The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-10-19
EU.1E3 CEDAR FOREST.
njoeing Up Valuable Trees Covered
Up Mary Ages Ago.
From the New York Times.

DEM svILLE, n. j., Oct 12.-An indus
,-r the IKE of which does not exist any
|. .Iara else in tie world furnishes scores of
aaonle in this part of New Jersey with re-
n,,nerative employment, and has made
comfortable fortunes for many citizens. 1t
| - 4bo novel business of mining cedar trees
digqing from far beneath the surface i'm
| .,o,se logs Of sound and aromatic cedar.
IT. fallen and submerged cedar fore Is of
ao,,+bern New Jersey were discovered first
1oneatn the Dennisvile swamps seventy
g. ,reors ago. and have been a source of
nonst9pt interest to biologists and scientists
oooreraIly ever since. There are standing
AZ the present day no such enormous speci-
r,ens of the cedar anywhere on the face of
.Io Globe as are found imbedded in the deep
,nucIz of the Dennisville swamps. Some of
i've trees have been uncovered measuring
fee+ in diameter, and trees feet through
Although ages must have passed since
hose great forests fell and became covered
,r,onv feet beneath the surface, such trees
as fell. according to the scientific theory,
While they were vet living trees, are as
sound to-day as they were the day of their
nnrOoting. Such trees are called wind
falls in the nomenclature OF the cedar
/ vines. as it is thought they were torn up
nv the roots during some terrible gale of an
4 ,,ntnown past Others are found in the
,1reck that were evidently dead trees when
+bav fell. and to these the miners have
eiven the name of ''break-downs" The
rocnIiar action Of the wind and water in
The swamp has kept these break-downs in
tbe same stage of decay they were in when
thew fell. as the same agency has preserved
intact the suoudness of the living trees.
The theory of those who have made this
ooIlaotinr, Of b,JrioI Oo1e,. fr-oa
study is that they in some unknown age
formed vast forest that grew in a fresh
water lake or swamp that covered this por
ton of New Jerseyi the properties of the
soil of which were necessary to the forests
existence. According to Clarence Deming
and DR., Maurice Beasely, eminent geologi-
Isl authorities in southern New Jersey, the
CA either broke in upon the swamps or the
and subsidized and the salt water reached the
rees. This destroyed the life of many of
hem, and subsequently some prehistoric
rclone swept over the forest and levelled
ito the earth. The heavy trees gradually
ank into the soft soil Of the swamps until
thew reached the substantial earth or rock
teneath it, where they reposed, unknown
and undsturbed, until their presence was
accidentally discovered in 1912. Ever since
then the logs have been mined and have
Iben an important factor in the CONNER
cal and business prosperity OF south Jer-
The buried forest lies at various depths in
the swamp, and the uncovering of the trees
s or working the cedar mine" is
5 done in very simple and easy
manner. The log miner enters the
swamp and prods in the soft soil with a
long, sharp, iron rod. The trees lie SO
hickly beneath the surface that the rod
cannot be pushed down amiss on its testing
GRAND, for the prodding is not SO much in
search of tree as it is to test whether the
tree is ''windfalP' or a breakdown"
When the prod strikes the log the miner
|Chips off piece with the sharp point of the
tool, which brings the chip or splinter to the
surface when drawn out Of the muck. By
the appearance and odor of this chip the
miner can tell at once whether the tree he
has tested is sound or dead one. If the
former, he quickly ascertains the length Of
the trunk by proSding along from one end
Of it to the other.
That ascertained, he proceeds at once to
raise the log from its hidden bed, He
works down through the mud a saw similar
70 those used in saving out ice in filling an
cehouse. With this he saws the log in two
as near the roots as he cares to. The top of
the tree is next sawed off in the same way,
and then the big cedar stick is ready to be
released from its resting place. A ditch is
dug down to the log, the trunk is loosened
by cant hooks, and it rises with the water
TO the surface of the ditch. A curious
hing is noticed about these logs when they
rome to the surface, and that is
that they invariably turn over with
their bottom sides up. After min
ing the log is easily "snaked outi
of the swamp and is ready for the mill or
factory.
These ancient trees are of a white variety
of cedar, and when cut have the same
aromatic flavor, intensified many degrees,
that the common red cedar of the present
day has. The wood is of a delicate flesh
color. Ore of the mysterious characteristics
OF these long sunken trees is that not ono of
them has ever been found to be water
logged in the slightest. 1t is impossi-
Die to tell how many layers deep these
cedars lie in the swamps, but it is certain that
there are several layers, and that with all
the work that has been done in constantly
mining them during three-quarters of a
century the first layer has not yet been re-
moved from the depths. At some places in
the Dennisville swamp the soil has sunk in
for several feet and become dry, and there
I he fallen cedars may be seen lying in great
heaps, one upon the other. No tree has
ever been removed from the Dennisville
swamp from greater depth than feet,
put outside the limits of the swamp they
have been found at great depth, which
SHOWS the correctness of the deep-layer
theory. Near the shore of the Delaware
eight miles from Dennisville, white cedar
logs have been exhumed from depth of IL
leet. At Cape May, twenty miles distant,
urlllers of an artesian well struck one of
the trees 30 feet below the surface 1t was
lying IN an alluvial deposit similar to the
Den lisyille swamp. Another log was found
at Cape May 20 feet below the surface, and
a third at depth of70 feet. These deeply
buried logs were among the largest ever
brought to light, and their location so far
away from the Dennlsville marsh indicates
the great extent of that ancient forest
area.
The uses to which this cedar logs are put
are many. The principal use is the making
OF shingles and slaves. The longevity of
articles made from the wood is shown in
shingles, tubs, pals and casks made from it |
oVer seventy years ago, and which have |
Set 10 show the slightest. indication of decay.
! le shingles and slaves are worked into |
shape entirely by hand, the only machine |
WORK that is permitted in manipulating the |
cedar logs being the saving of them into |
proper lengths for the uses to which the |
lumber is to be put. The Dennisville cedar |
shingles Command price much CHER than |
'ne Dest pine or chestnut shingles.
W nat is in the amber-colored swamp |
water and red muck at Dennisville that pre- |
serves these trees so that, after the lap.e of |
centuries, their fiber is as clean and smooth |
lnu strong as it was when the green |
branches OF the cedar were waving over the |
s"ainp is mystery that scientific men |
4aVe as yet been unable to solve.