Items of Interest April 14, 1917 Issue

Items of Interest

The progress that Canada is making toward becoming the world's center for the manufacture of pulp and paper is indicated in figures recently published by the Department of Trade and Commerce of Canada. For the year ended July, 1916, the exports of paper amounted to $21,678,868, of which 88 per cent went to the United States and 5.2 per cent to the United Kingdom. This total is an increase of 31 per cent over the figures for the year previous. The first export shipment of paper from Canada was made in 1892, amounting to a total of ninety-one dollars for that year. The total exports of paper, pulp, and pulp wood for the year ended July, 1916, were $40,865,266, of which the United States received 87 per cent and the United kingdom 6 per cent. The drain involved in this use of the Canadian forests, a source of national wealth, is likely to increase rather than diminish, and it is expected that much more stringent measures than in the past must be taken to prevent destruction by fire and to insure the restocking to valuable species of cut over and burned over areas.

The territory of East Africa comprises British East Africa, Uganda, German East Africa, and Zanzibar, having a total area of over 700,000 square miles and a population of more than 15,000,000. A few wealthy Britishers, having been first attracted to the country by the opportunity for hunting, recognized the agricultural possibilities of the highlands and acquired large holdings of rich land in the interior. It has been estimated that over 14,000,000 acres of land in this territory are at present under cultivation. By far the largest and most important part of this area consists of small native farms receiving crude and inefficient cultivation, but the European settler is becoming an important factor in the agricultural development. The products that seem to possess the greatest present-day value and the greatest promise for the future are cotton, coffee, sisal, rubber, and cattle.

The harbors and public lands committee of the Massachusetts legislature has under consideration the advisability of acquisition by the state of a tract of land which borders the state highway, and which follows the old Mohawk Trail over the Berkshire Hills between North Adams and Greenfield. In his inaugural address Governor McCall said: "A reservation similar to that of Mount Wachusett and Greylock reservations would be of great value upon certain portions of the so-called Mohawk Trail. It would afford a means of protecting the road itself and would safeguard the beauty of views." The taking would consist of a block of land thirteen miles in length, from one fourth to two miles in width, and having a total area of 6261 acres. It is estimated the cost of this tract would be about one hundred and thirty thousand dollars. The scenic beauty of the road is said to be unsurpassed in Massachusetts.

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