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From an early
period in the development of industry and commerce in Canada the
timber trade has been an important element in the activities of the
people. There was a demand in Great Britain and other European
maritime countries for ship timber and timber for other structural
purposes, which material was sent abroad in the squared form. There
was also a call for spars or masts, bowsprits, booms and yards, and
there was an extensive manufacture of boards, deals, planks, lath,
staves, etc. Much of the cooperage stock went to the West Indies to
supply the demand for sugar, tobacco and other packages. The forest
products handled were white pine, red or norway pine, elm for ship
timber, oak for the same purpose, squares of ash, basswood,
butternut and birch. All of the woods mentioned were shipped to
foreign ports in the form of square timber largely, much of it being
resawed after it reached destination. There were also hickory
handspikes, ash oars, “lathwood,” as lath were called in the culling
rules, and other forms. “ Deals ” were, as they are now, an
important item in Canadian mill output. The word “deal” is
synonymous with the word “cant,” as applied to lumber—that is, a
piece sawed to dimensions suitable for resawing. The standard Quebec
or English deal was twelve feet long, eleven incfies wide and two
and one-half inches thick. A “ standard hundred” of deals was one
hundred of these pieces. Deals were a favorite form of lumber
production, and much of the good white pine and norway pine of
Canada was cut into deals.
The Quebec market
in the early days, down to 1840 or 1850, was not only the gateway
for the foreign distribution of forest products of all Canada, but
also that market drew much from the Lake Champlain region of Vermont
and New York, and all portions of the last named State which had
access to the navigable waters of the St. Lawrence River and Lake
Ontario. The rich pine of northern Vermont to a large extent went
down the Sorel River to the St. Lawrence River and thence to Quebec.
The forests of northern New York were extensively drawn upon for elm
timber, which was hauled for twenty to forty miles by ox teams, in
the winter, to the St. Lawrence, and on that stream was rafted to
Quebec. This elm timber business was carried westward until in
recent years a supply has been drawn from as far west as Wisconsin.
Pine deals have also been furnished the Quebec market from all the
old white pine states of the United States, though, of course, in
later years the Dominion has been about the only source of supply.
The export trade
has always been so important a factor in the Canadian lumber
industry, and the production of lumber has been to so large an
extent from Crown lands, that the industry has been peculiarly
subject to official regulation. One of the important phases of these
regulations has been that relating to qualities of lumber and the
upbuilding of a system by which relations between buyer and seller,
producer, exporter and importer might be officially established.
Thus has arisen the system of measurement and inspection known as
Quebec culling. It is, perhaps, the most widely used of any system
of lumber inspection in the world and, perhaps, of the widest
reputation. It seems well, therefore, to give space for the more
important provisions of this measure which has back of it the
authority of the Dominion of Canada.
Survey, or
inspection, is called “culling” in the Quebec market. Authority for
the enforcement of the culling rules was derived from an act1 of the
Dominion Parliament, entitled “ An Act Respecting the Culling and
Measuring of Lumber in the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec.” The
application of this act is thus defined in section 3: “The
provisions of this act apply only to the Provinces of Ontario and
Quebec and do not apply to any place below the eastern end of the
Island of Orleans.”
The important
portions of this act are as follows:
Square timber shall
be measured only in some one of the three modes following, that is
to say:—
First.—Measured
off, in the raft or otherwise, giving the full cubic contents
without any allowance or deduction ;
Second.—Measured in
shipping order—which shall mean sound, fairly made timber—gum seams
closed at the butt and sound knots not to be considered
unsoundness—lengths under the merchantable standard hereinafter
mentioned and not less than twelve feet long to be received, if, in
the opinion of the culler, the same is fit for shipment; ‘ •
Third.—Culled and
measured in a merchantable state, in accordance with the rules,
standards and limitations hereinafter described.
In measuring
timber, the culler employed for that purpose shall measure not only
the girth of each piece of timber, but shall also measure,
personally, with the aid of one competent assistant, the length of
each piece of timber, in all cases where such measurement is
practicable with the aid of only one assistant; and in the event of
any case arising in which, in the opinion of the supervisor, or of
any deputy, such measurement cannot be effected with the aid of one
assistant only, such culler may employ an additional competent
assistant for that purpose, who, as well as the assistant first
above mentioned, shall be approved of by the supervisor or deputy.
Every culler shall
be provided with such measuring rods, tapes and other measuring
instruments as are prescribed by departmental regulations, all of
which shall be in accordance with the standard measures of Canada,
and shall bear the verification marks of the Department of Inland
Revenue:
Every culler shall
also be provided with such scribing knives and such stamps as are
necessary for marking the articles culled by him with the initials
of his name, and with the capital letters distinguishing the
quality, as follows:—
M. Which shall
denote what is merchantable;
U. Which shall
denote what is sound and of merchantable quality, but under
merchantable size;
S. Which shall
denote what is of second quality;
T. Which shall
denote what is of third quality ;
R. Which shall
denote what is rejected and unmerchantable:
Such marks shall be
indented or stamped on the end of each article of lumber culled in
terms of the merchantable standard hereinafter prescribed, except as
to West India and barrel staves, boards, deals, lathwood and
handspikes.
Every culler shall
check and examine the entry of his measurements and of culling and
counting on the books of the supervisor, and sign such entry and
calculations on the said books.
A copy of every
agreement as to the adoption of any of the modes of measurement or
culling mentioned in this Act, signed by the seller and buyer, shall
be lodged in the office of the supervisor, or deputy supervisor, at
the same time that a requisition is made to him for a culler to
measure or cull any lumber, for the guidance of the supervisor, or
deputy supervisor, and culler, in the performance of their duty,—and
such requisition shall state the river and section of the Province
wherefrom such lumber is produced; but the owner of any lumber, or
his agent, may cause it to be measured, culled or counted before any
sale, in which case the specification of such lumber shall set forth
the mode in which the measurement, culling or counting has been
performed.
QUALITIES OF
LUMBER.
In all cases the
supervisor, deputy supervisor and cullers, respectively shall, in
ascertaining and certifying the merchantable size and quality of
lumber submitted to their culling, be governed by the descriptions,
rules, standards and limitations following, that is to say:—
White Oak.—Square
white oak timber, first quality, shall be free from rot, rotten
knots affecting the surrounding wood, open rings and grub or large
worm holes, but small worm holes and shakes shall be allowed
according to the judgment of the culler;
Second quality
shall be oak not coming within the definition of first quality, and
which, in the judgment of the culler, is not culls;
Rock Elm.—Square
hard grey or rock elm shall be free from rot, open rings and rotten
knots affecting the surrounding wood, but shakes and slivers shall
be allowed according to the judgment of the culler;
White or Yellow
Pine.—Square white or yellow pine timber shall be free from rot,
rotten knots affecting the surrounding wood, worm holes, open shakes
and open rings, but sound knots shall be allowed according to the
judgment of the culler;
Red Pine.—Square
red pine timber shall be free from rot, rotten knots affecting the
surrounding wood, worm holes, shakes and splits, but sound knots
shall be allowed according to the judgment of the culler;
Ash, Basswood and
Butternut.—Square ash, basswood and butternut shall be of the same
quality as white or yellow pine square timber;
Birch.—Square birch
shall be free from rot, rotten knots, splits and shakes, and shall
be allowed two inches wane ;
Masts, Bowsprits
and Red Pine Spars.—Masts, bowsprits and red pine spars shall be
sound, free from bad knots, rents and shakes, and the heart shall be
visible in spots at or near the partners;
Hickory
Handspikes.—Hickory handspikes shall be six feet long, and three and
a half inches square at the smaller end;
Ash Oars.—Ash oars
shall be three inches square on the loin, and five inches broad on
the blade, the blade shall be one-third of the length of the oar,
and such oars shall be cleft straight on all sides, and free from
large knots, splits and shakes;
Lathwood.—Lathwood
shall be cut in lengths of from three to six feet, and measured by
the cord of eight feet in length by four feet in height ; and, to be
merchantable, shall be free from rot, shall split freely, and each
billet may contain to the extent of three or four open case knots,
provided they run in line or nearly so, and it shall not have more
than one twist;
Pine or Fir
Boards.—Pine or fir boards shall not be less than ten feet in
length, one inch in thickness and seven inches in breadth, equally
broad from end to end, edged with a saw, or neatly trimmed by a
straight line, and shall be free from rot, bad knots, rents and
shakes, and of equal thickness on both edges from end to end; the
color alone of any board shall not be a sufficient cause for its
rejection, if it is in other respects sound and merchantable, and of
the dimensions required by this Act;
White or Yellow
Pine Deals.—White or yellow pine deals, to be merchantable, shall be
free from rot, rotten knots, grub-worm holes, open case knots,
shakes and splits (a slight sun crack excepted), and sound knots and
hard black knots shall be allowed as follows: If they do not exceed
three in number, and do not exceed on the average one inch and a
quarter diameter; if they exceed three and are not more than six in
number, and do not exceed, on the average, three-quarters of an inch
in diameter; such proportion of knots shall be allowed for a deal
eleven inches in width and twelve feet in length, and deals of
greater or less dimension shall be allowed for in proportion,
according to the judgment of the culler; wane equal to half an inch
on one edge, if running the whole length of the deal, shall be
allowed, and if not exceeding half the length of such deal,
three-quarters of an inch wane shall be allowed; the deals shall be
free from black or dead sap, with a slight exception, in the
discretion of the culler;
Red Pine Deals.—Red
pine deals, to be merchantable, shall be free from rot, rotten
knots, grub-worm holes, open case knots and splits; several small
sound knots shall be allowed, according to the judgment of the
culler; heart shake shall be allowed, if it does not run far into
the deal or form a split through at the ends; they shall be free, or
nearly so, from black or dead sap, but sound sap on the corners or
on a portion of one face of a deal shall be allowed, according to
the judgment of the culler;
Spruce
Deals.—Spruce deals, to be merchantable, shall be free from rot,
rotten knots, grub-worm holes, open case knots, splits and shakes,—a
heart shake not exceeding one-fourth of an inch to half an inch in
depth excepted; several small sound knots and hard black knots shall
be allowed, according to the judgment of the culler, and in the
exercise of such judgment he shall keep in view the peculiar nature
of the wood, and govern his judgment accordingly; wane equal to half
an inch on one edge, if running the whole length of the deal, shall
be allowed, and if not exceeding one-quarter the length of such
deal, three-quarters of an inch shall be allowed;
White or Yellow
Pine, Second Quality Deals.—White or yellow pine second quality
deals shall be free from rot, rotten knots and splits, with slight
exceptions, at the discretion of the culler, and sound knots and
hard black knots shall be allowed as follows: If they do not exceed
six in number and, upon the average, one inch and a half diameter;
if they exceed six and are not more than twelve in number, and do
not exceed, upon the average, one inch and a quarter in diameter,
—but small knots under half an inch diameter shall not be counted or
considered; such proportion of knots shall be allowed for a deal
eleven inches in width and twelve feet in length, and deals of
greater or less dimensions shall be allowed for in proportion,
according to the judgment of the culler; heart shakes and sun cracks
not exceeding three-fourths of an inch to one inch in depth shall be
allowed, as also worm holes, according to the judgment of the
culler; wane of half an inch to one inch shall be allowed according
to the quality of the deal in other respects, according to the
judgment of the culler; deals rejected as not coming within the
standard of merchantable or second quality shall be classed as
culls,—except that the culler may, if requested by buyer and seller,
select and classify, as third quality, the best of the deals so
rejected;
Spruce and Red
Pine, Second Quality Deals.—Spruce and red pine second quality
deals, shall be deals not coming within the definition of
merchantable, and which, in the opinion and judgment of the culler,
are not culls, and shall be classed as second quality; and the
culler, if required by seller and buyer, may select and classify as
third quality the best of the deals unfit to be seconds;
Quebec Standard
Hundred of Deals.—The Quebec standard hundred of deals shall be one
hundred pieces twelve feet long, eleven inches broad, and two and a
half inches thick; and deals of all other dimensions shall be
computed according to the said standard; deals of all qualities
shall be not less than eight feet long, seven inches broad and two
and a half inches thick; deal ends shall be not less than six feet
long and shall be computed according to the Quebec standard;
Merchantable
Deals.— All merchantable deals shall be well sawn and squared at the
end with a saw, and the color alone shall be no objection to their
being merchantable ;
To be Stamped.—All
deals when culled shall, in all cases, be stamped with the initials
of the culler, and the capital letter denoting their quality as
such;
Marking of Spruce
and Other Deals.—Spruce deals, if not sawn at the ends prior to or
at the time of culling, shall be marked with the capital letter,
denoting their respective qualities, with red chalk, in large bold
letters; and to prevent mistakes in piling, all other deals shall be
marked with bold strokes in red chalk as follows:—
Merchantable shall
be marked, I;
Second quality
shall be marked, II;
Third quality (if
made) shall be marked, III;
Rejected or culls
shall be marked, X;
STANDARD OR
MEASUREMENT STAVES.
Standard or
measurement staves shall be of the dimensions set forth in the words
and figures following :—
HEAD STAVES.
Head staves, five
and a half feet long, and four and a half inches broad, shall be
received as if of merchantable dimensions;
STANDARD MILLE.
The standard mille
shall be twelve hundred pieces of five and a half feet long, five
inches broad, and one and a half inches thick; and standard or
measurement staves of other dimensions shall be reduced to the said
standard by the tables of calculation now used;
WEST INDIA OR
PUNCHEON STAVES.
West India or
puncheon staves shall be three and a half feet long, four inches
broad, and three-fourths of an inch thick;
QUALITIES REQUISITE
IN ALL STAVES.
All staves shall be
straight grained timber, properly split, with straight edges, free
from the grub or large worm holes, knots, veins, shakes and
splinters; and small worm holes which do not exceed three in number,
shall be allowed according to the judgment of the culler, provided
there are no veins running from or connected therewith, and the
culler shall measure the length, breadth and thickness of standard
staves at the shortest, narrowest and thinnest parts; and the
thickness of West India and barrel staves exceeding the standard
breadth shall be measured at such standard breadth, to wit: Four and
three and a half inches respectively, provided the thinnest edge is
not less than half an inch;
DIMENSIONS OF
MERCHANTABLE TIMBER.
The dimensions of
merchantable timber shall be as set forth in the following words and
figures:—
Oak.—Oak shall be
at least twenty feet in length and ten inches square in the middle;
Elm.—Elm shall be
at least twenty feet in length and ten inches square in the middle;
White Pine.—White
pine shall be at least twenty feet in length and twelve inches
square in the middle, and fifteen feet and upwards in length, if it
is sixteen inches square and upwards in the middle;
Red Pine.—Red pine
shall be at least twenty-five feet in length and ten inches square
in the middle, and twenty feet and upwards in length, if it is
twelve inches square and upwards in the middle;
Ash, Basswood and
Butternut.—Ash, basswood and butternut shall be at least fifteen
feet in length and twelve inches square in the middle, and at least
twelve feet in length, if it is fifteen inches square and upwards in
the middle;
Birch.—Birch shall
be at least six feet in length and twelve inches square in the
middle;
TAPER OF
MERCHANTABLE TIMBER.
Bends or twists not
to exceed one in number ;
HOLLOW ALLOWED.
Hollow allowed on
merchantable timber: —
Oak, 3 inches for
every 20 feet in length, and in proportion for any greater length;
Elm, 3 inches for
every 20 feet in length, and in proportion for any greater length;
White pine, 2}£
inches for every 20 feet in length, and in proportion for any
greater length ;
Red pine, 3 inches
for every 20 feet in length, and in proportion for any greater
length;
Ash, basswood and
butternut, 2J£ inches for every 20 feet in length, and in proportion
for any greater length ;
DIMENSIONS OF
MASTS, BOWSPRITS AND RED PINE SPARS.
White pine masts of
23 inches and upwards at the partners, shall be 3 feet in length to
an inch in diameter;
22 inches do. 3
feet do. do. and 2 feet extreme length;
21 do. do. 3 feet
do. do. and 3 feet do.
20 do. and under 3
feet do. do. and 4 feet do.
Hollow or bend not
to exceed six inches for seventy feet, and in proportion for any
greater length;
Bowsprits shall be
two feet in length for every inch in diameter at the partners,
adding two feet for extreme length ;
Red pine spars
shall be three feet to the inch in diameter at the partners, and
nine feet extreme length; hollow not to exceed seven inches for
sixty,feet, and in proportion for any greater length.
REWORKING.
Whenever it appears
that timber, masts, spars, boards, planks, deals, staves, oars or
any other description of lumber, are not properly hewn, squared,
butted or edged, but are merchantable in other respects and sold as
such, the supervisor, deputy and culler, respectively, shall order
or cause the same to be properly dressed and chopped, at the expense
of the seller or the buyer, as the case may be, previously to their
being respectively received and certified to be merchantable; and
such dressing and chopping shall be done under the direction of the
culler in charge of the measuring or culling.
SURVEY IN CASE OF
DISPUTE.
If any dispute
arises between the first buyer or seller, or the person making the
requisition, and the culler employed to cull or measure any article
of lumber, with regard to the dimensions or quality thereof, the
supervisor or deputy shall, as soon as possible, upon a written
complaint thereof being made, demanding a survey, cause a board of
survey to be held for examining the quality and dimensions of such
lumber; and such board shall take into consideration the position of
such lumber when measured or culled, and all other circumstances and
considerations connected therewith, in reporting thereon; and such
board shall consist of three persons,—one to be appointed by the
culler whose decision is disputed, one by the person complaining,
and one by the supervisor or deputy,—and their determination shall
be final and conclusive; and if the opinion and act of the culler is
confirmed, the reasonable costs and charges of re-examination shall
be paid by the person complaining, but if otherwise, by the culler:
WHEN SURVEY MUST BE
DEMANDED.
Such survey shall
be demanded when the culling or measuring is completed, or within
two lawful days after the person demanding the survey has been
furnished with the specification thereof; and such right of survey
shall cease on and after the fifteenth day of November in each year:
APPOINTMENT OF
CULLER.
The supervisor or
deputy, for the more expeditious settlement of disputes, may, with
the consent and at the request of buyer, seller and culler
concerned, name one culler to act as surveyor; and if the culler so
named is not objected to by any of the persons interested, he shall
act in the capacity of a board of survey, and his determination
shall be final and conclusive.
COLLECTION OF FEES
AND CHARGES.
The fees and
charges fixed by the Governor in Council shall be charged and
collected by the supervisor and deputy supervisor, as the fees and
charges for culling, measuring or counting off each description of
lumber, and for making out specifications, and shall include all
charges and expenses against such lumber, except in cases where
extra labor for canting, dressing, butting, chopping and piling is
necessary and required:
BY WHOM AND WHEN
PAYABLE.
One-half of such
fees and charges shall be paid by the buyer, and the other half by
the seller; but the whole of such fees and charges shall, in all
cases, be paid to the supervisor or deputy, on the delivery of the
specification or on the presentation of an account thereof, by the
person, or by the persons jointly or severally, who filed a
requisition or order for such measuring, counting or culling,
whether such person or persons are buyers, sellers, owners, or
possessors of such lumber.
CULLING NOT
COMPULSORY IN CERTAIN CASES.
Nothing in this Act
shall make it compulsory to have any article of lumber measured,
culled or assorted, under this Act, if such lumber is shipped for
exportation by sea for account, in good faith, of the actual and
bona fide producer or manufacturer thereof; but all other lumber
shipped for exportation by sea, shall be either measured, culled or
counted, at the option of the persons interested, by a licensed
culler, under the control and superintendence of the supervisor or
deputy; and the owner or shipper of such lumber, or the proprietor
or lessee of the premises from which such lumber is so unlawfully
shipped, shall incur a penalty equal to the market value of any
article of lumber so unlawfully shipped. |
