The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1878-05-16
pprrpR wAv


There is a better way, and those of
us who are interested in the hemlock
forests of Northern Pennsylvania
must adopt that way and pursue it.
Primarily, the land owner controls the
supply of hemlock timber, but he sells
to the tanner for the bark, and the lat
ter in turn joins the lumberman to
utilize the timber. If the timber is
without value, then the tanner must
add to his cost of bark the whole cost
of the land Under these disadvanta-
geous circumstances, the tanner can
not afford to pay the land owner nealy
SO much as if both bark and timber
were available. But there is another
disadvantage in assuming the worth
lessness of the timber. If it is allowed
to remain on the land and rot, our
common experience shows us that it is
difficult and nearly impossible ever to
bring the land so encountered with
fallen trees into cultivation; whereas,
if the logs are cut and removed, the
tops and branches will burn up clean,
and leave the land almost ready for
cultivation, and when these hemlock
lands are thus early and promptly
brought under cultivation they will
produce grass, oats, rye and potatoes
equal to any lands in the State, while
if neglected and left to grow up with
briers and bushes, with the fallen tim
Der, they soon become waste lands,
and never repay reclamation.
The hemlock lumbermen of the
State of Maine have hit upon the best
and most economical method of send
ing their hemlock product to market.
Their process applies to pine as we'll as
hemlock. The rivers of that State
have falls" which compelled them
early to adopt aplan which has proven
the most economical, and which has
enabled them to undersell the lumber
men of New York and Pennsylvania.
have the suggestion of an old lumber
man of that State to the effect that
their success was attributable to the
providential falls" in the rivers,
rather than to any original Judgment
of their own; for, said he, "had it not
been for these impediments, no doubt
we would have followed in the methods
of the older States, and manufactured
our lumber at the head waters of our
streams, instead of at tide water, as we
were forced to do" These "providen-
tial falls of water, which rendered
rafting impossible on the rivers and
streams of Maine, forced them to run
| theirlogs to tide water, and here they
are sawed and shipped, usually with
out second handling, and always geeen,
or nearly so. These manufacturers of
| lumber hold their stocks of hemlocll
in the log, well secured in their booms,
and when an order comes for lumber of
any description or size they can supply
and shipit with great dispatch.
Let me suppose case, which is
really constantly occurring. A builder
of one of the thousand towns situated
Immediately on our coast, or one ofthe
inlets orrivers, has taken contracts to
build one or two barns and several
small tenant houses during the coming
| season. He wants benloclx lumber fol
his frames, and perhaps even for his
siding. He looks over the large lumber
markets, viz, Albany, n. Y, Phila.
delphia, Pa, and Bangor, Me-, and
fluids that he CAM get at the latter place
Just the sizes he wants-indeed, they
will saw to order-while at Albany
and Philadelphia he must take what
they have in stock, and even the sizes
they have the day the order comes they
arenot certain of having on hand when
the vessel arrives. Under these cir
cumstances the order is sent to Ban
gor, or some other well known marke
of Maine, and before the vessel takes
its departure, the builder remember
ing that he will have some room lef
on the vessel, induces his neighbo
farmers to allow him to bring lot o
fencing-pickets, etc.-at mere nom
inal price for freight.
(COncLkded ,lert tUeek.)