Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1882-11-02


be it never so far from stream or lake
side. The demand for lumber has
wrought the change In regard to size,
and the new method of logging by pole
and iron railroad has brought the re-.
hottest pine within reach of mills and
market
In the earlier days of the lumber in
dustry OF the north snow was relied up-
on for moving logs from the stump to
the stream or lake, and is still to a
large extent. But in Michigan the de-
mand for raw material TO feed the mills
has become so urgent that snow and
frost are elements too tickle to base a
years operations upon. In the old
days the loggers operated near streams.
had an investment of limited capital,
we're supplying rather prodtless de-
mand, and did the best they could with
Ice and snow. In open winters they
brooked the loss of idle men and teams
and unfulfilled contracts as best they
could. Latterly numbering has become
a profitable enterprise. Vast capital is
invested in lands, stumpage mills and
outfit. The yearly demand calls for T.
OOO.OOO,OOO feet of lumber, and it must
be met by supply. The energy of
money has grappled the logging indus
try, and dispenses with the agency OF
frost. Logging railroads have largely
taken the place of the sled for long
hauls. Pole roads are used for shorter
hauls, and together they furnish a
means whereby logging is carried for
ward in the snowless season as.well as
in the winter. The log supply no
longer depends on the character of the
season, as was once somewhat the case.
The requisite number of sticks can be
put in to keep the mills running in any
event.
The pole road is simple tramway
of poles, flattened for the car wheels,
and placed end to end along the sur
face of the ground. Broad Hanged
wheels run on this rude track, and
bear up immense loads of logs and
convey them from the stump to the
water with a great saving of power.
The cars are drawn by horses, mules or
oxen. This kind of road is much used
n the South. But the iron or steel
track logging railway is the triumph of
modern forest industry. By its agency
vast forests of splendid pine in the in
terror of Michigan have been pene-
trated, and their crude wealth brought
out to the manufacturing centres. But
for this means the annual forest pro-
duct of Michigan would have been
one-third less than it is to-day, but re-
gions that ar. now denuded would still
have been clothed with heavy growth
of pine. Still it must be said that the
logging railroad has saved a vast
amount of timber wealth from destruc-
ton by fire. 1t is well known by those
familiar with forestry that in all
the pine regions, especially in Mich
igan, devastating fires annually sweep
over wide areas, and large pro-
portion of the most valuable tim
Der is scorched and killed before
the lumbermen can reach it. If
pine is not cut and put into the water
during the winter following its being
killed by fire, the succeeding season it
becomes worm-eaten and powder
pasted" and nearly or quite useless
for saving into lumber. Immense
amounts of pine were formerly lost in
this way. But since capital and enter
prise have promoted the building of
logging railroads, great saving of
burned timber has been made. A
pine owner nowadays would be con-
sidered exceedingly lacking in enter
prise if he permitted large tract or
burned pine to go TO waste by neglect
ing to penetrate it with railroad. The
construction of railway lines like the
Grand Rapids and Indiana, the Flint
and Pere Marquette, the Detroit, Mack
mac and Marquette, and others, through
northern Michigan, has greatly de-
veloped the lumber industry of the
State, by furnishing facilities for con-
veying the product to market. Like
railroad facilities are being extended
through northern Wisconsin, and are
bringing the remotest timber resources
of that State within reach of the lum-
bermen.