New-York tribune., 1902-07-20
| IN NAMES WILDWOODS.
THE PRODUCTS OF THE FORESTS-DE-
LIGHTS OF CAMPING THERE

The great woods of Maine have hardly been ex-
plored yet except by the hunter and timber ex-
perts and the summer visitors and campers who
flock along the lines of the rivers and chains OF
lakes barely appreciate the magnitude of this wood
land empire. 1t is estimated that about 4S per
cent of the whole of the State is composed of
wild woodlands, which unincorporated and
which represent an approximate wealth OF at least
s20, 100000 In the silent recesses of these woods
there are wild animals and birds which have never
yet been hunted by the sportsman, and each year
wonderful tales are brought back by the woodsmen
OF the sights which they have discovered.
The Maine wildwoods furnish exhaustible
supply of timber to the lumbermen. and probably
nowhere else in this country are the forest inter
ests conserved well in this State. So much
has been said about the denudation of forests and
the ruthless destruction of trees that the impress
sion still prevails that few umbermen pay any at
tention TO the preservation of the woods so long
they rob them of all their available timber
This is not approximately true of the great
spruce and pine woods of Maine for cutting off all
through the wildwoods of that State Is Judlcousy
and carefully done. Most of the valuable TIMBER
lands have come under the control of big lumber
companies, and for their own interests they pro-
tect the young trees. 1t is rarely that one sees
the young trees cut down mutilated and as
result the supply is likely to keep up Indefinitely
The wood pulp and paper mills scattered all
over the Maine woods. and they have added I'M
measurably the wealth of the States TIMBER re-
sources. Before the paper mills began to use the
spruce trees for manufacturing paper 1t was ohly
the pine that considered of any particular
value. Indeed, all the early valuations OF the TIM
ber lands of the State made upon this under
standing and the authorities in trying TO ADJUST
and equaze valuations for taxation rarely accord
ed any worth to the spruce forests. The townships
that abounded in pine trees were the wealthiest'
but to-day the spruce townships have become the
most important. Those who purchased wooded
lands in those days received the spruce woods
practically free of cost and to-day they are selling
them at good round sums TO the paper mills.
There are eight counties In which the wild lands
located, and they represent approximately
nearly ten million acres of forests 1t is almost
impossible to state exactly how much each town
ship contains nor have many OF the owners of the
woods known just how much land they possessed.
The early surveys made little of a few hundred
acres of woods, less. and man buying ten
thousand many time found that it was
nearer twelve or fifteen thousand when they
were resurveyed. In the last few years many OF
these wild woodlands nave been surveyed over
again, and the figures that have heretofore pre-
vailed have had to be all readjusted. An effort is
now being made TO estimate pretty correctly the
total amount OF forest land in the State. and 1t
may be that within another year accurate surveys
will be on record
The paper manufacturers have been the most
tensive buyers OF wild lands in Maine, and they
have stimulated desire for more accurate knowl-
edge concerning this vast empire wilderness. The
from practical foresters and rangers, who so into
the woods and make estimates according to a SCI
ence all their The value OF the timber lands
naturally depends upon their relative proximity to
the water courses. The unusual number OF streams
in the Maine woods makes II possible for the lum-
6ermen 10 reach most Of the great timber forests.
and in parts of the State paper and pulp mills OBJ
tain their water supply from the same river which
floats down the trees from the interior The water
power OF the State has been greatly increased In
recent years by the mill companies, which have
% @ SP y ns % f0 soo
power through the dryest OF summers.
While spruce and pine are the chief resources OF
the wooded parts Of the State, there is variety
OF other woods which cut for various purposes.
There are few forests of hard woods. and some
large ones OF cedar. The latter used for shin
gles and are In -reat demand. The lumber mills
have become numerous in the Wild lands that
the hunter and camper to-day has difficulty
in getting entirely beyond them. They crop UP in
the most unexpected places, especially along the
watercourses. The only way 20 get away from
them is 20 seek the interior where the lumber Is
stin OF uncertain valuation, Consequently the
hunter is forced back from the ttmbered regions
Of the rivers, for the big game will not come down
where the iumbermen work almost the year round
Formerly the deer, moose and caribou formed
picturesque features OF the river scenery Maine
but now they rarely swimming
these streams at any navigable point. They
retreat inland away from the rivers to the small
brooks and lakes to get their drinking water.