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THE FORESTS OF CANADA AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION,

WITH NOTES ON

THE MORE INTERESTING SPECIES.

JOHN MACOUN, M.A., F.L.S.

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Oeoloqical Survey op Canada,

George AT. Dawson, CM.G., LL.D., F.R.S..

OtPOTV HEAD AND DIRECTOR,

Maa.™ AND OnpiOB, 3um,x &rR.„, Ottawa.

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Obolooical Survey of Canada,

George M. Dazvson, CAf.C, LL.D., I-./i.S.,

DEPUTY HEAD AND DIRECTOR,

Muaiou AND OmoM, Susau Strir. Ottawa.

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Skction IV., 1894.

Tbans. Uoy. 800. Canada.

I. — 77i»' Foi'i'sfn of (lainiilii mill Ihf'ir PlHtrUni/iini, nut/i N'otiM on tlir iiiorr /iifirrHl!itif

Snri'liH.

Hv .loiiN Macoiin, M. a. ; V. L. S.

(Kciid.Mu) 21', IMM.)

The foivrtts of the Dominion ot'Ouiindu uri* one of its oliiof nsst't« anil ntu' tliiit it sccins
tlic aim of j^overniruMitu and iudividualn to anniliihite as tjuifkly as possildf, Insti-ad of
atteinptH being made to conserve the»o nut^ural coverings of the land, means, liotli legitimate
and illegal, have heeii taken to destroy them. In all the older provinces this has been done
to such an extent that in many sections that were covered with nnhroken forest tifty years
ago there is to-day scarcely a tree to he seen. The great fertility of the land in former
times is spoken of as if it pertained to the forest when in reality it was due to other causes.

On the sea coivst, cutting away the forests has let in the sea air, and to-day the soil of
Prince Kdward Island and parts of Nova Scotia is wetter than wlu'U the timber was tirst cut
off. As a proof of this, tamarack is now growing in [)astures and meadows wlurc hardwood
once covered the land, and under-drainage has become an absolute necessity.

On the other hand the deforesting of Ontario has dried up springs, lessened the How of
rivers, caused sudden and early thaws in winter, and in summer droughts over large areas,
and as a result lessened the [troilucts of the soil at least onc-haU". Year by year this state of
things is becoming more intensified, yet the supineness of the authorities i.- so great that no
sensible attempt is made to remedy this state of things. The forests of northern Ontario an-
being cut down to supph' the increasing dennvnd for pine and other wootls, and in the wake
of the cutting follows the ainiual fires which, besides burning over the districts from which
the timber has been cut, extend in many instances through the untoucheil forests and
destroy more timber than the woodman with his axe. Year after year this goes on, and
now when a hundred miles or more intervenes between the settlements and the lumber
camps, little attention is paid to tlie subject, but when the public awakes to the truth it will
be appalled at the enormous waste and loss that has been going on for more than a generation.

Some years since a large area was set apart in northern Ontario as a park for the pre-
servation of game and of the mitural forest, but more especially as a covering to the soil
at the sources of a number of streams falling into the Trent and Ottawa rivers. The pub-
lic was not informed of one important fact, however, which was that the lumbermen had
rights there that a venal government was going to uphold, and at present much of the park
has been cut over, and in a few short years will be a blackened wilderness of naked rocks
and dead trees.

Twenty-five years ago the Algonm district, over 1,000 miles from east to west and we
may say 200 miles from north to south, was a solid coniferous forest. To-day most of it

■s>«5 -';-

JOHN i" ACOl'N ON

!h ho complt'tcly (UmhuIimI of trooH tliat cvi'ii tlic doiul iiiiil whitoiiod trinikH of hoiuc lociiHticB
liavc <li!«u|i|iour('<l ami notliin^ in to Ix' hcoii for iiiilfH hut biiHlicrt and yoiin^ troen gi-owiiig
ill tlio rri'vifi'M of tlu' iiaki'd ronkn, rcpcutod liroK having liiiriiutl up every piirtii-ie of tlio
former coverin/yf wliii-li wm tlic lU'eiiniiilation of ajjen.

Any traveller jfoiiij^ went on tlie (Canadian I'aeifie railway from Ottawa will pnM
tlirou^li 1,200 niileM of what wan ome eoiitiniioiiH forewt. At jireHeiit, lie will aee little elwo
hilt a dreary wilderneHH of hare rock, hiirned and hleaching triinkH or yoiin^ foreHtH trying
to eover up the iiakedneHH of the land. I am not eitiiig the liiie of the ('aiiadian Pueitie
railway an the partic-ular line hut only an an illustration, for there ih no diHguimng the fact
that any line will do. In the Huminer of 1808 the tirHt opening waH made in the foreHt ut
I'ort Arthur. The suminer of 1870 hiiw Wolrteley'n expedition panH on itH way to Win-
nipeg and that summer the forent at I'ort Arthur wan hunied and nince then the havoc has
heen eontiniioiis.

We are told that we have immense forests of white pine still untouched and that geiier-
atioiiH will pans hefiire we can destroy it all. The same was rtai«l of the hutt'alo, hut they are
gone never to return. Sixteen years ago they darkened our interior plains in countless
thousanils, and two years later they had disappeared for ever. So will it he with the pine
forests. The interented ones cry they are incxhaiistihle, hut another decade will not elapse
hefore they cease to he a piihlic domain, and ever after the remnants will he the patrimony
of the s])eculators who manipulated the sales.

There was a time when the prairie region was being deforested at an enormous rate ami
every year the fires rushing from the south and west forced their way into the still untouched
woi^dlands and extended the hiirnt area still farther to the north. As soon as settlement
took place attempts wore made to stop the tires, and of late years ilestruction from that
cause has almost ceased. It is a fact, nevertheless, that at the time of Palliser and Ilj-iide's
expeditions in 1857-59 there were districts south of the Qu'Appelle covered with heavy
forests of aspen that twenty years after, in 1880, I found without even a twig to show that
a tree ever grew there.

Passing westward to the Rocky an<1 Selkirk Mountains, the same tale maj he told.
Forests of tall, graceful trees iiivalualile for railway and other imrposcs tilling the valleys
and climhing the mountain sides in 1885, nearly all gone in 1893. When the right of way
was cut through the mountains, a lane was made through the forest and tlie brush and logs
piled on either hand. The hiirning of this started the tires that prepared the material for
succeeding years when the tires climbed the mountains so that at Hector and Stephen on
the summit of the Rocky Mountains not a green tree was to he seen in 1890 where they had
stood in myriads in 1885. This was not all, in 1886 (juantities of permanent ice and snow
that had completely disappeared in 1890, lay on the mountains to the north and south and
instead of the cool mountain slopes of six years before the ascent had to be nnide through a
blackened forest where the rustling of the dead hark and the tap[)ing of the woodpecker
took the place of the songs and twitterings of the small birds seen in 1885.

The same year the Columbia Valley from Golden down to Donald, and up Beaver Creek
and down the Illicilliweat to Revelstoke was an unbroken forest of tall stately trees ; to-day
those that are left are ragged, torn and shrivelled, and the forest beauty has departed for
ever. Year after year the lumberman is penetrating the valleys and the tire following in
his wake finishes what he begins. In a few short years desolation will reign, and the

: I

T H K FO It KSm ( ) K ( ' A N A I )A. B

nvnlaiK^ho that tloHcondoil in tlio form of mutw will Ih> ri'pIiMH'd by rivurn of mud, trecn and
rockH. Tlu'inoiiiituiiiH will bu diHtigurod,uii(l tmvi-lliiig in Hiring will lK>buth micvrtitin uiid

<lHtlgi>r<)UH, '

Kui'b Hucci'i'dinj^ Hiinimor on Vuncoiivor IhIhiiiI tlu> Humo rli'r*t ruction got's on. A great
(b'lil of tin' interior Iuvk Ikhmi biirnt'd ovor rt'|u'iitt'(lly, and owinj? to tlu' long nununor droughts
and tho lack of brUMh ainongt»t tho tall trcon the inoHw and l<»g»« bcconu' dry «n<l thefiro when
onoo Htiirtetl never eeiiHOH until the Septeinber ruiiirt eommenco when ttie air elears of Hmoke,
the tirert die out and all thingn renndn Hoaked until the following July when the xaine round
of tiren begiuH again. In. Inly, 1HH7, I Htood on tlieHuniniit of Mount ArrowHmith, an irtolated
mountain about 100 niilen north of Victoria, near the (-entre of the iwland, anil almost 6,000
feet high. For Home dayH the weather ha*l been culm and the tireD had made little progrosx
HO that the view from the Hummit was very extensive, taking in the Gulf of Georgia
and the mountains of liritinh Columbia on the one hand, and the I'acitic for many miles
on the other. The view on the evening of the Kith was indesuribable and of vast ex-
tent. The 17th was windy and started up the tires and by sunset the smoke from scores
of them had spread a pall over the scene and blotted out the whole landscape we liad
gazed upon with such delight the day before. The next day we <lescended the moun-
tain and on our way to the coast passed through miles upon miles of burnt forest and tliree
distinct forest tires, one of which, at least, was very dangerous. Standing in a safe place aiul
gazing on scores of mighty trunks flaming like tor(;hes and rising 200 feet above you,
impressions will be made that «'an never be effaced, and instinctively you will almost curse
the hand that applied the nnitch that caused the destruction of such noble trees. Owing to
their immense height and the thickness of the bark few live trees succumb to the first fire,
but yearly burnings soon kill the trees and in many instances they stand in thousainls, dumb
witnesses to nnin's terrible destruction.

Apparently there is little hope of a change, for viciousness, carelessness, cupidity and
sui>ineness of governments and people are resj)onsible for this state of things which will
continue until the trees are nearly all dead and the destruction of our noble forests all but
completed ; then when the end has como party parliamentarians will rise in their jilaces and
denounce all but themselves for having permitted such senseless and culpable destruction.

Sub-arctic Forest Belt.

Lying south of the watershed in Labrador and south of a line drawn northwesterly
from Fort Churchill to near the mouth of the .Nfackciizie River in tlie Northwest Territories
is a belt of forest that is continuous except where the surface becomes a [>eat bog too wet
to sup[iort trees or the depressions are deeper and become lakes. This extensive belt at
the base of the Rocky Mountains extends from lat. 63 to 07 in the valley of the Macken?ne.
Tt trends to the south as it goes easterly so that in the meritlian of Lake Winnipeg its limits
are between ftO and r>S ; passing still eastward it gets narrower, so tluit when it reaches the
Atlantic coast it is a mere fraction of wliat it was. In round numbers this immense region
contains about 1,500,000 square miles, and its forest is made up of very few species of trees,
the principal ones being pine, spruce, tanuirack and aspen poplar. Indeed eight species of
trees may be said to constitute the whole arborescent flora of the region in question. The

' Wliat is here foretold actually happened a few days after this paper was read.

# JOHN MAfOUN ON

species are : — Piiins Banksiana, Lain., Picea alh.i, Link., Plrea nu/ra, Link., Lorir Americana,
Miehx., Popalus treniuloides, Michx., Populus h'lhauiifera, Linn., Bdida papyri/era, Miehx.,
and in less abundance and of more circumscribed range Abies balsamea, Marsb. Oil tbe
soutbeastern margin Thuya occideiitalis, Liini., and Dctiila lutea, Mx., are occasiomdly met
witb but may be cxcIucUhI wIjcu speaking generally. Willows of many species are found
tbrougbout tbe wbole region but seldom become trees.

Altbougb tbe above trees occupy the area under discussion it must not be understood
tbat tbey grow indiscriminately over tbe wbole surface.

Tbe tamarack or larcb, as witb us in tbe east, is still inclined to occupy tbe wet ground
around muskegs, but as it nears its nortbern limit it leaves tbcir vicinity and grows wbere
the soil is drier and more heated in summer. Tbe black spruce in tbe east prefers tbe boggy
ground, but as it approaches its northern limit it too seems to enjoy the drier ground and
vieswitli tbe white spruce, in occupying tbe last oases before tbe forest ceases altogether and
the continuous barren grounds commence. Wherever tbe ground is sandy or rocky, or both,
tbe Banksian pine flourishes, and as it passes from east to west it loses its low and scrubby
character as is tbe case along the St. Lawrence and Lake Suiterior, though it is a nuich tincr
tree in tbe latter district, and becomes a handsome tree west of Lake Winnipeg. On tbe
Beaver, the English, the Athabasca and the C'learwater rivers, Itetween lat. 53 ' and 58 , it
attains its greatest dimensions, and is there a stately tree over 100 feet high and having a
diameter from 12 to 20 inches.

Tbe four trees mentioned above are tbe conifers of the nortbern forest and may be
classed as forming the suh-arctic forest proper. Tbey keep tiicir tree form to their utmost
limit, not dwindling to mere shrubs as tbey do on moimtain summits but forming outliers,
iti the barren grounds, of fairly developed trees even at tbcir extreme limit. This being tbe
case some other cuise than the absence of beat must be given to account fortius. From tbe
statements of Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, who traversed tbe barren grounds last season, I am led to
believe that the true reason fur this barrenness is too nnicb humidity in tbe air, and conse-
quently a wet cold soil thai scarcely rises a few degrees above freezing under tlie very best
conditions, and in which trees could not exist, much less grow.

The poplars and birch grow under altogether diffeient conditions from tbe conifers.
The aspen in the east seems to bo a poor sickly tree, very seldom having a thrifty look and
preferring gravelly hillsides and borders of swamps. Its habit and aj)pearance change
wonderfully as we come upon it on the Canadian Pac^ific railway after passing out of the
spruce and tamarack before reaching the jirairie on our way to Winnipeg. Lying between
the tamarack and siiruce, and tbe prairie is the belt of aspen which is only a few miles wide
along tbe railway but which extends from the intennitional boundai'j' in lat. 49"^ all around
tbe prairie regions, and may be said to constitute nearly tbe whole forest growth of the
prairies outside of the river valleys. North of the prairie it penetrates the coniferous forest
wherever there is good dry soil, and is the bulk of the forest in the Peace River country and
on tbe plains lying along tbe Liard and the Mackenzie. It nniy be said witb truth tbat
aspen forest means agricultural land wherever found, and as it is in southern Manitoba so is it
on ihe Peace River plains and farther north. In tbe Riding and Porcupine Mountains and
westward through the forests to Prince Albert and Edmonton, a distance of 800 miles, this
species is found to be a fine tall tree. In many cases tbe bark is (pute white and the round
smooth trunk, rising from fifty to one hundred feet, with a diameter ranging from six to

THE FORESTS OF CANADA. 7

eighteen inches, is a remarkable object when seen in company with t'le brown barked
gloomy looking wprnce.

The aspen in it northwestern home keeps out of the flood jiluin of the river valleys
and never apjjcars on islands or indeed on alluvium at any time. On the other hand, balsam
p()l)lar makes its homo there and is seldom found anywhere else. On the Saskatchewan and
all its branclu's this tree grows to a large size, but these are but pigmies compared with
those on the Peace, Athabasca, Liard, Slave and Mackenzie rivers. On the islands in these
rivers it grows to an immense size and it <s no uncommon thing to see a tree over si.\ feet
in diameter without bark stranded on a l)ar. It is this species and the white spruce that
arc found as drift wood on the shores of the Arctic Sea, as they constitute! the trees of
the islands and flood plains of the Mackenzie and its tributaries, which are constantly
changing and being reformed by the spring freshets. All the islands and points are con-
stiintly changing except when there is a jam of logs at their upper end. In many cases a
few hundred yards walk will take a person from trees four feet in diameter to the lower
end of an island where the 3'oung seedlings are just emerging from the mud. If the island
or point be quite large spruce will take possession of the ujiper end before the wasting takes
place, the old poplars will be smothered and rot, and the spruce will live on their remains.
Spruce are never found on a new island.

The Canada balsam {Ahien bnlsumra) and the paper birch {Betuln p(i]nirifera) arc not
very common and may be passed over with a few words. The birch is the more plentiful
tree and has a wide range but is never a striking object or very plentiful. Besides using
its bark for canoes, the Indians in the English River and Chii)wc}'an districts niak", in
spring, a very nice syrup from its juice, which before the advent of "canned goods'' served
in place of the dried and canned fruits now carried by travellers.

In another jdace I si)eak more in detail of the forests of British Columbia and the
Rocky Mountains, but a few words may be necessary here to carry the sub-arctic forests to
the Pacitic coast. The only known change that takes place in the forest after reaching the
mountains north of hit. 53 ' is the substitution of Piniis Miirnti/a)ia for Piiius Banksiana
and Abies subalpina for Abies balsamea, which was left far to the east. It may then be
said that from lat. 53 west to the Coast Range and the tundra of Alaska, with the
exceptions above stated, the same forest extends from Labrador to within a few miles of the
Pacific coast.

Crossing the summit of the Coast Range and descending towards the west, we meet with
adift'ereiit forest I'omiiosi'd chiefly of Picni SIfrheiisis, Abies amabilis, Thin/n cnrlsn and Tsiii/n
MertciisidiKi, and towards the south Pseitdnlsui/a Doii/jlasii, Thtnja </i(f(inle(i and Abnis nibro.
The moist winds from the Pacitic with the mildness of the winters combine to produce on
this coast a most exuberant growth of every species, so that the forest is filled with a rank
vegetation and the stately trees stand rank behind rank in serrie<l phalanx forming a forest
growth that is uuLfpudled in America, and extending from southern Alaska to California.

The Forests of Pkince Edward Island.

The original forests of Prince Edward Island differ in no particular from those of Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick as regards species except that their distribution is difterent.
The species enumerated below are the only trees indigenous to the island.

8

JOHN MACOUN ON

Acer iaceharinum, Wang. (Sngar maple).

" rufrrvm, Linn (Red maple).

" Penn»j/hYintcum, Linn. (Striped maple).
fVunua terotina, Ehrh. (Black cheriy).

" Penntylvanica, U f. (Bird cherry).
Fraxinui tambucifolia. Lam. (Black ash).

" Americana, Linn. (White ash).
Vlmut Americana, Linn. (Common elm).
Betula papyri/era, Marsh. (Canoe birch).

" alba, var. populilolia, Spach. (White birch).

" luteoi Michx. f. (Yellow birch).
FhguBferrugxnea, Ait. (Beech).

Quernu rubra, Linn. (Red oak).
Poptdtu tremuloidet, Michx. (Aspen).

" oaltamifera, Linn. (Balsam poplar).
Pinus Strohui, Linn. (White pine).

" rerinoia, Ait (Red pine).
Picea alba, Link. (White spruce).

" nigra, Link. (Black spruce).

" rubra, Lcm. (Red spruce).
Abie» bulsamea. Mill. (Balsam Br).
Tsuga Canadentit, Carr. (Hemlock).
Larix Americana, Michx. (Larch, tamarack).
Thuya occidcntulit, Linn. (White cedar).

A few words may belaid regarding the distribution of the twenty-four species enumerated
above. While sugar maples and beeches grow on ridges and the more elevated parts on the
mainland of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick they are found throughout Prince Edward
Island on the general level oidy a few feet above the level of the sea. This one fact shows
that the island has a better climate than the mainland and is much less subject to cold fogs.
The sugar maple is more sensitive than most of our trees to a damp atmosphere and as it
approaches its northern limit invariably occupies dry ridges, leaving the lower ground to
birches and conifers.

Prince Edward Island jjroduces liner specimens of l)alsam and the three spruces than
are to be seen elsewhere in the Dominion. The air and soil seem to suit them perfectly, and
a drive from Charlottetown to Brackley Point will show more beautiful specimens of these
trees than can be seen anywhere else. The red spruce has been a puzzle to most botanists
and may or may not be a good species, but seen on Prince Edward Islaml it is easily separated
from either P. albi or P. nigra. It seems to be intermediate between the black and white
species but more nearly related to the black. In the white spruce the cones are at the tips
of the branched, and are from an inch to two inches long, drooping and deciduous. In the
black spruce they are short and ovoid, clustered close to the stem and branches and persis-
tent or very slightly deciduous. The cones of the red spruce are between the other two
both in shape and position.

The occurrence of the white cedar in isolated patches near Tignish at the north end of
Prince Edward Island and in Nova Scotia near Annapolis is somewhat remarkable, and tiiis
fact becomes more signiticant when it is known that its western outlier is found on Cedar
Lake, an expansion of the Saskatchewan River, at least 200 miles west of any other point at
which it is known to occur. 1 have no facts to offer in explanation of this peculiar distribu-
tion unless it be that the cedar is an old species that is gradually dying out.

Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

The forest floras of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are practically identical and the
cliiiiatic conditions are very similar in both provinces. On the side towards the Gulf of St.
Lawrence the same conditions prevail as in Prince Edward Island, and the hardwood timber
is found much nearer sea level than along the Atlantic coast and the Bay of Fundy.
Northern New Brunswick has a more continental climate and may be cojn|)ared with that
of Quebec and northern Ontario. The following 29 species, with the exception of TiUa
Americana, JxKjlans cinerca and Quercus macrocarjxi, occur in both provinces.

THE FORESTS OF CANADA.

9

Tilia Americana, Linn. (Basswond).
Acer saccliarinum, Wang. (Sugar maple).
" ru&rum, Linn. (Red niapie).
" Penntylvanieum, l.inn. (Striped maple).
iVuniM serotina, Ehrh. (Black cherry).

" Penmylvanica, L. f. (Bird cherry).
Fraxinus laml/uci/olia. Lain. (Black ash).
" Americana, Linn. (White ash).
" pubescent, Lara. (Red ash).
Ulmus Americana, Linn. (Elm).
Juglans cinerea, Linn. (Bntternut).
Belula alba, var. popuiifolia, gpach. (White birch).
" papyrifera, Marsh. (Canoe birch).
" lena, Linn. (Cherry or black birch).
" lutea, Mlchx. f. (Yellow birch).
Qurrcut rubra, Linn. (Red oak).

Quercut macrocarpa, Mx. (Mossy-cnp oak).
Fagug ferruginea, Ait. (Beech).
Ottrya Virginica, Willd. (Iron wood).
Salix nigra. Marsh. (Black willow).
Popvlus Iremvioidet, Michx. (Aspen).

" boisamifcra, Linn. (Balsam poplar).
Pinus Bankaiana, Lam. (Scrub pine).

" Strobu», Linn. (White pine).

" rt'dtnosa, Ait. (Red pine).
Picea alba. Link. (White spruce),

" nigra, Link. (Black spruce).

" nihra, Lam. (Red spruce).
AInet balnamea, Mill. (Balsam tir).
Tsuga Canadenni, Carr. (Hemlock).
Larix Americana, Michx. (Larch, tamarack).
Thuya occidentalit, Linn. (White cedar).

Owing to the influx of the cold winds from the Athintie and the Bay »>f Fnndy, the
coast apecie.s are chiefly spruces and firs ; but a few hundred feet of elevation aliove the river
valleys bring us into a hardwood forest composed of maple, l)eech, ash and birch, with a
sprinkling of spruce and pine, except in the western parts where spruce, fir and tamarack are
the prevailing trees ; in general terms this may I)e also said of Quebec, as the forests of
northern New Brunswick are almost identical with those of that province. The American
elm is, as usual, found most highly developed in the river valleys, birch and red maide
growing with it here as elsewhere in the eastern provinces.

A .study of the itonditions under which the forests of Xova Scotia grow and occujiv the
ground shows that the sea air is not congenial to the native hardwood trees except tiie birch.
An examimition of the trees ot the inner slope of North Mountain near Annai)olis shows
that the conditions necessary for the growth cf hardwood trees are those required Kn- the
full development of the apple, and it would be well for fruit growers to preserve with care
the forests on the Bay of Fundy side of the beautiful Annaiiolis valley. Since the forests
were cut away in the neighbourhood of Kentville, Wolfville and Grand Pre, the soil has
become much wetter and in many places where formerly the soil did not require drainage it
is now necessary. The cutting away of the forests and letting in of the sea air has allowed
tannirack to grow where formerly beech and maple occupied the soil.

The tendency in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick is for the i'orest to rc-clotlic tin- soil,
but when the hardwood trees of the original forests disappear, spruce, balsam, birch antl
tamarack take their place and everything shows that in that region the cutting away of the
forests does not lessen the rainfall, but rather increases the deposition or brings the general
air nearer to the point of saturation. The change in dinuite is causing a decline in grain-
•".ising and increasing the area of drained soil devoted to fruit-growing ami stock-farming.

In southern New Bnmswick, Jiiglmts cinerea, Tilia Americana and Quernis marrorarpa
are found in some abundance, but they cannot be said to be common anywhere and they
indicate a higher temperature as we pass from the conditions peculiar to the coast.

Quebec.

The forests of Quebec are still very valuable and very extensive and aitproach those of
northern and central Ontario in the number and distribution of species. The conditions

Sec. IV , isot. 2.

fe^

MWiMi

to

JOHN MArOUN ON

found on tlie New Brunswick border extend into Quebec and south of the St. Lawrence to
^[outreiii. The same conditiourt obtain in the vuHey of tlie St. Jolm Rivei' and up the
Ottawa to itrt source. Except in the more southern districts, the elms, inapk>s anil beeches
occupy restricted areas as they do further east, but the general distribution is the same and
the trees of Quebec with few exceptions are the trees of the maritime provinces. The fol-
lowing additional species enter (iuebec but only along the Ottawa and St. Lawrence valleys.

Acer tlasycarjium, Ehrli. (Broad-fruited maple).
Cratirgtu coccinea, Linn. ( [ted-frnited tliorn).
Ulmui (vim, Michx. (Slippery elm).

" racemom, Thomas. (Bock elm).
CelluoccidenlalU, Linn. (Nettle tree).
Caryaamara, Nutt (Bitternut).

Cnrya albn, Nutt. (Shell-bark hickory).
Carpimu CaroUniana, Walt. (R ue beech)-
Q"ercus alba, Linn. (White oak).
Populw mnnUifera, Ait. (Cotton-wood).
Janiperua Virginiana, Linn. (Red cedar)

None of the above trees are very abundant and the elms and bitternut are the only
species that could le called common anywhere in (iuebec. The hickory and nettle-tree cling
to the St. Lawrence and are seldom seen elsewhere in the province.

The northern forests of (iuobec are a part of the sub-arctic forests and are composed of
only a few species of trees. The more valuable woods of commerce are found south of tlio
watershed of the luirthern tributaries of the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa, and these con-
stitute the present lumber regions of the province. Still further south on both sides of the
St. Lawrence and the lower Ottawa lie the fertile lands of the province that in the [last had
a mixed forest of hardwood trees where the ash, mtiple, birch, beech and elm gave t'baracter
to the landscajie and natural beauty to river, lake and shore. Many areas of mixed forest
remain almost tmtouchcd in (iucbec, and when these forests are cleared away hundreds of
smiling farms will take their place. The two most important areas are the Lake St. John
district, north of Quebec, and the very valuable and large tract of country towards the
sources of the Ottawa.

Ontario.

Owing to the position and extent of Ontario its forests are not all of the same character
and while in the north and northwest the species are identical with th(.)se tbunil in (Jucbec,
those in the south and southwestern peninsula are (piite distinct and may be said to be a
rei)roduction of the northern Ohio and IVmisylvai.ia forests. A few words will suffice for
the north and northwest. Wiiat was said of (Juebcc north and south of the St. Lawreiu-e
waterslu'd is applicable here. Oidy the species of the sub-avctic forest find a congenial honu>
in this region and at the head of the streams flowing southward into the Ottawa and the
great lakes are to be found the remnants of the noble forests that supplied material for the
deviistation of the last half century. It is truly appalling when the magnitude of the
natioinil interests at stake are considered, to view the spoliation which has been carrieil on
quite recklessly under the protection of permits and licenses. AVhen one is soberly told that
this destruction was necessary in the interests of trade and for the developnuMit of the
country, one is forced to deny the truth of such statements and to enter a protest against the
fallacy concealed in them. It there bad been any just or proiiortionatc return to the tisc
from such oji-'rations tlu' objections might have less force, but when it is realized that for
this splendid heritage the people of Canada have directly received only a nominal return in
dues and bonuses, the rcs^.onsibility for such a waste of resources, which should be guarded

TUB FORESTS OF CANADA.

11

for the present ttiul future generations of Canadians, is imlood grave. It is linrdly a forcible
argument to advance, that the money placed in circulation as wages to labourers employed in
lumbering and the eonse([uent local stinuilatiou to trade or the enormous increase of private
capital are a sufficient indirect gain. The cash paid as wages for such labour, labour which
should have been used in the protection and development of these very forests, could never
represent if multiplied numy hundred times, the loss which has occurred owing to its mis-
direction ; and the capital represents only a fraction of the use and value of the forests which
should have been guarded for the public benefit. It is not yet too late to formulate a policy
which will pnjteet the sparse rcnniins of this once dense forest ami control them for the best
interests of the whole country ; it is a policy which the present generation demands and the
neglect of such a plain duty on the oart of our legislators will only lie an evidence of short-
sighteilness, of the triumph of party over patriotism, for which they will be visited with the
just reprobation of those who will have to suffer from the present ill-considered action.

That part of the southwestern penins\ila of Ontario which lies west of Toronto has a
flora quite distinct in nmny resi)ects from any other part of Canada. Its position between
Lakes Ontario and ?]rie and along the latter lake accounts for this, and to this also is due
its value as a fruit garden. The trees peculiar to this district are :

Aalmina triloba, Daval, (Cucumber-tree).
Linodendron Tulipifera, Linn. (Tulip-tree).
Qymnocladui tjanadensi»,haxa. (Kentucky coffee-troe)i
Cercit Canadensis, Linn. (Judaa-tree).
Oledil'chia tricanthos, Linn. (Honey locust).
Pints coronaria, Linn. (Crab apple).
Oratiegus Cru^-nalli, Linn. (Uoclc-.spur thorn).

" tomentoin, Linn. (Downy-leave J thorn).
Amelanchier Canadensis, T. & G. (June-berry).
Corniu florida, Linn. (Flowering dogwooil).
Ni/ssa mulUHora, Wang. (Sour gum).
Fraxinus (jvadrangulala, Michx. (Blue ash).

In the above list there are 23 species which represent a flora that has its affinities in the
south and gives an entirely different asjiect to the forests of the western peninsula when com-
pared with those of the east. One leading feature is the almost total absence of coniferous
trees and the great development of the hickories, the oaks, the button-wood, the chestnut
and the tulip-tree. The shrubs and herbaceous plants change with the forests, and scores of
species not found in other parts of Canada grow here in profusion. The cucumber-tree was
once common around Niagara and Queenston, now it is so rare that only the older people
can tell one of its existence. In June, 1892, I searched for days l)i'fore 1 found a clump
fit to photograph. These were on the Niagara esiurpment near .\[erritton. I have also
found it fruiting at Leamington, in Essex Co. Although the sassafras is scattered through
the old forest and is quite a large tree, it is liccoming scarce around clearings, and is seldom
planted. There are man}' fine specimens about two or three miles from Niagara Falls on
the high road to Merritton and St. Catharines. The Kentucky coffee-tree, honey locust
and Judas-tree are confined to Pelee Island and were not observed on any part of the main-
land except when cultivated, yet the two former are (piite hardy at Ottawa, and two tine
specimens of the first species are now growing in front of Riocau hall.

Another peculiarity of the peninsula is that species which in other parts of the province
are only large shrubs or very small trees are here well developed, and have become fair-sized

Sassafras officinale, Nees. (Sassafras).
Pialanus occidentalis, Linn. (Button-wood).
Carya porcina, Nutt. (Hog-nut hickory).
" tomentosa, Nutt (White-heart hickory).
" micromr/ia, Nutt. (Small-fruited hiol«ory).
Juglans nigra, Linn. (Black walnut).
Caslanea saliva. Mill, var. Americani. GrAy. (Chestnut).
Qmjcus bicolor, Willd. (Swamp white oak).

" coccinea, Willd. (Scarlet oak).

" paluslris, Du Roi. (Swamp oak).

„ linctor'ut, Bart. (Black oak).

12

JOHN MACOUN ON

trees. IiK'liulctl in tliis groiij) are four species of CraMgus and t\w J nnchcrry {A mddnchier),
wliii'li ill the vicinity of Niugara-ou-tlio-Lake are very iioticcal)le. Even the wild grape,
Vilis cestinalis, Inis often a stem over four inches in diameter, and Conius alternijloni, Samhucus
raccmosa and ViliKnnim LeuUtgo become trees, and in fence corners make a tine slnide for
cattle and sheep.

Were my jMiper intended to illustrate climatic conditions or tlie many lessons to be
learned from the natural distribution of the forest, I might show from the wild grape, the
plum, the wild apple and tlie wild cherry tlie economic importance of tliis district as a
fruit producer. Only a few years since our own people believed that peaches and certain
varieties of the grape could be grown only in favoured localities, yet the forest growth if
read aright would have told them that with jiroper local shelter all the tiner fruits of tem-
perate elinuites were suited to the district under consideration, and not alone to this district
but to the whole of Ontario along the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario. With the exception
of the peach, every other species can be profitably raised as far east as Ottawa, if proper
shelter be forthcoming, for it is not a low temperature so much as unsuitable conditions
that prevents the successful culture of fruits in Ontario. A lesson hard to lear;i is that
shelter from nipping winds is just as necessary for vegetation as it is for the shorn lamb,
and when horticulturists and others realize this to its full extent there will be fewer failures
in fruit growing.

Lying between the west end of Lake Superior and the Lake of the "Woods on the aouth
and Hudson's Bay on the north is a tract of country that is indeed a province in itself It
is a land of lakes and rivers which discharge their waters to the north, and although its
trees are tliose of the sub-arctic forest, they are as a rule well developed and indicate a
clinuite well suited for the growth of vegetables and the coarser grains at least, and there is
no climatic reason why the greater \M\Yt of this region should not produce wheat. I wish,
however, to draw attention to the forests. Mr. A. V. Low's rejiort on his exploration of a
part of this region in 1886 sliows that both soil and climate are good, and that black and
wliite spruce, and unpen, and balsam poplar grow to a large size and will produce in the
future much merchantable timber. I am speaking more particuhirly of tlie country near
Trout Lake, but the district along the upper Severn River is of the same character. A railway
from Rat I'ortage by way of Lake Seul to penetrate tliis re^^ion can be built at small cost
and would open it up for settlement and brhig its timber within reach.

Manitoba and the Northwest Territories.

The trees of the forests of this immense region are few in number and nearly all be-
long to the sub-arctic forest, and as a whole have been treated under that head. Two trees
which we have had with us from Nova Scotia appear in Manitoba, but they are never found
in much al)nndance and seldom out of the river valleys. These are the elm and the balsam
poplar. The green ash (Froxiiuts rlridls) and red ash (Fra.riniis nu'eniosus) are found in
the valleys of the Red, Assinaboine and Souris rivers but do not leave their valleys. On
the otlier hand the over-cup oak (Qiicrcus macrncurpa) forms thickets aiul open forests in
many parts of Manitoba, becoming a line tree at times, but dies out west of the Assiniboine
above Fort Ellice. The elm disajipears on the Red Deer River — not far west of Liike
Winnipegoosis, and at its extreme limit is still a well-developed and large tree. The last

THE FORESTS OF CANADA.

13

sugar maiilo was left at MeKiiy's Mountain near Lako Siiiicrior, and the red or swamp
inajile disapjieared at Rainy Lake, but a tew hasswood inanajre to reaeh nearly as tar west us
Brandon in tlio Assinihoine valley, and from tlienee westward all trees, apart from tlie
species belonging to the sub-arctie forest, are of western origin, except Popalus mun'difeva
(cotton-wood) and Neijundo anemiiks (ash-leaved maple). These trees extend, in the river
valleys, far out towards the Rocky Afountains, but do not reach them.

In the (lypress Hills west of long. 110 west, at an elevation of over 3,000 feet, the
Rocky Mountain scrub pine (Piims Murrdi/'iHa) is found in ai)undance, and from this tree
the hills take their name, the scrub pine of the east (Pin us Bankshom) being the cypres of
the French voyageurs. In tlie valleys of the rivers fornnng the South Saskatchewan two
species of poplar (Popultis miijitnlifulAa and P. Irichocdrjui) are found. Tliese are a part of the
more southern forest and are not known north of Medicine Hat.

Rocky Mountains and British Columbia.

The trees of tlie Rocky Mountains may with few exceptions be classed with the western
flora, and those that have not that origin belong to the sub-arctic forest, and have descended
from the north along the mountains. The following list'includes all the trees of the Rocky
Mountains, a few of them occurring only on the western slopes facing the valley of the
Columbia River.

Rocky Mountains.

Popidtu tremulmdes, Michx. { Agpen).

" bahamifera, Linn. (Balsam poplar).
Picea alba, Link. (Wliite spruce).

" Engelmanni, Engelni. (Engelmann's spruee).
Albies xubalpina, Engelni. (Mountain balsam).

PieiuioUiuga Douglam, t'arr. (Douglas fir).
PinwflexiUs, .Tames, (Rocky mountain pine).

" Murrayava, Balfour. (Black pine).

" albkavlit, Engelm. (VVhite-barke 1 pine).
Lar'tx Lyallii, Pari. (Mountain larch)

Other species in the Columbia Valley and Selkirk Mountains.

Popuius trichocarpa, Torr & Gr.iy. Pimu pondcrosa var. scopvloorum, Engelm. (Yellow pine)

Juniperus Virgiinana, Linn. (Red cedar). Tsuga Puttoniana, Engelm. (Mountain hemlock).

T/mi/a ffij^oiiica, Nutt (Western white cedar). " Merte7idana,Ca.Tr. (Western hemlock).

Pinuiimniiticola,Uoug\. (Western white pine). Larix occidmlatis, Xutt. (Western larch).

Additional Pacific Coast Species.

Acer cireinatwn, Pursli. (Vine maple).

" macrophyltum, Pursh. (Broad-Ieavdd maple).
PhamnuK Piirthvina, DC. ("Barberry "|.
Prunus cinargiimlK, Walp. (Western bird cherry).
Pirunrivtilarin, Dougl. (Western crab apple).
Cornut Nuttallii, And. (Western flowering dogwood)
ArbuluK Mevzietdi, Pursh. (Madrona).

Salix Scotdeiiana, Barratt. ( Western willow).
Thuya excelm, Bong. (Yellow cypress).
Tax-un brenfolia, Nutt. (Western yew).
Pinns contnrla, Dougl. (Western scrub pine).
Pimi Silchenm, Carr. (Menziea spruce).
Ahiim gmndin, Lindley. (Mountain fir).
" amaWiii, Forbes. (White fir).

The bulk of the forest in the Rocky Mountains south of lat. 53 ' is made up of white
spruce, Engelmann's siiruce, black pine, Douglas tir and balsam fir. These five species
include at least 90 per cent of the forest growth, the remaining 10 per cent being made up
of the other five species. Otthoac Pi mis Jie.ci Us is found only on the margins of the rivers
issuing from the mountains, and the poplars in the valleys and open spaces where the original
forest ha« been burnt oft". On the other hand /'//*//.s albicmdis and L«rix Lyollii form a zone

14

JOHN MACOUN ON

more or U'bh pronounced at the extrenie limit of treen, nhmit 7,000 to 7,500 fwt iiltittiiJo, and
in Septond)er tlie latter tree Htandn out very diHtinetly owing to the changing of its leaven
from green to yellow.

All the valleyH are filled with white npruce, and the mountain slopcH, where gravel or
sand predominatert, are covered with pine. Ah we ascend aliove 5,000 feet, the pines are
left behind and spruce anil fir with Douglan fir take their place.

Descending from the Rocky mountain summit by the Kicking Horse Pass, we meet the
western cedar as a mere shrub, but in the Columbia Valley it becomes a gigantic tree, often
having a diameter often feet, in the valley of Beaver Creek. Ascending the slope on the
west side of the valley we come at once into a belt of the western hemlock and white
pine, wbich is characteristic of all the mountains from here to the Coast Range. Above
these trees, but often intermixed with them, as at the Glacier hotel, Selkirk Mountains,
Patton's hemlock is found capping the mountains oc forming the last groves on their sides.
On the Coast Range a change takes place, and the upper slopes are clothed with this
tree and the white fir {Ahies amahilis). Fine groves of this shapely tree are to be seen here,
and the difference between it and the Rocky mountain species {Abies siibali>iiia) is very
apparent, as the former has green cones and the latter bright purple ones. Descending
the Columbia River, groves of the western larch are seen below the Upper Arrow Lake, and
this fine tree is not uncommon on the lower slopes of the mountains on both the east and
west sides of the Gold Rnnge.

Generally speaking, all the valleys throughout both the Gold and Selkirk ranges are
filled with cedar and spruce, and the mountain slopes are covered with Douglas fir and
hemlock. The trees are in all cases well-developed, and from their size are suited for any
purpose. This is the character of all the timber from the Columbia valley to the western
slopes of the Gold Range. The valleys of the streams discharging westward from the latter
range into the Eagle and Spullamacheen rivers and Shuswap Lake are also filled with fine
timber of the same species. Passing westward from these mountains we come gradually
into a drier region, and the country becomes open, with only scattered groves or single
trees on the lower slopes and plateaus, and the yellow pine {Fiinia iHDiilerosa) so characteristic
of the dry interior of British Columbia is the chief feature in the landscape.

The light rainfall east of the Coast Range in British Columbia prevents the growth of a
continuous forest oiitside the flood-plains of the rivers so that yellow pine and Douglas fir
are scattered over the Okanagan and Kamloops country until we reach an altitude of about
3,600 feet. Above this is a belt of dense forest composed chiefly of spruce and black pine
{Phuis Murrayana) with which is mixed, in places, a considerable quantity of Douglas fir.
This forms a zone of from 2,000 to 3,000 feet above which the forest thins out and grassy
meadows, with beautiful groves of fir, cap the mountains.

The transition from the arid region of British Columbia to the humid coast district is a
sudden one. As soon as the summit of the range is passed a change occurs, and descending
by the valley of the Fraser, this is noted a few miles above Boston Bar where the mountain
barrier closes the valley to the moisture-laden winds from the Pacific. Descending into the
lower valley of the Fraser causes little change in the trees outside the flood-plains, but they
at once increase in size and more than double their heiglit. It is in the lower Fraser valley
that we first see the Pacific coast forest and are lost in wonder at the height of tlie Douglas
fir, Menzies spruce and the western cedar. Trees of Douglas fir 300 feet high and ten or

^

TIIK FORRSTS OF CANADA.

15

hvclvc tV'ct in diiiniotcr were fninu>rly((inini()n,aiiil many fine HpociiiiciiH p>till ri'iiiaiii. A visit
to Stanli'y jiark at N'aiuoiiviT will satiHty tluMiioHtHki'iiticai, aii<l tlio ri'iniiaiitH (^t'tlio t'urinor
toroKtfi st't'ii there give lull assurance tliat the size and number of trees in the ol<l forests was
not exaggerated. The saniph's seen on this peninsula lietween New Westminster and Van-
couver ('ity will exemplify tlie forests of boine parts of Vancouver Ishmd and the coves and
deep inlets of the nminland.

The Itroad-leaved maple is a coast sfiecies, l)ut ascends the Fraser almost as far as its
junction witli the Thom|ison, ami hefore it disai)pears dwindles to little more than a shrub.
The arbutus is seldom seen on the mainland except on rocky points juttinj^ into the sea, but
it ascends tlie north arm of Burrard Inlet for a mile or two. From Burrard Inlet nortiiward
the coast forests of the mail land chanjre gradiudly so that the secpience of trees on a moun-
tain near Vancouver City will illustrate the gradual change on the const, with one exception —
Menzies spruce. This sjiecies is a very fiiu' tree on Burrard Inlet and continues so, far into
Alaska, while the Douglas tir seems to be at its liest here, and begins to diminish in size
and nund)crs towards the north end of Vancouver Island. It gradually becomes intermixed
with hendock {T.sitt/ti Mertensinna) and yellow cedar (Tlun/<t excelsa) to the north and
eventually disappears, aiul the coast forests are then composed of spruce, hemlock and
yellow cedar only.

The species on the mountain summits of the maiidand are little known, lint rt'asoning
from what we know of Vancouver Island wi' can safely say that Tkiujii PnUduintm and Allies
nnidhilis arc the princi[ial trees. These are intermixed on the uii[ier slopes with Tliui/a
cxeelun and Tmujd Mcrtcii.siuiht, while on the middle slo[ics Ptna.s mnnlicdla is well developed.

Vancouver Island.

There are no trees on Vancouver island that are peculiar to it, and only one which is
not fo\ind on the mainland — the western white oak {Qiiercii/t Giirnn/diKi). This tree
covers a considerable area of rocky ground around Viitoria, and is found at Departure Bay
and in some rpiantity at Comox, but in the latter locality it is of little value. Douglas tir
is the chief forest tree throughout Vancouver Island. On the south it is mixed with white
cedur and bi.lsam ti- On the mountain slopes this tree with white pine, yellow cedar
and hemlock constitute the iori'st, and at an altitude of 5,. 500 feet it holds its own with Allien
iiiiuiliilix and TxiKjii PattiDiiiiiin. As we pass to the north the forest changes and the moun-
tain trees descend so that the yellow cedar, first seen on Mount Benson, near Nanaimo, at
an elevation of 2,000 feet, reaches the coast some distance south of the north cud of the
island.

Tlu^ trees which give character to the Vancouver Island vegetation are the arbutus,
ilowcriug dogwood antl bn>ad-leavcd maple. The former with its large laurel-like ever-
green leaves is a living proof of the mildness of the clinuite, and its red inner bark and green
leaves as it is seen standing on a rocky j)oint or jutting rock along the coast relieves the
stmihre aspect of the thick forests of Douglas tir. The dogwood may often be seen in
company with it, its white invobu're, over three inches across, covering the tree with a man-
tle of white, broken here and there by protruding leaves.

le

JOHN MACOUN ON

CONCLUSION.

The exnnuniition of the Caiiudiuii fon-Htrt brings out Honii' iiotowortliy points roliitivo to
the distribution of species. Without referring to the origin of our flora, whieli it is not in-
tended to discuss in this paper, it nmy be interesting to note tiie secpience of species in some
genera na they [uiss from east to west.

Piiiiis BnitLsidtxi, P. Miirriii/iiiifi and P. rontarht form a natural grouji of scrub pines
that under one form or anotlier pass, witliout intermixing, from the Atlantic to tiie Pacific.
The first extends without a break from tlic Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia to the Athabasca
River at Fort Assiniboine. Hero at its western limit and as far east as J'rince Albert on
the Saskatchewan it is u fine tree. Scarcely a day's journey west of Fort Assiniboine the
writer found the second species in great i)rof'usion, but never more than three inches in
diameter. Mr. McConnell found l)oth species on the Liard River, J'. Mnrnn/inni being near
the mountains and P. BoHksiaim lower down the stream towards the Mackenzie. Tliroughout
the Rocky Mountains 7*. Miirniyiiini is the principal tree, between 4,000 and r),000 feet,
and in British Columbia on the plateau between lat. 51 ' and oo , at an altitude of from
2,000 to 4,000 feet. F'assing from the Coast Range to the valley of the Fraser the third
species comes in, l>ut excejit on the coast it prefers 8wam[is to dry ground.

Pireii (illm, P. E)i(j(:lni<n>iH and /'. Silchensis form aiKjthcr natural group and are dis-
tributed in nearly tiie same way. In this case, liowever, our knowledge is not so definite,
and there may be four species instead of three. Picmalhu'iH found in abundance from Nova
Scotia westward to the prairie region, and even there occasionally on river l)anks. It is
plentiful, too, in the Cypress Hills. This species enters the Rocky Mountains, and is found
in river valleys as far west as the valley of Kagle River, west of the Gold Range. In the
higher mountain valleys Piccn Eiif/eliiKtnni takes its place, and is the spruce fouiul on nearly
all mountains from the Rockies to the Coast Range. Crossing the Coast Range Picea Sil-
chotsls comes in and is the only coast s[iecies.

Tlie firs have the same distribution and pass from east to west in the same way, tiie
Rocky Mountains and west coast having their own species, tiie se(pience being Abicn Ixilsamca,
A. snbolphm and A. (jvdiidi.s.

The habitat of Jiiniitenis Vinjiiiiaini i-hanges as it passes from east to west. In the
east it grows on tht' rocky banks of streams or on shallow soil on limestone. In the west,
on the other hand, it grows in peat bogs or by lake shores, and althougli so distinct in habit
there seems to be no clear character by which it may be si'parated into two species.

The only trees that pass from east to west without ai)parent changi^ are the asjjcn and
the canoe birch. The latter, however, never becomes tlie tine tree on the west coast that it
does in the east. On Vancouver Island there are two forms of the aspen, oneof whi(!h may
be the European P. tremula. Both forms grow in clumps, but the leaves of the one
supposed to be P. tremula were quite brown in character when I saw them in 1803, wliile
those of the other form which grew near it were the usual light green colour. Tlie old leaves
of the former were quite round and seldom pointed, the teeth were sinuate and appressed
and not erect and regular as they arc in the common aspen.

In conclusion I may say that including Vancouver Island a coniferous forest may he
said to extend from the Pacific to the Atlantic, bounded on the north by the tundra of

TIIK KOUKSTS OP CANADA.

17

AliiHka mill tlic Hiiitimi Gronndu dftlu' Ddiiiiiiioii, niid Houtln-rly wifli ii viiryiiiff Ixji-dcr until
it iiiwtH imd iiiti'rininf,'l('s with tin- poidur lorwtrt of tiio >f(irlli\vi'Ht Tcrritorii's. i'liKHiiij,'
Htill imHtwunl tlic jiopliir inixoH with it to the Houth until aftvr imnHing Lak*- Su|it'nor it
.Urai 111 ally nu'rj,'cs into tlio di'i^iduoUH foroHtH of Ontario, HoutluTU (iuoltw and tiio dovatiMl
and interior rcfjion of New Urunnwick, Nova Scotia and I'rinco Kdward Inland.

Afti'r all lian lifcn naid about our wanti' hoth by niysulf and otluTH it is ovidont that wt-
havo woodland fnoufjh in tho north to supply ovcry di-nnnid that nuiy bo nnidc upon it for
many goiu'rations, but liki; everything that is valuable, it is hard to get at. When it will
he wanted none ('an say, but that it in therein incaleulableiiuantities is alisolutely certain.
A belt 200 miles deep and 3,000 miles wide gives us an area of 000,000 sijuare miles, but we
»rc quite safe in estimating it at 1,000,000. The [loplar forest and the mi.xed growth to the
lortli of it extends from Kdmonto?i to Winnipeg, a distance of about 000 miles, and averages
over 50 miles in width, wiiieh gives an area of 45,000 s(|uare miles of aspen forest for the
use of the settlors wiio will by degrees occupy this region, for the aspen districts have, as a
rule, good soil.

rl

Sec. IV., 1894. 3.

It JOHN MACOUN ON

List of Khrkht Tiikks ok tiik Dominion, Siiowinu tiikik Distuiiuition in tiik

VaKIOHH I'ltoVlNt'KH.

5

(I
7

H

II
1(1
II

12
13

V
15

l«

17
II-
II!
211
21
22
•£i
24
25
2(1
27
2H
211

:«)
:n
:j2
:«
•M
:i6

37

us
:)ii

AHiiiiinik Irlloliii, Diiiiul. (.ViiiiM'Irnii |iB|inw)

l.irJDil' Milriiii lulipiri'rii, Mill), ('fillip Irvi-)

Tillii Aiiii'i'liaiiii, I. inn. (HnMNWoiHl)

" pnlii'strii'H, All. (Iliiwny luHViul IuihhwoimI)

niiiiniiiUH I'lii'xliliiniih, DC, (" Harlicrry")

AriT l'('ini'<ylriiiil('iini, I. Inn. (Striped innplf)

" HpU-aliini, I.itni. (MMnntiilii iniiplc)

" nmcriii'livllnin, I'lirxli, (Hroitil Iciivoil nmpit-)

" c'Irciiintinn, I'lirHh, (Villi- Miiiplfl

" Hnrcliarlimni, Wiin j. (Snuai' inaplo)

" nlKniin, Torr. & (Jr. illliirk snuiir innpU>)

'■ dimyrarpiini, Klirli. iSIImthi' wIiIIc innpU'l

" niliniin, l.lnn. (Hod or soft iniiplc)

.N'cKuniln accroldi"*, Minicli. (Box clili-r, " .Manitoba ninple").

HIiiiH typliina, l.lnn. iStaK horn snniai'li)

(iyinniH'ladiis CanadciiHls, l.ani. (Kentiirky foffeo-tn-f)

(ili'dltHclila triicanlliu", I. inn. iTIiri'c thoriicd aeacla)

(VrclH CanadenNlM, Mini. (.liidaH tror)

Pninns .VnifHcann, Marsli. iWild plum)

I^'nn^ylvallil•a, l.lnn. lUird cherry)

cni«r>i;lnat», Walp. (\V<'Sti!rn l)lrd chcrryi

Vlivlniana, l.lnn. (Clioki' clicrry)

" .s<'n)(lna, Ehrli. (Hlack cherry)

PiriiN eoi'onarla, l.lnn. (Anierican erah-apple)

" rivularlH, Donml. (\Ve»U'rn eraliapplei

" .\inerleana, l)(". (.Monntalii aslo

Cratte^iiH t'oceinea l.lnn. (Scarlet fruited llicirn)

" toinentosa, l.lnn. (I)lack or pear tliorni

•' sniivllloha, Sehrader. (Downy leaved thorn)

" ('ruH ffalli, l.lnn. (I'ockspur thorn)

Aniulancliier CanadviiMlH, Torr. & Gray. (June berry)

HanianieliH VIrginlana, Linn. (Witch haxel)

Corniisalternirolia, l.lnn. (Alternate-leaved cornel)

" florida, l.lnn. (Flowering dogwood)

" Nuttnllll, .\nd. (Western flowering dogwood)

NysRa niiiltitlora, Wang. (Pepperidge, son"-niini tree)

Vllinrnum I.enliigo, l.lnn. (Sheep berry)

Sanibncus Canadensi.s ami pibeiiN In V. I

ArlnitnH Menziesli, I'urMli. (Madrona)

ftj |«5

1 I 1

&

8.
W.

IW

1 1

1 1

1 I 1

1
1

1
1
1
1

s.

s.

s.
1
1

if

'A

K.

K.

1

1

W.

E.

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

W.

W.

W.
1

C. , 1

,...1 1
C. 1

■^

T 1 1 !•; F( »RKS'rs () I' ( A NA I » A.
List or Fokkst Treeh of the Dominion — CiniUiuieil,

•4 I I

Id »5 aJ
ft. N >5

41
42

4a

44

4»

4U
47
4«
4U

no
ni

52

nil

fM

ss

5fl
57

5H
51)
(Ml
01

m

M
05
00
07
08
01)
70
71
72
73
74I
75'
76|

77

I
78

79

80

Kraximm Aincricnim, Linn. (Wliltt- iinIi)

" |iulH>M'i>nN, 1,11111. flU'il or rim unIi) .,

" vlriilix, Miclix. (<irci'u imli)

" <|iimlrnnKuliitn, Mlchx. (UIuvhiiIi)

" Nanilmi'iroliii, Ijiiii. (Illack axil)

.SaNNafriiN olllciiiitlc, Npi-s. (SiiMNiifriiM)

l'lfiiU8 fulvii, Mli'lix. (Slippery elm)

" Ainuricanii, Linn. (Anivrlcan elm)

" rncvnioHa, Thoniiui. (Km'Ic uhn)

IVllis (wclilc'iitHllN, Linn. (Nctllu tive)

MoriiH rul>rn, Linn. (HihI mulberry)

I'lnttiiiu.s iKi'ldcntiillH, Linn. (Hiittonwudil)

Cnryti iillxi, \nt(. (Slicllhark hickory)

" tonivntoHii, NiUt. (Wlilte heart hickory) ....
" porclnii, Mutt. (I'lK-nut or hrooni hickory) . , .

" uMiarii, Nutl. (Ilittorinit hickory)

" niicrocarpH, Nutt. (Small fruited hickory). . . .

Hetuin lentil, Llini. (t'hcrry or l)lm'k hircli)

hiteft, Michx. f.( Yellow hirch)

" pu|)ulifoliii, Alt. (American while birch) ..
" piipyrifcrii, MnrNh. (I'liperor canoeJiiix-h) ,

AluuM rubra, Bonganl. (Ked alder)

" rhombifolia, Nutl. (Mountain alder.)

CarpinuH t'arollniana, Walter. (Hiue licech)

Ostrya Vlr«inica, Willd. (Iron wood)

Quercua alba, Linn. (White oak)

" Garryana, Douglas. (Western white oak) .

" obtusiloba, Mich.\. (I'oHt oak)

" nincrocarpa, Mich.x. (Mos.sy-cup oak)

bicolor, Willd. (Swamp White oak)

" Prinus, Linn. (Rock Chestnut oak)

" prinoldes, Willd. (Chestnut oak)

" rubra, Linn. (Ke<l oak)

coccinea, Wang. (Scarlet oak)

" tinctoria, Bart. (Yellow oak)

" paluatris, Du Roi. (I'in oak)

Castanea .sativa var. Americana, (I'liesiuut)

FagUM fcrruginea, Alton. (American beech)

Salix tiavescens, Nutt

" Scouleriana, Barratt

" lasiandra, Benth

I

I t

I I I

1 1

1 1

W.

W

1

1

w.

w.

1

w.

1

1

1

w.
w.

1
w.

1

1
w.

1

1

w.

1

if

v..

E.

le

1

s.w.

li 1

i

..s.w.

I

..'s.w.
w.
w.
1

1

c.
c.

uo

JOHN MACOUN ON TIIK FOIIKSTS OF CANADA.
List op Forest Trees op the Dommov— Concluded.

1-4

a;

n

'A

'A

o

H

'A

6

>

81

Si
a

84

8fi

8e

87
88
8U
IK)
1)1

iy^
m

IM

05

Wi

97

98

9!l

IIKI

101

102

lOH

m

lO.-.
IIH>
107
108
lOi)
110
111
112

li:i

114
115
110
117
118

US)

120
121

Solix niftra. Hook. (Bliitk willow)

1

1
1

1

1

1

PopuluH treinula I.iiiii. (Ruropear. aspen)

1

1

treniuluideH, Miuhx. (As|)en)

1

1
1
1

1
1
1

1
1
1

1

1

' 1

1

1

I

" giaiididentata, Miclix. (Large-toothed aNprii)

" baKsaiiiirera, Linn. (Bai.saiii poplar)

" anKUstifolla, .TainL'g. (Black cotton- wood)

1

I

s.w.

1
1

1

1

" trichocarpa, Torr. & Gray

1

1

1

" monilifcra, Alton. (Cotton- wood)

w.

I

1

1

w.

1

■Tuglans cinerea, Linn. (Butternut)

I s.

" -liKra, Linn. (Black walnut)

— 1 —

Thuya occidentali.s, Linn. (White cedar)

1

1

1

1

N. E.

1

" giganlea, Nutt. (Western white cedar)

1 1 1

1
1
1

1

" excclsa. Bong. (Yellow cypress)

r

.Tuniperus Virginiana, Linn. (Bed cedar)

1

1

1

1

C.

Taxus '>revifolia, N'utt. (Western yew)

Pinurt Strobus, Linn. (White pine)

1

1

1

1

1

E.

" nionticola, Uuugl . (Western white pine)

1

1

1

" liexilis, .lanics. (Rocky mountain pine)

W.

" albicaulis, Kngelni. ( White-barked pine)

1

I

" resinosa, Ait. (Red pine)

" pondcrosa, var. scopulorum, Engelni. (Heavy pine) ...t

1

1

1

1

1

E.

1

....

" Banksiana, Lam. (Scrub pine)

" Murrayana, Balfour. (Mountain or l)lack pine)

1

1

I

1

1

N.

S.

1

1
c.

1

" rontorta, Uougl. (Western .scrub pine)

" ri^ida, Miller. (Fitch pine)

St L

Picca ni^ia, Link. (Black spruce)

1
1
1

1

1
1

1
1
I

1
1

1

1

E.

1

N.

N.

N.

•■••.

" rubra, (Red spruce)

" alba. Link. (W liite spruce)

'

I
1

1

1

C.

1

" KuKclmanni, Kngelm. (Engel maims si)ruce)

" Sitclieiisis, ("arr. (Mcnzies' spruce)

Tsujia Cunailensis, Carr. (Hemlock)

1

1

1

1

1

" Mertenslana, Carr. (Western henilnck)

1
1
1

1
1
1

1
1
1

" Patloniaua, Kngi'Im. (Mountain hemlock)

Pseudotsuga Douglasii, Carr. (Douglas (Ir)

W.

E.

A'.iies balsamea. Miller. (Canada balsam llr)

" subalpiiin, Eiigelm. (Mountain balsam)

1

1

1

1

1

1

1
C.

1

N.

1
1

1
1

" grandis, Liudley. ( We.stern balsam Hr)

" amabilis, Korbes. (White tir)

1
N.

Larix Americana, Miclix. (Tamarack, larch)

" occidentalis, Nutt. (Western larch)

1

1

1

1

1

N.

" Lyallii, Parlalore. (Mountain larch)

1

■^