Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1910-06-19

emf benefit To The interior where the
need ls greatest and the price higi,.
Besides the timber Itself Is not suit
able for the structural work that VIII
be needed IN the interior when that
region is more fully developed ana
made accessible hv railroads. The un-
nual growth OF the coast forests Is in
excess Of the local needs, and unless
methods of utilization which viii re-
suit IA expectation are developed.
these products cannot be rightly hand
led on properly conserved.
But the interior conditions tel a
different story. There the forest stand
varies from practically nothing, in
areas Of serubby black spruce. 70 20
or more cords per acre in the birch +
aspen type, Nnd several thousand
board feet per acre In the best white
spruce forests. The best timber. of
spruce. birch aud popular grows in
the valleys, particularly along the
TanOna in the Fairbanks district.
Black spruce predominatps in the
more poorly drained situations The
average of timber Is small. white
spruce rarely, and htlsam poplar
sometimes, attaining rs to - inches an
diameter, though maximum az ~
inches on unusually favorable sites are
ilfAfHtt Nfti HAa' u FNfl wv fhA'AA AAAfAtii0
"A diameter of & inches. while the
heights of the different species run
from "a feet for the black spruce To
- feet for the best white spruce,
Naturally il is impossible for timber
to grow rapidly or To large size IN soil
permanently frozen Unlike the coast
forests, those OF the interior have sur
rerod much from fires; in some eases
ten times as much timber has been
killed hs fire than has been cut for
fuel or lumber.
The bulk OF the timber cut in the
forests OF The Central Plateau is FOR
firewood, several times as much be-
ing used for that purpose as for lum-
Der. Nor is this surprising, as the in
terror Of Alaska depends entirely mp
ON wood for heat, light and power.
Wood is burned hy the Tanana Nalles
railroad. which has As miles of track
out from Fairbanks. the river steam
ers, except three large boats on the
Yukon which use oil, burr wood; and
the severe weather OF the s months
winter. when the THERMOMETERS some
times goes down to so degrees below
zero. makes the consumption for fuel
in domestic affairs much larger than
the population-ahout 30, 000-would
use under conditions existing else
where.
The present sparcc population will
undoubtedly be greatly augmented,
and its need for timber Will he large.
therefore. its timber supply would he
conserved to lessen as far as possible
the heavy expense which importation
will entail, as transportation IN Sow
expensive and uncertain, ana by boats
operate only a few months Of the
Year.
obviously all the forests of Alaska
should be protected and made of the.
permanent use. They should
be managed SO as to increase the
of the best timber-spruce-
ana decrease that of the less desirable
hemloek. Utilization OF the present
ovcrmature timber Of the coast should
be encouraged. while the insufficient
supply IN the forests OF the interior
should be given the best Of care for
Il is not likely, with most intelligent
management, to be able to furnish
more than a part OF the home demand
ps the high grade timber which may
he needed will always have 10 be i'm
ported,