The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-06-06
THE PINE TREE STATE.
(Coutinued from page 8.)

development of many portions Of the
State.
Covered all over, as the territory of the
State originally was, with dense forest
containing the most valuable timber
for building purposes and with
these forest Astounding in lakes and
streams tributary to the great rivers which
course through them and flow
onward to the sea, Maine was and
is peculiarly adapted for numbering and
will always continue to be the source
from which large portion of the lum-
Der supply of the country will be
drawn.
Formerly the large operations in Maine
were confined to the cutting of pine,
which originally grew in abundance in
many portions of the State.
The st. John river flows for many
miles through the northern portion of
the State before it reaches the New
Brunswick line and many of the largest
branches of this truly magnificent river
are in Maine. Upon the head waters
OF the st. John and its tributaries an
Immense business in the cutting and
making of square pine timber was for
merry carried on. Only the choicest and
best trees were used for this purpose
and If, after tree which appeared to be
perfect had been cut down and proved,
or chopped into at intervals for inspec-
ton, the slightest indication of rot, or
other imperfection, was discovered, the
entire tree was discarded and left to rot
ON the ground where it fell. Thus, much
valuable timber was sacrificed and the
square timber business was attended
with wanton waste of lumber which
would now be much priced for saving
into boards for building purposes. The
trees, when proven perfect were hewed
square with the axe in the woods, this
also causing much waste, and were
fioated down the st. John river to be
shipped to England.
The pine is comparatively slow-grow-
ing tree and, unlike the spruce, does not
produce continual supply of growing
timber.
For this reason the great pine tracts of
the State have been virtually exhausted
and only comparatively small amount
of this valuable lumber is now cut in
Maine.
The spruce was in the early days con-
sidered as tree of such inferior quality
as to be beneath the lumberman's notice
and very little value was then attached
to spruce timber lands. Now, however,
the spruce lands are the most valuable
timber lands of the State and are prov
ing to be greater source of wealth than
ever were the pine lands of the older
date.
AS early as 1870, a stray spruce log
might be seen, mixed with the huge
pines, in the st. John river drives and
was only conspicuous from its extreme
rarity. Now, however, the reverse is
the case and the spruce forms the bulk
OF the immense drives of logs which are
annually hoated down that great high
way. The spruce is rapidly growing
tree and thrifty spruce township can
be cut over as often as once every twelve
or fourteen years, without any apparent
diminution of the supply furnished.
This statement may be more readily I'M
derstood from the fact that the opera
tor, in cutting logs for the mills, is usu-
ally restricted to certain size and all
trees that will not make logs of the re-
quired size Tin some regions nine inches
and in others eleven inches in diameter
at the top end) are left standing. AS the
small spruce is very thickly distributed
over good spruce tract, there will al
cI:,,+a aI' s;ho 49,, eno LEES VI mel
ouant;tu 20 s' sua aHss tGeI ou' uI;, large
Few vesrs ~ wiii ha " ei a. W.; mni1n, IN
woodman's axe.
Thus, large operations have recently
tbe sunnlv Of snr,sca .s rennnse "a Miii IN
nracticaljy eybansted +1raiIts 70 o1o e so w
wears AGO Thera ara in NE" Wa;ne VI , nl;eem
of acres Of Good snrnoa ~ :; Ia,me I'm, unions
on which tie trees are cont;~m. iin', ro up
inc and hsconing of yoorohan uy sIom-
Hence if NAV he said that tha s,',s size
spruce in This State is 1aH 1Iipp;y VI
haustible. ''' - p'"'''e'' inoA-
Formerly nearly al, thu .,,nnl;os 60, +1,a
immense lnmher onarat; I , po1s t tUa r,o
per ST. .Iohn were tshoasods, upo 4h .n1 ~
fron, EroJar;oton I J ~ INC ilVo1
boats drawn by horses. The beats were
capable of carrying from one to two
hundred barrels of pork, or their eouiva-
lent, and upon one end was built a small!
house, or cabin in which the cooking was
done and where the crew slept. A long
Stow lina', ,,.,,ln c..4 IL. IL