Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1886-07-16
THE CALIFORNIA REpwoopS
Region Of Magnificent Timber That is Stead
lily Increasing in Value.


A Region Of Magnificent Timber That is Stead
lily Increasing i'll Value.
So speedily and Yet so quietly has the
cutting of our lumber forests gone on,
says the San Francisco Alta, that the
country Is called out of its inattention to
| face the fact that the pine lands of Mich
| lgan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. which
have been our main reliance, are within
| few years of complete exhaustion. Ii is
estimated that within twenty wears the
| logging days of those states will be over.
/ Therefore, from this time on, every tree
cut i'll that region doubles the value of
every uncut tree on the Pacific coast. As
long as the end of the supply in the lake
states was not IN sight there was but little
attention paid to our timber region on
! this side of the continent. Indeed, stories
of its magnitude and excellence were set
down as travels tales. When proof was
offered that out of one California red
wood tree large church was built com
! plete, pulpit and all, down to the contri-
button boxes, there were sly illusions to
Baron Manchausen having lived ont of
has time, or having passed away before
he suffered the humiliation of an eclipse
IN prevarlcatlon by a California artist in
that line.
Now there is change. The solemn
and solid forests of California, Oregon.
and Washington territory are being look
cd to as the future source of supply upon
which at least the whole interior will
shortly depend for its building lumber.
There Is no doubt that i'll a few wears an
important eastern freight by sail and rail
will be the lumber. lath, and shingles
taken ont of our forests
Ii Is fact already that Europe resorts
to Puget sound for maSts and other i'm
portant supplies for ship -bdilding, and
| an American revival of that industry
would compel us To supply heavy home
demand for the same purpose. Such
revival Is sure to come, So that we may rs
well count II among our estimates of ru-
ture business.
We have no time that should be cared
for. We can remember when black wal
nut was hacked down to cordwood After
the groves of that tree had been slaugh-
tered to fry pork, came Il time that il was
so valuable that an individual tree was
worth from 500 to $500. Ii is sliced in
to veneerS, and is SO priced by the furni-
turs trade that the process of replanting
1t Is going on i'll the certainty that lands
used iii that way are an investment cx-
ceedlng In value long running govern
ment bond.
The people of the east are Just learn
ing the value of our redwoods. The
! stumps and roots and trunks furnish
some of the finest veneering metcrial that
Is produced by the North American tree.
| The time is coming when men will make
fortunes quarrying out its stumps, in
search of the charming curls which is to
| ornament the work of the cabinet maker.
! But, besides this, the body lumber of a
redwood is of great beauty. Polished and
| vanished, as an inside finish il is scarce
! ly inferior to rosewood i'll richness, and
| for use Ill furnlture-frames il very near
| ly reproduces the beauty and durability of
mahogany with the additional average of
| being much lighter and, therefore being
much easier to handle
! The great redwood region of Humboldt
county and vicinity has not been opened
| long by the lumbermen. If in the ground
beneath it there were gold deposits of
| richness averaging with our known mines,
yet 1t would be safe to say that there is
greater wealth in this timber 1t is so
free in working that there is no use for
which wood is sought that il may not
serve. Its durability in exposed situa-
tions is one of its marvels II has been
uoti oAbth0lNtig itl ppHtS' IiCktls, ana
railroad ties. The latter purpose alone
! calls for a supply of nearly ono million
| annually, equal to over twenty millions of
feet board measure. In recent article
in these columns on the Hawaii recipro-
city treaty we pointed out the interests
of our growing timber trade with those
islands. One sawmill company in Hum
boldt employs several ships in that trade
alone, and besides that outlet the red
wood lumber goes TO Central and South
| America.
We have no doubt that this noble red
wood tree is destined to go through the
| same experience As the black walnut, and
that in few years its rich tints and
whorls will be priced in all cabinet work
and be a valued fentnre in the inside fin
ish of houses. OF course n large percent
age of the body timber will be utilized IN
less noble ways, but such percentage will
also receive additional value by its asso-
citation with the finer parts of the tree.
IL is time for lumbermen to begin culs
ing and saving for these delicate puT-
poses. for fashion once established IN
the direction of these uses will call rapid
ly for all that can be supplied. The far
mers of Indiana are tearing down their
worm fences built of black walnut rails
| ana SellluR lnt SGHHODGu SUCKS 10 inc
chairmaker for prices that will refence
their fields with pine and paint the boards
and leave a margin of profit on the opera
tion. 1t will not be strange if in n few
years the pickets and base of many n red
wood fence in this state should bring
money to help pay off the mortgage on
the land it incloses. In the eastern lum-
Der regions there is no such all around
tree as the redwood. IL is the superior Of
black walnut for every use TO which that
timber is put, and has every excellence
which inheres in wood besides. For all
these reasons our coastwise mountain
slopes have treasure in the redwood,
which should make the owners of it very
firm in their holdings and very cOnserva-
tive in Its use, for it is yet to see its high
est-priced days.
We are not informed as to the renewal
of redwood forests. If it be possible, it
should be fostered by the exclusion Of
timber fires and protection of the young
trees, for in this way the limited area up
on which il grows il commercial quantity
| and perfection will be invested in the
same permanent value that would fail 10
a mine in which the bonanZas were sure
Of reproduction at fixed periods.
The Classics in Demand.
San Francisco Cronicle.