The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-09-08
The Eorr,,. Of AIa.kn.

are in forest or woodland. accprdng TO
Assistant Forester Y : kFLLnUG. who
has written an excellent report on the
subject. lie divides the wooded area
into 20.UI,tSDI acres of saw timber and
sp.ooO,oO chiefly ol fuel timber
Most al the saw timber - comprised
m the Iongass and Chugaoh national
forests ong the coast in south and
sonthcaste! u Alaska, a cont nuatlOu Of
the British columbian forests. and In
tins great ALASKAN tract are found the
Western hemlocA. SlQa spruce. West
ern red cedar and yellow. cedar. with
occasional specimens OF 'odg, pole or
shore pine, black hrmloc.. A.pin" fir
black and white spruce. balm o. ,hl"ai
black cottonwood aud some blrchcs and
willows The stands are ieu=c. rhc
timber running .5.uOO feet an acre Most
OF the trees are SItkG spruce and West
ern hemlock. the spruce beng larger.
sometimes $50 feet IN height and six IN
diameter The foor of these forests
being deep m mos, aua the rainfall
being heavy. and except IA Tho short
summer and occasional cold Ncrlods IN
winter almost constant. there - scarcely
any damage from fires This - one
region IN continental America whore
the ConseTvationist fnds silence inn
posed uIon hun by the natural Cond!-
| tlons. The forests grow too thick ana
are overmature Thinning ont would
he salutary. As mater OF faCr the
scattered settlers and the -awmill men
at CordoVs, juneau, Katalla. seward,
Sitka, Valdez, Wrangell and other towns
have made little impression on these
coast forests. The best lumber goes
into salmon cases. for which FIVE or siH
feet OF lumber is required and which
sell for 10 cents case. About two
million cases are needed for the annual
salmon pack. Mr. KELLOGG encourages
the lumber industry in this part Of
Alaska:
Win respect N the coast forests there l.
little In the statement sonstmes made nat the
timber N Masks should be held for ne sole use
Of NlAskahs. u should ne Manufactured into The
most suitable forms aad sold uhsTe,e r IL boz,
can be marketed Natural barrier. ~ f4r un,ur
interior. where tire need srcate,' snd he pr.
highest Moreover. The coast forrs,s are noi
capseI. Of urodu cins Srrs, aesI ~ ,ss structural
material That Nin be needed ln the Interior whsn
the latter region Is more fun, de elooed and mad.
accessible By railroads The snnual grow N ~
ths forests far Ia - cess OF the Ioes! needs
ana ualsss methods Of Utilization are de- eIoped
which will result IN the eIpor, % forest 7r,duct,
-.
The interior forests of Alaska. est
mated 10 have an extent of so.ON. OOO
acres. will never tempt the richer lum-
berTnen Of the States. The great Maine
and Oregon operators might regard
them a. scarcely worth cutting in many
districts. Woodland, and no, forest IL
the term tina, should be used in speak
ing of this resource OF Alaska The
woodlands occur chiefly IN the drainage
basins Of the Yukon and Kuskok win
rivers Among the trees are the white
spruce. white birch, balsam. black
cottonwood aspen. black spruce, poplar
and tamaTack The white birch IN con
verted into the fuel Of the country.
II - very abundant a. are tive black
spruce and in some localities the poplar
and aspen There are comparatively
few trees large enough for sawlogs
except IN the white sprIc" forests
Twenty cords per acre II the average
Weld in what may be called the fun for
csts, white birch and aspen In interior
Alaska several times as much timber
IL used for fuel a. for other PURPOSES
The town OF Fairbanks, for instance.
with a population of 800. burns ~. CGO
cords wear The Tanana Valley Rail
road uses a great deal Of wool for stok-
ing and the river steamers. With the
exception of three large boats that sub
stitute oil have 80 heat their boilers
with wood cut from the hlllsideS The
price Ter cord IN Fairbanks j. from 50
To SO, va an additional charge Of s. ~
for cutting in stove lengths Thi, price
seems high. as the standing supply :
abundant, but IL must be- remembered
that the difficulties II transportation are
great Logs for the Fairbanks mills
are driven 10 miles from the Cinema and
Salchaket rivers. and wages rule high
In Alaska
In the interior u is often said that
the mosquito IL the great enemy Of the
forest. since many smudges are started
by gold seekers. hunters and campers
to nd Themselves OF the intoLerabIe psst
and the smudges frequently cause forest
fires that spread over an Immense terri
tory. A fire gets out and no one paws
any attention 10 II until II reaches mis-
camp" Forest fires are 80 frequent
that seldom il there a summer day when
the air IL not bIrdcned with smoke In
the Fairbanks district ton times A. much
timber haS been burned A. has been c,lt
for Use Warning notices are posted
hut nothing els" can be done ~ present
10 check fhe havoc
Conservation OF forests. apart from
woodland IL scarcely an Issue IN Alaska
except IN the sense that the tracts
should have scientific treatment Nest