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 I^Sr. 165.1 Eq51 Main Street 
 
 — '^ Rocfiestcf, Ne* rofu ■-.--.,-,9 yc. 
 
 \^ (^16) *a2 -OJOO- Phor-e" 
 
 ^K (^'6) 2aft - 5989 Fa. 
 
Commission of Conservation 
 
 CANADA 
 
 cost M ITTEE O.V FORESTS 
 
 Forest Regeneration on Certain 
 
 Cut-over Pulpwocd Lands 
 
 in Quebec 
 
 
 BY 
 
 C. D. HOWK, Ph.D. 
 
 Faculty oj Forestry 
 Vnitersity of Toronto 
 
 Reprinted from the Ninth Annual Report of the 
 Commission of Conservtltion 
 
 OTTAWA--1918 
 
Commission of Conservation 
 
 CANADA 
 
 COMMITTEE ON FORESTS 
 
 Forest Regeneration on Certain 
 
 Cut-over Pulpwood Lands 
 
 in Quebec 
 
 BY 
 
 C. D. HOWE, Ph.D. 
 
 Faculty of Forestry 
 University of Toronto 
 
 Reprinted from the Ninth Annual Report of the 
 Commistion of Conservation 
 
 OTTAWA -1918 
 
Forest Regeneration on Certain Cut-over 
 Pulpwood Lands in Quebec 
 
 II Y 
 
 V. I). I!u\vi.. I'll. I). 
 Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto 
 
 BMF()RIC describing certain investig.itions on ciif-ovrr pulpwfiod 
 lands in yueher, I d«'?' " to make a fmv remarks upon the 
 general situation. The necessities of war ,\\\ drivi ; home to us 
 the importance in our national economy of natural resources, 
 among which our timber resources take a leading place. There 
 never was, and, for years, never will be, a time when it is more 
 important for us to know what our timber resources really are, not 
 only in terms of board fee^ and cords, ')Ut also in terms f)f their 
 application tt) new uses. 
 
 For thirty years, in meetings similar to this, we have been 
 discussing the management of our timber resources, but what have 
 we accomplished ? Of many facts, fundamental in the efficient 
 management of the timber resources of the country, we are woefully 
 ignorant. For exam|)le, what do we really know about the extent 
 of the timber and pulpwood resources of Ontario and Quebec, 
 though these provinces, combined, contain the largest timber- 
 pro{luciia' area in Kastern Canada? Where else is there such a 
 large timbered area, containinij so many valuable species, with uch 
 wond'jrfui tran>nortation facilities, both natural and artificial, and 
 so near nUtive . to the great markets of the world.' 
 
 This grtn' .mfx'r-tiroducing area has been right in our back 
 yard ai) thest irs. tt now has along its borders a population of 
 5,000,0(K». vvh( K consumption of wood products is increasing every 
 day; and just »*«* the fence are the populous Eastern States, with 
 
 their urgent 
 constantly- v 
 really made < 
 bilities and tin 
 Quebec? Do w 
 
 for I in.i<!ian wood protiucts. In the face of 
 irkets and increasing demands, > e we 
 ■ical, sustained effort to determine the possi- 
 aiities o. the tifnber resource of Ontario and 
 now whether this area can meet the demands 
 now being made u^ '-n it, to say nothing of the much greater demands 
 in the future' T' 'Jnited States is thoroughly alarmed over its 
 declining pulpwooti nply, we are so ignorant of ours that we do 
 
 ; iuH.>-. 
 
COMMISSION OK ( () N S I; K \ A T I O N 
 
 not know wluthcr to be ularmiil or not. Is thai an rnviahle 
 situation for an inti-lllKent ami proKrvitsive |h>o|iU'? 
 
 Survey of 
 Pulpwnod 
 Rctourcn 
 
 The Proiu.km Analyzed 
 
 There are at least three definite lines of enquiry to 
 Ik- pursued in ronntrtion with the prohlcm of our 
 pulpwood sujiply. In tlie first |)lace, there should 
 be a definite stoik-takinK of the <ommer{ ial material now available. 
 We must know what we have . -fore we can make any sensible 
 plans for the future. Not every acre, no-* even extensive areas, 
 shoulil be aitually rruised, for the results would not justify the 
 ex|M'nse; but sufficient cruising should be done and enough tlata 
 ({athere<l to permit of reliable estimates being made. Such wn . 
 has alre.idy been done by the Commission of Conservation in Brit Ii 
 Columbi.i, and it is under contemplation for Ontario. 
 
 I'.stiniatt's of the av.iilable commercial pulpwo' d supplies in the 
 province of ' .-bee have been made, but, a yet, there has been 
 only a partial mcthxlical stock-taking, <U'spite the fact that (Juebec 
 is the most important pulpwood area in Canada, supj)l\inK over 
 one-half of the pulpwood produced in the Diminion. Nearly half 
 of the pulp mills in Canada are snuated in Quebec. With her long 
 southward-flowing rivers, extending into the very he.irt of the 
 pulpwnod regions, with her water and rail connections, (Juebec is 
 much nearer the ultimate market for most pulpwood pnxlucts than 
 any other province with an equ.d supply of material. Indeefl, this 
 very accessibilitv increases the clanger of early exhaustion of her 
 supply. Logically and economic.dly, Quebec should b- the first to 
 institute a thorough-going investigation of - p.csen. supply of 
 pulpwood. 
 
 Once we have taken 'ho init.^i step of ascertaining 
 OrowUi ^"^ much pulpv .00 I wc have in Eastern Canada, 
 
 its distribution and •' • accessibility, we can, with a 
 known rate of consumpt.-ni, make a 1 as^nable prediction as to the 
 duration of the supply. ' je, however, we are dealing with living 
 wood substance, which has the wonderful power of regenerating 
 itself each year, we must take another factor into consideration, 
 namely, the rate of growth or, in other words, the annual accumula- 
 tion of new wood fibre in our spruce and balsam forests. This 
 brings us to our second line of enquiry, viz. a detailed study of 
 growth and production, involving the making of stem analyses on 
 carefully selected areas. To be sure, this is little less than drudgery; 
 it is tedious, heart-breaking work, especially if done in 'fly' time; 
 but it is only this kind of investigation that can furnish data by 
 
RECK N I. K A r ti)N OK I' f I. I" 0|) l./»\l»s « 
 
 whi' h a ratio iH-twit-n thv annual acnu.i" •.>« cf wimil fihre and 
 the .mount annually rrmovid hy th«' piilpwiMxl n|)«-raiinii-., tan be 
 <st,'il>li-<h<-ri Thi-* ratio is i sintiil '■ ■< r»M«iti iMv a«(nr.it<- prf<1ir- 
 tior. of the (Juration of the |)ul|>w(<o<l !«u|)|)ly. 
 
 ^j^„,,, "lif rcplaifmtnt <if tin- pulpw<K)d n-n ..(i by any 
 
 CI Pulpv .,»i aKfncy in brounht alH)Ut in thf first inHtancf by the 
 
 ^'^*** Ki'owth of thf small non-ion nurtial tr»VH alrtady 
 
 on thf arc.". Thew, in turn, btcome of commcrrlal f*i/t', thry are 
 eventually cut, and their place must be supplied by nev individuals. 
 New spruce and balsam must establish themsdves in the fofst if 
 the sup|>iy of pulpwoo«l is to be continued beyond on«' generation 
 of trees. Therefore, the third lino of iiKpiiry t<i follow in order to 
 solve our problem, is the rate of re(>rodut tion of the pidpwood 
 sjK'cios on the cut-over pulfiwnod binds. If tli. lo)<KinK operations, 
 or the firc'i which tiftc'n follow them, chan^i' contlitions to such an 
 extent that spruce and balsam cannot maintain tlitirselves in their 
 former con;merci'il (piantities, th^- supply of pt ,)Wood on thost 
 areas cannot be maintained. 
 
 Growth and Reproduction in St. Maurick Vallky 
 
 Investigations to determine the rate of replacement of pulp- 
 wood material by growth and by reproduction on cut-over lands, 
 were carried out by the Commission last summer. 1 hrough the 
 generous CO-' '"'ration of the Laurentide Company and its fonster, 
 Mr. F-llwood Wilson, the work was carried on in the holdings A this 
 company in the lower portion of the St. Maurice valley in Qu< r-ec. 
 
 The forest here contains patches of pure hardwoods 
 PredOTTiinant *'"'' patches of pure conifers, but mostly they occur 
 
 in mixed stands. Numerically, bals.im leads in the 
 mixture, with 30 per cent, yellow birch comes next with 20 per ce.it, 
 and spruce, which, by the way, is practically all rt d spruce ,tnd not 
 the same as the black spruce, as is generally supposed, makes up 
 20 per cent of the forest. The minor species arc cedar, 7.3 i)er cent ; 
 sugar maple, H per cent; paper birch, 3 \wt cent; hemlock, 1.4 per 
 cent; and beech, 1.3 per cent. This tvpe of forest occupies between 
 two-thirds and three-fourths of the region studied. The old birna 
 and the swamps were neglected. 
 
 It must be borne in mind that the results and conclusions 
 herein stated refer only to this particular forest type and are in no 
 way to be construed as applying to other portions of the St. Maurice 
 ' alley, or of Quebec. 
 
COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 
 
 Survey by 
 Strip Method 
 
 As already stated, the chief object of the investiga- 
 tion was to determine the condition of these cut-over 
 lands with respect to the degree of regeneration and 
 the rate of growth of the present pulpwood-producing sfiecies, namely, 
 spruce and balsam. Sample plots were made by the strip method. 
 These strips, run on a compass line, were one-half chain wide and 
 varied in length from 1 to 80 chains. All the trees on the strips 
 above 8 inches in diameter were calipered. Those from 8 to 4 inches 
 in diameter were classtd as poles, while those 4 inches in diameter 
 down to trees breast high, were designated as saplings. At the end 
 of every second chain, a square rod plot was marked out and the 
 number of seedlings on it counted, any tree less than breast high 
 being considered a seedling without regard to its actual age. The 
 number of seedlings per acre was calculated on the basis of these 
 square rod plots. The ages of the seedlings in relation to the tim;^ 
 of the cuttings were also determined. The stumps on the strips 
 were also calipered and the age of the cutting determined. The 
 total area of the sample strips on which the trees of all sizes were 
 thus measured, counted, and classified, comprises 00 acres. 
 
 The growth studies were made for the most part on four sample 
 plots varying from 1/10 to 1 acre in size. Every coniferous tree 
 larger than a seedling on these plots was cut and a complete stem 
 analysis made of it. In this manner, the rate of growth of some 
 2,000 trees was determined. 
 
 The original forest in the southern portion of the 
 St. Maurice valley was undoubtedly dominated by 
 pine, probably, for the most part, white pine. We 
 found, on the average, G pine stumps to the acre still standing. 
 This is the average of all the sample plots taken in all the various 
 conditions. Only 8 of the sample plots failed to reveal at least 
 one pine stump, and on some, thf pine stumps ran as high as 20 
 per acre. Considering that the first cutting of pine in this region 
 took place between GO and 70 years ago, and that there has beea 
 practically no cutting of it for 30 years, thus allowing .30 to 70 years 
 for the stumps to decay, it is quite remarkable that the average of 
 all conditions --hould yield G stumps to the acre still recognizable, 
 as pine. Undoubtedly, we are safe in assuming that the original 
 number of pine trees was consid?ral)ly more than 5 per acre. 
 
 However, I do not think of the original forest as 
 BladTporest having been a pure stand of pine. Although pine 
 
 was biologically dominant, it was outnumbered by 
 other species. I picture the original forest as having a distinctly 
 two-storeyed crown cover. The lower storey was a mixed forest of 
 
 The Forest 
 Primeval 
 
REGENERATION OF PUI. PWOOD LANDS 
 
 yellow birch, maple, spruce, and balsam, in abundance in the order 
 named. Towering 50 or 75 feet above this were scattered giant 
 pine trees from 3 to 6 feet in diameter, from 100 to 150 feet high, 
 and probably 200 to 300 years old. Had there been only six such 
 trees to the acre, they would have dominated it, but there were 
 probably more, but not sufficient, however, to form a complete 
 crown cover in this upper storey, except on rocky ridges. In the 
 latter situations we often found from 20 to 30 big pine stumps to the 
 acre, evidently indicating a pure stand. To one flying over the region 
 at that time in an airplane, it would have appeared as a black' forest, 
 that is, one in which the pines predominated over the hardwoods. 
 Passing To-day the conditions are reversed; it is a 'green' 
 
 of the forest, that is, one in which the hardwoods pre- 
 
 ''^ ' dominate. This change of conditions in the past 
 
 50 to 70 years is very interesting biologically, but it also has an 
 important commercial significance. Those areas which have yielded 
 enormous quantities of white pine are, commercially speaking, 
 denuded of that species to-day; only scattered groves on rocky, 
 inaccessible ridges and elsewhere an occasional tree towering above 
 the hardwood forest, remain. Nut only this, but of still greater 
 significance to the future, white pine is not reproducing itself; there 
 are practically no young trees in the forest. Except on the borders 
 of lakes, the margins of swamps, and around old camp clearings, we 
 did not see, under the normal forest cover in our investigations last 
 summer, two dozen young pine trees. Yet we found old pine 
 stumps everywhere. 1 can show you areas which once had 20 pine 
 trees to the acre, but are without even a young pine tree to-day. 
 Moreover, there are no coniferous trees in the crown cover — only 
 a solid mass of yellow birch and hard maple. 
 
 There are, however, abundant balsam and spruce 
 ForesfNow ? beneath this crown cover ready to push through 
 whenever opportunity offers. Note especially that 
 the areas of which I am speaking have never been seriously devas- 
 tated by fire, the chief cause of the failure of white pine reproduction 
 in Canada. Why, then, have these areas changed within the life 
 time of some of my audience, from a dominant pine to a dominant 
 hardwood forest? Why did the pine not reproduce itself after 
 logging and so maintain itself in the forest? The hardwoods were 
 probably originally more or less suppressed by the pines, both by 
 shading and root competition. The removal of the pine stimulated 
 the development of the hardwoods so that they soon filled up the 
 gaps. The crown cover below the pine was probably continuous 
 and cast a deep shade. The luxuriant underbrush formed another 
 
 i 
 
COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 
 
 Over 100 Years 
 for Spruce 
 to Grow 
 
 shade-producing layer. These two layers excluded so much light 
 that the young pine trees could not develop. The seeds doubtless 
 germinated and the seedlings may have persisted for some years, 
 but not receiving sufficient overhead light, they were eventually 
 crowded out by the shade-enduring hardwoods. 
 
 These some-time white pine areas were subsequently 
 cut over for spruce saw logs or pulpwood at least 
 twice and some of them three times. Our growth 
 studies show that all the spruce trees since removed by lumbering 
 operations were present in the original forest beneath the pine 
 trees. They were at least 6 inches in diameter and about 100 years 
 old when the pine was cut. Many lumbermen think that the 
 second cutting on an area is from young trees which have grown 
 since the last cutting. The area which we are describing has been 
 cut two or three times in the last 30 years and the youngest spruce 
 cut was over 100 years old, most of the trees being more than 150 
 years old. This is the length of time that it takes to make a spruce 
 forest from seed to pulpwood size, when the spruce grows up in 
 company with hardwoods. 
 
 The situation is somewhat different, however, in the 
 for Balsam "^' <^3se of balsam. Some of these trees now being cut 
 
 for pulpwood were seedlings scattered on the floor 
 of the original forest at the time the pine was first cut, that is, 70 
 years ago. 
 
 We counted and measured the stumps on all our sample plots. 
 The spruce stumps averaged 22 per acre. At the present time, 
 there are 6 spruce trees per acre entering the crown cover and over 
 70 years old. Therefore, at the time of the first cutting 70 years 
 ago, there were 28 spruce trees 8 inches or more in diameter on the 
 average acre. It is interesting to note in this connection, that 
 according to Mr. EUwood Wilson, forester to the Laurentide Com- 
 pany, there are 26 spruce trees 8 inches and upward in diameter in 
 the virgin forests farther northward in the St. Maurice valley. This 
 result is derived from cruising surveys, totalling over 1,000 acres 
 and representing about 3 per cent of the area through which the 
 strips were run. 
 
 Thus, you see that the number of spruce trees has been reduced 
 from 28 per acre to 6, a reduction of nearly 80 per cent, by the 
 lumbering operations of the past 30 years, the period during which 
 spruce has been cut for saw logs. Our results show practically the 
 same number of balsam as spruce trees taken from the average acre, 
 namely 22, and the number of balsam larger than 8 inches in the 
 present forest is also practically the same — 6 per acre. 
 
REGENERATION OF PULPWOOD LANDS 
 
 Its Economic 
 Significance 
 
 Let us go back and look a minute at the original 
 in 30 Years'"" forest, a pine forest with a mixed spruce-balsam- 
 hardwood under-storey, giving the general impres- 
 sion of a 'black' forest. The pine was cut and did not re-establish 
 itself; 80 per cent of the spruce and perhaps the same amount of 
 balsam was cut. The result: within 30 years a 'black' forest was 
 changed to a 'green' forest; it was changed from a softwood forest, 
 to a hardwood forest. 
 
 Very interesting, you say, but what of its economic 
 importance? It is this: the pine and spruce and 
 balsam are valuable, but the hardwoods, the beech, 
 birch, and maple are, so far as we know, valueless, being too far 
 from markets to be utilized at the present prices. Let me state the 
 case from another standpoint. The sum of the basal areas of the 
 spruce stumps of the various diameters on the average acre is 25 
 square feet. The basal area of the spruce remaining on the average 
 acre is only 5 square feet. The volumes of trees are proportional to 
 their basal areas. This means that the capital stock and, therefore, 
 the earning capacity of those areas are only one-fifth of what they 
 were originally. 
 
 There is, however, at least one other point which we 
 should investigate carefully before we become too 
 pessimistic in regard to the future of these cut-over 
 lands. I refer to the young growth, the spruce and balsam trees 
 not yet of commercial size. Are they in sufficient abundance to 
 insure another crop? If so, when can we expect that crop ? As 
 already stated, these are the two principal questions we had con- 
 stantly before us in our work last summer. 
 Here is the answer to the first question: 
 
 Young 
 Growtii 
 
 Species 
 
 Seedlings 
 
 (trees up 
 
 to 1-in. 
 
 diameter) 
 
 Saplings 
 (1-in. to 
 
 4-in. 
 diameter) 
 
 Poles 
 (1-in. to 
 
 8-in. 
 diameter) 
 
 8-in. to 
 
 12-in. 
 
 diameter 
 
 Total 
 
 Per 
 cent 
 
 Spruce 
 
 635 
 
 3972 
 
 180 
 
 8 
 
 09 
 
 161 
 
 32 
 
 2 
 
 30 
 
 59 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 6 
 
 770 
 4198 
 
 ii 
 
 14.8 
 
 Balsam 
 
 80.8 
 
 Cedar 
 
 4.2 
 
 Hemlock 
 
 0.2 
 
 At first glance, this looks very bright for the future, 
 but let me refer once more to the mortality rate. 
 There are 635 spruce seedlings per acre, but when 
 they get up near commercial size, they are all dead but G. The 
 
 Mortality 
 Rate 
 
 % 
 
10 
 
 COMMISS[ON OF CONSERVATION 
 
 Outlook for 
 Spruce 
 
 percentage of loss is still greater in the case of the balsam. In the 
 beginning, there are 6 times as many balsam as spruce, but when 
 the balsam gets into its commercial class of 7 inches diameter, there 
 are only about twice as many. 
 
 You may say that the conditions have changed since the '8 in. 
 to 12-in.' trees came through the forest cover and a larger percentage 
 of the smaller-diameter classes will survive. You may be right. 
 Conditions certainly have changed, but my impression is that, 
 from the standpoint of the spruce at least, and perhaps also for the 
 balsam, they have changed for the worse. Each logging operation 
 has stimulated the growth of the hardwoods more than that of the 
 softwoods. The crowns of the large trees soon fill in the gaps and 
 a dense thicket of hardwood shrubbery is developed on the forest 
 floor, thus producing more shade and suppressing the spruce and 
 balsam still more. 
 
 Turning now to the '4-in. to 8-in. diameter' class, we 
 find 30 spruce and 59 balsam on the average acre. 
 Twenty of the spruce and 40 of the balsam are 
 dominant and they stand a good chance of persisting. If they 
 should all enter the commercial class, they would furnish a sufficient 
 future supply in time. 'In time' — that is the second phase of our 
 investigation. When can we expect another crop? Our growth 
 studies showed that the spruce trees in the '4-in. to 8-in. diameter' 
 class were from 80 to 100 years old, and those of the '8-in. to 12-in.' 
 class \, .re from 100 to 150 years old. Therefore, it would take at 
 least 50 years for the upper range (8 inches) and 70 years for the 
 lower range of the class (4 inches) to reach the 12-in. minimum 
 diameter limit for spruce in Quebec. I think you will agree with me 
 that 50 years is too long for any private concern to wait for another 
 crop of spruce on these cut-over pulpwood areas. 
 
 The present increased demand for woodpulp has led 
 to a rapid increase in the proportion of balsam used. 
 So, if our 40 dominant balsam between 4-in. and 
 8-in. on the average acre reach commercial size, they would represent 
 a valuable asset. In fact, some in this class are already commercial, 
 for the minimum diameter limit for balsam in Quebec is 7 inches, 
 but, unfortunately, the number of this diameter cannot be segr'* 
 gated from the '4-in. to 8-in.' class. However, according to c 
 growth tables, it takes only about 10 years on the average for t 
 balsam to pass from a 4-in. tree to a 7-in. tree; so, within that time 
 there will be another crop of balsam on these areas. 
 
 Several factors, however, greatly reduce the value of balsam. 
 As is well known, it is much subject to disease and windfall. Mr. 
 
 Outlook for 
 
 Balsam 
 
REGENERATION OF PULPWOOD LANDS 
 
 11 
 
 The 
 
 Individual's 
 Viewpoint 
 
 Wilson finds that, on the av -age, 44 per cent has butt rot. In 
 certain conditions, we found as many dead trees as living. One 
 rarely sees a balsam tree 14-in. in diameter and the great majority 
 never get beyond 9-in. before death overtakes them. Such small 
 trees scattered through a mixed stand may raise the logging cost to 
 a prohibitive point. 
 
 Measures for Reforestation — Hardwoods vs. Softwoods 
 
 We come now to a consideration of what is to be done with 
 these cut-over pulpwoud lands. They belong to a provincial 
 government and are leased by private corporations, chiefly by com- 
 panies manufacturing paper pulp. They should, therefore, be con- 
 sidered from the standpoint of both these interests. 
 
 First, let us look at the matter from the standpoint 
 of the private company So far as another crop of 
 spruce on these lands is cone crned, the case is hope- 
 less. No private concern could afford to wait 50 years, paying 
 annual rental for that length of time for the sake of a few cords of 
 pulpwood, probably less than three, per acre. The amount of 
 balsam obtainable in the near future is problematical until we 
 have had an investigation of the rate at which the everywhere 
 prevalent heart rot is progressing. 
 
 If the hardwoods could be utilized without too 
 Hardw"<^s' '""'^^ destruction of the young spruce, the problem 
 
 might solve itself. At present, the market for them 
 is so far distant and the difficulty of transportation is so great that 
 they are apparently valueless. However, some investigations of 
 possibly great significance are about to be instituted by the forester 
 to the Laurentide Company. Trials are to be made of the applica- 
 bility of paper birch for pulpwood. There are enormous quantities 
 of this in Quebec, impeding the growth of the spruce and balsam by its 
 shade. It may be possible to establish a rotation between the soft- 
 woods and hardwoods and so keep the land continuously productive. 
 
 The possibility of the use of yellow birch for railway 
 ties is to be investigated. There is no doubt of the 
 market for this purpose. The question is whether 
 they can be profitably handled at present prices. If it proves 
 profitable, the over-topping' birch would be removed and a much 
 larger portion of the 700 young spruce trees to the acre might deve' "- 
 into pulpwood. 
 
 If these possibilities become actualities, then the private con- 
 cerns will not be compelled to surrender their leases. 
 
 Birch for 
 Railway Ties 
 
13 
 
 C O xM M ! S S I O N OF C O N S E R V A T I 
 
 ON 
 
 The 
 
 Oovcmment 
 
 Viewpoint 
 
 Since these lands are to be h-ld in perpetuity, it 
 may be that their productive capacity in terms of 
 . spruce could be increased by raising the diameter 
 
 limit, say to 14 inches. A conclusive determination of this point 
 would mvolve a careful study of the comparative rate of Rrowth of 
 the trees 12 and 13 inches in diameter, and whether the increased 
 growth, if present, or the increased stumpage value, would outrun 
 the compound interest charges on the extra capital invested in the 
 12-mch and 13-inch tree. Since, however, at the present time, one 
 finds only one 12-inch spruce tree on 5 acres and one 13-inch tree 
 on 10 acres, and since, according to our growth studies, it will be 
 100 years before the 30 trees per acre in the 4-inch to 8-inch class 
 will get into the 14-inch class, I have not made the computations 
 necessary for the discussion of the benefit of raising the diameter 
 limit. 
 
 There is, however, another consideration that seems to me 
 important in determining the future of the lands from the 
 government's standpoint. The hardwoods are at present biologically 
 dominant on these areas. It may be that this is what nature 
 intends, and that we have too great a handicap to overcome in 
 trying to put the spruce back by natural means. Certain investi- 
 gations to which I will refer later, may throw light on this point. 
 Jt nature is really against us, it might be the best thing to cut every 
 acre off clean, if a market could be found for the hardwoods, and 
 start the spruce anew by planting. An experimental plot of this 
 kind, of 60 acres, has already been inaugurated by the forester to 
 the Laurentide Company, and its development should be watched 
 with much interest. It may be that, even heie, the biological 
 conditions will prove the more favourable to the hardwoods and 
 keep the spruce always in a subordinate position. 
 Lack of We talk easily of what we should do with a forest, 
 
 fciowf^ge '" *'?'^ particular case we want to increase the pro- 
 
 duction of spruce, the most valuable species at 
 present on this cut-over land, or at least, we would like to restor»» 
 It to Its former position in the forest. How can this be f* le? One 
 man says: "Cut heavier, open up the crown cover, let ii -e light." 
 Another man says: "Make a lighter cut, disturb natural jonditions 
 as .ittle as possible." The result cannot be obtained by methods so 
 directly opposed. What is the answer? The answer is that neither 
 man really knows what he is talking about. Your opinion may be 
 just as good as mine, because both have been spun out beneath our 
 hats, or evolved from smoke rings, as we sat in our office chairs. 
 We have no accurate knowledge, no definite records, no actual 
 
REGENERATION OF PULPVVOOD LANDS 
 
 13 
 
 measurements by instruments of precision, of the conditions as they 
 really exist in Canadian forests. I repeat what I said in the bejjin- 
 ning. We have been discussing the management of our timber 
 resources for 30 years, but, as yet, we have not the fundamental 
 knowledge of conditions on which it is necessary to base our plans, 
 if we were asked to-day io put them into operation. What definite 
 knowledge we do have as to conditions in which trees grow is bor- 
 rowed from other countries, even European countries, whose con- 
 ditions are not our conditions. Is it any wonder that we a ' groping 
 in the dark? And we will continue to grope iri the dark with this 
 matter until we obtain actual experimental records of those environ- 
 mental conditions that fashion a f(jrest. 
 
 Let me illustrate what I mean by using the Quebec 
 Pioce&ute cut-over pulpwood lands as an example. Mere we 
 
 have over 700 young spruce trees to the acre growing 
 beneath a birch-maple forest. Normally, only one per cent of them 
 lives long enough to make a commercial tree. The problem is to 
 determine whether opening up the overshading crown cover to 
 various degrees would bring a larger number of these suppressed 
 spruces to maturity and thus increase the value of the land to the 
 owner. To solve the problem, in certain plots, a light cull, a 
 medium cull, a heavy cull, and a clear cut of the over-topping 
 hardwoods should be made; and then, a definite record of results 
 kept iluring a series of years. The intensity of the light exposure 
 on each plot should be measured periodically; the rate of the filling 
 up of gaps by the side growth of the tree crnnns should be measured; 
 the behaviour of the shrubby layer should l»e noted; any changes in 
 the humus content or in other soil conditions should be studied; the 
 height growth and the diameter growth of the little spruces should 
 be measured periodically, at least every fifth year. The trees that 
 show stimulated growth should be studied very carefully in respect 
 to their root development, the moisture condition of the soil in 
 which they are growing, the relative number and the size and vigour 
 of their leaves. 
 
 The necessity of studying the successful trees is 
 emphasized because they may be the key to the 
 whole situation. In a nursery bed, certain seedlings 
 are more vigorous than the majority, making three or four times 
 as much growth in a season as their companions. Now, it may be 
 that they are inherent dominants, and once dominant, always 
 dominant. We know there are inherent dominants among animals, 
 including man. Why not among trees? If this be the case, why 
 waste time and money planting any trees but dominants. It may 
 
 Inherent 
 Dominants 
 
 I 
 
14 
 
 COMMISSION or CONSERVATION 
 
 be that those which survive in th. » . 
 forest are those which are predestinpL^^"^^ for existence in the 
 The truth or falsity of t^ u'S,^:""" n"'" ''^^' ^'^«'""'"«- 
 •trated by field experimentation 'n T^J' "T'' "^ ''*^'"K '^-'"on 
 to be solved, for. if true, it woul ", ' ""■\'. '" "'^ ^'^' Problem 
 problems as well and render^u L exTeHr"' -"'^'^ "^"^^ -"" 
 lines unnecessary. experimentation alon,, certain 
 
 To Determine One more illustration ^t .u 
 
 £r°' experimentation Why ! It """""'r '^^ '"'^''^ 
 
 abundant and so , '^ ''^^ Voung balsam so 
 
 forests; why is it more succSulthanT"" '" • ^'^ '°««^'^— 
 pernor? Unless checked bv teater:."""'''!'^ ''"""P^' ^°'"- 
 balsam may. i„ time, dominate all our north"''';''"'^^' ^" ^•---. 
 P.ne forests, no longer spruce fore s but b.I "^"^^^^-no longer 
 
 dom.n e of balsam reproduction^ One m!;' "•" • '''""^ ^^^ 
 the balsam can endure more shade than th. '"'' " '" ^''^'^^"^^ 
 says the spruce can endure shading Zu ,' '^T' '^"^ ^""^her 
 -an makes the first statement In one of^h ^' '''""• ^^- 
 
 one in another; and one of our best auth rir '''T'' '""^ '^"^ '^^^ 
 tradictory statements between thlr ^""'^ 'T^^ "^^^es the two con- 
 l think the importance oflht as a dit" ' ""'^ ^°'''^- ^^^ "v. 
 has been very much over-e tfmated bvT""'"'"^ ^'''°' '" '^' ^"^^^ 
 ■t as a kind of tradition from oj: fathe^ '"' ""'^ '"^'^ ^'^'^^P'-^ 
 fons, without thinking very much abo^fr ? ^'"''^ °'''^'- ^^adi- 
 't to experimental proof. ^^°"' " ""^' «^'" '^«s. subjecting 
 
 the ^^r.T:z%';:::tT^^^ ^" ^^^ ^-. where 
 
 hght intensities should be masuredirfT'"' "^*"^''^">' ^"^ ^^e 
 th.s. but other points need Tnv" " 'ation T 'T^' ^'^^ ""'^ 
 vigour of the roots of the two SedWn \t"'^ ^' '^' comparative 
 the leaf litter in order to reaTtr. ^ ^'' i"" ^'^ ^^'''^y *« P'^n^trate 
 to endure drought; the rate .nH K '"7"' ""''= ^''^'^ '^'^^'ve ability 
 two cases. VVifh da^t o^ is kind t^f "","' '^ '''''^'' ■" ^"^e 
 of environmental conditions we c^ud 77"" °^ '"^"^"''^^ ^«^-rds 
 certain methods of lumbering ILour 1 r"'"' ^^"^^'^"^ ^'^V 
 discourage the growth of spruce WnhJu T"^'^ "^ ''^'•''^'" ^"^ 
 With intelligence the means by w W h tot ''" "t'""'' ''""^^ 
 of spruce pulpwood in Quebec "^^^^ ^''^ Production 
 
 and J^rzz r;.r;"^'':irr ""■ '"°" "-^ -"™ -« 
 
REGENERATION OK PLI.I'WOOD LANDS 
 
 15 
 
 be made the basis of forest breeding. We must not be deterred 
 because trees grow more sKiwIy than other plants and, di-finite 
 results are, therefore, slower of attainment. It will require patience, 
 perscvtrance, and time, but when it is done, we will have reliable 
 data on which to base our plans and will be in a position to 
 manage out timber lands intelliRently. We could substitute a real 
 policy for the trust to-lurk-and-naiure policy of the past, in which 
 both luck and nati i have been against us. and which has already 
 reduced a large portion of cur incomparable forest heritage to the 
 condition of waste lands.