The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1921-12-28
TO GIVE 500 CORDS.
Natchaug, Conn, State Forest Fur
nishes Free Wood to People.

!
An addition to the Natchaug STATE
/ forest has just been made through thu
purchase Of about 725 acres In ths
| town Of Eastford BY State Forester
Halves, This makes the total area
Iof the Natchaug about eighteen
hundred acres, and it is therefore the
largest Of the six forests.
j II lies in three towns; Eastford
Chaplin, and Hampton, and derives its
name from the Natchaug river into
which the swamps and brooks Of the
forest drain. This is section which
reached condition Of prosperity at
an early date, but is now one oil the
most sparsely settled of any part Of
the state. old stone walls and stone
lpiles in the midst Of the forest give
evidence Of the former cultivation Of
rocky fields and ancient cellars and
stone chimneys show that the houses
were occupied by large and prosperous
| families.
Az the state forester Is limited BY
law In his purchases to land that can
be bought for sS an acre or less. ii Ia
only possible to acquire forest land
after the best Of the timber has been
removed. Naturally 1T il impossible
TO save the existing forests by such an
arrangement, but by purchasing from
the lumbermen who cut most conserv-
atively, the state forester il able to
hold out very practical indncement
for lumbermen to leave the younger
trees standing. An oak tree eleven
inches in diameter, and perhaps thirty
years old, will produce but one rail-
road tie, while one fifteen inches in
diameter, and only fifteen Or twenty
years older, will produce ties besides
considerable top wood BY waiting an
other period Of twenty years the same
tree may produce eight ties instead Of
four. In a nutshell, this il the rea-
son that public ownership Of forests Ia
always more efficient than private
ownership.
The lumberman usually cuts every
tree which will make tie. while the
state viii cut the trees only when they
have reached their most productive
age. Instead of harvesting a one tie
tree in thirty years, the sta-s can af-
ford to wait and harvest four ties after
fifty years. or eight. ties after seventy
years. In this way the average period |
Of producing tie is reduced from |
thirty TO nine years. III all ties were |
sawed in this way from mature trees
the drain of the railroads upon their |
forests would not be serious.
In the Natchaug state forest are
great many weed trees which are
seriously interfering with the growth
of valuable varieties like ash, hickory. /
oak and pine. The latter will make |
lumber ties or other valuable products |
in few years, while the weed trees
win never make anything but fuel
wood. The state forestry department
ment recognizes two grades of fuel
wood and has arranged 20 give away
second class wood for home purposes
to those who viii cut the trees under
The regulations Of the department
Since there are at least five hundred
lords available for cutting this winter.
md the average family consumes
about ten cords, the state forester esti-
mates that at east fifty families can be
supplied his winter. In a season of un-
there should be many men
who would be glad Of this opportunity
20 cut their own wood. A group Of
men could easily club together to bring
heir wood out to public highway and
hen transport il by auto truck or rail
Dad TO their homes The conditions
# the gift provide not only that the
recs arc to be cut under the directions
Il the state forester, but that this
wood is not 90 be sold
The forestry department is also in
position TO cell first class wood 20
Ieslers in wood at stumpage prices
-srying from 25 cents TO ~ cord
Waterbury American