The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1902-01-08
THE FORESTS IN DANGER
WARNING GIVEN BY AN EXPERT TO
LUMBER MEN.

A discussion is now going on among
lumbermen, woodsmen and forestry
experts as TO whether or not the
spruce forests of Maine are in danger
of destruction from careless and
wasteful methods of cutting and from
the immense demands made upon
them every year by pulp mills and saw
mills.
Henry Grinnell an expert from the
forestry division of the United States
department of agriculture, who has
been making a tour of inspection in
the northern Maine woods for one of
the big pulp companies, went to Ban
gor the other day and in an address
60 lumbermen at the board of trade
rooms declared that with a continu-
ance of present methods of logging
the forests would be exhausted in less
than 100 years.
On the other hand President +. s.
Lyman of the Cushnoc Fibre company
of Augusta. one of the most expert
enced men in the state in all matters
pertaining to numbering. says that
there is more spruce standing in
Maine than can be cut off in countless
years, taking account of the growths.
that the end of the spruce supply is
so remote that worry on the subject
is absurd.
Mr.. Grinnell told the Bangor lumber
men that it required two or three CEN
turtles for a spruce tree to attain a
size suitable for lumber but Mr.. Ly-
man says he has cut good sized spruce
on land that had been moved for grain
40 years before. The general opinion
among the older lumbermen seems to
be that the Washington experts the
ories on some phases of numbering are
not entirely accurate, at least as ap'
piled to Maine.
1t is generally conceded. however.
that a reform is needed in numbering
methods in this state and the present
discussion must result in great good.
The owners of timber lands, the paper
and pulp manufacturers and the lum-
ber mill owners are all interested in
| the situation. The preservation and
| propagation of the spruce forests must
be more carefully looked after, for the
| benefit of all.
e. e. Ring of Orono, state land
| agent and forest commissioner, is
making arrangements to ascertain as
soon as possible after the spring
| opens the amount of standing spruce
in Maine. He has had practical eX-
perience of more than % years in the
woods of northern Maine. He knows
the counties of Penobscot, Piscataquis
and Rroostook as far as the lumber
growth is concerned, as thoroughly as
any man living.
He says there is vast amount of
spruce in the Allegash country, and
now that the railroads are penetrating
that region in various directions the
timber can be more cheaply brought
to market. When the winter is ended
Mr.. Ring proposes to send experienced
and report the condition and extent
of the growth.
What the state of Maine needs"
says Mr.. Ring. lis q modern system
of forestry, adapted to conditions in
this state. which in many cases will
radically differ from systems practised
in other countries.
I'm certain sections lumber and pa.
per companies have invested large
sums of money in mill plants and of
course the continuance of their busi-
ness depends upon the future supply
of timber. Such companies would find
1t more profitable to adopt a system
of forestry which would give the best
results.
in my opinion, the timber on the
kennebec and Androscoggin is cut to
much better advantage than they cut
on other waters of the state. The rea-
son for this is that on those two riv-
ers the land is owned largely by the
companies that own the mills, while
the reverse is the case on the other
rivers.
For instance, on the Penobscot the
wild lands, with few exceptions, are
owned by one class. who sell permits
TO the lumber operator, he selling his
out to the manufacturer. often buying
stumpage by one scale and selling the
logs by another.
THE influence of situation and sol
on the character of the distribution OF
spruce is very marked. 1t is not fas
tidious tree, for it occupies all situa
tions and soils-low, wet swamps
abrupt, rocky slopes, and the tops oi
mountains and ridges. as well as
good soil. The best spruce is fount
on moderate slopes with fruitful soil
''The loss by cutting high stumps
and leaving large tops in the woods Ii
something that can easily be rene
died; / may say that this fault is be
ing overcome by the lumber operators
II is well known that when a crowd
ed stand of spruce is thinned, the tree.
which remain grow more rapidly thar
before.
in some parts of the spruce
growths. where the forest is dense ant
the climate cool, deep layer of hu
mus or vegetable mould accumulatel
on the tree, retarding its growth. Ii
L IL,