The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1886-01-08
M.alNe FOR VALUABLE TIMBER.
An Underground Forest of Cedar in New
Jersey, Perfectly Preserved.
frono Nov a<farl

An Underground Forest of Cedar in New
Jersey, Perfectly Preserved.
[Cape May letter.
DsnnisviIle, Caps May county, N. J., is
reached by stage The village is hid ie
away in the pines. Aroun it ara a num-
b,r Of small but gool farm& Twelve huh
dred souls endure its ssclu sion AMI quiet
No one can tell how long the town has ex-
ists /; the old inhabitants say it was always
old.
IL was q prosperous town during ths
Revolutionary war and after. Hunire Is OF
American ships were built ON Dennis crsek,
which flows through it. Its thriftine 's
is now a "reminiscences AMI the peop.e just
snake shift" They keep up the app,ar-
ancs of re pectability by q liberal ue
Of whitewash. Nearly every house in the
placs has been encrustei with lime, whils
the barls and fences do not relieve the mo-
notony. Mining out logs has been the oc-
casional industry of the place ever since
Dennisvile existed. Several THOUSAND acres
OF swamp land follows the course OF Dennis
creek, beneath whose vegetable deposit are
burie millions OF feet of lumber. Giant
cedar trees laid low by winds a thousand
years ago, are mined out, and the aromatic
wood is valuable for shingles and cooper's
staves
The manner in which these logs are Sc
cured has not its parallel in mining opera
tions. A long spear is used to locate the
logs, which are generally several feet under
the surface. After the trunk has been
probed the miner can tell how much of it il
sound. The deposit is removed and the
solid part is separate by saving. The ex-
cavation is gradually filed with water.
as,1 11.~ -.
from the buried part it floats to the
coming up the To-, will turn over, always
coming bottom up. frequently logs have
been examined that have been fifty
feet long and four in diameter. giants that
were ft to keep company with the holy
brotherhood OF Lebanon. Ths average log
is twenty feet with diameter of two.
Some of the miners Immediately tear of
the outer bark and smsll the dry ami aro-
matte log. The odor in iicates its possible
age, and few can tell whsther it was blown
down by the wind or fell from age.
The only wood buriei here is the white
cedar. Thuja Spaerasialis. 1t is the mo It
valuable timber land in America. It is fine
grained, easily split and strongly aromatic.
It IS used for frames Of buildings AMI es-
pecially for shingles. Its caarcoalis valua.
bic for ganpowisr, AMI fms lampblack car
be made from its smoke. TIE years tina:
it has lain underground has improved
its weight and aroma. When exposed ti
the air the fbers become tou ,h and tie
wood hsri. Tie venerable looking proprie-
tor Of the Gatizmsr hou . win tell you his
shingles have bssn on the old inn for fifty
years. and they are harder to-day than
when they were tackled on the raftsrs
Fences OF nsw cedar. that were not exposed
half the time, have long ago gone to rot
The old mes OF Denni>ville shaks their
heads when you ask sasm how many years
ago it was when ths burial csiars nolisi
to the breezs. Tne oil deacon will tell
you it was whom S5iomon was praisiny the
cedars OF Lebanon to Queen Sasba. Tbs
age Of these burisl trses has causei much
speculation, and it IS givsi by several au-
taorities of nation Il rspats that the trees
must have grown many thou and years
ago In the forssteg rs .,,se for 1877 many
authorize; ara qls~si. al tasy agfss in
the matter Of s.uls