION.\nThere are three important reasons for classifying lands in this Province before they are\nalienated from the Crown: (1) To prevent the alienation of land valuable chiefly for timber;\n(2) to make available for settlement all areas suitable for agriculture; (3) to hold under reserve\nlands which are unfitted for agriculture. These three principles of classification of public lands\nhave been adopted in nearly all the countries of the world, and are now practised to an increasing\nextent each year by the different land administrations in Canada. The results of such a classification of public lands are twofold\u2014the confining of settlement to agricultural lands, where such\nsettlement is prosperous and productive, and the segregating of non-agricultural lands for fire-\nprotection and management of the timber-crops.\nDuring the year the land-classification work of the Forest Branch was devoted chiefly to\ncruising and securing the reserve upon public lands carrying timber over the statutory limit.\nThe total area of unalienated public lands classified during 1914 was 492,298 acres. In\naddition to this, 12,000,000 acres, a great deal of which is unalienated, was covered by forest\nreconnaissance parties. This is dealt with elsewhere in this report. The balance referred to\nhere consists of tracts for which some form of application has at some time been made, and for\nwhich particular information was necessary to decide the disposition of the land.\nDuring the year 167,456 acres, carrying 956,000,000 feet of timber, were put under reserve,\nand information was secured by field parties during the past season which will place under\nreserve a considerable portion of the 12,000,000 acres mentioned above. It is important in the\npresent condition of the timber market that important bodies of timber such as these, which\nrepresent an asset of many million dollars, should remain off the market under public control.\nThe examination of logged-over and expired timber licences and leases was continued through\nthe year in order that final disposition might be made of the lands. In certain districts of the\nProvince where the remaining unalienated public lands are valuable chiefly for timber, applications for alienation are so far as possible examined by the Forest Branch before disposition of\nthe land is decided by the Lands Department. A large area of lands so applied for in timbered\ndistricts was examined.\nExpired Licences and Leases, Applications to Purchase, and Pre-emptions examined in 1914.\nForest District.\nArea.\nAgricultural\nLand.\nArea recommended for\nReserve.\nEstimate of\nTimber.\nCranbrook ....\nFort George . .\nHazelton \t\nIsland \t\nKamloops \t\nNelson \t\nPrince Rupert\nVancouver ....\nVernon \t\nTotals\nAcres.\n53,119\n8,647\n20,067\n70,127\n4,649\n10,825\n30,450\n189,424\n104,990\n492,298\nAcres.\n16,827\n7,400\n12,307\n26,524\n2,864\n8,902\n15,761\n41,977\n1,595\nAcres.\n21,202\n7,547\n10,060\n25,558\n625\n5.353\n13,920\n79,561\n3.630\n134,157\n167,456\nBoard-feet.\n21,508,625\n73,516,100\n139,001,842\n297,313,810\n2,600,000'\n15,895,390\n7,993,000\n371,731,118\n27.239.692\n956,799,577\n.The result of the examination of these lands is to retain for the public benefit timbered\nlands which, if they passed into private hands, would be sold or logged for their timber value\nin competition with lands now held under lease or licence. Oases occur where the timber is\nworth far more than the land; for instance, by the retention of 160 acres out of an area of\n193 a timber revenue of $2,739 was secured; a similar area comprised in Timber Sale X282 has\na timber value of $4,125 apart from the land, which can be sold separately, and so on. 5 Geo. 5\nForest Branch.\nI 35\nIn addition to the above, 7,860 acres were cruised for other branches of the Government\nservice.\nAreas desired for mill-site purposes or booming-grounds are now examined by the Forest\nBranch. During 1914 sixteen applications were received, twelve were dealt with, and four still\nawait action.\nSCALING AND GRADING.\nThe system of licensing scalers in the Interior districts of the Province, which was\ninaugurated in 1913, was extended during the past year, fifty-six men passing the examination\nsuccessfully. The total number of licensed scalers is now 159. In two cases licences were\ncancelled as penalty for ill-conduct. Reports from every district speak highly of the improvement shown in scaling-work since the new system has been introduced. As the duties of a\nlicensed scaler make him in part the agent of the Government, it is recommended that those\nwhose work, tested by check-scaling, is found to reach a certain standard of accuracy should\nreceive a Government grant based on work done. In every district Rangers on the staff of\nthe Branch will be required to qualify scaler's licences during the present year.\nOn the Coast the Official Scalers are now charged with the work of grading logs under the\nprovisions of the new \" Royalty Act.\" Besides acting for the Government, an Official Scaler\nholds the balance between logger and manufacturers, and accurate judgment as to the true\ncontents of logs is thus doubly necessary. Scaled booms are therefore tallied through the mills\nwhen opportunity offers, and in the following table some results are shown which fully justify\n(in the case of cedar) both the grades established by the Branch and the judgment shown by\nthe scalers in interpreting these grades. The contention of the Branch that No. 2 grade would\nyield 10,000 shingles per 1,000 feet scale measurement is shown in this table to be correct.\nCedar-scaling\u2014Shingle Tests.\nNo. 2 Grade. Logs.\nMill No.\nNo. of\nLogs.\nScale\nB.M.\nNo. 1\nShingles.\nNo. 2\nShingles.\nTotal\nShingles.\nNo. 1,\nAverage\nper M. Ft.\nNo. 2,\nAverage\nper M. Ft.\nTotal\nAverage\nper M. Ft.\n1 \t\n20\n22\n22\n27\n19,203\n14,289\n16,317\n17,772\n214,481\n140,250\n156,050\n161,500\n12,600\n6,000\n16.460\n9,500\n227,081\n146,250\n172,510\n171,000\n11.17\n9.81\n9.563\n9.08\n0.65\n0.42\n1.008\n0.54\n11.82\n10.23\n3 \t\n10.571\n4\t\n9.621\n91\n67,581\n672,281\n44,560\n716.S41\n9.95\n0.66\n10.61\nNo. 3 Grade Logs.\nMill No.\nNo. of\nLogs.\nScale\nB.M.\nNo. 1\nShingles.\nNo. 2\nShingles.\nTotal\nShingles.\nNo. 1,\nAverage\nper M. Ft.\nNo. 2,\nAverage\nper M. Ft.\nTotal\nAverage\nper M. Ft.\n2 \t\n3 \t\n24\n\u25a0 4\n24.116\n1,672\n182,750\n12,440\n24,500\n2,250\n207,250\n14,690\n7.57\n7.44\n1.01\n1.34\n8.58\n8.7S\n28\n25,7SS\n195,190\n26,750\n221,940\n7.56\n1.03\n8.60\nNo. 1 Grade Logs.\nMill No.\nNo. of\nLogs.\nScale\nB.M.\nNo. 1\nShingles.\nNo. 2\nShingles.\nTotal\nShingles.\nNo. 1,\nAverage\nper M. Ft.\nNo. 2,\nAverage\nper M. Ft.\nTotal\nAverage\nper M. Ft.\n2\n3 \t\n2\n1\n1,551\n1,070\n15,500\n11,740\n1,500\n250\n17,000\n11,990\n9.99\n10.97\n0.97\n0.23\n10.96\n11.20\n3\n2,621\n27,240\n1,750\n. 28,990\n10.39\n0.67 .\n11.06\n- I 36\nDepartment of Lands.\n1915\nas\n1-g\nbu 53\nO\n13\n3\np a\ng a\naJ \"2\nQ 3\nCO .r\nIM m\n U\nte\no\nc\n-I-i\nCC\n0\no\no\n\n\u2014\nO\nto,\no\na>\n>>\n3\no\nen\nO\nO\na\nfl\no\naj\nP.\nfl\nSOf\no\n012\noj\nfl\nfl\nft\nIO\nCl\nP\nfl\n222\no\n012\nco.\n02\n\u25a043\nOl\nr3\nOD\nH\n05\n^S\n.02\n-4_1\nfl\nOr\na\np\nrt\nq\n^J-\no\n\u2022rt\nCD\nfl\nOi\nS3\nO\n\u2022r-i\nfl\nM\n0\ntt\n&\n&\nfl\n+J\n3\nICO\neft\nrr\n(1\nP\no\nfl\n7.\nO\n\no\nfl\nfl\nrH\n--\nfl\noj\nH\nrH\ns\n6r\nfl\n\u25a0ri\n\u25a0a\na>\n\u25a0o ss\nfl\n-H .2\nCO rO\nCO fl\nca 5\nTi O\na\no\nii a s \u00ab\n?0 \u2014* _^. r\t\nfl O\n+- fl\n2 fl\nfl\n33 .2\no ^\n\u2022a ~\n\u25a0-\no1\nft\nra\nfl\n=\nfl\nen\n4J\nUS\n3\nfl\np\nS S\n2g\n\u2022a\no\n1\no\ng\no\n\u00a9\no\nc\nS3\n8\n00\n\u00a9\n1\n\u00a9\n00\ne\nc\n0\n\u2022spuusnoqx\ns\ni*\ns\n-*\nCO\n\u25a0\u25a0#\nm\nCD\nCO\nCO\n: a\n^99^ pjeufi\nOi\nN\n*\nf-T\n; >J\"\nsQjresnoqx I\n\u25a0spin;snoqx\n\u25a0spu-Bsnoiix\n\u25a0sjmtJ^noqx\nCO t-< i-H\n'spuusuoqx\n5\nCQ\n\u25a0h'pia'snoqx\na fe K\nS\nW 5 Geo. 5\nForest Branch.\nI 37\nAn attempt was made during 1914 to segregate the cut into species, and the following table\ngives the approximate figures obtained. Douglas fir comprises almost half of the total cut.\nDouglas fir and red cedar together comprise more than 70 per cent, of all the timber cut in the\nProvince in 1914.\nSpecies Cut.\nForest\nDistrict.\nOl\nOt\nw\n3\nO\na\n02\nD\n02\n\u00ab\n5\na,\n012\no\n1\nCJ\nw\ns2\nrn.\nI\nCO\nCQ\n02\nffi\nO\nS3\nrH\nWhite Pine.\n4\n02\nrt\ni3\nT3\n01\nD\no\n%\nr-\nT3\nO\np\na\no\no\nD\n4\n02\n3\nS3\no\nEH\nM.B.M.\n28,768\n4,931\n44\n7,373\n2,606\n13,882\n2,820\n68,104\n850\n241,500\nM.B.M.\n4,355\n327\n2,183\n28\n10,541\n2,697\n28,107\n1,347\n140,500\nM.B.M.\n18,043\n2,655\n975\n2,918\n156\n1,457\nM.B.M.\nM.B.M.\n2,090\nM.B.M.\n19,457\nM.B.M.\n426\nM.B.M.\n24,766\nM.B.M.\nM.B.M.\nM.B.M.\nM.B.M.\n97,479\n8,012\n933\n30\n8\n2,317\n19,188\n6,714\n88\n8,648\n10,753\n2,878\n517\n1,644\n762\n5\n1,500\n2,941\n37,986\n17,914\n6,906\n6,059\n35,000\n19,442\n526\n44,190\n5,012\n1,290\n5,700\n14,092\n128,333\n85\n10,162\n170\n8\n468,560\nTotals '...\t\n370,878\n190,085\n74,169\n65,608\n45,660\n4,337\n27,707\n85\n200\n792,829\nTotals: M.B.M., 792,829.\nThe following table divides the output of the year into four classes\u2014board feet for logs;\nlineal feet for poles and piles; railway ties by number cut; and cords for shingle-bolts, mine-\nprops, fence-posts, and fuel. This information is given for each Forest District for each month\nof the year. I 38\nDepartment of Lands.\n1915\n\u25a0eajx mox\nm\nso\nso\no\"\nQ\n\u00a9\nto\nCO\nrt\nif3\nm\no\nCO\nrH\nin\nm\n\u00a9\nin\neo\neo\neo\neo\n\u00a9\nS\nm\nCD\n\u00a9\neo\ncp\n\u00a9\nrf\nCO\nrj< |\ncd\"\nrf\nm\n\u2022spjoQ\nm\nof\n0\nIQ\nCi\"\n\u00a9\nrH\nCO\nrjl\no\nffi\nto\nr-T\n\u00a9\nin\nCi\nos\"\ntM\nCO\nin\nOS\nCO\nin\ntM\no\"\nCO \u2022\no \u25a0\nrjT ;\nOT \u25a0\nt~- \u2022\nt- \u2022\n\n\u00a9\n00\nCO\nOS\nCO\nCO\nrj<\nCO\n\u25a0\u2022*\nS\n1\noT\neo\ntM\nO\nrt^\n00\n\u25a0jSAiiooire^\nt-^OI Ci CO CO 71 \u2014\u25a0 Ol O CM Ci CO CM rM\n\u00a9\" COC$c\u00a3 Ol'oi'cf CD (MOT cT\nCl (M iH \u20141 ff-1 55\nNHTrtHiHHCjODOCOHOmNlQlOmMO^OOHOCOHQ\nCi CO \u00a9 \"HH O' I- i - O! C? i - \u25a0\u2014. -H -H CO CO CO Ct- I - OT ~- Ol --H X SSO OT Ol Ci\nCO rt CO CO I- rH -H- r- OT 01 -O 01 O O'l O f- O rH ,~ i-O O OJ OT O \u00a9_rt CO\no co ooco\" cocfin co -**ifT in oo oo efoTo-f ioof\u00bbQ co\"\nUO rHUO K0 Min IO CO\"* C<1\n00 1OHO\nCi i>o\ni-i O rji\nr-T 1>T-^\nCO\n\u00a9 00 COX\n\u25a0^rH m m\n2 Ci CO\n\u2022* r-i\no\nrfl\n\u25a0s^agdn'jx\n90UUn\n00\nCO\n-* HO\nCS rH m\nO 01\n^ of\nCO CM OT\nco m i-h\ni-- co\nCO\nCM\nrfl\nco\"\nCi \u00a9\n~s? O\nS !g g \"5\nI> sor- co\nCO ho\nN to a)\na\no\nH\n\u25a0uouaaA\nOTCOXCOOTCOXCOXCOOTCOX-HHXeOOOrfXCOOincOOOOOCDOTOCOinXCOCOrfXrf\nCi O r-H Ci OHO O rt Cl Ona OHO K Ml- S SI '\u25a0; SI - C 3 H i.S :] -UN H\nf CM\ni-H r-TrH i-Ti-T t-T rH rt\"i-f rHCO\" \u00a9rf\" rf ,-h\" \"*\"i-H CO\nrH rt rH rH rt CO\no \"*r-r\u00bb o\nl-CNHC\nOOJ rt CO\nrH rHX \u2022\nCO CO \u25a0\neo \u2022\nm rH O CO\nm x o rt\nCD tM rjt Ci^\n1> C0\"rjT\nSB\ntt\nH\nO\nr-H\ntH\nB\n3\nH\n\u2022U0SI9_M\n\u25a0^eoaowafflr-HviaONcoi^wo^TtiiNOr-jqiccocomiNNooo^mi'-ai^o\n!.-- X^NCOHHl-'-HHC SSO -*-iX~h:\".1- CS Si- i \u2014= T~ \u2014 1- Ol t \u25a0\u00bb. 5 -* H O O OO N 00\nrH i> CO CO O Cl rH 00 C- X CO CO rH in rH CONCiqCH Ol GN t- \u25a0\"# lO CO i-i <-i IO 00\nH COOT rt -tf'i-r r-T(M rHOTiO* rHOl\" CD t^O COCO-* CO Olr-T\nCO i> CO Ol ^ rH i\u20141 rH r-l\neo\nX\nrH\nHHOCOMONO\nO-l rt CD CO (M Ol oi m\nCO OS \"tfCOM rt m\n,-J\" Co\"co\"rt\" iH\nI>- r* I> Ci\nCO CM rH m\nI> HNCS\nt> i-h od\" m\"\nCO i-H X\ntM\n\u2022^sooim\nXCOCS01XCOCS01XCOCi01XCOCS01XCOCS01XCOCiO.CS01l>-\nco co i-h io :c cc r\u2014 i\" ?\u2022:\u25a0 co !\u2014\u25a0 no co co- i-h lo co co t\u2014. i.- cc co i-h uO co\nCO rHt^CO rH J.-- CO rHU-CO rH t- CO H t- CO rH N CO\nm\nX\nl>\nx eo rt t-\nO (M \u2022*\nr^ CO\nt-\nCO\nCO\nm \u25a0\nm \u25a0\nO rH \u2014(OS\nCD (M -* m\nr- oi ci rt\nOl\" co\"\nrS\n\u00ab<\no\nm\nP5\nS\nM\ns\n\u20141\n\u25a0sdooiiirejj\nt-N-*Or-5.7*OM'l'*ol^iM1,ON'M'*OCDlNOOn\n71 H '\" H OT rf uC rH OT -f n~ -h OT -r iO t\u2014 OT -r '\" \u2014I CO 0-1 O \u00a9 OT\n00 CM OS 00 CM moo tM Oi OT Ol Cs 00 Ol Cl^i-H O ^ TO\n-h\" lf\u00a3\" r-T io\"i-h\" in\"i-T lifi-T US i-T -rf\" rf\"\nrt\n\"HOCCH\nco in x\nO] CO\nx\"co\"\n\u00a9\nOS\nCO\n(M m\nOT CO CS \u00a9\nCO rf ^- CD\n^-^ \u00ab\u00bb1\nCO (M Ol\ni-h in\n\"UO^pZ'BJJ\n1\nOl\nCM\n00\nCM CO t-\n'O CO O-l\nco \u00bbo\n\u00a9\nCi CO\n\u00a9\nO (M\nON\nC<1 i-H\no eo\nt>i\nr- cd\nO tM\nCO\n\u00a9\nH(MN \u2022\nas f- eo -\ntM r-t rf -\noi\" oi\" :\nIQCli\u2014ICDmCSi-HCOmCSrtCOmas\u2014ICDmCirtCOm\nw Mnm !> m m t-iom Smm i-^irh\nrH i-T r-T i-T i-TrH\n\u00a9\no\nCO\n\u00a9\nco\nX\n65\nCO\nrH\nrtl\nm\nof\nr-i (M\nOT i-\nCO 7-i\ntM m o-l ol\n-f -rf X 00\nOS (M CO CO\ntf in ot\"\n\u25a0i[oojquGJQ\nXO^\u00bbCCIC--\"WrtNNHJHOI>HCO'*CD^5\\INHfflNHHa)!:5JC003KIONaiHi[J\niChCMOOC.Hil-^L'.iCI ii- ~ CO ST. C -M i~ 0] w- HHCNli CO O Ol CO CD \u00a9 >f0 CO CO CO rf\nCJ i-H I> Ol t-h CD Ol^O O rH CO_ Cl CD CD -f rH 01_ i-H_ 01 CM CD \"f m OT t\u2014 CO CD CD rHOTCi i-H OS rt\nIQ rfr-Tin cO\"-f\"in rfrtToO COOfcD rfCOrf rf\"cTof CO'hN ofcoTrf\" r-Trt\"in\" (m\"i>,h\"\nCO IO tM X rH rH Cl CO rt IO OT 00\nHfOO(M53(N\nCi m oi co rt co\nCO CD O rt Ci_OT\ni-H Ol\" OT\nCO i-H rf r-H\nr- cs co rf\nrf^Ci m rf\nt^\" CO\" r-T\nCl CO Ci\nt\u2122\nPC\nS?\n6\nc\n>\ni\nC\na\nX\n7\n.a\n.E\nc\ncr\ns\nc\na\n\u2014\na.\nrd\nM\n1\nIE\npc\nS\nti\nc\nrC\nc\n0\nj:\n-_\n\u00b0l\n1\nPC\nis\nt\nc\np\nrfl\n-p\n1\ni\ni\nc\ntr\ns\nJ\na\ntr\nrS\n'1\nX\nc\nt\nj\nPC\ni\nc\na\nc\np\n\u2014\ni\n3\nc\nr^\ns\nt\nf-c\n4_\n\u20223\n1\ng\n& -r=\nOQ\nbo =\n<\nF-\nc\n.2:\nc\nt-\n\u00a3\nc\nr\nX\nX\nH~\n\u20221\n1\nc\nc.\nJ\n%\npc\n\\\nc\na.\n-fl\ne,\nc\n-t-\nc\nj\np^\ncr\nbi\nc\na\nE\na.\nc\nfe\nf\n\u25a0+C\nM-\nj\nc\n.i\nPC\n&\nc\nq\na\nt\na\nX\nrSC\n4=\nB\ni\nc\n'43\nPC\np\nt\nc\nr-\nc\n0\nc\n1\n-\nX\nc\n0 5 Geo. 5 Forest Branch. I 39\nGRAZING.\nOwing to the emergency created by the bad fire season, which demanded the attention\nthroughout July and August of the Victoria staff, it was not possible to begin the investigation\ninto grazing conditions until September. Consequently only two districts, the Nicola and Lillooet,\nwere examined. The investigation, however, showed plainly the need of a definite policy in\nregard to the use of Grown land for the grazing of stock. When completed, the investigation will\nindicate the lines upon which this important matter should be handled.\nFOREST RESERVES.\nOn December 31st, 1914. a notice appeared in the British Columbia Gazette to the effect\nthat certain lands in the Elk River Valley have been 'made a forest reserve. That notice marked\nthe establishment of the first Provincial forest reserve in British Columbia.\nThe Elk River Reserve is situated at the headwaters of the river, and the Alberta line forms\nits eastern boundary. It covers an area of approximately 100 square miles. The land bears\ntimber and is underlaid with coal; it possesses also many attractions in the way of scenery and\ngame. None of the land is suitable for agriculture. As a whole, the area is suitable only for\ngrowing timber, and it is for this reason it has been made a forest reserve. The timber will be\nvaluable for the Prairie market and for use in local coal-mining, the establishment of the reserve\nin nowise preventing utilization of its resources.\nThe Calgary and Fernie Railroad will pass through the reserve, making accessible its wealth\nof timber, coal, and scenery, and aiding in their use and development. On the east is the Rocky\nMountains Forest Reserve in Alberta, nearly 10,000,000 acres in area, under the jurisdiction\nof the Dominion Government, which covers practically the whole eastern slope of the Rocky\nMountains.\nThe principal reason for the establishment of a forest reserve is because the area as a whole\nis more useful for growing a forest crop than for any other purpose. This often means that\nthe area as a whole is fit for no other purpose.\nIt cannot be emphasized too strongly that a forest reserve does not reserve land from use\u2014\ndoes not lock up its resources. It neither prevents nor retards the use of agricultural and\ngrazing land, coal, oil, and mineral land, and timber situated within the area reserved. Camping,\nhunting, and fishing may be enjoyed just as freely as elsewhere.\nIn addition to forest reserves of which the Elk River is so far the only example, there is\nanother class of forest land which is automatically reserved by Statute if it is known to be\nstatutory timber land\u2014i.e., land east of the Cascade Mountains bearing over 5,000 feet B.M.\nper acre, and land west of the Cascade Mountains bearing over 8,000 feet B.M. per acre.\nAltogether over 1,000,000 acres of such land has been examined and reported on by officers of\nthe Forest Branch and reserved to the Crown. This total is made up of parcels of timber land\nof all sizes scattered over the Province.\nSuch a form of reservation differs from a forest reserve proper, in that the basis of it is\nthe stand of merchantable timber existing on the land rather than consideration of what the\nlaud itself is permanently most useful for. In other words, it is the timber wealth which is\nreserved rather than the land itself. After the timber is sold and removed the land may be\ndevoted to whatever purpose it is best suited. Thus such a reservation may and does include\nsome land suitable for agriculture, when cleared, as well as land which will be of use only for\nthe production of timber-crops.\nThe advantages of locating and reserving this timber are many and are obvious. In the\nfirst place, it gives definite information of where the valuable Crown timber is situated, so that\narrangements can be made to protect the timber from fire and from trespass, and the land from\naccidental alienation. It guarantees that when the timber is sold the public treasury will receive\nfull value for it.\nIt does not retard settlement. As a rule, where there are large areas of agricultural land,\nespecially in the interior of the Province, the proportion of the area which is statutory timber\nland is not great; much or most of the land has been burned over one or more times, and bears\na cover of reproduction more or less dense. The lightly wooded land will naturally be cleared I 40 Department of Lands. 1915\nand settled first. The reserved timber lands will not only provide lumber for settlement and\nfor export, but also will provide a source of employment for settlers and a market for their\nproduce. Finally, after the land is logged, if it is suitable for agriculture, it is then opened\nfor settlement aud is the easier to clear because logged off; if it is fit only for growing timber,\nit can be kept in reserve for that purpose, or perhaps ultimately placed in permanent forest\nreserve.\nFOREST-PROTECTION.\nThe weather during the fire season of 1914 was exceptional, the general opinion among Fire\nWardens and lumbermen being that the conditions for bad fires were even more serious than they\nwere in 1910, when a number of lives and much property aud timber was lost. It was to meet\njust such conditions, however, that the Government established a forest protective force, and the\nseason therefore provided a thorough test of the value of this force. Everything considered, the\nrecord for the past season can be looked upon as very satisfactory, and as fully justifying both\nthe advanced position British Columbia has taken in forest-protection. Compared, however,\nwith the value of the protected timber and the extreme importance of the forest resource to the\nfuture of the Province, the cost of fire-protection is small.\nDespite the good general record, the season's experience brought out a number of weak\npoints in the protection system. The more important of these points are as follows:\u2014\n(1.) Owing to the large size of the individual districts the force of regular Fire AVardens\ncannot handle the situation in a bad season. Whenever the danger becomes great several patrolmen are needed to assist each regular Fire Warden.\n(2.) A reserve corps of efficient and experienced foremen to take charge of fire-fighting crews\nmust be selected, and made available for duty upon immediate notice.\n(3.) Plans for mobilizing, transporting, and feeding fighting crews must be improved.\n(4.) Facilities for transportation and communication in the mountains away from settlement are inadequate. Thousands of miles of trail and hundreds of miles of telephone-line must\nbe built before the fire-danger in such districts can be controlled.\nPlans to overcome these defects are already under way, but staff increase and trail and\ntelephone construction are, of course, limited by the funds available.\nThe Weather Recokd.\nParticularly in the Fraser Valley and the Fort George District the month of May was very\ndry and hot, and numerous fires occurred, some of them doing considerable damage. June was\nnormal on the Coast and in the northern districts, but dry and hot in Cranbrook, Nelson, Vernon,\nand Kamloops. During July and August and the first week of September the weather was\nabnormally hot and dry throughout the whole southern part of the Province, the mean temperature being 2 degrees above normal and the total precipitation 2% inches below normal. This\nlong-continued excessive heat and marked drought created conditions extremely favourable to\nfires. On Vancouver Island and the Coast, fortunately, there were few winds and an entire\nabsence of the dreaded dry east wind. In the Southern Interior, however, strong winds were of\nfrequent occurrence, and in some districts blew for days at a time. There also occurred in this\nregion a number of electric storms, which were not accompanied by any considerable amount of\nrainfall, and a very large number of fires were started by lightning in remote localities. As a\nresult of these weather conditions the vegetation dried up early, and from July 25th to September\n7th was in an extremely inflammable state, and fires, besides spreading with unbelievable rapidity,\nwere almost impossible to put out. During this period of seven weeks the force in the Nelson,\nCranbrook, Vernon, and Kamloops Districts, and to a lesser extent that in the Island and\nVancouver Districts, was engaged almost night and day in fire-fighting.\nIn the Prince Rupert, Hazelton, Fort George, and Tete Jaune Districts the rainfall was above\nthe normal in June and July, but deficient in August and September. Towards the end of\nAugust the conditions in the Fort George District became serious, and a number of fires escaped\ncontrol, the worst ones being in the Peace River District, but the cool nights in September\neffectually checked their extension. In the other three districts there was very little trouble.\nBelow are tables, kindly prepared by F. Napier Denison, Superintendent of the Meteorological\nObservatory, Victoria, giving the weather records for the summer months at representative\nstations, which show in detail the unusual nature of the season. 5 Geo. 5\nForest Branch.\nI 41\nTemperature ano Rainfall Data, 1914.\nStation.\nTempekatuke.\nMean.\nDifference\nfrom\nAverage.\nRainfall.\nRainfall.\nDifference\nfrom\nAverage.\nNo. Days\nRain fell.\nMay, 1914.\nNanaimo\t\nVancouver \t\nChilliwack \t\nKamloops \t\nRevelstoke\t\nVernon \t\nNelson\t\nQuesnel \t\nBarkerville\t\nStuart Lake \t\nJune, 1914.\nNanaimo \t\nVancouver \t\nChilliwack \t\nKamloops\t\nRevelstoke \t\nVernon\t\nNelson\t\nQuesnel\t\nBarkerville \u00bb\t\nStuart Lake \t\nJuly, 1914.\nNanaimo \t\nVancouver \t\nChilliwack \t\nKamloops\t\nRevelstoke\t\nVernon\t\nNelson \t\nQuesnel\t\nBarkerville \t\nStuart Lake \t\nAugust, 1914-\nNanaimo \t\nVancouver\t\nChilliwack \t\nKamloops\t\nRevelstoke \t\nVernon \t\nNelson\t\nQuesnel\t\nBarkerville \t\nStuart Lake \t\nSeptember, 1914\nNanaimo \t\nVancouver\t\nChilliwack \t\nKamloops\t\nRevelstoke \t\nVernon\t\nNelson \t\nQuesnel\t\nBarkerville \t\nStuart Lake \t\n57.0\n56.4\n54.8\n58.0\n53.5\n55.5\n55.1\n52.1\n43.1\n43.0\n58.8\n58.7\n58.3\n63.9\n58.6\n61.2\n5S.5\n59.7\n50.4\n54.6\n64.4\n63.5\n63.2\n70.9\n65.1\n68.6\n68.8\n5S.0\n52.1\n55.1\n63.7\n61.8\n61.7\n0S.7\n62.4\n67.1\n68.6\n61.7\n51.9\n58.1\n54.7\n54.8\n54.7\n56.5\n52.7\n55.1\n53.1\n52.4\n43.8\n47.2\n+ 3.6\n+ 2.6\n\u20140.4\n+0.6\n+ 1.5\n+ 1.0\n+ 1.3\n+ 0.6\n\u2014 1.3\n\u2014 0.1\n+ 1.1\n+ 1.0\n\u20141.1\n\u20140.1\n+0.2\n+ 0.6\n\u20140.9\n+ 1.0\n+0.9\n+ 1.2\n+0.5\n\u20140.8-\n+ 2.5\n+2.0\n+ 1.7\n+2.6\n\u20144.0\n\u20142.3\n+0.5\n+ 1.0\n+0.3\n\u20140.8\n+ 1.0\n+ 1.0\n+ 1.5\n+ 5.0\n+ 1.4\n\u20141.6\n+ 4.5\n\u2014 1.4\n\u20140.8\n\u20142.2\n+0.9\n\u20140.2\n+0.1\n\u2014 2.6\n+ 0.6\n+0.7\n+2.2\n0.16\n0.74\n1.97\n1.31\n1.25\n1.07\n1.95\n1.21\n3.22\n0.43\n1.70\n3.5S\n3.14\n0.54\n2.53\n1.05\n2.56\n2.37\n4.39\n1.10\n0.10\n0.42\n0.17\n0.53\n0.97\n0.62\n1.05\n2.76\n4.69\n2.75\n0.33\n0.75\n0.45\n0.38\n1.19\n0.53\n0.24\n0.30\n0.96\n0.32\n4.03\n6.86\n6.35\n1.09\n3.87\n1.96\n3.44\n1.39\n3.75\n1.00\n\u20141.84\n\u20142.60\n\u20141.72\n+ 0.33\n\u20140.97\n\u20140.21\n\u2014 0.21\n+0.31\n+0.80\n+0.62\n\u20140.74\n+0.77\n\u20140.80\n\u20140.52\n\u20140.71\n\u20140.26\n+0.69\n+ 0.85\n\u2014 0.39\n\u20140.62\n\u20140.91\n\u20141.7S\n\u20140.71\n\u2014 1.53\n\u2014 0.64\n\u20140.88\n+ 1.10\n+ 1.54\n+ 1.42\n\u20140.45\n\u20140.90\n\u20141.77\n\u20140.65\n\u20141.47\n\u20140.48\n\u20140.84\n\u2014 1.40\n\u20142.27\n\u20140.98\n+ 1.73\n+2.39\n+ 3.72\n+0.14\n+ 0.48\n+ 0.55\n+ 1.53\n\u20140.35\n+0.11\n\u20140.37\n5\n6\n11\n5\n14\n7\n9\n5\n13\n9\n9\n11\n10\n12\n14\n15\n9\n20\no\n4\n5\n5\n4\n4\n5\n10\n17\n18\n17\n17\n17\n11\n18\n15\n13\n8\n16\n12 I 42\nDepartment op Lands.\n1915\nCO-OPERATION.\nIn a forest Province such as British Columbia the prevention and suppression of fires is of\nuniversal concern and importance. Every interest, private, corporate, municipal, Provincial, and\nFederal, is affected in some way, and mutual assistance and co-operation is necessary if the\nefforts at fire-protection are to be effective. It is safe to say that in no other Province or State\nis there a more active interest taken or more help given by the public in fire-protection matters\nthan in British Columbia.\nThe Forest Branch much appreciates the helpful attitude of farmers and settlers, who,\nbesides conforming cheerfully to permit regulations, have assisted the field officers by reporting\nfires and by helping to fight fire at times when they could ill afford to leave their work. The\nlumber, mining, irrigation, and transportation companies have likewise been of very greatest\nassistance, and in a number of cases have employed patrolmen of their own. An incomplete list\nof firms who do this is as follows:\u2014\nNames of Timeer-owners, Irrigation and Mining Companies employing Men fob\nFire-patrol Work.\nForest District.\nName of Firm.\nNo. of\nPatrolmen.\nRegion patrolled.\nIsland\t\nii \t\nVancouver .\nVernon ....\n,, ....\n,, ....\nNelson ....\n,, ....\ni' \t\nCranbrook .\nFort George\nCowichan Lumber Co\t\nV. H. May \t\nBritish American Timber Co.\nMerrill & Ring \t\nLacy Timber Co\t\nNorth Pacific Lumber Co. . ..\nB.C. Copper Co\t\nNicola Valley Pine Co\t\nBelgo-Canadian Irrigation Co.\nCoalmont Collieries\t\nPenticton Lumber Co\t\nMunson Lumber Co\t\nMankin Lumber and Pole Co.\nE. R. C. Clarkson\t\nTraders' National Bank\t\nWestern Pine Lumber Co. ...\nWestern Canada Timber Co. .\nBritish Canadian Lumber Co.\nKootenay Cedar Co\t\nRoyal Lumber Co\t\nC.P.R. Forestry Branch\t\nGrain-growers' Grain Co\t\nCowichan Lake.\nCampbell River.\nMamquam Valley.\nSalmon* River.\nChilliwack River.\nUpper Similkameen.\nColdwater River.\nMission Creek.\nHedley Mountain.\nNaramata.\nBlueberry Creek.\nSalmon River.\nNorth Fork, Kettle River.\nLardeau River.\nSlocan River.\nLardeau' River.\nDuncan River.\nC.P.R. Tie Reserves.\nSouth Fork, Fraser River.\nMr. Napier Denison, of the Dominion Weather Service, very kindly furnished special\nforecasts of wind and heat conditions which proved of great assistance.\nAs in previous years, the Public Works Department and the Provincial Police gave every\nassistance in their power.\nThe mutually advantageous agreement with the Dominion Forestry Branch, under which\nthe Wardens of both services co-operated in handling fires along the boundary of the Railway\nBelt, and by which the Dominion Wardens received authority to grant burning permits in the\nBelt, was continued.\nEDUCATION.\nIn a Province so dependent on forest industries as British Columbia the importance of\nprotecting the forests from fire must be kept before the public constantly. This can best be\ndone by following the recognized principles of advertising. Last spring, therefore, besides\nposting along roads, at logging camps, and other convenient places notices bearing information\nabout the fire law, the attention of the public was sought by the distribution of art pictures\ncarrying their own story of fire-protection, attractive and striking calendar posters, pocket 5 Geo. 5 Forest Branch. I 43\nwhetstones bearing appropriate inscription, and coloured slides which the proprietors of moving-\npicture theatres generously agreed to show.\nThe wisdom of these modern methods of education was shown by the many favourable\ncomments that were made upon the attractive and useful articles used to present the educational\nmatter. The effectiveness of such methods are, of course, dependent on the mental impression\nmade by the article and its association with the warning of information contained in the subject-\nmatter.\nThe assistance and co-operation received from the public in fire-protection matters, the\nmanner in which the regulations in regard to setting out and clearing camp-fires were carried\nout, and the general interest which all classes of people take in fire-protection is effective evidence\nof the value of such an educational campaign.\nFIRE-PATROL FORCE.\nThrough various economies and by shortening the period of employment it was possible to\nemploy 190 regular Forest Guards in 1914 against 159 the previous year, and 115 extra patrolmen and look-out men for short periods against 65 in 1913, at an increased expense ot only a\nfew thousand dollars, the figures for patrol being $206,000 and $214,000 respectively for 1913 and\n1914. This increase in force permitted a reduction in the size of the patrol districts and was\nlargely responsible for the good record of the past season. The important part which the size\nof the patrol districts plays in forest-protection is indicated by the fact that the timber-owners'\nprotective associations of the North-western States and Eastern Provinces consider 50,000 acres\nthe largest area one man can patrol efficiently. In British Columbia in 1914 the average district\ncovered 500,000 acres, while in 1913 the area was 670,000 acres. The great difference between\nthe size of patrol districts in British Columbia and other forest regions is, however, partly offset\nby the lower hazard in this Province, due to sparser settlement and the existence of large forest\nareas at high altitudes where the dangerous season is of short duration. Moreover, by reference\nto the table given in the Organization section it will be seen that in the southern districts, where\nthe hazard is greatest, the districts are comparatively small.\nThe efficiency of patrol was also increased by improving the means of travel of the Guards,\na much larger number of horses and motor-boats being used than in preceding years. Detachable\nlow-priced motors for canoes were found to be very effective for patrol on the inland lakes.\nOwing to the immense size of the Rangers' districts a more rapid means of travel than that\nprovided by horses is very badly needed, and in districts well supplied with good roads cheap\nmotor-cars would greatly facilitate the supervision of the work of the Guards by the Rangers.\nThis is of the highest importance in a bad fire season, where poor judgment on the part of an\ninexperienced Guard may result in the unnecessary expenditure of thousands of dollars. The\nonly possible way of preventing such waste is through close supervision on the part of the\nRangers.\nIt is a pleasure to say that the w7ork of the individual Guards and patrolmen showed\nmarked improvement this year, due partly to the close supervision by the District Foresters\nand Rangers, but largely to the active interest taken in the work by the men themselves. A\ncareful record is kept of the work of each Guard, and those who prove their ability are given\nappointments the following year. In this way the personnel of the force becomes better each\nyear, and eventually the Province will have a corps of thoroughly trained men, competent to\nhandle big fires effectively and economically, as well as to perform the ordinary duties, such\nas patrol and the issuance of burning permits.\nEach spring finds most of the trails through the timber rendered impassable by fallen logs\nand brush broken down by snow. Then there are many abandoned trails which need to be\nopened up. It is the duty of the Guards to clear out these trails so far as their other duties\npermit. Even in 1914 they were able to clear out 245 miles. I 44\nDepartment of Lands.\n1915\n\u00ab\nL.+J M rf r-i rf CD\n- o\nt- i\nx \u00a9\nt.\nCl, a> \u00ab\nco in co co\nt~\nO i-H CD O\n&c\nbo\nH\n1-1\n1-1\nCO o\ntfl\nri\n^4\nc\ntO CS X Ci\nCD\nO O Oi 1^ 1\no\ns\nfr\n\u00a9 CO r* O\no cm m\n1\np\ncy\n(O CD ri\n\u00b0i\nfr)\nm oi m o e\nCO Ol CO CM i-H\nCM\nrH CO Ol \\ t-\nCM (\u2022\n?: \u00ab_\n3\u00a9\n8\u00bb ^H b\n\"H\n-rH\nsc\nt. H3 J> t~_ rH m X\nI>\nfrl rH CM O\no\nJ\nt^ a\n^\nrr d cs x o t-\no\no\n\u00a9 Ol O I O 1\nO\n~o\nr-i rH\nCM\nCO | o\n1 >H\n.M\nH\nfl\nrf x t^ O m\nfr]\ni^- O Oi I r\nt>)\n3\nCO if\nOb O O\nt\nO O Ol o\n^3\nss\nT^-1 i_: r* CO\nOJ X\nrf\nCM m X CD o\n0\no*\ni** S\no\ncT of\nrf\"\nfrf u\n3* oo \u00ab S\ngffl rt M\nCM i-H\n01\n-W\n- 4* r-\nfe 0\nPHQ r-\nc\nt- Ol \u00ab*\nCC\nfr.\nC\u00a3\nfr\nrH OS \u00a9\n: \u00a7\nV\nin T-H rH\nc\nO 0*\nc\nCD rJH 1 \u00a9 I\nri\nfr\nCM O\no\na.\nX rf\nOl\n5\nt^, m o o c\n3 1 rf I\n~\u00a3s\n*9\n\u2122; 5\ni-H C\nCD\nc\nm x cd uo o oi\ns\n3\n\u00a3 a\nc\nco S\no c\nm\nC\nX Cl X m rf i-H c\ni-h of i-h x in f\na ir\n\u2022\u00ab\nCM CO rr\nt- rH\nix m ?=; r*\n 1-\n\"B9JV\ntj co o\"\nr-T l-H\nSO\n'.co m\" ,n h\nIB\nH\nQQ\na\na\nCJ i-\n\u25a04\nrf\n. n\ns ^i Ofl\nrfl\nrH\nC2\n\u25a0 d\nH J K\nso .\n'3*, 1311113(1\nQ\nm\nCO\ni M\n; o\no o oi 9\no 13 - g*\nmiX rH\nr-S\no\n15 .CS\n\u25a0*\n\u00ab\u00bb\n0)\np\na\n0\nP 05 K\nc ? X\nS \u00a3 a\nM S *\n3\nw\n\u25a0X^tsJU'Bn^)\n8\nm\nCO\n\u00a9 r^\n\u00a9 \u00a9\no\" co\" ,_\nri\n>\nfr\nK CQ H\n?< < O\n\u00a9*\nc\no\nm\nSt-\na\ncc\nc\nC\nm co i\ng\na\nK \u00a3 *\n-\/ WW\nff\"\nc\nOi\nCW\na\nCT\nIf\net\n>n\n_o\nH\nO (5\ngo a\nc\n0\nc\n00\nr*\nT\na\nfr\n\u2022* c~\n\nIf\nc\na\nc\n00 ip\n^\na\na\nu r-\nc^\nr-\nc?\nCC\nr-\nw\ns 1 \u00ab\n'cS\ntf\nIT\nCC\nfr\nOC\nm\nc\nir\n\"*\no\nfei\nrt\n\u25a0-z\nrj\nr\nCD\na\nif\nCO\nH\nH\nrf\n\u20ac\nif\nT\nrfl\ni>\nCf\nIT\nw\no\n\u2022gSmireQ\nO\n\u2022'Ji\nIC\ncc\n'\nIQ\nCf\ns\nlO\n*\no\nH\ntf\n0\n>\nO\na\nH\n\u00ab\nO\no\no\na\nCM\n-fl\nvCqgtyUimft\nQ\nIrJCQ\nc\nc\nc\nCD\nCM\ni\u00a3\ncr\ns\no\n1 *\n.5\nTJ\ns\nK\n3\nm\nhH\n\u00a9\n%\n0\n\"d\nm\nm\n1-\nO\nc\ns\nc>\n'\n3\ncc\nrf, *&\n*\n\u2022*\n\nCO\no\nfr\na\nCJ\n-a\nI s\no\no\nH\n\u25a03\n>\n\"^\n\u25a0\nfl\no\nc\ni>\nc\nrf\ntc\ne\nC\nC\no\nxi\nG\nta\nX\na\nc\nm\nCC\n?\nit\n1\n& ft\nc\nfr\n>s\nfr\ne\ncX\na\n0\n1\nS3\nk a\nSo\n5 w\n\u2022aS'BlU'BQ\n^e\n\u25a0\u00bbd\n0>\nCD\nfr\n*\nfr\nco\nri\np*5\n\u25a05\nX\nIf\ni-\nc\ng\nCl\nCM\nfr\nr*\nr-\nC\n|\nrl\na\nt^\nri\n0\n\u2022.t^iren?)\n* * I-\ni\u2014I oq t-\nc\nc\nfr\ncT\n\u25a0\"8\nfrl\nfr\nrj\nfr\nfr\nC\nCD\nX\nIm\n\"S p\nm o\na\nCC\nr-\nLT\nc\nS\nC\n&\n9\n\u00b0 cd\n.\/ \u25a0*\no\no\ncs\na\nr\nI |\nS &\noi\na\nm\nt>\nfr\nIf\nli\nc\n\u00bb1\n\"B3jy\nU CO\no\n<1\n0-\nfr\nr-T\noc\nfr\nfr\nfr\nrl\nfr\nrfl\no\n+J\ns\nfl\no\n\u00a3\nri\nr^\nri\n-*j\n.2\ntD\naq\nS\n1\/\nOS\nc\n73\nV\nfH\nTJ\ns\nO\nC\no\n&H\nb\no\nr\na\n\u00a5\n(B\ntu\ns\na\nfl\nEh\nw-t\no\nc\nA\nc\nri\no\na\nc\nol\nDO\na.\no\no\nS\na\na\nfl\na\nc\n5\n>\n%\nc\nc\nc\nc\nt\n0)\no\n\u00a3\nPh\no\nft\nc\nri\n'E\nri\nO\nPh.\ntl\n\u00a3\nr^\n^\n\u00a3\nH\n!>\n> 5 Geo. 5\nForest Branch.\nI 45\nTable B.\u2014Damage to Property other than Forests.\nForest Districts.\nForest\nProducts in\nProcess of\nManufacture.\nBuildings.\nRailway and\nLogging\nEquipment.\nMiscellaneous.\nTotals.\nPer Cent.\n$ 68,100\n160\n498\n13,865\n385\n114,445\n3.740\n540\n$ 2,000\n275\n1,200\n123.070\n945\n900\n1.000\n7,585\n620\n$ 1,100\n1.000\n570\n8,400\n$ 125\n505\n3,025\n325\n200\n600\n7,275\n1,775\n247\n$ 71,325\n940\n4,723\n138,260\n2,100\n1,500\n122,720\n21,500\n1,407\n19.6\n0.3\n1.3\n37.9\n0.6\n0.4\n33.6\nPrince Rupert ....\n'5.9\n0.4\nTotals \t\n$201,733\n$137,595\n.$11,070\n$14,077\n$364,475\n100.0\nPer cent. . ..\n55.3\n37.7\n3.0\n4.0\n| 100.0\nTable C.\u2014A Comparison of the Damage caused by Forest Fires during the Past Five Years.\n1010.\n1911.\n1012\n1913.\n1914.\nTotal number of fires \t\nTotal area burned-over (acres) \t\nStanding timber destroyed or damaged (M.\nft. B.M.) \t\nDamage to forest \t\nDamage to other forms of property\t\nTotal damage\t\n1.184\n218,388\n130,650\n$193,976\n435,939\n629,915\n331\nNot given.\n3,570\nNot given.\n47,000\n347\n160,000\n200,000\n$200,000\n113,273\n313,273\n578\n10,270\n3,845\n$ 4,387 00\n13,967 25\n18,354 00\n1,832\n355,124\n102,804\nj> 72,057\n364,475\n436,532\nNotes.\u2014Damage to forest in 1910, 1911, and 1912 includes only estimated valuation of damage to\ntimber ; in 1913 and 1914 it includes also estimated damage to valuable reproduction; 1910 was a very\nhazardous fire season (seven lives were lost through forest fires) ; 1911 season favourable on the Coast,\ndry in the Northern Interior; 1912 season dry and hazardous In spring; 1913 season very favourable ;\n1914 season in southern districts worst in many years; in northern districts normal.\nDamage to Forest.\nThough in southern British Columbia the past fire season was said to be the driest and\nmost hazardous for twenty years, the damage caused was relatively light. While the number\nof fires is much greater than in any previous year, the area and quantity of standing timber\ndamaged or destroyed is less than in both 1910 and 1912. Only about 12 per cent, of the total\narea burned bore merchantable timber, and a considerable part of the timber can be salvaged\nwithin the next few years.*\nValuable second growth burned comprised about 16 per cent, of the total area and about\na quarter of the total damage to the forest. Over half the total area burned over was land\nwhich bore very little merchantable timber or valuable second growth. It includes logged-off\nland; areas of unmerchantable though mature timber; and areas which were burned off in\nformer years and on which little or no reproduction of forest takes place. Some of it is agricultural land and will eventually be used for that purpose. Some of it is unfit for farming,\nbut capable of bearing merchantable timber; and in this case the fire has seriously delayed\nthe future timber-crop. Again, some of the burned over is unfit either for agriculture or for\n* It should be stated that three large fires were reported on the watershed of South Pine River\u2014a\ntributary of the Peace\u2014this summer, but since reliable estimates as to the area burned over and timber\nkilled could not be obtained, they are not included in the Are statistics. I 46\nDepartment of Lands.\n1915\ngrowing merchantable timber, its chief value being for watershed protection. Where large\nareas are severely burned and the forest cover destroyed, the damage manifests itself in floods,\nsoil-erosion, and the choking-up of streams.\nNearly 16 per cent, of the total area burned over was grazing land either open or only\nlightly timbered.\nDamage to other Forms of Property.\nOver half the total damage listed in this table is made up of two items. In the Island\nDistrict the destruction of the town of South Wellington by a forest fire, believed to be of\nincendiary origin, is responsible for $120,000 out of the $123,070 damage to buildings. In Nelson\nDistrict the value of a sawmill and lumber destroyed by a forest fire makes up most of the\n$114,445 listed in the column headed \" Forest Products in Process of Manufacture.\"\nCOST OF FIGHTING FIRES, 1914.\nFires, 1914, classified by Place of Origin and Cost of Fighting.\nw\nQJ\nO\nH\nsi\nS\u00a7*.\nOT! ri\nr-i vi 02\noOrr.^2\n-eg\no\n31\ngig\n^ jrg\ng \u00b0 c\n\u00a7>Ji\no\nExtinguished\nwithout Cost.\nCost Money to\nfight.\nTotal Cost\nfighting\nFires.\nAverage\nCost per\nFire.\nForest District.\nNo.\nrt\"g\nOH\nH\u00bb\noS\n^ s\nS \u25a0\no \u00a3\nPh\n68.7\n81.1\n68.9\n37.5\n65.0\n85.7\n63 9\n62.5\n84.0\n48.6\n51.0\nSrt '$1\n!J\nHO\n\u00b00-r\ng C\no'S\n, 02\nS.h\nSUE*\nNo.\nH r\/i\no'S\nli\n0, r-T\n--r\n\u2022rt|\nu\nUH CO\n\u00b02\nrii*\nS.S\nO m\n\" \u00a3\n02.00\no\no\nc\n02\nD\nE3\nrt\nfl\n02\nNo.\nNo.\nNo.\ntr\n(2\n246\n323\n103\n120\n146\n49\n418\n8\n81\n140\n198\n36\n164\n35\n78\n35\n87\n4\n14\n58\n88\n210\n159\n68\n120\n68\n14\n331\n4\n07\n82\n110\n169\n262\n71\n45\n95\n42\n267\n5\n68\n68\n101\n14.2\n22.0\n5.9\n3.8\n7.9\n3.5\n22.4\n0.4\n5.7\n5.7\n8.5\n77\n61\n32\n75\n51\n7\n151\n3\n13\n72\n97\n31.3\n18.9\n31.1\n62.5\n35.0\n14.3\n36.1\n37.5\n16.0\n51.4\n49.0\n12.0\n9.5\n5.0\n11.8\n8.0\n1.1\n23.6\n0.5\n2.0\n11.3\n15.2\n22,383\n2,832\n1,276\n10,760\n20,266\n127\n46,515\n427\n328\n12,051\n23,142\n16.0\n2.0\n0.9\n7.7\n14.5\n0.1\n32.2\n0.3\n0.2\n8.6\n16.5\n291\n46\n40\n143\n397\n18\n308\n142\n25\n167\n241\n13.3\n2.1\n1.8\n6.5\n18 1\n.8\n14 0\n6.5\n1.1\n7 6\nTotals\t\n1,832\n100\n599\n32.7\n1,233\n67.3\n1,193\n65.1\n100.0\n100.0\n639\n34.9\n100.0\n140,107\n1O0.O\n219\n10.0\n1913 totals\t\n578\n100\n347\n100\n420\n73\n158\n27\n8,929\n86\n1912 totals\t\n113\n33\n234\n67\n29,879\n128\n\t\n109\n1911 totals\t\n331\n100\n199\n60\n132\n40\n14,344\n1910 totals\t\n1,184\n100\n615\n52\n569\n48\n140,000\n(approx)\n246\n* Includes timber licences, timber and pulp leases, Crown-granted timber land, tie reserves, etc.\nt Includes pre-emptions, purchased land, various forms of leases, as coal, grazing, etc., mineral claims, and some Dominion\nGovernment land, as Indian reserves.\nThe total cost this year is the greatest since 1910, for the fire season was the worst in many\nyears. Judged by the value of timber and other property protected, however, the sums expended\nrepresent only a small insurance premium. Compared with the much greater expense incurred\nunder similar conditions in the AVestern United States in 1914, the cost is moderate.\nThe number of fires which cost money to fight is greatest in the southern districts, where\nthe hazard is most serious. In Kamloops District nearly half the total cost of fighting fires was\nincurred in one very bad fire. In Prince Rupert District the number of fires was small, and\nnearly the total expense was incurred in fighting two fires, one of which was set by lightning\nin a situation very difficult to reach. 5 Geo. 5\nForest Branch.\nI 47\nFires, 1914, classified by Size.\nOJ\nK\n\"rt\no\nH\nUnder \\ Acre.\n\\ Acre to 10 Acres.\nOver 10 Acres.\nForest District.\nNo.\nrt o\n*r \"r\no h\n\u25a0go\ng\u00bb\nD \u00a3\n*h\u00a3\n02 ^\nPr\nH 1\nS3\nHr 00\n\"a a\nID.a\nO eo\n^ cu\nP-Es.\nNo.\n'rt o\n\u25a0go\n^ a\ng'\u00ab>\no\u00a3\n%'\"\n\"rt oo\nOR\n\u00b01\na a\nm .-\nO or\nt. \u00b0\n\u2014 '-rS\nNo.\n\"rt O\n\u2022SQ\nII\nr- US\nd rt\nOR\nH\u00b0\n^'1\n\"a C\nm.r\nO 01\nai.b\nSS~ \u2014\ne .\nSo\no\n1-s\na\nNo.\no\n3d\nfl\nfc\u00a3-H\nrt'\u00bb\n\u00a3 o\nrt-\"\nO\nNo.\nar\nc\n02 Q\nbEO\n2 r\nis\no\nNo.\nNo.\n246\n323\n103\n120\n146\n49\n418\n8\n81\n140\n198\n119\n115\n19\n10\n76\n20\n130\n48.4\n35.6\n18.4\n8.3\n52.0\n40.8\n31.1\n18.1\n17.5\n2.9\n1.5\n11.6\n3.0\n19.8\n77\n126\n34\n54\n28\n19\n159\n6\n16\n31\n56\n31.3\n39.0\n33.0\n45.0\n19.2\n38.8\n38.0\n75.0\n19.7\n22.1\n28.3\n12.7\n20.8\n5.6\n8.9\n4.6\n3.1\n26.3\n1.0\n2.6\n5.1\n9.3\n50\n82\n50\n56\n42\n10\n129\n2\n8\n61\n79\n20.3\n25.4\n48.5\n46.7\n28.8\n20.4\n30.9\n25.0\n9.9\n43.6\n39.8\n8.8\n14.4\n8.8\n9.8\n7.4\n1.8\n22.7\n0.3\n1.4\n10.7\n13.9\n45\n58\n45\n30\n22\n7\n110\n2\n5\n44\n60\n2\n17\n4\n24\n13\n3\n17\n3\n7\n1\n2\n7\n'2\n57\n48\n63\n70.4\n34.3\n31.8\n8.7\n7.3\n9.6\n3\n14\n12\n3\n7\nTotals \u2022\t\n1,832\n657\n100.0\n606\n100.0\n569\n\t\n100.0\n428\n109\n32\n100\n35.9\n33.1\n200\n34.6\n-\u2014\n31.0\n75.2\n19.1\n5.7\n1913 totals\t\n578\n100\n299\n79\n13.7\n51.7\nSIZES OF FIRES, 1914.\nIn a very dry season fires spread more rapidly than in a normal year. The result is a\ngreater proportion of large fires. The dangerous weather conditions of 1914 are shown by\nthe fact that only a little over one-third of the fires in 1914 were extinguished while still very\nsmall, as against over half in 1913; and nearly one-third of the fires of 1914 reached formidable\nsizes before being controlled, as against about one-seventh of those in 1913.\nCAUSES OF FOREST FIRES, 1914.\nTable A.\u2014Number and Causes of Fires, 1914.\n(1.)\n(2.)\n(R.)\n(4.1\n(5.)\n(6.)\n(7.)\n(8.)\n(9.)\n(10.)\n\u25a0o\nsi\n, a\nTotals.\n*\u00bb\no .\nO\n3\nrji\n\u25a0a .2\nForest District.\nO\n02\n1 \u00b0\nr-j\nCO\u2014;\nGgd\nti\nO Cj\na\n\u00a32\n*,\u00a3\nCS\nrrt\n\u00ab2\nas\nO oo\nc 2\niji 00\nau\na\n\"Si\na\noZS 0\n\u00ab 02\n02\n1\u00b0\n\u25a0a\na\n02\n02\na\n02 on\n~ a\nrO O\na oj\nNo.\nPei-\nCent.\nhJ\no\nJ\nM\n\u00ab\nIS\nPh\n31\n79\n97\n9\n5\n1\n11\n13\n246\n13.4\nFort George ....\n185\n38\n2\n7\n29\n54\n1\n1\n4\n2\n323\n17.6\nHazelton\t\n34\n25\n1\n1\n32\n1\n6\n2\n1\n103\n5.7\n34\n31\n2\n23\n1\n11\n13\n4\n1\n120\n6.6\nKamloops\t\n34\n18\n9\n50\n11\n9\n10\n4\n1\n146\n8.0\n23\n31\n3\n14\n50\n1\n206\n'79\n1\n2\n32\n3\n2\n6\n13\n1\n4\n2\n2\n49\n418\n8\n2.7\n22.8\nPrince Rupert ...\n0.4\n28\n6\n25\n0\n1\n15\ni\n81\n4.4\nVancouver \t\n27\n47\n9\n16\n8\n11\n21\ni\n140\n7.6\n57\n58\n10\n17\n10\n7\n24\n3\nii\n1\n198\n10.8\nTotals \t\n487\n367\n361\n169\n164\n98\n83\n50\n42\n11\n1,832\n100.0\nPer cent. . . .\n26.6\n20.0\n19.7\n9.2\n9.0\n5.3\n4.5\n2.8\n2.3\n0.6\n100\nNotes on Causes.\u2014(1.) Includes prospectors, hunters, fishermen, picnickers, smokers, floating labourers, hoboes, etc. (2.) Chleflv locomotives. (5.) Chiefly for clearing agricultural land; not for clearing\nrailway rights-of-wav. (6.) 'Right-of-way clearing, locomotives, steam-shovels, etc. (8.) Logging operations, 'donkey-engines, sawmills, etc. (10.) Also construction of power, telegraph, and telephone lines not\nconnected with railways. I 48\nDepartment of Lands.\n1915\nTable B.\u2014Number and Causes of Forest Fires for Past Five Tears.\nCauses.\n1914.\n1913.\n1912.\n1911.\n1910.\nCampers and travellers (including smokers, Indians, prospectors, hunters, tramps, etc.) \t\nUnknown \t\nOperation of railways \t\nLightning \t\nBrush-burning to clear farm land, etc\t\nRailway-construction\t\nMiscellaneous \t\nIndustrial operations (as logging) \t\nIncendiary \t\nPublic road-construction \t\nTotals \t\n487\n367\n361\n169\n164\n08\nS3\n50\n42\n11\n1,832\n195\n104\n110\n34\n26\n62\n7\n24\n7\n9\n578\n51\n149\n34\n23\n47\n11\n6\n17\n\"9\n347\n126\n126\n31\n1\n14\n8\n3\n14\n\" 8\n331\n188\n374\n272\n103\n184\n63\n1.184\nIt is an interesting fact that for the past five years the chief causes of forest fires have\nbeen almost the same each year, and altogether have been responsfble for from 85 to 94 per cent,\nof the total number of fires. In the above Table C it is seen that \" campers and travellers,\"\n\" operation of railways,\" \" unknown,\" \" brush-burning,\" and \" lightning \" are largely responsible.\nCampers and Travellers.\nOver 90 per cent, of all forest fires in British Columbia are due to human agency of some\nkind, and therefore are preventable. Of all such fires, those known to be caused by campers\nand travellers are greater in number than those from any other single known cause, amounting\nto nearly 25 per cent, of all fires during the last five years. There is no doubt, too, that most\nof the \" unknown\" fires are due to campers and travellers. Of all causes, this then is the\nmost prolific of fires; it is also the most unnecessary and the most irritating, for the reason\nis carelessness, ignorance, or laziness. All such fires are avoidable. They stand in a class by\nthemselves. The operation of railways and brush-burning are regulated by special legislation\nwhich it is comparatively easy to enforce, because such matters are conspicuous and readily\nsupervised. The regulations regarding raiiwa57s and brush-burning, their enforcement and compliance by the companies and persons affected\u2014all these are satisfactory.\nLegislation aimed to control the setting and care of camp and smudge fires, and the disposal\nof burning tobacco, matches, etc., in the forest could not well be enforced. With an average\npatrol area of several hundred thousand acres, it is obviously impossible for the force to prevent\ndestructive fires originating from such causes, though a great many are detected and extinguished before they become dangerous. It is just as obviously impossible to have a patrol force\nlarge enough to prevent all these fires. Nor should this be necessary, for every person in British\nColumbia has a stake in its forest wealth, directly or indirectly, and the public should itself help\nin the work. The lumbering industry pays half the wages in British Columbia in normal times.\nEverybody shares in that to some extent. Even greater than the present revenue derived from\nthe forests, which is in normal times about one-quarter of the total Provincial revenue, is the\nfuture revenue which will result when the great areas of public forest, now immature or inaccessible to market, are utilized. Everybody should realize that a forest fire touches his own\npocket as well as other people's pockets. But, apart from the personal pecuniary interest which\nevery inhabitant of British Columbia has in the forest wealth, there are many other considerations which should make every one careful with fire in the woods. There is the destruction of\ngame, the injury to watersheds and soil, and, most important of all, the destruction of life and\nproperty resulting from forest fires. The remedy lies largely in public education. Every effort\nis being made by the Forest Branch to educate the public to be more careful of fire in the woods,\nand to obtain its co-operation in the work of protecting the forest wealth of the Province.\nUnknown.\nThe percentage of fires of which the causes are unknown has decreased markedly in the\npast two years, previous to which it had been greater than any other class each year since 1910. Fire set by lightning on North Thompson River on top\nof mountain, making fire-fighting difficult and expensive.\nm \u2022-,\"\u2022,<\u25a0\nil\u00a5--BF'\u00ab mm\nSI <\n\u25a0; ,-'\n:.: ~ -\\ \u25a0 ' \u25a0\nL - Jill\n; . \u25a0 \u25a0\n.\u2022.\u2022\u2022?'\"-\u2022 . >.. .. ..\ni\u00ab'- 4;'\"M ! \u2022.<\u2022*\u00bb \u25a0E'-'\"*U '\nW'ilMfc'^'V-'-J iw5\n$-y \u25a0\n'1 4t>i fi;\nUM4.V.-\n3,?i*.\n^^^2\\'s s%*\n\u2022\u25a0 ;MM;?v''^f^' M^V-.-\nPulp timber, hemlock and balsam, on Maquillo\nRiver, Vancouver Island.\n\u25a0 ,v\nliji\n\" i- - 1* i - sis\nI \\f\ni<:i i\n\u25a0i. ;;..;, i\nr*>?^^\nSlash resulting from logging operations, a fire-trap which is bound to burn sooner or later, and\nshould therefore be fired purposely when weather conditions are favourable. 5 Geo. 5 Forest Branch. I 49\nThis is because improved organization and a larger force have enabled more complete records\nto be obtained. There is no doubt that many of these \" unknown \" fires are due to campers and\ntravellers. It is also probable that a number this year were of incendiary origin.\nOperation of Railway's.\nThis comes third on the list of causes in 1914, and has varied from second to fourth since\n1910. During the past few years a very large amount of new railway-line has been built and\nput under operation, and a great deal more will be put in operation next year. It might be\nexpected, therefore, that the number of fires due to the operation of railways would have increased\nproportionately, and especially in a year of such great hazard as 1914. This, however, has not\nbeen the case. The percentage of railway fires is not excessive; it is practically the same as in\n1913, a year of small hazard, and less than 1910, a year of great hazard. It should be remembered, too, that the great majority of the railroad fires reported are small and soon put out, and\nthat much more complete records are now kept of railroad fires than was previously the case.\nAn order of the Board of Railway Commissioners this year required the railways to report to\nthe Board every fire occurring within 300 feet on each side of the right-of-way. On this account\nmany small fires put out by the sectionmen and railway patrolmen before they had time to\nspread were reported, of which formerly no reports were obtained.\nThe good record this year is a tribute to the effectiveness of the regulations of the Dominion\nBoard of Railway Commissioners and of the provisions of the \" Forest Act,\" as well as to the\nsatisfactory way in which railways on the whole complied with them.\nTwo districts, Nelson and Cranbrook, had 84 per cent, of these fires, and Nelson alone had\nnearly CO per cent. Deducting them, the number of fires in the rest of the Province due to\nrailway operation is trifling. Both those districts had in the parts where most of these\nrailroad fires occurred somewhat similar conditions\u2014viz., heavy railway-grades, and Dry Belt\nclimate and vegetation, with its inflammable dead grass and shrubs in summer. Under the\nconditions existing in July, August, and the first week in September, practically every spark\nthrown out from the locomotive would start a fire. The locomotives were all equipped with\nspark-arresters, but it appeared that a certain number of live sparks will escape from any of\nthe spark-arresters used, especially on heavy grades, where the engine is labouring under forced\ndraught. To further aggravate all this, the Canadian Pacific Railway, which caused most of\nthese fires, unfortunately used for a short period during the dry weather a kind of coal which\nsparks very freely. Its use was abandoned as soon as its danger w7as discovered, but not before\na large number of fires had been set.\nIn the Vernon District, where the conditions as regards railway hazard were very similar\nto Nelson and Cranbrook, the number of railway fires is small. The reason is that oil-burning\nlocomotives were used. The Canadian Pacific Railway used them all summer, and the Great\nNorthern Railway, after the coal-buruing locomotives set several expensive fires in August,\nreplaced them with oil-burners.\nLightning.\nLightning is the one absolutely unavoidable cause of forest fires. The number of lightning\nfires in any one year is a fairly good index of the hazard for that year. Referring to Table C,\nit is seen that both 1910 with 103 and 1914 with 169 lightning fires had an unusually large\nnumber of such fires. Both were years of great fire hazard.\nReferring to Table A, it is seen that three districts of the Southern Interior, Vernon, Kamloops, and Nelson, and especially the latter two, are much more liable to lightning fires than\nthe others. Over 85 per cent, of all such fires in 1914 occurred in those three districts, and\nnearly half of the total were in the Nelson District alone.\nBrush-burning.\nBrush-burning to clear land for agriculture, to burn logging-slash, etc., is always attended\nwith a certain amount of risk, as is explained under the head of \" Permits.\" However, it is\nboth desirable and necessary, and therefore the risk must be taken whenever it is reasonably\nsafe. The regulation of such burning by the permit law during the fire season reduces this risk\nto the minimum. I 50 Department of Lands. 1915\nRailway-construction.\nConsidering the many uses of fire necessary in railway-construction for clearing right-of-way\nand other purposes, the great amount of this work done this summer, and the very dry weather,\nthe small number of fires due to this work (92, or 5 per cent, of the total number of all fires)\nis noteworthy. Over half the total of these fires occurred in Fort George District, chiefly during\nlate May, When an unusually dry period and high winds caused a number of fires burning right-\nof-way slash to get beyond control. At this time, too, the patrol force was smaller and the\ncontractors less careful in burning than later in the season. The comparatively small total\nnumber of railway-construction fires shows the value of the policy adopted to prevent and\ncontrol them\u2014viz., maintaining a sufficient force of railway patrolmen to thoroughly patrol\nthe right-of-way, and requiring the railroad company to burn under permit all right-of-way\nslash, to pile all dangerous slash lying adjacent to the right-of-way, and to fight at its own\nexpense all fires resulting from construction-work.\nIndustrial Operations.\nThe number of fires due to industrial operations\u2014which means chiefly logging operations\u2014\u25a0\nis also gratifyingly small,-being only fifty, or less than 3 per cent, of all fires. The location of\nthese fires (Table A) shows where the greatest activity in logging operations occurs\u2014viz., Vancouver, Island, and Cranbrook Districts. These districts had 90 per cent, of the fires due to\nsuch causes. 5 Geo. 5\nForest Branch.\nI 51\nH\nO\nH\n\u2022^iraaaj ')noqiiA\\ s}as sa-nj;\n1\nX lrHOrHGvlI>i~~T-H\nO CM rH Ol\nCM CO\nQ\n00\nQ\nO\n_\u00a3 loOlOrflOrfiCOCOrHOlTtl\n*pJ^U00 pOdUOSa S9JIJ j \u00a3 \"3 Ol rH rH i-H\nCO Q\noi o\n\u25a0(papnpin -jou spuoH\noifqnj) pauauq sajoy\n4) P\nCsOO^OOoiCSCDOOlO\nrflior-Iiocoioco'doidi'^\nrH rH rH Ol\no\nd\no\n6\nr-^ooacocscoosorHoo\nt-Om<\u00a3>CCrflrHOOOC0\ni^osc^o.iot-\u00a3^cort<_i>r-\nef 1^ W \u00bb* H N \u25a0* (H* o1 CO\nlO\nCO\nOS\nO\no\n\u25a0ri\n\u00a3|\nOlOlOljOTfl-Hs-lOCOr-COCS\ndr^doicOCO^Doidt^^S\nrH Ol Ol\np\nd\n\u00a9\n-*\n\u25a0H\n01COr*rflOOCOCSr--ra0 01\n\u25a0 CDtrir3lOOOOO>.OrHl--OCO\nO \u00ab3\u00ab3t\u2014 CS CO CO O CO ffl \u00ab5\n1\nCO\nOl\nlfl\no\no\nCO\n\u25a0H\nO\nK\ns\np\nOQ\na\n<\no\n&\no\n3\na\nB\nPh\nP\nH\na\n1 . 1\n'iiuuajqnoii'ii.wiassaa!^ j 2\nH\nCO\n1 .\n\u25a0foj^uoo paduosa sa.ii^ 1 \u00a3\nM\nM\nOI\n*\nCO\nW\no\nfe\nH\n\u00ab\n\u2022paiunq S9[iJ$\no J^\nuo \u00ab5\nOS\nOl rfl\ns i :\noi -\n\u2022panssi scmiuad\n6\nTfl\nOI O-l\n00\n\u2022\nQD CO\n1 ' 3\nw o\n-fl\n\u00a7 1\no\n\u2022^Riuaj ^noq^LW ^as sa-ii^ | B.\n1 fl |\n=o\nrH kO\nOl\nO]\nOl\nj3\nS 8\na5\ng 1\na S\n\u25a0R &\nP O\n* -r\nn\n1 .\n\u2022[OJs}uoo paduosa sojyi 1 3\nBS\noi m oi\nrfl\nrfl\nrfl\nCO\no\n*pau.mq vdty\n,\/ r CO Ol OO 00 00 00\n\u00a3 53 P Ol CO\n1 1 ' \"' ' rt\"\nOS X >o | -g<\nOi OS Ol to\nrH CO O- I Ol\nrH 1^\"\nCO\nU0\nCO\n\u00b0i.\nof\n\u25a0panssi s^uiuaj\n6\nOS O C-I ' rh rH rH *\nW rjH 00 rH\nW rH t-\nOS M< Ol\nOl i-H CO\nuoo padtjosa saa;^\nd\nfe\nli!;mOOrt(-\n1-. rH LO -ti O-l O Ci r-i rH. CO rH\n\u25a0*cot^mcooiooco r^-O\nrH of Of\no\nCO\nrfl\nCS\nCO\nHH\no\ns\nHH\nI\/!\na>\ns\n&H\nM\nc\nc\nc\nd\nt-\nC\na\n5\n\u00bb-\na\nC\nc\nft\n0\nC\n0\nC\nr\nC\nO\n1\n0\na\no\nc\nP\nc\n\"a\nfe\na\n1\n03\nc\np-\na\n\u2022-s\na.\n*-\nc\ncc\nf>\nC\n\u00ab c\ng\n>\nH-\nE-\n1\n-tt\nC\nc\nbl\na\n0\n&\nD\n2 S\na \u00a3\n1 1 I 52 Department of Lands. 1915\nThe provision of the \" Forest Act\" which requires farmers, loggers, railway contractors,\nsection foremen, and others to obtain a permit before setting out fires in May, June, July,\nAugust, and September is the most effective method so far discovered for the prevention of\nforest fires. In a timbered country such as British Columbia fire must be used everywhere to\ndispose of brush, slash, and refuse caused by agricultural, logging, railway, and other industrial\noperations. But in summer, and especially in a season as dry as the past one, almost every fire\nset out in a wooded region is dangerous and liable to escape control. The necessity for supervision over the setting of fires is therefore evident. Without it settlers, towns and villages,\ntimber-owners, loggers, and others would be exposed to the constant menace of loss of life and\nproperty.\nThe enforcement of the permit law necessarily places something of a burden upon the\nfarmer, since delay in obtaining a permit is sometimes unavoidable, and the conditions which\nmust be imposed to ensure safe burning not infrequently mean added expense. Notwithstanding\nthese .objections, the public generally have cheerfully accepted and approved the regulations,\nand have arranged their plans for clearing land and burning brush accordingly, realizing that\nwith all its disadvantages the law provides security against loss of life and property.\nThe policy adhered to by the Department has been to allow the greatest possible freedom\nfor slash-burning in summer consistent with reasonable forest-protection. Instructions are\nissued by the District Foresters and also by the Rangers to the Guards through the season as\nrequired. The gist of the instructions is that permits should be issued without delay; that each\narea should be examined by the Guard, except iu special cases; that the duration of the permit\nshould be made as long as safety allows.\nrersonal examination was made of 95 per cent, of all areas for which permits were granted.\nThe duration of permits varied from two to thirty days and averaged from seven to fifteen, being\ngreatest in the early and late parts of the season.\nIn most of the southern districts, including the Island, Vancouver, Vernon, Nelson, Cranbrook, and Kamloops Districts, dry, dangerous weather, high winds, and numerous fires made it\nnecessary to restrict or cancel permits in the latter part of July, all of August, and the first\nweek of September. While this action no doubt worked individual hardship in a few cases, yet\nthe public as a whole realized its necessity and willingly accepted it.\nThe value and effectiveness of the permit regulation is indicated by the fact that in 1914,\nthe dryest and most hazardous summer in many years, only 12S permit fires escaped control,\nwhich is about 1 per cent, of the 11,523 fires set out under permit, and is about 7 per cent, of the\n1.S32 forest fires occurring in 1914.\nThat the fire season of 1914 was very much more hazardous than the two preceding ones\nis shown in a measure by the following comparison of the permit fires which escaped control\nin the respective seasons:\u2014\n1912.\u2014Eight permit fires escaped control; less than J\/M of 1 per cent, of the 9,477 permits\nissued, and about 2 per cent, of the 347 forest fires.\n1913.\u2014Seventeen permit fires escaped control; less than 2\/10 of 1 per cent, of the 11,925\npermits issued, and 3 per cent, of the 57S forest fires.\n1914-\u2014One hundred and twenty-eight permit fires escaped control; about 1 per cent, of the\n11,523 permits issued, and 7 per cent, of the 1,832 forest fires.\nIt is instructive to note that many of the forest fires caused by escaped permit fires were\ndue to sudden high winds which blew live sparks and embers considerable distances into the\nforest. For instance, in Kamloops District a man was burning a pile of stumps under permit\nin his orchard. A sudden wind sprang up, carried the fire 300 feet into the adjoining brush,\nand started a forest fire. This is one illustration of the many which could be given to show that\nin dry weather, when the forest is like tinder, there is hazard in almost any fire burning out-\nof-doors near standing timber, slashings, or any inflammable material, even under conditions\napparently safe. It explains why it is necessary to restrict or cancel all permits in the extrahazardous periods.\nOnly eighty, or about 4 per cent, of the total number of forest fires, were caused by persons\nburning brush without first obtaining a permit. Most of the prosecutions instituted by the\nForest Branch were for these violations of the Act. Nothing is more certain than that had\nthere been no permit regulation the results would have been disastrous in the extreme. 5 Geo. 5 Forest Branch. I 53\nPERMITS FOl! CLEARING AGRICULTURAL LiAND.\nAbout the same number of permits was issued in 1914 as in the previous year, but the total\narea burned over was nearly twice as large, the increase being practically all in permits for\nclearing agricultural land. This shows that advantage was taken of the dry weather and easy\nburning conditions by the settlers to clear land on a much larger scale than previously. It\nalso indicates how much greater was the fire hazard and work of supervising burning in 1914\nthan 1913.\nA comparison of the number of permits granted for clearing agricultural land and the area\nhumed gives some idea of the relative progress of settlement in the different districts. It is\ngreatest in the Island, Vancouver, Vernon, and Nelson Districts in the south, and in Hazelton\nand Fort George Districts in the north. Evidently the completion of the Grand Trunk Pacific\nRailway has greatly stimulated settlement in the latter two districts. In Hazelton in 1913 only\n463 permits were issued for clearing agricultural land and about 500 acres burned, while in 1914\n750 permits were issued and 8,950 acres burned. In Fort George in 1913 the number of permits\nfor this purpose was 391 and the area burned 380 acres, while in 1914 the figures are 1,313\npermits and 5,138 acres.\nIn Vancouver and the Island Districts in 1914 the permit law was modified by exempting\nall or parts of certain municipalities (which comprised chiefly settled agricultural lands in\nthe valley of the Dower Fraser) for all or part of the Are season; while in other municipalities\nthe administration of the permit law was turned over to the municipal officials. The municipalities affected were: Vancouver District\u2014Burnaby, South Vancouver, Point Grey, Richmond,\nDelta, Surrey, Langley, Matsqui, Sumas, Chilliwack, Mission, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, and\nCoquitlam. Island District\u2014Saanich and Esquimalt.\nThis plan, of course, can only be adopted in settled regions where the land is largely cleared,\nand the forest therefore broken up into blocks with few or no large tracts of valuable timber\nleft; in fact, where the agricultural interest outweighs that of the forect. It not only allows\nthe settlers a freer hand in clearing up land, but also relieves the Forest Branch of the expense\nof patrol and supervision in such areas, and allows more attention to be given to the forest\nregions proper. The amount of work thus saved is shown by the fact that only 787 permits\nwere required in the past year in Vancouver District, as against nearly 4,000 in the previous\nyear. The decrease is due to the fact that the great bulk of the permits in 1913 were issued in\nthose areas in the Fraser Valley lands mentioned above, where this year permits were either\nnot required or were issued by municipal officers. The comparison gives further proof of the\neasier burning conditions, greater activity in burning, and greater fire hazard of 1914.\nPermits for Logging-slash.\nThe area of logging-slash burnt over under permit (5,727 acres) is less than in 1913 (7,655\nacres), though over twice as many such permits were issued. The chief reasons for this are that\nthe very hazardous weather conditions made burning on a large scale unsafe for a long period\nin the summer, and, furthermore, the depressed condition of the lumber industry made the logging\noperators unwilling to spend money in burning on any large scale.\nPermits for burning Railway Right-of-way.\nAltogether an area of 7,204 acres was burned, which, at 12 acres to the mile, means approximately 600 miles of right-of-way. Though some of this was cleaning up old right-of-way, the\ngreat bulk of it was done on new construction-work. The construction of the Pacific Great\nEastern is responsible for most permits in Lillooet and Fort George Districts, the Canadian\nNorthern Pacific in Tete Jaune District, and the Kootenay Central Railway in Cranbrook District.\nIt should be noted that some of the logging-slash burned under permit was caused by the cutting\nof construction timber for railways.\nPermits for clearing Public Roads.\nPublic Road Superintendents are authorized by the Forest Branch to grant permits to their\nforemen to burn slash on public roads in order to give every possible facility to the work. The I 54 Department of Lands. 1915\namount burned is considerably greater than in 1913, and was carried on over a larger part of\nthe Province.\nPermits in the Railway Belt.\nSince the great bulk of land within the Railway Belt belongs to the Dominion Government,\nfire-protection there is under the jurisdiction of the Dominion Forestry Branch. For the purpose\nof issuing permits their officers are appointed Acting Forest Guards without pay by the Forest\nBoard.\nSLASH-DISPOSAL.\nDuring the past fire season there was burned under permit a total of 53,000 acres of slash,.\nand in addition 290 miles of public road slash.* The 53,000 acres was made up as follows:\n50,000 acres burned by settlers clearing land for agricultural purposes; 5,700 acres by logging\noperators; and 7,200 acres by railways for clearing right-of-way and land from which construction timber had been cut.\nDuring 1933 and 1914 brush resulting from the cuttings which covered a large portion of\nthe 190,000 acres included within the boundaries of railway permits was filed by the contractors.\nThese permits were granted to allow railroads under construction to cut timber for construction\npurposes free of charge from specified areas of Crown timber land. For the sake of fire-protection and close utilization brush-piling was required by the regulations, and these were enforced,\nso that railway-permit areas now show probably the best examples of brush-piling on a large-\nscale which has been done in Canada; moreover, settlers and land-owners from whom the railway\ncompanies secured construction timber have in many cases followed the example of the Forest\nBranch, and required brush-piling on their lands.\nThe importance of slash-disposal from the standpoint of fire-protection is now universally\nrecognized. If slash is not burned it is a constant hazard during dry weather. Slash from\nlogging operations, if not disposed of each year, will accumulate during normal summers and\nthen provide material for destructive fires which may defy control. Some of the worst and most\ncostly fires of 1914 occurred in slashes which were the accumulated result of several years''\nlogging in one tract of timber.\nThe systematic burning of heavy logging-slash is possibly the only measure necessary to-\nsecure good reproduction over a large part of British Columbia's forest area. If it is burned\nwith proper precautions in spring or fail, when weather conditions are safe, the brush and litter\ncovering the soil are cleared off, but seed-trees still standing and seed buried in the soil are not\ndestroyed, and the soil is put in just the right state to act as a good seed-bed for the most\ndesirable species, such as Douglas fir and cedar. Moreover, sufficient sunlight reaches the ground\nto ensure the germination of the seed and the healthy growth of the seedlings. If, however, the\nsame slash burns in summer, when the weather is hot and the forest floor dried out, the fire\nkills the seed-trees and consumes not only the slash and litter on top of the soil, but also much\nof the soil itself and the seed buried in it, and thus delays regeneration of the forest for a long\nperiod.\nunder \" Burning Permits.\" 5 Geo. 5\nForest Branch.\nI 55\nVIOLATIONS OF THE FIRE-PROTECTIVE PROVISIONS OF THE \"FOREST ACT.\"\nProsecutions for Violations of Fire-protection Provisions of \" Forest Act,\" 1914.\n\"3\na\no\no\na\no\nH\nCharacter of Offences.\nResults ok Cases.\nDistricts.\nfl\no\n'? \u25a0\npa\n'\u25a05\na\n02\n02\nS-ab\n8 g\n> \u00a3\n02\nG\nC\n02 \u2022\n012 o\ncu O\n\u00a3 C\n\u00a9-H\nIB\nFines paid.\nil\nxi\nd\nfe\ng\no\nH\ncu\n3\n3\n2\n1\n1\n5\n3\n1\n1\n5\n3\n3\n2\n% 150\n150\n2\n1\n20\n17\n3\n4\n9\n550\n5\n2\n\u00ab\n8\n2\n5\n250\n37\n31\n5\n1\n6\n19\n$1,100\n5\n7\nDuring the fire season of 1914, 11,523 burning permits were issued. Eighty fires were set\nwithout permit in violation of the Statutes. Thirty-one informations were laid. Of the 1,846\nfires reported for the season, forty-eight were reported to be of incendiary origin. Evidence\nsufficient to lay information was obtained for five of these incendiary fires. For 471 fires caused\nby campers and travellers only one information was laid. Altogether convictions were obtained\nin thirty-one cases; while seven were dismissed on the grounds of insufficient evidence.\nDOMINION RAILWAYS.\nDuring the season of 1914 the arrangement made in 1912 by which the administrative oflicers\nof the Forest Branch acted for the railways under Dominion charter outside the Dominion Belt\nunder the direction of Chief Fire Inspector Leavitt, of the Board of Railway Commissioners,\ncontinued in force. This arrangement is very7 advantageous to the Forest Branch, since it brings\nthe field officers into personal contact with the officers and employees of the railway companies\nand ensures co-operation.\nUnder the arrangement described the Forest Branch supervised the protection-work on a\ntotal of 2,466 miles of railway, 200 of which, on the Kettle Valley and Kootenay Central Railways, was under construction. On the former road half of the expense of supervision was\nreimbursed to the Government. This plan is much more successful than the employment of\npatrolmen by a railway company, since the chief hazard in construction-work is the carelessness\nof railway employees.\nThe number and distribution of the patrolmen to be employed by the railways are fixed by\nChief Fire Inspector Leavitt after consultation with the officers of the Forest Branch, and are\nbased on the degree of danger, amount of traffic, and means of travel. Thirty-one patrolmen on\npower-speeders, nine on hand-speeders, and nineteen on foot were employed for a period of from\ntwo to five months exclusively on patrol and fire-protection work. On lines where the danger\nwas slight or the traffic light the patrol was performed by sectionmen.\nThis system was very successful, and there is no question that had such a patrol not been\nin force during the past summer the numerous fires starting along railways would have burned I 56\nDepartment of Lands.\n1915\no\n<\nH\nCO\no\nH\nO\nrX\nPh\n,saAiaomooorj\nSuiujnq-pojo \u25a0ojq;\n\u2022saAi-jomoocj;\nJf.urtunq-pjoo jo -o^;\n\u25a0qsnag jo j^ap\ncjda^ aq 01} sSuiptg puu auiq\narejr? '^'c.w.-jo-sjqSfy jo sajoy\n\u25a0saji^\njf'BMji'B'ji iuojj ^aadojj\nput? aaqilux C4 a^curcQ feT\u00b0X\n\u2022sajij .fBAqre^ Sq\nJ3AO paiunq aS-cajjjy P^OX\nOl CS CO Ol rH\n\u25a0suriux\n3uia\\ottoj uauiuoppag\n\u25a0uaiuxoaquj; s}oo^\n\u2022U9UI\n-pa^-Bj aapaads-puuH\n\u2022uaiu\n-[OJ^d japaads-jaAvocx\n01 00 CO rp\n\u2022pa-padsm aSraaijjfl; [\u00abn>x\nJ-. \u00a9 o O O CO CO\nco cs oi os id ta oi\nco 01 \u00a9 >o co\nO rfl P- Ol\nW\n&*\nda\nW 3 O P\nq^ox\n9\nOl\ns\nrH rfl\nrfl C\nOJ\nCO\nrfl\n\u25a0^BAA-jo-'jq.Srj-j \u00a3uu'ca[0\nrfl\nrfl\n\u25a0spAoqs-ureaig\nI-\nOO\nCO\n?Pa J\u00b0 ^J 008 nttrotM\nqsnjg JSuiujnq sjai^ag\nOl\nO\n1 *\n\u25a0saauaAUJx P^v sjadurcy\nU3\nO\nOl\n00\nCO\n'UMOU^Ufl\nCO\nCO\nCN\nOS\n-\n-\nCO\nrfl\n\u25a0saAi^oiuoooT\nOl\nOS\nO rr\nCO C\nOS\n03 *Jf \\*z&\n\u25a0\n\u25a0 \u25a0\n'\u25a0>.',\n-gf'-.r-VriK-.0Z\u00a3&riZ7- r - \u25a0 --22.- ' *\u2022 ... *--J&wj \u25a0' *,-\u2022\n,2 \u25a0 .\n\u2022-tM' \u2022\u2022\u2022....-.- \u25a0;...\u25a0.--\u2022.:_*\":-r \"~--.. _.;\t\n\u2022-..\u25a0ii-^viV;\n, \u25a0 \u25a0\nSlash resulting from road-construction.\nPublic Works crew burning slash caused by construction of road, thus reducing fire hazard\nand greatly improving appearance of road. '5 Geo. 5\nForest Branch.\nI 57\nover hundreds of thousands of acres. Attention is called to the large number of fires (more than\n300) caused by sparks from locomotives; over a hundred of these being due to a new untested\nkind of coal, the use of which was immediately abandoned on discovery of its sparking qualities.\nThe great risk from this cause is undeniable, and is the chief reason why forests along railways\nhave been so badly burned. The figures also indicate, however (what the railway officials have\nlong claimed), that trespassers frequently cause railway fires. Thirty-nine fires are known to\nhave been started in this way, to which can be added a portion of the fires set from unknown\ncauses.\nA total of 31,679 acres of land were burned over by fires starting along the railways, causing\na loss in property and timber of $129,869. The greater portion of this loss resulted from the\ndestruction of buildings. Considering the financial depression, all the companies did remarkably\ngood work in keeping their rights-of-way cleared of brush and debris. During the time in July,\nAugust, and September, when so many fires were being fought, particularly in the Cranbrook,\nNelson, and Vernon Districts, all the companies gave most valuable assistance to the forest\nofficers, and their co-operation is greatly appreciated by the Forest Branch.\nPROVINCIAL RAILWAYS.\nFire-protection Statistics of Provincial Railways.\n'D\nNo. op Patrolmen\nEMPLOYED.\nNo. of Fires starting within 300 Feet of Track,\nby Causes.\n'3\nH\nfe\no\nfe\n\u00a7rS\nHI 3\n.00 rf.\nc O\ni\no\nrfs\n\u25a0a\no\n>\nName of Railway.\nTJ\nQJ\nO\n1>\n&\nSQ\ng\nfl\na\no\nrt\nOh\nfl\na\n\"o\nu\nOS\n.9\n'$\no\noj\nQJ\n1\nr-\n\nOJ\no\nQJ\nQJ\na\nfl\na\n0\nu\nfe\n\"o\nC\na>\n\u00a3 g\n.2'3\nH-TJ li\nIs\n>\no\no\no\no\na\n5\na\n0\nm\nft\n3\n.5 5\ncS bIS\ni* bo\nP.s\nT-3\ni t\n9 r.\na*\n|8\nO\nD\n\"3\nd\nrOl\no\no\nd\nH\nOh\nW\n&H\n02\nH\n30\n\t\n7\no\nH\nJH_\n130\n19,832\n$9,317\n5,460\nfe\nfe\nPacific Great Eastern\t\n445\n29\n1\n66\n57\n391\n846\n3\n3\n\t\n12\n41\n15\n11\n6\n9\n26\n156\n210\n470\n4,692\n1\n45\n11\n7\n72\n06\n20,042\n$9,787\n10,152\nThe past season saw the completion of the clearing of right-of-way7 and grading ofi the\nCanadian Northern Pacific and the Pacific Great Eastern Railways, Both of which roads are\nunder Provincial charter. To supervise fire-fighting and the destruction of debris forty-five\npatrolmen were employed for periods ranging from five months to a few weeks. The cost of\nsuch patrol is refunded to the Government by the railway companies.\nThe figures showing the causes of the fires are significant, in that they prove that the\nmajority of the fires starting are due to the carelessness of labourers and camp followers rather\nthan to actual construction-work. The area burned over consisted almost wholly7 of cut-over\nand burned-over lands, and practically no merchantable timber was destroyed. Most of the\nloss caused by the fires resulted from the destruction of railway-ties and camp and construction\nequipment.\nNext year the Canadian Northern Pacific will be under operation and will then come within\nthe -jurisdiction of the Board of Railway Commissioners.\nIt may be said that as a result of the supervision of the right-of-way clearing and\nconstruction-work by the Government, and the co-operation of the railway officials and contractors, the right-of-way of both these roads is free from debris of any sort, and that there\nis no previous record of the construction of railways through forested regions where the timber\nhas suffered such insignificant damage.\nThe Forest Branch desires to acknowledge the excellent manner in which the contractors,\nofficers, and employees of the Canadian Northern Pacific and Pacific Great Eastern gave their\nassistance in fighting fire. I 58\nDepartment op Lands.\n1915\nPERMANENT IMPROVEMENTS.\nSUMMARY OF NEW IMPROVEMENT-WORK OONE, 1914.\nKind of Work.\nNumber.\nMiles.\nCost.\nAverage Cost\nper Mile or\nUnit.\n28\n10\n4\n9\n9\n27\n238\n22\n94\n$ 8,803 00\n164 00\n11,692 00\n1,665 00\n604 00\n5,344 00\n$ 37 00\n7 50\n123 50\n185 00\n67 00\n197 00\nTotal \t\n$2S,272 00\nMaintenance-work done on Improvements, 1914.\nKind of Work.\nNumber.\nMiles.\nCost.\nAverage Cost\nper Mile or\nUnit.\n26\n9\n259\n224\n$ 716 00\n1,212 00\n$2 75\n5 40\nTotal . .\n$1,928 00\nAt the beginning of the season a comparatively small amount of money was allotted for\nimprovement-work. In the end, on account of the dangerous and expensive season, the expenditure on such work was only about a quarter that of 1913, though the total amount of work done\nwas considerably more than a quarter that of 1913; owing to improved organization, a greater\namount of work was done by the Guards during periods when weather conditions made patrol\ntemporarily unnecessary than has been the case heretofore. At the beginning of the season each\nGuard was given a definite programme of improvement-work on which to engage himself during\nnon-hazardous periods and the work was supervised by the Rangers and District Foresters.\nList of Permanent Improvement Projects worked on, 1914.\nCranbrook Forest District.\nNew work\u2014\u25a0\nUpper Kootenay Telephone-line 19.75 miles.\nElk-Fording River Horse-trail 12 \u201e\nLetcher Horse-trail 2 \u201e\nMaintenance-work\u2014\nBaker Mountain Telephone-line 7 miles.\nElk River Telephone-line 45 \u201e\nPhillips Creek Horse-trail 16.5 \u201e\nFort George Forest District.\nNew work\u2014\u25a0\nBarkerville-Stony Lake Horse-trail 5 miles.\nWillow River Horse-trail 5.25\nSucker Creek-Horsefly Lake Foot-trail 1\nBobtail Lake-Mud River Horse-trail 8\nBlackwater-Nazko Horse-trail 12\nWillow River Look-out Foot-trail 0.75\nSummit Lake-Teapot Mountain Look-out Foot-trail 0.66\nDeadmans Lake Look-out Foot-trail 1.5\nFinlay Junction Look-out Foot-trail 0.63 5 Geo. 5\nForest Branch.\nI 59\u00bb\nNew work\u2014\u25a0\nFinlay Junction Ranger Station Cabin.\nNorth Fork Tool Cache.\nCariboo Lake Boat.\nSpectacle Lake Boat Portage Trail ...\nAleza Lake Canoe Channel\t\nMount Pope Look-out Foot-trail\t\nMaintenance-work\u2014\nBarkerville-Stony Lake Horse-trail . ..\nWillow River Horse-trail\t\nBlackwater-Fraser River Horse-trail .\nSt. James-McLeod Trail Bridge\t\nChief Lake-Salmon River Horse-trail .\nCluskus Patrol Horse-trail \t\nTsasha-Cluskus Horse-trail\t\nUpper Mud River Horse-trail \t\nPollys Lake Horse-trail \t\nAntoine Lake Horse-trail\t\nQuesnel Forks-Keithley Horse-trail . ..\nNazko Road Horse-trail \t\n4\nmiles\n1.5\n,,\n1.5\n\u00bb\n5\nmiles\n2\n,,\n15\n,;\n30\nfeet.\n32.5\nmiles\n35\n,,\n15\n\u00bb\n25\n,\n15\n,\n5\n18\n,\n5\n,\nHazelton Forest District.\nNew work\u2014\nBurns Lake Cabin.\nCopper River Cabin \t\nTakla Lake Cabin \t\nTakla Lake Boat-house \t\nMcPherson Ranger Station Horse-trail\t\nLakelse Cabin \t\nLakelse Boat-house \t\nKitimat-Onion Lake Horse-trail \t\nBabine Lake Boat-house \t\nFrancois Lake Boat-house \t\nOotsa Lake Boat-house \t\nMud Lake Stable\t\nMaintenance-work\u2014\nBreckenridge-Coldwater Horse-trail \t\nZimgotitz River-Mud Lake Horse-trail \t\nTerrace-Lakelse Telephone-line \t\n18 x 14 x 6\n20 x 16 x 8\n22 x 10 x 10\n1.25 miles.\n20 x 14 x 7\n20 x 10 x 6\n7 miles,\nx 11 x\nx 11 x\n24 x 12 x\n14 x 12 x\nwall.\nwall.\n23\n23\n6 wall.\n6 \u201e\n6 \u201e\n6 \u201e\n9 miles.\n10 \u201e\n17 \u201e\nIsland Forest District.\nNew work\u2014\nGordon River-Cowichan Lake Horse-trail \t\nGold River Horse-trail \t\nMaintenance-work\u2014\nHarris Creek Horse-trail \t\n5.25 miles.\n8.28 \u201e\n10 miles.\nKamloops Forest District.\nNew work\u2014\nBig Bend Telephone-line \t\nColdstream Ranger Station Cabin \t\nSpruce Flat Ranger Station Cabin \t\nLaunch for Adams Lake \t\nClearwater-Myrtle Lake Horse-trail \t\nHardscrabble Horse-trail \t\nLittle Clearwater-Pyramid Horse-trail\t\nMaintenance-work\u2014\nBig Bend Telephone-line \t\n60 miles.\n14\nx 16\n14\nx 16\n32\nx 7\n9\nmiles\n1.5 \u201e\n4\n\"\n32\nmiles. T 60\nDepartment of Lands.\n1915\nLillooet Forest District.\nNew work\u2014\u25a0\nNorth Bridge River, LeMare Lake, and Johnson Lake Horse-trail... 6 miles.\n100-Miie House to Alkali Lake Road Horse-trail 30 \u201e\nCedar Creek Horse-trail 3.5 \u201e\nParkes Ranch to Pavilion Mountain Horse-trail 5 \u201e\nLeon Lake to Jamieson Ranch Horse-trail 1 \u201e\nMaintenance-work\u2014\nNemiah Valley and Hanceville Trail.\nBridge River Horse-trail 5 miles.\nMiscellaneous old Horse-trails 30 \u201e\nNelson Forest District.\nNew work\u2014\nInstallation of Big Sheep Creek Telephone.\nMosquito Creek-Whatshan Lake Horse-trail 5 miles.\nWilson Creek Horse-trail 2 \u201e\nBoulder Creek Horse-trail 4 \u201e\nJames Lake-Fish Lake Horse-trail 2 \u201e\nMosquito Creek Telephone-line 2.5 \u201e\nWest Fork of North Fork of Kettle River Horse-trail 38\nLower Arrow Lake Boat-house 16 x 32\nInstallation Donaldson Mountain Look-out Telephone.\nDuncan River Telephone-line Foot-trail 6 miles.\nBig Sheep Creek Horse-trail 13 \u201e\nTwelve-mile Creek Foot-trail 2 \u201e\nWest Fork of Little Slocan River Foot-trail 4.5 \u201e\nInstallation Duncan River Telephone.\nEast River Cable Crossing.\nFifteen-mile Horse-trail 3 \u201e\nDonaldson Mountain Horse-trail 2\nMaintenance-work\u2014\nKettle River Telephone-line 18 miles.\nBoulder Creek Horse-trail 1\nErie Second Relief Telephone-line 13\nDuncan River Horse-trail 12\nDonaldson Mountain Horse-trail 2\nWilson Creek Horse-trail 3\nPrince Rupert District.\nNew work\u2014\nMeziadin Lake Cabin\n14 x 16\nVancouver Forest District.\nNew work\u2014\nHeriot Bay Telephone-line (including 14,300 feet of submarine\ntelephone-cable laid as follows: Okishollow Channel, 5,000 feet;\nNodales Channel, 6,300 feet; and Cardero Channel, 3,000 feet.. 11.5 miles.\nCampbell-Salmon River Horse-trail 7 \u201e\nThunder Bay-Lund Horse-trail 25 \u201e\nMaintenance-work\u2014\u25a0\nHeriot Bay Telephone-line 63.5 miles.\nCampbell-Salmon River Horse-trail 7 5 Geo. 5 Forest Branch. I 61\nVernon Forest District.\nNew work\u2014\nEilis-Penticton Creek Horse-trail 5 miles.\nWhitemans Lake to Bear Creek Horse-trail 5 \u201e\nMable Lake Boat-house 16 x 20\nB.X. Look-out Cabin 12 x 10\nLittle White Mountain Look-out Cabin 12 x 16\nMaintenance-work\u2014\nB.X. Mountain Telephone-line 16 miles.\nLittle White Mountain Telephone-line 12\nLittle White Mountain Telephone-line Horse-trail ..: 6 \u201e\nShorts Creek Horse-trail 5 I 62\nIndex.\nINDEX.\nPage.\nAgricultural land, fire .permits for 53\nAreas of forest districts, ranger districts, and\nguard districts 7\nAtlas, Forest 15, 16\nBabine Lake reconnaissance 16\nBalsam (fir cut 37\nBirch cut 37\nBooming-grounds 35\nCampers and travellers, and fires caused by\n 47, 4S\nCariboo reconnaissance 17\nCascade Range, west slope, reconnaissance . . IS\nCedar, red, cut 37\nCedar scaling, shingle tests 35\nCedar, volume table 33\n\u25a0Cedar, yellow, cut 37\nClearing agricultural land, fire permits 53\nCo-operation, fire 42\nCorrespondence 16\nCottonwood cut 37\nCrown-grant timber lands, tables 11\nCrown grants, timber cut from 36\n'Crown timber reserved 14\nCut of timber 18, 19, 21, 26, 36, 37\nDouglas fir\u2014\nCut 37\nReproduction 32\nVolume, table 33\nEducation, fire-prevention 42, 43\nExaminations, land,, table 15\nExpenditure, forest, British Columbia\u2014\nDiagram 9\nTables 11, 12\nExports\u2014\nCargo shipments, 1914 23\nLogs, poles, etc 20, 21\nFinance, forest\u2014\nExpenditure S, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 46\nExports 20, 21, 23\nImports 21, 22\nMarkets 5, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24\nProducts 18, 19, 21, 26, 36, 37\nProtection Fund, Forest 12, 13\nRoyalty 5, 6, 10\nRevenue 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 26, 27\nSales, timber 24-28\nFire\u2014\nCauses 47, 48, 49, 50\nCo-operation 42\nDamage 44, 45, 46, 56, 57\nEffect of on Douglas fir reproduction 32\nFighting costs 46\nForce, patrol 43\nPatrol expenditure \u2022 13, 14\nPatrol force 43\nPage.\nFire\u2014Concluded.\nPermits 51, 52, 53, 54\nProtection Fund, table 13\nRailways 56, 57\nSeason 5\nSizes 47\nTrespass 55\nForce, 1914, distribution of 7, S\nGrading and sealing 35, 36, 37, 38\nGrazing 39\nHand-logger licences 15\nHemlock cut 37\nHemlock, volume tables of 33\nImports into Canadian prairie districts from\nUnited States 21, 22\nImprovements, permanent 58, 59, 60, 61\nIndustrial operations, fires caused by. .47, 48, 50\nInvestigations\u2014\nForest 31, 32, 33, 34\n'Shingle tests 35\nLand classification 34, 35\n'Land-clearing, fire permits for 53, 54\nLand examinations, table 15\nLarch (tamarack) cut 37\nLicences\u2014\nHand-logger 15\nScalers' 35\nSpecial 10\nLightning, fires caused by 47, 48, 49\nLog exports 20\nLumber exports, cargo shipments 23\nLumber imports to Canadian prairie districts\nfrom United States 21, 22\nLumber industry 18\nLumber markets 24\nLumber production 18, 19, 21, 26, 36, 37\nManagement, forest\u2014\u25a0\nCut of timber 18, 19, 21, 26, 36, 37\nExports, timber 20, 21, 23\nHand-logger licences 15\nInvestigations, forest 31, 32, 33, 34, 35\nImports, lumber 21, 22\nLand examination and classification, 15, 34, 35\nLand, Crown-grant timber 11\nMarks, timber 14, 15\nMarkets 5, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24\nMills 19, 22\nMill-sites 35\nPermits, regular timber 31\nProducts, forest 18, 19, 21, 26, 36, 37\nPulp and paper industry 24\nPulp sales 28\nReproduction, Douglas fir 32\nReserve of statutory Crown timber\t\n 14, 34, 39, 40 Index.\nI 63\nPage.\nManagement, forest\u2014Concluded.\nRoyalty 5, 6, 10\nSales, timber 24-28\nScaling and grading 35-38\nVolume tables 32, 33\nMarket, Prairie 22\nMarkets ,. .5, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24\nMarks, timber 14, 15\nMill-sites 35\nMills, saw 22\nMills, saw and shingle 19\nOrganization 7,\nPatrol expenditure, table \t\nPatrol force \t\nPatrol on Dominion railways 55, 56,\nPatrol on Provincial railways\t\nPaper and pulp industry \t\nPermits\u2014\nBurning 51, 52, 53.\nRailway timber \t\nParsnip River reconnaissance\t\nPine River reconnaissance\t\nPine, white, cut of\t\nPine, yellow, cut of\t\nPrairie, lumber imports of, from United States\n 21,\nPrairie markets \t\nPre-emptions, timber cut from\t\nProducts, forest, of British Columbia\t\n 19, 21, 26, 36,\nProducts, forest, of Canada, by Provinces...\nProsecutions for fire trespass \t\nProtection, forest 40-\nCo-operation \t\nEducation 42,\nFire causes 47, 48, 49,\nFire damage 44, 45,\nFire, effect on Douglas fir reproduction . .\nFire-fighting expenditure 13,\nFire permits 51, 52, 53,\nFire season \t\nFire, sizes of \t\nFund, Forest Protection 12,\nFire trespass and 'prosecutions\t\nForce \t\nImprovements, permanent 5S, 59, 60,\nPatrol expenditure \t\nRailways,, Dominion 55, 56,\nRailways, Provincial\t\nSlash-disposal \t\nWeather record 40,\nPulp and paper industry\t\nPulp sales \t\n8\n14\n43\n57\n57\n24\n54\n31\n17\n17\n.18\n55\n54\n42\n43\n50\n46\n32\n40\n54\n5\n47\n13\n55\n43\n61\n14\n57\n57\n54\n41\n24\n28\nRailway Belt, fire permits in 54\nRailway right-of-way fire permits 53\nRailway timber permits 31\nRailways\u2014\nFire-protection on Provincial 57\nFires caused by 47, 48, 49, 50\nPatrol on Dominion 55, 56, 57\nReconnaissance, forest 5, 16, 17, 18, 34\nRegulations, timber-sales 27, 28\nReproduction studies 32\nReserve of Crown statutory timber 14, 34\nReserves, forest 39, 40\nRevenue from timber sales 26, 27\nPage.\nRevenue table 11\nRevenues, forest 5, 8, 9, 10\nRoads, fire permits for clearing 53\nRoyalty 10\n\" Royalty Act \" 5, 6\nSales\u2014\nTimber 24, 25, 26, 27, 28\nPulp 28\nSaw and shingle mills 19\nSawmills 22\nScalers\u2014\nLicensed 35\nOfficial 35\nScaling and grading ' 35-3S\nShingle tests, cedar scaling 35\nSlash-burning and reproduction 32\nSlash-burning fire permits 53\nSlash-disposal 54\nSpecial licences 10\nStatus Office 14\nSpruce, cut of 37\nStatistical diagrams\u2014\nFire-fighting expenditure 13\nForest revenue and expenditure, British\nColumbia 9\nForest revenue and expenditure of British\nColumbia, Dominion, New Brunswick,\nand Ontario 8\nStatutory Crown timber reserved 14, 34\nSurveys, forest 5, 16, 17, 18, 34\nBabine Lake reconnaissance 16\nCariboo reconnaissance 17\nCascade Range, west slope, reconnaissance 18\nExaminations, land 15\nLand classification 34, 35\nParsnip River reconnaissance 17\nPine River reconnaissance 17\nReserved Crown timber 14, 34, 39, 40\nWillow and Bowron Rivers reconnaissance 17\nTimber-\nCut 18, 19, 21, 26, 36, 37\nExports 20, 21, 23, 24\nLand, Crown grant 11\nLand, statutory Crown 14\nLeases, timber cut from 36\nLicences 10\n\u25a0Licences, timber cut from 36\nMarks 14, 15\nMarkets 20, 21, 22, 23\nPermits, railway 31\nProducts 19, 21, 22, 36\nReserved Crown statutory timber land. . 14, 34\nRoyalty 5, 6, 10\nSales 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 36\nSale regulations 27, 28\nSales, timber cut from 36\nScaling and grading 35, 36, 37, 3S\nScaled (by months and districts) 3S\nTrespass, fire 55\n 47, 48\nUnknown fires\nVolume tables 32,\nWeather record 40,\nWillow and Bowron (Bear) Rivers reconnaissance \t\n41\n17 ERRATA.\nIn title of right-hand centre picture facing page 32, read \" sparseness'\ninstead of \" abundance.\"\nVICTORIA, B.C. :\nPrinted by William H. Cullin, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty.\n1915.","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/www.europeana.eu\/schemas\/edm\/hasType":[{"value":"Legislative proceedings","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/identifier":[{"value":"J110.L5 S7","type":"literal","lang":"en"},{"value":"1915_V01_11_I1_I64","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/www.europeana.eu\/schemas\/edm\/isShownAt":[{"value":"10.14288\/1.0059888","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/language":[{"value":"English","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/www.europeana.eu\/schemas\/edm\/provider":[{"value":"Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/publisher":[{"value":"Victoria, BC : Government Printer","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/rights":[{"value":"Images provided for research and reference use only. For permission to publish, copy or otherwise distribute these images please contact the Legislative Library of British Columbia","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/source":[{"value":"Original Format: Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Library. Sessional Papers of the Province of British Columbia","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/title":[{"value":"PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA REPORT OF THE FOREST BRANCH OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LANDS FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31ST 1914","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/type":[{"value":"Text","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/description":[{"value":"","type":"literal","lang":"en"}]}}