Naturally in the consideration of the economic products of British Columbia comes the timber wealth. Apart from minerals it represents the most important and most readily available results. British Columbia may now be said to possess the greatest compact area of merchantable timber on the North American Continent, and if it had not been for the great forest fires that have raged in the interior in the years gone by, during which a very large portion of the surface has been denuded of its forest, the available supply would have been much greater than it is. This was an exigency, which, in the unsettled state of the country, could hardly have been provided against, if at all. However, as the coast possesses the major portion of the choice timber and that which is most accessible, the ravages of fire have not had, by reason of the dense growth and the humidity of the climate, any appreciable effect on that source of supply.
As far north as Alaska the coast is heavily timbered, the forest line following the indents and river valleys and fringing the mountain sides. Logging operations so far have extended to Knight's Inlet, a point of the coast of the mainland opposite the north end of Vancouver Island. Here the Douglas fir, the most important and widely dispersed of the valuable trees, disappears altogether, and the cypress, or yellow cedar, takes its place. North of this, cedar, hemlock and spruce are the principal timber trees. It will be of interest to know that Douglas fir (Pseudo-tsuga Douglassi) was named after David Douglas, a noted botanist who explored New Caledonia in the early twenties of this century. It is a very widely distributed tree, being found from the coast to the summit of the Rocky Mountains and as far east as Calgary and as far north as Fort McLeod. On the coast it attains immense proportions, is very high and clear of imperfections, sometimes towering three hundred feet in the air and having a base circumference of from thirty to fifty feet. The best averages, however, are one hundred and fifty feet clear of limbs and five to six feet in diameter. This is the staple timber of commerce, often classed by the trade as Oregon pine. It has about the same specific gravity as oak, with great strength, and has a wide range of usefulness, being especially adapted for construction work. It is scientifically described as standing midway between the spruce and the balsam, and in the opinion of Prof. Macoun, the Dominion naturalist, is a valuable pulp-making tree.
Perhaps the next two most important representatives of our forest wealth are the red cedar (Thuya gigantea) and the yellow cedar (Thuya excelsa). The former is found all over the Province, but reaches its greatest development on the coast, where it out-girths all others. In addition to its commercial value for shingles and finishing purposes, it is the friend of the settler, inasmuch as out of its straight-grained logs he can build his house, make his furniture and fence his farm, and that with the use of the most primitive of tools only-an axe, a saw, and a hoe. It is especially valuable, however, for interior finishing, being rich in colouring and taking on a beautiful polish. For this purpose it is finding an extended market in the east of Canada, and no doubt its merits will soon find appreciation far beyond these limits. Important as the red cedar is, the yellow cedar, though much more limited in area and quantity, is still more important, and I was going to say useful. It is very strong, comparing with the Douglas fir in this respect. It is wonderfully durable, finishes to perfection, and grows to great dimensions. Lying farther north, it will not be probably as soon in demand as the more ubiquitous red variety, but is already occupying attention. During the past year an extensive timber limit was disposed of in England, and a company has undertaken its manufacture. The cypress, which is found in great quantities in the interior of Vancouver Island, and on Mount Benson, near Nanaimo, comes within 1,200 feet of the sea. Towards the end of the island on Queen Charlotte Islands, and on the north coast of the Mainland, it is found lower down and is very plentiful.
It is out of the cedar that the Haida Indians build their celebrated war canoes, some of which have an eight-foot beam, are sixty feet long and can stem the heaviest seas of the coast waters.