38 NATURAL RESOURCES OF QUEBEC

are at present difficult of access they form a large reserve that will ultimately
 be utilized.
The forests of the temperate zone comprise the second region. They
contain the bulk of the valuable merchantable timber for which Quebec
is famous, and may be sub-divided into three types, the Laurentian, the
St. Lawrence, and the Allegheny.

Laurentian Area.—The Laurentian forest area is estimated to contain
 75,000,000 acres. For a hundred years lumbering has been carried

A typical stand of spruce in the lake St. John district, Province of Quebec

on in this area. This country, which attracts so many tourists, contains
numerous beautiful lakes and rivers well adapted to log driving The
principal species are spruce, pine, cedar, tamarack, maple, birch, ash,
elm, basswood, and poplar. With the gradual removal of white pine and
the spruces, the hardwood species, floatable for short distances, are assumng
 greater importance. It is estimated that only 75 per cert of this
area is now capable of vielding merchantable timber o