Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-23
WILDWOODS OF MAINE
PRODUCTS OF THE GREAT FOR
EsTs OF THE NoRTHLAND.
Delights Of Camping in the Shadows
of Pines-Pulp and Paper
Mills.


The great woods of Maine have hardly
been explored yet, except by the hunter and
timber experts, and the summer visitors
and campers who flock along the lines Of
the rivers and chains of lakes barely ap-
preciate the magnitude of this woodland
empire. 1t is estimated that about 43 per
cent of the whole area of the state is COM
posed of wild woodlands, which are unin-
corporated, and which represent an approx
innate wealth of at least $4,000, 600. 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
Timber of Maine.
The Maine wildwoods furnish an mex
haustible supply of timber to the lumber
men, and probably nowhere else In this
country are the forest interests conserved
SO well as in this state So much has been
said about the denudation of forests and
the ruthless destruction of trees that the
impression still prevails that few lumber
men pay any attention to the preservation
OF the woods so long as they can rob them
of all their available timber This is not
even approximately true of the great spruce
and pine woods of Maine for cutting off all
through the wildwoods of that state is
]udiciously and carefully done. Most of the
valuable timber lands have come under the
control of big lumber companies, and for
their own interests they protect the young
trees. 1t is rarely that one sees the young
trees cut down or mutilated, and as a re-
suit the supply is likely to keep up in
definitely.
Spruce Trees.
The wood pulp and paper mills are scat
al he No,
have added immeasura blyIto the wealth Of
the states timber resources. Before the pa
per mills began to the spruce trees for
manufacturing paper. it was only the pine
that was considered of any particular value
Indeed, all the early valuation of the tim
Der lands of the state were made upon this
understanding, and the authorities, in try
ing to adjust and equalize valuations for
taxation, rarely accorded any worth to the
spruce forests. The townships that abound
ed in pine trees were the wealthiest, but to-
Jay 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
today they are selling them at good round
sums to the paper mills.
Wild Land Counties.
There are eight counties in which the wild
lands are located, and they represent ap-
proximately nearly 100000 acres of for
ests. 1t is almost impossible to state ex-
actly how much each township 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, more or less. and
a man buying 10000 acres many time
found that 1t was nearer 1900 or 10000
when they were surveyed. In the last few
years many of these wild woodlands have
been surveyed over again, and the figures
that have heretofore prevailed 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 it
may be that within another year accurate
surveys will be on record.
Paper Manufacturers.
The paper manufacturers have been the
most extensive buyers of wild lands In
Maine, and they have stimulated a desire
for more accurate knowledge concerning
this vast empire wilderness. The paper
companies obtain their information entirely
from practical foresters and rangers who
go into the woods and make estimates ac-
cording to a science all their own 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 it possible for
the iumbermen to reach most of the great
timber forests, and in parts of the state
paper and pulp mills obtain 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 COM
panies, which have damned up parts of the
streams to prevent waste. In this way they
have succeeded in obtaining good power
through the dryest of summers.
Deer, Moose and Caribou
While spruce and pine are the chief re-
sources of the wooded parts of the state
there is variety of other woods which are
cut for various purposes. There are few
forests of hard woods and some large ones
of cedar The latter are used for shingles
and are in great demand. The lumber mills
have become so numerous in the wild lands
that the hunter and camper today has some
difficulty in getting entirely beyond them
They crop up in the most unexpected pla ces
especially along the watercourses. The