The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1889-01-25


mysterious collection of buried cedar trees
a study is that they in some unknown age
formed a vast forest that grew in a fresh
water lake or swamp that covered this por-
ton Of New Jersey, the properties of the
soil of which were necessary to the forests
existence. According to Clarence Deming
and DR.. Maurice Beasley, eminent gcolog-
zeal authorities in South JERSEY, the sea
either broke in upon the sHamps or the
land subsidized and the salt water reached
the trees. This destroyed the life of many
of them, and subsequently some prehistoric
cyclone swept over the forest and levelled
it to the earth. The heavy trees gradually
sank into the soft soil of the swamps until
they reached the substantial earth or rock
beneath it, where they reposed, unknown
and undisturbed, until their presence was
accidentally discovered in 1912. Ever
since then the logs have been mined and
have been IN important factor in the COM
mercial and business prosperity of South
Jersey.
The buried forest lies at various depths
in the swamp, and the uncovering of the
trees or working the cedar rnine'' is done
in a 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 thick beneath the surface
that the rod cannot be pushed down amiss
on its testing errand, for the proddipg is
not SC much in search Of a tree as it is to
test whether the tree is a swindfall'' or a
breakdown When the prod strikes the
log the miner chips off a piece with the
sharp point of the tool. which brings tie
chip or splinter to the surface when drawn
out of the muck. BY the appearance and
odOr of the chip the miner can tell at once
whether the tree he has tested is a sound
or a dead one, If the former, lie quickly
ascertains the length of the trunk By prod
ding 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 sim
liar to those used in a ing out ice in fill
ing an icehouse. With this be saws the
log in two 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 It's 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 thing is noticed about these logs
when they come to the surface, and that
is that they invariably turn over with their
bottom sides up. After mining the log is
easily ''snaked out of the swamp and is
ready for the mill or factory.
These ancient trees are of a white varie-
ty of cedar, and when cut have the same
aromatic favor intensified many degrees
that the common red cedar of the recent
day has, The wood is of a delicate flesh
color. One of the mysterious character
istics of these long-sunken trees is that not
in the slightest. 1t is impossible to tell
how many layers deep these cedars lie in
the swamps, but it is certain there are
| several lay ers, and that with all the work
that has been done in constantly mining
them during th~ree-qnarters Of a century
the first layer has not yet been removed
from thu depths. At some places in the
Dennisville swamp the soil has sunk in for
several feet and become dry, and there the
fallen cedars may be seen lying in great
heaps, one upon the other. No tree has
ever been removed from the Dennisyille
swamp from a greater depth than five feet,
but outside Of the limits Of the swamp
they have been found at a great depth,
which shows the correctness of the deep
layer theory. Near the shore OF the Del
aware, eight miles from Dennisville, white
cedar logs have been exhumed from a
depth of twelve feet. At Cape May. TWEEN
ty miles distant, d7illers Of an Artesian
well struck one of the trees ninety feet
below the surface. 1t was lying in allu-
vial deposit similar to the Dennisville
swamp. Another leg was found at Cape
May twenty feet below the surface, and a
third at a depth of seventy feet. These
deep-buried logs were among the largest
ever brought to light, and their location
so far away from the Dennisyille marsh
indicates the great extent OF that ancient
forest area.
The uses to which the cedar logs are put
are many. The principal use is the max
ing of shingles and slaves. The longevity
of articles made from this wood is shown
in shingles, tubs, pals and casks made
from it over seventy years ago, and which
have yet to show the slightest indication
of decay. The shingles and slaves are
worked into shape entirely by hand, the
only machine work that is permitted in
manipulating the cedar log being the saw
ing of them in proper lengths for the uses
to which the lumber is to be put. The
Dennisville cedar shingles command a
price much higher than the best pine or
chestnut shingles.
What it is in the amber-colored swamp
water and red muck at Dennisville that
preserves these trees SO that, after the
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