Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1913-05-07

|
IA the west. Approximately 49,
/ 100000 acres, one-flfth of the
state is cumberland, most of which lies
in the highly elevated sections north
and east of line extending across the
state diagonally bisecting the opposite
northwestern and southeastern boun-
dairy corners.
Conifers or cone-bearing trees are
the predominant growths, the broad
eafed species being few in number
and of minor Importance. The yellow
! pine, the Arizona white pine, the linn
Der or Rocky mountain white pine, the
bristle cone pine, the Englemann
spruce the Douglas fir, the red fir, the
white or silver fir, the pinyon, the red
cedar or juniper, the oak and the
aspen are the principal tree families
represented.
The ubiquitous yellow pine is by far
/ the most numerous and important eco
nomically, forming So per cent of the
! merchantable timber supply. 1t is by
nature a cliff dweller, fourishing best
on the high mountain slopes between
$500 and $500 feet above sea level. OF
Arizona's forest trees it Is the noblest.
Viewed a.. full maturity In its native
! haunts it Is good to look upon; its
Hawless cylindrical trunk towering $50
feet into the crystal blue, its out
spreading top tossing, dancing. signing
gleefully in the amber sunlight like a
thing intoxicated with the nectar of
| heaven.
Indigenous to about the same soil
conditions and altitudinal limitations
as the yellow pine, and ranking next
/ In Importance for their timber in the
order named, are the Douglas fir, En-
! glemann spruce and white fir Their
scarcity, however, makes them unap-
/ preciable factors in the trade in Ari-
roma. By reason of the softness of
their fiber or their desert or Alpine
characteristics the other trees named.
excepting the timber or Rocky noun
/ tain white pine and the oak, which are
/ utilized IN some instances, are rela-
lively unimportant from the lumber
mans standpoint.
Billions OF Feet.
An accurate estimate of the stand
ing timber in Arizona is a very diff
| cult matter to determine further than
/ the fact that 1t reaches formidable pro-
! portions, running into billions of feet.
board measure, worth in the various
manners in which 1t may be turned to
account hundreds of millions OF dol
| lars and constituting, in the aggre-
gate, a resource that in the fullness
of time will contribute to the welfare
| of the state beyond the most roseate
dreams Of the times.
Title to this sylvan Golconda is
| vested in the United States govern
ment, which through the forest serv-
Ice Is proving a wise landlord in that
! its varied resources are being admin
| lstered In a manner that will benefit
| the largest number of users along all
! lines where no serious or irreparable
injury is liable to result Where
there is no danger of determination,
or where no damage to streams or
vegetation may follow, the ripe timber
Is offered for sale to the highest
reputable bidder, under conditions de-
signed to prevent monopoly of the
! lumber supply and to maintain the
continuity of the forests. On account
of the lack OF adequate transportation
facilities adjacent to the best tim
bered sections sales have not been
practical to any great extent Mills at
Flagstaff and Williams, and two or
three other places near at hand, have
been in operation for a number of
years and have, except possibly in one
or two instances. depended largely on
the national forests for their timber
supply.
There being no navigable streams
of any consequence in the forests of
Arizona where the logs can be fioated
down to the mills at comparatively
| small expense. the lumber concerns
| must needs construct lines of rail and
operate trains OF their own into the
sections to be logged, the daily capac.
tiles of the mills being such that less
substantial means OF transportation
are inadequate. AS q rule these roads