Lumbering in Canada
Canada lies in the north part of the continent. Its capital is Ottawa. Much of Canada is c9vered with thick forests. Theses are found in the north around Hudson Bay and in the Rocky Mountains. Here the summers are short and warm, but the winters are long and cold. Now covers the ground or six or seven months in the year.
The most important trees of these forests are the Pine and Fir. They have tall, straight trunks. Their side branches are sloping. This helps the heavy snow to slide off. The leaves are like sharp, green needles. Even in winter the trees o not lose their leaves. The wood of these trees is soft. It is easy to cut. Some is used to make houses, furniture and matches. But most of the wood is used for making paper for newspapers and magazines.
The cutting own of trees is one mainly in winter. This work is called Lumbering. The men who cut down the trees are called Lumberjacks. They live in camps in the forests. In the camp there are many log-cabins or huts. The men sleep in some of these cabins. Then there is a kitchen and dining-room. In other cabin the men can watch television, listen to music or read when they have finished their work. But their lives are difficult and lonely. The Lumberjacks use large saws worked by electricity.
After trees are felled, side branches are cut off. Then the trunk is cut into several pieces called logs. The logs are dragged across the snow by tractors. They are left on the ice of the frozen rivers.
When spring comes it becomes warmer, the ice in the rivers melt and the logs float down the river. The lumberjacks work is not yet over. They must see that the logs get safely to the saw mills. Sometimes the rivers are so crowded with logs that pile up, one on top of the other. This is called a Log-Jam. The lumberjacks have to climb over the logs to free them. The logs then move down the stream again. This is a very dangerous job. If the lumberjack falls into the water, he can be crushed by the moving logs.
The saw mills re built on the banks of the rivers. At the mills the bigger logs are cut into planks. The smaller ones are crushed to make wood pulp. This pulp is used for making paper. When winter comes to an end and he logs reach the mills the lumberjacks work is over. They return to their families and homes. During the short summer they become farmers and fishermen. When inter comes again, they go back o their lumber camps in the forests and start to cut down the trees.
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