Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1904-04-08
THE VERMONT FORESTS.
[Plof. Clifton d. Howe, University of
Chicago. in EXpansion.1

[P.of Clifton d. Howe, University of
Chicago in EXpansion.l
Taken as a whole the forests of the state
may be divided into three classes the
pine forests, the hardwood forests and
the spruce forests. In a general way it
may he said that the pine forests occupy
the sander soils in the valley townships
the spruce forests the high mountain
slopes, while the hardwood forests COM
posing much the larger part of the wood
lands of the state, possess all the area be-
tween.
The demand is such that at present
there is much profit in handling pine and
spruce. so only comparatively small
portion of the hardwood forests has been
exploited for lumber, yet our beech birch
and maple woodlands represent a source
of great wealth to the state and there is
every indication that in the future they
will be still be more valuable. In fact
the demand for the hard woods has in
creased lately, so the lumbermen can
handle them with better profit than last
year
Because of the gread demand for these
products, the numbering industry of the
state for the past few years has been
chiefly engaged in the cutting of pine
and spruce. In fact white pine has been
SO eagerly sought after that there is
danger of seriously Gripping the supply.
The Champlain valley and the river val
leys throughout the state once contained
immense quantities of white pine. This
original growth is now all gone. AS
special agent of the national bureau of
fore stry for the past two summers, the
writer explored practically every county
i'm the state and he was able to find hardly
grove of virgin white pine, only a few
scattered trees here and there. During
the decade 1S90-19O0 the value of the
numbering industry decreased over $700-
o00. and this is said to be due to the fail
ing supply of white pine,
Second growth white pine is very eN
teusvey taking possession Of abandoned
fields in the valley townships, usually on
soil too poor to be of more value for pas
turage In such places the pine is a
very valuable farm product. Although it
may make only second grade lumber, it
grows very fast and is in demand for
box board and match material. y care
full study of white pine growing up in
old pastures in conditions similar to those
in Vermont has been made in Massachu-
sets and New Hampshire, where it is
found that trees between 35 and 30 years
old yield over so cords of merchantable
timber per acre. The average annual in
crease in growth of 10 acres in different
places, was 100 cords per acre, while
eight acres in New Hampshire increased
at the rate of 1.16 cords per acre each
year for so years.
From the above it will be seen that an
acre in pasture pine will increase in vol
umc at the rate of at least a cord year.
Now pine, in average situations Is worth
81 a cord on the stump for box boards, so
such an acre at this rate would earn 81 a
wear for its owner The trees will be
ready for box boards 40 years from the
seeds. and growing at the rate of cord
per acre during this time, they will be
worth $3.50 per acre at the end OF 40
years. Including taxes, valuing the land
at per cent. compound on the money
thus invested, will give n net return of 50
per acre for the rental Of the land thus
employed in growing pines. net pro-
fit of 50 a year for 40 years after an in
vestment of Sc in an acre of land that
is worth very little for paSturange ana
which otherwise might be lying prac-
tcally idle, is an object well worth striV-
ing for by any Vermont farmer.
For the past 10 or Is years the steadily
increasing demand for spruce for pulp
wood and building materials has let TO
excessive numbering of this forest product,
in the early days of its exploitation the
market value of spruce was such as to
make the handling of trees less than a
foot i'm diameter on the stump, unproht-
able With an increasing demand, the
lumberman, of course, could utilize small
er trees with profit, so he numbered over
his spruce lands again, perhaps cutting
all the trees down to six inches in di-
ameter on the stump. The majority oil
the spruce lots in the state have been lum-
bered over twice, and many of them three
times With each cut a larger percentage
of inferior trees was taken. Many lumber
men take every tree from which may be
sawed a timber by inches by II feet
long.
The numbering spruce has pushed far
Their and farther back into the noun
tains today it is cut in places which
were considered inaccessible few years
ago. And, as has just been said, much the
larger part of our spruce forests mas
been numbered over In fact there arc
probably not more than 100000 acres Of
virgin spruce, that has not beer
touched by the AK, in one continuous
tract in the state. And, furthermore
this is all in the hands of lumbermer
and will be all cut over in few years