File:Canadian forest industries 1916 (1916) (20531829671).jpg

Title: Canadian forest industries 1916
Identifier: canadianforest1916donm (find matches)
Year: 1916 (1910s)
Authors:
Subjects: Lumbering; Forests and forestry; Forest products; Wood-pulp industry; Wood-using industries
Publisher: Don Mills, Ont. : Southam Business Publications
Contributing Library: Fisher - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
40 CANADA LUMBERMAN AND WOODWORKER March 1, 1916 Sawmilling Operations Following the Railways Developments Along The C. N. R. and G. T. P. Now that the interior of British Columbia is being served by railways to an extent undreamed of a few years ago, the timber wealth of regions hitherto remote is being levied upon by the pioneer saw- mall owner to an extent of which the average lumberman can have no conception. Some of these small plants were located ahead of railway construction at points likely to become centres of develop- ment later on; others were started up by ranchers and land com- panies to supply a local demand for building material; but in most cases the impelling circumstances were ideal mill sites going to waste, plenty of good timber close at hand, and the assurance of transporta- tion for the output in case the local demand proved insufficient. Back of all this was a supreme faith in the future of the province and the belief that in the course of time the modest sawmill of today would become the nucleus of a thriving community and be replaced by a modern band mill capable of turning out perhaps 100,000 feet every ten hours. This corallary of events has been duplicated more than once in the past hostory of British Columbia, and is bound to be repeated many times in the future owing to the fact that the rapid settlement of the prairie provinces foretells a demand for lumber in a few years that will tax the ability of our manufacturers to supply. Some fifteen or twenty sawmills of limited capacity have been located along the Canadian Northern and Grand Trunk Pacific rail- way lines during the past two years, while probably half as many have been built or are projected at points along the Kettle Valley and Pacific Great Eastern lines. The prediction has been made by sev-
Text Appearing After Image:
Nelson's Sawmill at Barriere North Thompson River, B. C. eral of our most experienced lumbermen that the next ten years will see as many mills erected along our new lines of railway as are now tributary to the pioneer Canadian Pacific line, and in view of the new timber areas opened up, and their nearness to the prairies, the opinion w ould seem to contain no element of improbability. It may be taken for granted that a large proportion of the rough lumber and timbers to be purchased by the prairie retailers a few years hence will be shipped to them by plants not now figuring in the manufacturing game. By that time, it is to be hoped, the mills at the Coast will be so busy catering to the foreign demand for lumber that the competi- tion of the small mills will be welcomed. Typical Plant on Thompson River At Barriere, in Kamloops district, there is a small mill so advan- tageously placed that the proprietor, J. H. H. Nelson, sees prosperity ahead. The mill site comprises sixteen acres fronting on the Thompson River at a point where the Barriere River joins that stream. The Canadian Northern Railway track parallels the north boundary of the site, thus affording handy shipping facilities by means of a spur line to side of mill. The building is 30x110 ft., with boiler house and filing room 12x80 ft. on east side, and planer room 20x60 ft. on west side. The equipment comprises 50 h.p. Leonard boiler and 40 h.p. Leonard engine, with 60x14 in. drive to circular (54 in. inserted tooth Simonds saw), also 56 in. x 8 in. drive to countershaft above for edger fitted with three 18in. Simonds saws, 40 in. trim saw, 20 in. bench rip-saw, post boring machine, and one 8 in. x 14 in. Cowan out- side moulder. Logs are stored in boom in front of mill, delivered on mill floor by friction log haul, and rolled to 50 in. three-block rope feed carriage installed by A. R. Williams Co., Ltd., Vancouver. The filing room is fitted up with saw grinder, double emery-stand, planer knife grinder, and full set of tools for saw repairs. The present capacity of the mill is about 20,000 ft. in 10 hours, but when the need arises this can readily be increased to 30,000 ft., and a comparatively small expenditure would permit of the output being raised to 40,000 ft. The plant was erected by Mr. Nelson in 1913 as the result of an arrangement entered into with the Barriere Land Company, an off- shoot of the Franco-Canadian Trust Company, Ltd., Vancouver. The Barriere Company own some 1,800 acres of excellent land at that point, which is slated to become a town of some importance in the near future owing to the agricultural possibilities of the region. Already there is quite a little settlement springing up, one large gen- eral store doing a business of about $3,000 per month. Mr. Nelson operated his mill for about six months in 1913 and about four months in 1914; this year it ran for only two months owing to the limited local demand and the fact that the railway line was not opened to traffic as early as planned. The return of prosperity being indefinite- early in the season, when the log supply had to be arranged for, Mr. Nelson decided that it would be unwise to tie up money in yard stock until communication with the prairies was absolutely assured. There is a good supply of lumber easily available all the way up the Barriere River and North Thompson and East Barriere Lakes, these bodies of water varying from five to nine miles in length. The lumber consists of cedar, fir, white pine, full pine, spruce and silver fir. Next season Mr. Nelson expects to ship to the prairies, and with that aim in view he is arranging to have a sufficient supply of logs taken out this winter by ranchers to keep his mill running steadily all summer. Being located well towards the summit of the mountain range, the mill should enjoy a considerable advantage in freight rates over the Coast plants. Farm Demonstrating as Side Line Following the example set by many owners of small mills in the interior of the province, Mr. Nelson utilized his spare time in de- monstrating the soil possibilities of his holdings. He cleared a large portion of the mill site and farmed it in thorough fashion, the result proving that the Barriere Flats will grow anything in the shape of farm and garden produce. Mr. Nelson, referring to this branch of his activities, writes the Western Lumberman as follows: "I used the land for demonstrating all kinds of garden and field produce without irrigation for two years, the results being exceptional in character. All kinds of fruit grows to perfection here—even peaches, apricots, watermelons and muskmelons. Tomatoes ripen splendidly and the climate is well suited for general farming and sheep raising. The climate here is simply grand—after living for 30 years at the Coast before coming up here I am well pleased with the change. The temperature in summer reaches 85 degrees, but it is a verv dry heat; in winter it goes as low as 25 degrees below zero, but the air'is vcrv calm and dry, and one does not feel the cold as severely as at the Coast. We get from one to two feet of snow, coming about 15th of December and lasting until 15th March. This gives splendid sleigh- ing all winter and facilitates outdoor Avork of all kinds." •The,fed^°~electric P°wer system of the City of Kamloops, ijen- erating 10,000 h.p., is situated five miles up the Barriere River'and llJePow'err hnes ™» through Barriere town site and within 200 yards ol Mr. Nelson's mill. He is thus assured of cheap power to anv extent desired, and this will be a factor in plans for the future develop- ment of this promising mill proposition. A Boy Scout Forest Book Copies of a Boy Scout Forest Book have been presented bv the Canadian Forestry Association to the sixteen thousand boy scouts of Canada as part if an educational propaganda for forest protection Jn the thirty-two pages of text and illustration the boy is made ac- quainted with the Canadian forest as a personal and national neces- sity. The subject is handled from a new angle and the young reader is given the business reasons for putting an end to our plague of forest nres. The idea is an excellent one and ought to bear good fruit. Fewer Ties Being Taken Out We are advised by a firm in close touch with the situation that owing to the great number of men that have enlisted, and the hi^h wages prevailing in the lumber camps, very few if any railway ties are being taken out this winter, and it looks as if there will be a shortage when the railways commence to look for their requirements later on. The Crescent Belt Fastener Co. Toronto., H. J. Walker manager have moved from 28 Wellington St. W., to larger offices at 32 Front St. \\ .

Note About Images