Items of Interest July 21, 1917 Issue

Items of Interest

Sixty per cent of Canada's land area below the sixtieth parallel of latitude is non-agricultural and for the most part available for growing trees. In 1916 the exports of products from wood amounted to approximately one hundred million dollars. According to the census of 1911 the capital invested in timber and manufacturers amounted to $259,889,715 in 4999 establishments. In addition, the paper and printing trades accounted for an invested capital of $62,677,612 in 773 establishments. The annual normal consumption of railway ties is estimated at 20,000,000. The woods in order of their importance are jack pine, eastern cedar, Douglas fir, hemlock, tamarack, western larch, and minor species. The hardwoods are birch and maple. In 1915 the lumber cut in 3239 mills totaled 3,842,676,000 feet, valued at $16,919,806. The logging waste left in the woods is placed at 25 per cent of the original tree, and sawmill waste amounts to 40 per cent of the original tree, so that finished lumber represents 30 to 35 per cent of the tree. Slabs, edgings, and trimmings are represented at 15 to 17 per cent of the tree. Sawdust is accounted for at 11 per cent, while bark is represented as about 10 per cent.

Upon recommendation of the secretary of the President Wilson has created by proclamation the Verendrye National Monument near Sanith, N. Dak. This reservation, which embraces 253 acres, surrounds a lofty eminence locally known as Crowhigh Butte. It rises from the left bank of the Missouri River at Old Crossing, one of the most important fords of the Missouri, over which hunters, trappers, and explorers have passed from the earliest times. The significance of this monument is that it marks the first recorded visit of white men to the vast territory which includes North Dakota. Verendrye, a French explorer, starting from the north shore of Lake Superior, passed to the west and southwest into the unknown regions of the great plains and Rocky Mountains about 1740, sixty years before the Lewis and Clark expedition. The creation of the Verendrye National Monument follows the historical precedent set by the creation of the Cabrillo National Monument at the spot where the Spanish navigator Cabrillo first sighted the coast of California in 1542, and of the Sieur de Monts National Monument at the spot where Champlain first sighted the coast of Maine in 1609.

In a recent issue of the Bordeaux Colonial et Maritime the following information appeared: "It may be useful to know that a new process for the preparation of alfa fiber, replacing the cruder and more inefficient method of dessication by combing and pounding, has opened a new and productive avenue to the utilization of this fiber. This new process consists in the removal of the gum from the plant and the elimination of the resinous matters, which application results in making the fiber smooth and silky, and in a condition to be readily dyed. In addition, the alfa fiber thus obtained has the much desired quality for rope yarn in general, of being unaffected by rotting or decaying while in water, and this feature makes it more durable and thus preferable to jute or hemp. This same process makes it possible to obtain from the alfa a by-product similar to tow and having all the appearance of wool. It can be easily reeled or carded and used in the manufacture of bagging, cordage, and the like."

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