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C- "r •-''- -'It-- "^ V sO> ,*- V "'/^ ^ ^ A^ -^ ^ ' -^ ■^y C - -OQ^ ^^^ ^<^ ,-' ^''z C^ \ 9- "* ° V> no' .<}) .\ ■^% .# o° '4' ^ ^^' >^^^\' "^^ c'^ ■^^.1^ */ Oo. •4*^- ,0 o fl5 -r . , .^ .0 >^ .0-' ^°^ *0N0^° ^^ - ^"/ o^'~ 'V.''>^>\(^^ ^o '''?'^^«'' o.'«-^ "^_. %'^%^-^^* ,0 ,0 0, ' -f^. o r ^^■^ -\<' '^A. -^ <& » -1. oV iV -A ', '^, vi*^ ■Vrzr;??^,^ .-V •^. .x-^^ .•■^' O^ v» v^;^^- V ,<;^^ /-■ .•C' .-». '> '^■^■.<^' :m. ''^. <^ OO' .^^■-^ '"<< %1/f/^ K^' v'% -;olig^J' .!^"^ %, ..v\''" r * #: ■^^.•^^ 55th Congregs, ) HOUSE OP EEPEESBNTATIVES. S Document 3d Session. \ \ No. 181. EEPOET UPON THE FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 1877-1898. By B. E. FEBN'OA^^, FORMERLY CHIEF OF THE DIVISION OF FORESTRY, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. [PEBI'ARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH A PROVISION IN THE ACT JEAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE FISCAL TEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1899.] WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1899. D'01 &' MESSAGE. To the Senate and House of Representatives: In accordance with a provision in the act making appropriations for the Department ot Agriculture for the fisciil year ending June 30,>1S99, 1 transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of Agriculture "upon the forestry investigations and work of the Department of Agriculture." William McKinlbt. Executive Mansion, January 27, 1899. LETTEE OF TEAl^SMITTAL. United States Department of Agriculture, Office of the Secretary, Washington, J). C, January 24, 1899. Mr. President: In the act making appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1899, under the heading " Forestry investigations," the following provision occurs : Provided, That the Secretary of Agriculture shall make a special and detailed report at the beginning of the next seBsion of Congress upon the forestry investigations and work of the Department of Agriculture, showin" the results obtained and the practical utility of the investigations. In accordance with the above provision, which is mandatory in its character, I herewith submit for transmission to the Congress of the United States "a special and detailed report" "upon the forestry investigations and work of the Department of Agriculture, showing the results obtained and the practical utility of the investigations." The extremely wide scope to be covered by the report, as indicated by the language of the provision, has necessitated a voluminous report, and this fact, together with the change in the Chief of the Forestry Division, which took place July 1, 1898, will explain why the report was not presented at the beginning of the present session of Congress. The report was necessarily prepared by the former chief, Dr. B. E, Fernow, now of the New York State Coll(?ge of Forestry, and I desire, in submitting it as covering the past work of the Division of Forestry of this Department, to call special attention to the fact that since the appointment of Mr. Gifford Pinchot, the present Chief, the work of the Division has been directed in distinctly different channels, which may be briefly indicated by the following summary taken from Mr. Pinchot's annual report for 1898: (1) To introduce in practice better methods of handling forest lands of private owners, including both wood lots and large areas chietiy held for lumber, and afterwards to spread a knowledge of what has been accomplished; (2) to assist the Western farmer to plant better trees in better ways; (3) to reduce the loss from forest fires, the reported amount of which reaches a yearly average of not less than $20,000,000; (4) and, if future appropriations will permit the necessary investigations, to inform our citizens regarding the extent and value of new opportunities for forest enterprises in Alaska, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. These objects can be pursued only so fiir as appropriations will permit. The present resources of the division are utterly inadequate to meet the pressing and steadily growing demands already made upon it. These plans meet with my full approval. I have the honor to be, Mr. President, very respectfully, James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture. 3 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS AND WORK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. REPOET BY DR. B. E. FERNOW. New York State College of Forestry, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., December 1, 1898. Hon. James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture. Sir: It is with great satisfaction that the writer embraces the opportunity kindly afforded by you to prepare, in answer to the inquiry of Congress, a report on the work of the Division of Forestry in the United States Department of Agriculture in the past, which is to show the results and the practical utility of the investigations of the same. Having directed the work of the Division of Forestry for more than twelve years consecu- tively, the writer may claim to possess intimate knowledge not only of its work, but of the aims and objects, the policy and the reasons for it, which have actuated its administration during the larger part of its existence. If the appreciation of the public, expressed by letter and by print, can be considered as an indication of the value and utility of its work and satisfaction in the existence of the Division, it would only be necessary to inspect the files of the Division or the public prints, especially the extracts from the journals which represent the interests of forest exploitation and of the lumber trade, and are, therefore, most prominently interested in the subject for which the Division stands. While twelve years ago these publications had only ridicule and opprobrium for those who advo- cated the application of forestry methods in the use of our forest resources, giving them the title of "denudatics," under which the Division of Forestry was included, to-day there is no utterance of the Division which does not receive respectful hearing and full appreciation and praise in their columns, the shorter and even some of the longer publications of the Division being frequently reprinted in full. It will, however, be more useful, as the provision of Congress calling for this report requires, to explain the work of the Division more fully. I propose, therefore, in the following pages to treat the subject in three parts: (1) Giving a brief historical sketch of the administrative features of the Division, together with the reasons for its establishment; (2) discussing the character of the work done, with the reasons for undertaking the precise kind of work which was done; (3) giving a resume of the status of the forestry movement in the United States and the relation which the Division has had to it; placing in appendixes the more detailed facts and information of importance which the Division has collected or secured. From this account, then, it is hoped that the value of the work of the Division, the propriety of its existence, and not only of its continuance but also of the extension of its work and functions in the future may appear. Certain it is that so far the Division has not been properly considered and endowed, and its usefulness has been impaired by insufficient appropriations and consequently limited functions. The time has come when it should not only more vigorously pursue technical investigations, but when it should have charge of the public timber lands, and especially the public forest reser- vations, which Avill never answer their purpose until controlled by systematic management, such as all other civilized nations apply to their forest property. 6 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. HISTORICAL. The establishment of the Division of Forestry can be traced to the action of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which at its annual meeting at Portland in August, 1873, appointed a committee " to memoi'ialize Congress and the several State legislatures upon the importance of iiromoting the cultivation of timber and the preservation of forests and to recommend proper legislation for securing these objects." A subcommittee of this committee, consisting of Mr. George B. Emerson, a well known educator and naturalist, and Dr. F. B. Hough, prepared the memorial ' and furthered its consider- ation by the Forty-third Congress, the memorial having been transmitted to the Congress with a special message by President Grant and referred to the Committee on Public Lands in both House and Senate. Although as a result a bill was favorably reported ^ by the Committee of the House Ijroviding for the appointment of a Commissioner of Forestry, similar to the Commissioner of Fisheries, no action was taken by the Forty-third Congress, nor did the Forty-fourth Congress act on a similar bill introduced by Hon. Mark H. Dunnell, M. C. Instead an amendment was adopted to the act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of the Government for the year ending June 30, 1877, which was approved August 15, 1876, and required that the Commissioner of Agriculture "appoint a man of approved attainments and practically well acquainted with the methods of statistical inquiry, * * * with the view of ascertaining the annual amount of consumption, importation, and exportation of timber and other forest products; the probable supply for future wants, the means best adapted to the i^reservation and renewal of forests, the influence of forests on climate, and the measures that have been successfully applied in foreign countries or that may be deemed applicable in this country for the preservation and restoration or planting of forests, and to report upon the same to the Commis- sioner of Agriculture, to be by him in a sei^arate report transmitted to Congress." Curiously and significantly enough this clause and the appropriation of $2,000 for the purpose appears as a part of the provisions for the distribution of seeds. In obedience to this law the then Commissioner of Agriculture, the Hon. Frederick Watts, appointed, on August 30, 1876, Dr. Franklin B. Hough, of Lowville, Lewis County, N. Y., as an agent to prepare such report. Dr. Hough not only having been most instrumental in bringing about the legislation leading to his appointment, but also being well known as a writer of local histories and gatherer of statistical material. This appointment was continued from year to year without further special appropriation by Congress; since 1881, however, under a special appropriation as chief of an established administra- tive division in the Department of Agriculture.-' Dr. Hough produced three voluminous reports, transmitted to and published by Congress in separate volumes in 1877, 1880, and 1882, and compris- ing in all 1,586 pages of information on a wide range of subjects. The appropriations being extremely limited, special original research was excluded, and Dr. Hough being acquainted with the subject as an interested layman only and not as a professional forester, these reports, while valuable compilations of existing facts from various sources, natu- rally did not contain anj' original matter, except such suggestions as Dr. Hough could make with regard to the duties of the Government with reference to the forestry interests of the country and especially of the public domain. In 1883 Dr. Hough was displaced as chief of the administrative division, although retained as an agent under the new chief, Mr. IST. H. Eggleston,from Stock bridge, Mass. During Mr. Eggle- ston's incumbency one report was issued in 188-1 — the first published directly from the Department of Agriculture — comprising 462 pages. It concerned itself largely with tree-planting interests in the prairies and plains; it reported also on the decrease of woodlands in the State of Ohio and the forest conditions in some other States; it adduced statistics on the kinds and quantity of railroad ties used in the country and discussed the production of maple sugar. In a briefer report (24 pp.) embodied in the Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture for 1885 various other questions were also touched upon. ■ See Appendix (copy from Sen. Ex. Doc. 23, first session Forty-third Congress). 2 Report No. 259, H. E., first session Forty third Congress. ^See "Readings of appropriations" further on. HISTOEICAL. 7 On March 15, 1886, the writer assumed the position of chief of the Division of Forestry, which on July 1, by the act of Congress making provision for the expenditures of the Department for the year ending June 30, 1887, approved August 15, 1886, became a permanent statutory part of the organization of the Department. The writer may be justilied in stating here that he is a forester by profession, having received his technical education at a professional school and having been employed in the Prussian State Forestry Department. He was able, therefore, to direct the work of the Division with a profes- sional knowledge of the requirements of the subject and from the standpoint of the forester. His appointment having been preceded by a residence of nearly ten years in this country, he had also enjoyed ample opportunity during varied occupation in city and country, and espe- cially as secretary of the American Forestry Association since 1883, to become acquainted with American conditions, institutions, and requirements, and to fully appreciate climatic, floral, social, and economic differences. With gradually increased appropriations during the following years, not only was the propa- ganda for more rational treatment of our forest resources continued, but in addition, technical and original investigations were instituted. With the growing interest in the subject, the correspondence with those seeking technical advice grew. As a result, besides the printed i:)ublications of the Division there are recorded in letter-press books nearly 20,000 pages of matter, largely containing specific advice given to coiTespondents during the twelve years of the writer's administration. While during the years from 1876 to 1886 the aggregate of appropriations for the investiga- tions in forestry amounted to somewhat less than $60,000, the aggregate of expenditures during the twelve years following has been, in round numbers, $230,000, excluding an appropriation of $17,000 for the artificial production of rain, which being not germane to the work of the Division and not expentlcd under its direction, is not properly chargeable to it. The printed iiitoriiiatiou issued during this time, besides some unpublished manuscripts, com- prises about 6,000 pages. It is published in four different forms, namely: annual reports contained in the reports of the Secretary of Agriculture and in the Yearbook of the Department of Agricul- tiup bulletins, ill which more exhaustive and nioieor less complete investigations of any one subject are recorded; circulars of information, in which in tbrmation that could be treated more briefly or preliminary announcements of results in someone line of investigation are communi- cated; reports to Congress, in response to calls for special information. A list of the publications of the Division is appended. It can be claimed that at least one-half of the amount of the printed matter is original, i. e., recording results of investigations, being of an independent character and containing new truths, while for the other half originality of form or presentation of statement can at least be claimed, being compilations of facts which can not be found elsewhere in the same shape. This means that if the money value of the manuscript pages of advice be added to that of the printed pages at a fair ratio, the information has been secured during the last period at an average price of less than $21 per page, which is hardly a fair charge for expert writing; while during the preceding period of nonprofessional writing the cost was about $30 per page. And if only the truly original information covering new additions to our knowledge is included, it has cost less thto $75 per page. As to its money value to the people, which is hardly capable of expression in dollars and cents, some calculations will be found in later pages of this report when discussing tlie character of the work. From these it will api^ear that enough new information has been secured through the Division of a kind which can be translated into money through savings in useful forest materials amounting to millions of dollars and paying fifty fold for the expenditures. The indirect value, however, in awakening an interest and proper conception of the subject, which can not be expressed in money, is infinitely greater and more important. FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Appropriations, Division of Forestry, 1S77 to 1897. Year. Salaries, statutory. InveslieatiOD funds. Total appro- prlatiou. Unexpended balances. a.t2,000.00 a 2, 500. 00 » 2. 600. 00 o 2, 500.00 5,000.00 5, 000. 00 10, 000. 00 10, 000. 00 10, 000. 00 10. 000. 00 .59 1.70 12.64 1886 163. 17 60, 000. 00 2, 683. 60 $2. OOU. 00 2, 000. 00 2, 000. 00 2. 000. 00 7. 820. 00 7. 820. 00 7, 820. 00 7, 820. 00 8, 320. 00 8, .')20. 00 8, 520. 00 8, 520. 00 $8, 000. 00 8,000 OQ 8, 000. 00 8,000.00 b 10, 000. 00 c 15, 056. 85 12, 000. 00 c 20, 000. 00 20, (100. 00 25, 000. 00 20, OOO. 00 20, 000. 00 10, 000. 00 10,000.00 10, 000. 00 10, 000. 00 b 17, 820. 00 c 22, 876. 85 19. 820. 00 c27,820.00 28, 320, 00 33, 520. 00 28, 520. 00 28, 520. 00 3.90 .97 214.01 66.61 4.04 91,77 6, 601. S3 487. 12 275. 67 T t I d "nl M2 pir=il 73, 160. 00 174, 056. 85 247, 216. 85 a Not especially appropriated, hwt disbnrsed from otlier funds for forestry investigations. b Increase for experiments in the production of rainfall. c Increase for investigations in timber physics, although not .specially so expressed in appropriation clause until following years. These appropriations represent not much over 1 per cent of the appropriations for the entire Department of Agriculture during the same years, a ridiculously small and disproportionate amount when the relative magnitude of the agricultural and the forestry interests are considered. REASONS FOR CREATING A DIVISION OF FORESTRY. The reason for establishing a Government agency where one of the largest interests in the country, the forestry interest, should find consideration and at least partial representation seems obvious if we acknowledge merely the educational function of government. This we have Ijractically acknowledged as legitimate in the maintenance of the Department of Agriculture itself and of schools of various descriptions, experimental stations, etc. There would seem to be no need for other reasons than the fact that the absence of the art of forestry, which is practiced by other civilized nations, calls for the exercise of this educational function. But this interest has more need for governmental consideration than many others for reasons which may need fuller discussion. They are (1) the magnitude of the manufacturing interests which rely upon the exploitation and on the continuance of the forest resources; (2) the widespread influence which forest areas, their presence or absence, and their condition have upon water flow, upon soil and climate, hence influencing navigation, damage by floods, and changes in agricultural conditions, thereby impart- ing to the forest cover a particular communal interest; (3) the peculiar technical and economic aspects of the art of forestry which, dealing with long time periods, does not readily recommend itself to private enterprise and needs the fostering care of the government to guard the communal interest in the forest cover. The magnitude of the mere industrial and commercial interests which are subserved by forest growth is best expressed by a comparison with other industries, as is done in the subjoined table, from which it appears that the aggregate value of products of the industries relying for their existence on wood as raw material amounts to at least two billion dollars, second only in value to that of agricultural products. In capital and labor employed and in wages paid and value of product the forest industries and wood-manufacturing establishments outrank by far any other group of industries which may rationally be considered together. Even if the entire group of industries relying upon mineral products is considered together, it falls in value of product at least 25 per cent below that of the wood j^roducts of the country. REASONS FOR CREATING A DIVISION OF FORESTRY. Leading industries compared. [Data from Censiis 1890, in round nxonbers.] Agriculture i...>... Forest products, total Forest industries, enumerated Forest products, notenumeriited (estimated) . Manufactures using wood (see tnble below) .. Forest products and wood manufactures, total ... Mineral products, total Coal Gold and silver Iron and steel Manufactures of iron and steel Leather - Leather nianufacturea "Woolen manufactures Cotton manufactures lu tlie following table the industries using wood in part have been classified according to an estimated per cent of wood values entering into the finished product, and a proportionate allowance has been made in capital, number, wages of employees, and raw material. Since probably more labor is employed in shaping wood than metals, the figures relating to that i)ortiou are probably under the truth. Foreat iudustries and manufactures usintj ivood. Articles. Capital. Employees. Wages. Eaw material. Value of product. Forest induatries ennmerated : Thousands. $496, 340 el, 541 4,063 Hundreds. 2,862 461 153 Thousands, $87, 784 11,354 2, 933 Thousands. $231, 556 11, 007 3,506 Thousands. $403, 668 34, 290 8,077 561, 943 3,477 102, 071 245, 109 446. 034 Manufactures practically all wnod : 3,374 13,018 13, 028 81.543 17, 817 66, 394 1,300 907 120, 271 1, 941 7,826 2,712 7,455 333 55 140 109 1, 409 247 639 18 8 869 18 84 31 28 3 2,134 6,477 5,208 94,524 11, 665 .34,471 772 573 48, 970 344 4,267 1,237 1,229 155 3,567 14,245 l,:i88 137, 847 2,637 38, 796 1,187 331 104, 927 935 3,947 1,499 2,005 214 7,092 25, 513 16, 262 281, 195 38, 618 94, 871 2, 402 1, 2.39 PlnniTur mill urn In 1Q 2,194 10, 940 3,698 4,628 Wood carpet 612 Total 337, 908 3,650 212, 027 331, 523 072, 750 Manufactures in which wood reiirescnts about 50 per cent of the raw materials: a Total Wood percentage . . 169, 983 89, 991 1,356 678 714, 460 35,730 114,383 57,192 229, 408 114. 704 Manufactures in wliioli wood represents about :i^ per cent: h 321, 059 107, 619 2,143 714 123,i)88 41, 196 148, 578 49, 526 318,218 106,072 Mauiifactnres in which wood represunts about 10 per cent : c 76, 841 7,684 915 92 46, 854 4,885 49, 291 4,929 131, 820 13, 182 Manufactures of wood : 543, 402 5, 134 293, 638 443, 170 906, 708 a Includes carriages nnd wagon factory iji-oduut, cluldren's carriages and sleds, steam and street cars, coffins and burial caskets, chairs, wheelbarrows, sewing-machine cases, artificial limbs, and refrigeratoi's, and shipbuilding. b Includes agricultural implements, billiard tables, railroad and street car repairs, furniture repairs, washing machines and wringers, organs and pianos. c 1 ui liules blacksmithing and wbeelwrighting, bridges, brooms and brushes, gunpowder, artist's materials, windmills, toys and games, sportJUg goods, lead pencils, pipes and pumps. While these values are produced by the mere exploitation of the natural resource and their conversion into useful articles, it has been believed, predicted, and feared that, under the treatment which this resource receives at present, the natural sui^plies would sooner or later give out, and without attention to regrowth this large line of industries wouM find it difficult to secure the raw material and would thus be crippled, and hence the work of the Division was called for, in the first place, to investigate the truth of this assertion. 10 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. While by the methods and on the basis of the census it is possible to arrive at an approximate statement of the consumption, it is much more diiScult to arrive at a statement of the quantity growiug- in the virgin forest, especially since with the reduction of supplies the method of use changes, and what was not marketable before becomes available. The really valuable portion of the natural forest growth forms only a fraction of the whole wood growth, and the amounts of such valuable material per acre vary within exceedingly wide limits, from nothing at all to the 200,000 feet B. M. or more per acre occasionally to be found in the Pacific coast forests. The acreage, therefore, under forest cover gives no idea of the available supplies; the condition of this cover is the imi)ortant factor. There was never at any time sufficient money appropriated to the Division to venture even on a partial investigation of this condition, except in one case, when circumstances made it possible to ascertain with tolerable precision the forest conditions of Wisconsin. l!fothing less than a thoroughly organized canvass, which might cost $250,000 to $300,000, would promise any reliable, practically exhaustive information. In the absence of such a canvass a very rough and probably very liberal estimate of the amount of the timber standing in the various regions of the country ready for the ax would give the following figures: FEET B.M. Southern States 700,000,000,000 Northern States .500,000,000,000 Pacific coast 1,000,000,000,000 Rocky Mountains 100, 000, 000, 000 Total 2,300,000,000,000 . In comparison with the su])ply on hand we must place the total annual cut of material requir- ing bolt or log size, which is estimated at about 40,000,000,000 feet B. M., more or less. That is to say, there is at best not sixty years' supply in sight, a shorter time than it takes to gTow a tree suitable for milling purj^oses. In this cut the various regions participate in about the following proportions: FEET B. M. New England and North Atlantic States 6,000,000.000 Central States 5,000,000,000 Lake Region 13, 000, 000, 000 Southern States 10,000,000,000 Pacific States 4,000,000,000 Miscellaneous 2, 000, 000, 000 Segregating the cut by kinds, we may make the following divisions: White pine 12,000,000,000 Spruce and fir 5,000,000,000 Hemlock 4,000,000,000 Longleaf pine 4, 000, 000, 000 Shortleaf and loblolly pines ..- 3,000,000,000 Cypress 500,(100,000 Redwood 500,000,000 All other conifers 1,000,000,000 Total conifers 30,000,000,000 Oak 3,000,000,000 Another hardwoods 7,000,000,000 Total 40,000,000,000 From this statement it appears that three-fourths of our consumption is of coniferous material. It is, therefore, of interest to know more precisely how the supply of this most important portion of our requirements stands. In reply to a resolution of the Senate dated April 14, 1897, the writer canvassed the probabilities in this direction, at least for the Eastern States. The results are still less assuring than the above statement of total supply and consumption; for this canvass brings the available REASONS FOR CREATING A DIVISION OF FORESTRY. 11 coniferous supply in the States east of the Eocky Mouotains to 400,000,000,000 feet, B. M., with which to satisfy a yearly demand of about 30,000,000,000 feet, B. M.' "While these figures, referring to log material, represent that portion of the forest growth which is the most valuable and has taken the longest time to grow, there is, besides the consumption for fuel, an immense amount wasted by fire, improper use, necessary and unnecessary waste. The consumption of fuel to the extent of probably 180,000,000 cords, of fence material, etc., the waste in the woods and at the mills and loss by fire, bring the total annual wood consumption ot the United States easily to 25,000,000,000 cubic feet, or since the area under wood has been ascertained to be about 500,000,000 acres, the consumption is at the rate of 50 cubic feet per acre, a figure nearly corresponding to the yield per acre realized as annual growth in the well kept forests of Prussia, where the reproduction is secured by skillful management. The consumption, now 350 cubic feet per capita, increases from decade to decade in greater proportion than the population ; and new industries, like the wood pulp industry, add constantly to the demand. Estimates of value of forest products used in 1S60, 1S70, and ISSO. [Including all raw, partially manufactnred, wholly manufactured wood products, fuel, and naval stores ; estimated upon tlie basis of census figures, and other sources of information.] Articles. 1860. 1870. 1880. 1890. $155, OGO, 000 45, 000, 000 50, 000, 000 6, 000, 000 135,000,000 $340, 000, 000 52, 000, 000 100, 000, 000 14, 000, 000 210, 000, 000 $400, 000, 000 55, 000, OOO 110,000,000 30, 000, 000 323, 000, 000 $438, 000, 000 40, 000, 000 Fuel ° a 391, 000, 000 716, 000, 000 923, 000, 000 1, 028, 000. 000 a Probably 25 per cent underestimate. This would show an increase of over 30 per cent in our consumption from decade to decade. Other statistics bearing on this phase of the subject and a fuller discussion are to be found in the Appendix. From these statements, the compilation of which has become possible through the existence of the Division of Forestry, even if they were overdrawn to a considerable extent, it would appear that the first reason for the existence of a Government agency to look after the forestry interests is well founded. Some ignorant people — ignorant both as to the requirements of the wood industries and as to the condition and character of our forest resources — have claimed that the natural growth of young trees, without any attention, following the operations of the lumbermen, would suffice to replace that which is removed and would continue to furnish the required material. The observant student, not to speak of the professional forester, can readily see that culling the valuable kinds and leaving the inferior tree weeds in possession of the soil prevents in many cases any reproduction of the valuable siDecies. In other cases where the production of valuable kinds does take place, as, for instance, with the Southern pines, where the young growth is not killed by fires, the develoi^ment is so unsatis- factory that where with proper attention a new crop might be available for the saw in seventy to one hundred years, twice the time will be required to make clear lumber of good quality. In most cases recurring fires retard this natural regrowth still further or prevent it altogether. There is at least one State, the State of Wisconsin, for which it became practicable for the Division of Forestry to secure more accurate data as to the conditions of the forest resources and as to the results of the rough exploitation to which it is subjected in the absence of forestry methods. This survey is i^ublished in Bulletin No. IG of the Division. The conditions are typical of a large part of our lumbering regions, and a brief resume will accentuate the need of attention on the part of the Government : The State of Wisconsin, with a population of about 2,000,000, a taxable property of about $600,000,000, has a home consumption of over 600,000,000 feet B. M. of lumber, besides enormous quantities of other wood material, ' See Senate Doc. No. 40, first session Fifty-fifth Congress, and fuller discussion in Appendix. 12 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. ■which, if imported, would cost the State over $25,000,000. Of its northern half, a land surface of over 18,000,000 acres, only 7 per cent is cultivated, the rest forming one continuous body of forest and waste land. From this area there have been cut during the last sixty years more than 85,000,000,000 feet B. M. of pine lumber alone, and the annual cut daring the past ten years exceeded on the average 3,000,000,000 feet per year. The lumber industries exploiting this resource represented in 1890 one-sixth of the total taxable property in the State, paid to over 55,000 men the sum of over $15,000,000 in wages, and the value of their products was equal to more than one-third the entire output of agriculture in the State. Of the original stand of about 130,000,000,000 feet of pine about 17,000,000,000 feet are left, besides about 12,000,000,000 feet of hemlock and 16,000,000,000 feet of hard woods. The annual growth, which at present amounts to about 900,000,000 feet and of which only 250,000,000 feet is marketable pioe and over 500,000,000 feet hard woods, is largely balanced by natural decay of the old, over- ripe timber. In almost every town of this region logging has been carried on and over 8,000,000 of the 17,000,000 acres are "cut-over" lauds, largely burned over and waste. It would not be overstating it to say that 4,000,000 acres of these cut-over lauds are for the present and must be for a loug time in the future a desert, useless for any purpose. The wooded area proper is steadily being reduced by logging and to a smaller extent by clearing. At present nothing is done cither to protect or restock the denuded cut-over lands, of which fully 80 per cent are now unproductive waste land, and probably will remain so for a long time. This policy causes a continuous and ever-growing loss to the Commonwealth, amounting at present to about 800,000,000 feet per year of useful and much- needed material, besides gradually but surely driviug from the State the industries which have been most conspicu- ous in its development, depriving a cold country of a valuable factor in its climatic conditions, and affecting detrimentally the ch.axaeter of the main drainage channels of the State. The second reason for the establishment of the Division of Forestry is based on a considera- tion of the broad interest which attaches to the forest cover on account of its influence on water- flow, soil and climatic conditions, and is of even more moment than the question of material supplies. In spite of the facts, which have become clear to most other civilized nations, namely, that a forest cover on the slopes of mountains prevents erosion and equalizes waterflow, reduces danger from floods, and decreases extremes in high and low water stages, in spite of these well known observations, tlie Government of the United States has persisted in allowing its vast public timber domain on the western mountain ranges to be destroyed by Are and otherwise, and spends millions of dollars annually in river and harbor bills to dig out the eroded farms, which have been swept into the river for lack of the protection of the soil at head waters and along shores. Untold misery and poverty is inflicted upon the settlers in the lower valleys by this jnatten- tiou. Instead of curing the evil by rational forest management, recourse is had to river improve- ments which can only be temporary, and are excessively expensive. Even the celebrated inaugurator of the jetty system. Captain Eads, came Anally to the conclusion that the cure of the Mississippi floods was to be applied to the head waters and upper river shores rather than at the mouth of the river. The Division has not failed to bring together all the available information, both of experience and experiment, which goes to conflrm the relation of forest cover to waterflow, soil, and climate, presenting it in various reports, a final and full discussion of the subject being contained in Bulletin No. 7, Division of Forestry. Since this relation, the influence of forests on surrounding conditions, is rightly claimed to impose upon the Government the duty to protect and preser.e the forest cover on mountain slopes, a resume of the present status of this question of forest influences is appended to this report. The knowledge of the amelioration of climatic conditions which it is possible to secure by tree growth has induced the Federal Government to encourage the growing of groves on the forestless plains and prairies under the so-called timber culture act. If that act had been framed with more knowledge of the requirements of tree growth, in other words, if the Division of Forestry, with expert advice, had been in existence and had been called upon to frame the regulations, the law would have proved less of a failure than it has; less waste of energy and less disappointment would have been the share of tiie deluded settlers who were trying to satisfy the requirements of the law. It is well known that the law was abolished owing to the unsatisfactory results. Nevertheless, tree planting in the forestless regions for the sake of ameliorating climatic condi- tions is and will be one of the occupations of the settlers of those regions. To assist these efforts has also been one of the objects for which the Division was established. The third reason for the establi-shnient of a Government agency to study and report on forestry was that this art was until that time entirely unknown in this country; oven the very CHARACTER OF THE WORK OF THE DIVISION. 13 word was absent from our dictiouaries. While the necessity for its application for the reasons stated was believed to exist, its methods were absolutely unknown. Not only was it not practiced anywhere in this country, but where such an art was known to exist, its reiiuirements being misuuderstood, forest owners were unwilling to apply it, believing it unnecessary and unprofitable. To enlighten these skeptics as to the methods of rational forest management and as to its desirability was to be the office of the Division of Forestry. The Division, then, was to be a bureau of information and investigation to report on all questions pertaining to the subject with a view of enlightening the people and inducing them to apply the teachings of forestry. It was by statute limited in its functions, which were to be educational, not administrative or executive. Moreover, for most of the time, the appropriations were too scanty to permit of any very comj)reheusive inquiries or experiments. The character of its functions is j)erhaps best learned from the wording of the acts, changing from time to time, in which Congress made appropriations for the Division. READING OF APPROPRIATION CLAUSES FOR REPORTS ON FORESTRY AND DIVISION OF FORESTRY. ^577. — For purchase and distribution of new and valuable seeds' and plants, sixty thousand dollars : Provided, That two thousand dollars of the above amount shall be expended by the Commissioner of Agriculture as com- pensation to some man of approved attainments, who is practically well acquainted with methods of statistical inquiry and who has evinced an intimate acquaintance with questious relating to the national wants in regard to timber, to prosecute investigations and inquiries with the view of ascertaining the annual amount of consumption, importation, and exportation of timber and other forest products, the probable sujiply for future wants, the nieaus best adapted to their preservation and renewal, the influence of forests upon climate, aud the measures that have been successfully applied in foreign countries or that may be deemed applicable in this country for the preservation and restoration or planting of forests; and to report upon the same to the Commissioner of Agriculture, to be hy him in a separate report transmitted to Congress. For expense of putting up the same, for labor, bagging paper, twine, gum, and other necessary materials, five thousand dollars; in all, sixty-tive thousand dollars. — (From legisla- tive, executive, and judicial appropriation bill for fiscal year ending .June ,30, 1877, approved August 15, 1876. Third paragraph of section making appropriation for Department of Agriculture. First session. Forty-fourth Congress.) 18.17. — For compensation of chief of Forestry Division, two thousand dollar.s; for the purpose of enabling the Commissioner of Agriculture to experiment and to continue an investigation and report upoii the subject of forestry, and the collection and distribution of valuable economic forest-tree seeds and plants, eight thousand dollars; in all, ten thousand dollars. — (Act making appropriation for Department of Agriculture for the liscal year ending June 30, 1887, and for other purposes, approved June 30, 1886.) 1S90. Division of Forestry. — For the purpose of enabling the Secretary of Agriculture to experiment and continue an investigation and report upon the subject of forestry, and for traveling and other necessary expenses in the investigation and the collection and distribution of valuable economic forest-tree seeds and plants. lS9i. Ucport on Forestry. — Division of Forestry : For the purpose of enabling the Secretary of Agriculture to experiment aud continue an investigation and report upon the subject of forestry aud for experiments in the pro- duction of rainfall, and for traveling aud other necessary expenses in the investigation aud the collection and dis- tribution of valuable economic forest-tree seeds and plants. 189S. Division of Forestry, — For the purpose of enabling the Secretary of Agriculture to experiment and continue an investigation and report upon the subject of forestry, and for traveling aud other necessary expenses in the investigation and the collection of valuable economic forest-tree seeds and plants. 1S9.5. Division of Forestry. — For the purpose of enabling the Secretary of Agriculture to experiment and continue an investigation and report upon the subject of forestry and timbers, and for traveling and other necessary exjienses in the investigation and the collection and distribution of valuable economic forest-tree seeds and plants. 189S. Division of Forestry, — For the purpose of enabling the Secretary of Agriculture to experiment and continue an investigation and rejiort upon the subject of forestry and timbers, and for traveling and other necessary expenses in the investigation and collection and distribution of valuable economic forest-tree seeds and jjlants : Provided, That the Secretary of Agriculture shall make a special and detailed report at the beginning of the next session of Congress uj)on the forestry investigations and work of the Division of Forestry, showing the results and the practical utility of the investigations. CHARACTER OF THE WORK OP THE DIVISION. Having come to the conclusion that a Division of Forestry without forests, i. e., without con- trol of forest property, even for experimental purposes, can act simply as a bureau of information and advice, the following considerations naturally occur: The object of establishing such a bureau was undoubtedly to influence a reform movement in the treatment of our forest resources, and hence the information furnished should be of such a nature as to induce the owner of timber lands and the consumer of forest products to change their ways. Undoubtedly the Government also 14 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. desired iuformation upou which to be able to direct its action with regard to its own timber lands as well as to the forestry interests in general. In proposing to furnish information toward these ends, three questions then occur : (1) Who wants the iuformation, and for what x)urpose! (2) What is the nature of the iuformation wanted? (3) How is the information to be obtained? In the case of inquiry by correspondents answer to these questions is at once supplied. It is only when the inauguration of original investigation is contemplated that these considerations are submitted to the discretion and judgment of the investigator. Nevertheless the thousands of letters asking for information, to which the 20,000 pages of letterpress mentioned before corre- spond, naturally indicate the character of the information most wanted, and admit of a classifica- tion both of inquirers and inquiries. From the many letters of inquiry on iile in the Division of Forestry it will at once appear that there are three classes seeking information: (1) The consumers of forest products who need information which will aid them in an econom- ical and advantageous use of the same. (2) The producers of forest products, who, if owners of natural wood lands, need information in regard to the best methods of utilizing them most advantageously and securing reproduction, or if forest planters, in regard to the best methods of starting and cultivating a timber crop. (3) The general public, the economist, the legislator, the Government, all desire the informa- tion which will allow them to appreciate the true position of forests and forestry in the economic life of the nation, and which is to serve also as a basis for Government action with reference to this subject and the problems connected with it. This last class of inquirers was at first the largest, but soon, when it became known that specific and trustworthy information could be obtained, the first class, namely, the consumers of forest products, lumbermen, engineers, architects, builders, railway companies, became the more frequent, while the third class, the forest producers, remained in the minority, the tree-planting interests alone being prominent. This was natural. The incentive to apply the art of forestry to wood lands by private indi- viduals can only (or with rare exceptions) come from a desire to "make it pay." Whether the application of skill can be made to pay, or whether rough exploitation of the natural resource pays better, depends upon economic conditions, over which neither the owner nor the Government, nor its poor agency, the Division of Forestry, has any control. Only one condition could make the application of forestry pay, namely, the entire or partial reduction of virgin supplies. As long as the competition of virgin supplies, on the production of which no skill, no time, no money has been expended, must be feared, it remained questionable whether the application of skill, of time, and money could secure desirable financial results. The writer, therefore, at the time when he commenced his labors, soon perceived that there was not much hope for a change of methods in the cutting of our forest areas, which would, for natural reasons, go on in tlie same manner until necessity forced a change. On the other hand, it was much more likely that a more rational and economical use of the material, which the logger would continue to cut wastefully, could be brought about among wood consumers, hence instruction as to the properties and working qualities of our woods and their most satisfactory application, a knowledge of which was extremely deficient and the cause of much wastefulness, appeared to offer the most practical field of work, and the best means of securing the husbanding of our forest supplies while preparing for the application of forestry. ECONOMY IN THE USE OF FOREST PRODUCTS. This position, namely, that economy in the use of wood materials could be more readily secured than change in the methods of exploiting the natural supplies, gains additional support when we realize that the per capita consumption of wood in the United States, about 350 cubic feet annu- ally, is from ten to twenty times larger than that of Germany and Great Britain. The margin, therefore, within which economy could be practiced is enormous. The first and foi-emost effort of the division was therefore directed toward getting into com- municatiou with the large wood consumers. ECONOMY IN THE USE OF FOREST PRODUCTS. 15 One of the first circulars directed to railroad managers called attention to tlie fact that the chestnut oak, the bark of which is peeled for tanning purposes, the logs being formerly left to rot in the woods in many places, is as good for railroad ties as the white oak. There is evidence on file that this information was promptly utilized by various companies who had hitherto rejected this wood from misconception as to its value. The first bulletin, issued within less than a year from the writer's assuming direction, pre- sented a comprehensive discussion of the relation of railroads to forest supplies, showing the enormous consumption, exj)osing some mistaken notions which have led to wasteful uses, and describing in detail methods of lengthening the life of railroad ties. This bulletin undoubtedly stimulated the use of preservative processes, which are now much more generally applied by rail- road companies in the construction of their roadbeds and renewal of ties. These first relations with railroad managers as inteUigeut and influential wood consumers were continued by the publication of three later bulletins, in 1889, 1890, and 1894, in which, besides further economies iu the use of wood for railroad ties, the question of substituting metal for such ties was fully discussed. It may be asserted that there is no other publication in the world which discusses this impor- tant question so exhaustively and with so much technical detail. The canvass to ascertain the extent to which metal railroad ties were used revealed the sur- prising fact that, instead of being a mere experiment, over 30,000 miles of metal railroad track was actually iu operation in various j)arts of the world. The reports of the managers of these tracks showed beyond question that with the proper pattern tlie metal tie was not only safer and more efficient and satisfactory in every respect, but also much more economical than the wooden tie, being not only longer lived, but also requiring less labor to keep the track in order. If this showing has not produced a corresponding response in our country toward changing to metal, it is due to the fact that wood can still be had too cheaply, and that our railroad properties are still managed in most cases as speculative proiierties rather than as permanent investments, hence economy in first cost of construction is more con- sidered than permanency. Soon, however, with the increase iu price of wood as we emerge from the pioneering stage to one of a more settled policy, the iiiforuiation contained in these bulletins will become invalu- able to railroad managers, as it will save them from unnecessary experimenting. Even now the economies suggested in the use of wood ties are beginning to be practiced more extensively. This subject is deemed to be of such importance that a brief resume of its present status, prepared by the original investigator. Mi*. E. E. Eussell Tratman, C. E., is subjoined to this report. To an even larger extent than in railroad construction wood is used iu civil engineering and architecture. Wood to the value of $280,000,000, iu i-ouud numbers, representing more than one- half of all the log size material used, enters into various structures. In the use of wood for these purjioses there was found to exist eveu greater ignorance, and consequently greater waste, than in the use for wood manufactures. Hence, as soon as appropriations could be secured from Congress, a thoroughly comprehensive investigation of our American timbers, their characteristics and properties, their strength and usefulness for various purposes, was instituted. It was found that even our knowledge of the properties of wood in general was so deficient that an investigation into the general laws of its behavior, physically and mechanically, became necessary. This comprehensive investigation into what has come to be known by the name of timber physics has proved to be the most important original work which the Division has undertaken. So well does this investigation seem to have been planned, and so important does it appear to be, not only to the wood consumer, but to the forester, that a German reviewer, the well-known author in forestry literature, Dr. Schwappach, himself a recognized authority in forestry matters, and specially engaged in similar investigations, used the following language regarding it, as quoted in the report of the Secretary of Agriculture for 1893, page 32 : This plan of -work is as remarkable for its scope as for its consistent pnrsnit of an eminently practical result. Although Germany has accomplished a great deal in some directions in this field of investigation, especially as regards the laws of growth and wood structure, we are yet far from having such a comprehensive and indispensable kuowl- 16 FOKESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. edge even of our most important timbers as is needful. We must admit, with a certain sense of humiliation, that the Aniericans show us what we i eallj' ought to know and that they have already by far surpassed us in the elahorate organization for these investigations. And tlie Secretary himself adds: "If in less than a decade Americans have in a forestry specialty surpassed Germany, why can not we a generation hence rejoice in the most efficient forestry system of the world ?" If any words of interest and appreciation of this work from home sources are wanted, they can be found in the technical journals of the lumber trade, of engineering, of architecture, of carriage building, and of all branches of wood working, as well as in the large number of letters on file in the Division, the gist of a few of which are jtriuted in Bulletin 6, and, furthermore, in a series of resolutions passed by various societies of engineers and architects and other bodies, addressed to the Secretary of Agriculture and to Congress, asking for a continuance of and better support for this work. Nevertheless, in 1896, in spite of the protestations of the writer, this line of work was ordered discontinued as "not germane to the subject of the Division." It should not be overlooked that the increase in the appropriations for the Division, which dates from the year 1892, was made specifically for this investigation, and was continued impliedly for the same purpose. While the full value of such extended investigation is only apparent after being long contin- ued, and when the bearing of all data and facts collected can be fully recognized, the following tangible results, immediately apj)licable in actual practice, can be pointed out as testifying to the value of the work for which it was instituted, namely, the more economical use of our forest resources. The i3ublication of the results of the first iuvestig'ation brought about the removal of the long- standing prejudice against the value of timber of Longleaf pine, which had been bled or tapped for turpentine. Hitherto specifications by architects and engineers were usually made so as to exclude bled timber, and although in general such specifications were ignored by those who fur- nished the material, some of the largest consumers, such as the railway companias of the South, effectively discriminated against such material, and much litigation and disappointment was the result. By bringing out the truth in the matter not only was the industry of turpentine production exonerated from the charge of bad economy, but a value, Avhich has been variously figured at from $2,000,000 to $4,000,000 annually, was added to the Southern pineries by the assurance that the bled material could be safely used. The Division of I'orestry was the first to establish reliable values as to the strength of our most important lumber trees for the use of engineers, who hitherto had to rely upon very doubtful values derived from unsatisfactory tests made on European species, or else on a few 'insufficient tests of our own species. So great was the confidence in the methods pursued by the Division that its results were immediately embodied into the standard manuals of engineering, as, for instance, in Trautwiue's Engineering Pocketbook, the companion and reference book of every American engineer. The fact that Longleaf pine is from 20 to 25 per cent stronger than heretofore believed, renders it possible, to effect a saving of fully $6,000,000 worth of this wood per annum if applied to all of this material used. A similar factor of economy might have been established for other woods which have been investigated. The fact established by the Division, that seasoned material is stronger by 50 to 75 per cent than fresh timber, added a very considerable opportunity for saving in the design and specifications of structures under cover. " The capital invested in timber structures is greatly in excess, probably more than two or three times as much as that invested in structures of iron and steel. Every piece in these latter structures is thoroughly inspected, both chemically and physically, and is carefully designed to carry the imposed load. Timber structures, on the other hand, have been designed according to the general principle that the Lord takes care of His own, as the great number of fatalities result- ing from failure of these structures will attest." By furnishing reliable test data, based on a large series of tests, not only economy in the use of our forest resources, but a saving of life and prop- erty, could be effected. By furnishing the necessary data, now largely absent, upon which to base the inspection and specifications for wood material, the factor of safety could be placed on a proper basis. These objects have been in view in this series of investigations. HILVICULTUKE AND FOREST ECONOMY. 17 Finally the importaat discovery of the relation between the strength in compression and in cross breaking, the crowning result of this short-lived investigation, is of vast imj)ortance, and will not only put the designing of beams upon a surer footing, but save much useless wood testing in the future. Whether this work be considered germane to a division of forestry or not, its results will be held by future engineers and wood consumers, as well as foresters, as sufiBcient testimony of the usefulness of the division. Since these investigations are now probably brought to an end as far as Government agency is concerned, it has been thought desirable to give a fuller resume of their results in the appendix, which has been prepared by Prof. Filibert Eoth, who was finally in special charge of the Investigations. I may only add that Bulletin l^o. 10, Timber, a Discussion of the Characteristics and Proi^er- ties of Wood, prepared by Mr. Eoth, which has been translated into French, is the only publication containing this kind of information, with special reference to our American woods. Besides these more general considerations of the requirements of wood consumption, other more sjiecial classes also received attention, as the wood pulp, the naval store, the mining industry, and the charcoal iron industry. Two reports, still in manuscript, designed to assist operators in these last two lines, are to be published soon. While then the information furnished to the wood consumer to induce a more economical use of material was most decidedly of a very useful order, the needs of the forest producer were by no means neglected. SILVICTJLTUEE AND FOEEST ECONOMY. Forestry, the art of wood production, may be divided into two parts, which can be treated more or less independently, namely, silviculture, which comprises all the detailed instructions that are necessary to create and grow the wood crop to perfection, and to reproduce it; and forest • economy, which comprises the business methods that must be employed to manage the crop so as to yield regular annual returns; the one branch being concerned with the production of the material, the other with the production of a revenue. Again in both cases we may distinguish between general principles and specific application. The first, fortunately for us, are already for the most part developed through the experiences of the Germans and other nations, and it is only necessary to present these general principles, when a study of local conditions, the soil, the climate, the market conditions, the species we have to deal with, etc., will enable the student of nature and the business man to form a judgment as to their applicability in his particular case. These general pi'inciples underlying silviculture and forest economy have been again and again discussed in reports, bulletins, circulars, and public addresses by the writer. The first brief presentation of the same is to be found in the annual report of the division for 188G. A bulletin (No. 5) entitled. What is Forestry, published in an issue of 40,000 copies, was devoted to an elucidation of the same subject. In order to bring this discussion closer to the conditions of one class of forest owners, our farmers, these silvicultural principles and methods were more fully discussed with reference to their possible application in a Farmers' Bulletin (No. 67) entitled Forestry for Farmers, while special phases of silviculture, as, for instance, the Growing of Seedlings in Nurseries, Planting of Waste Places on the Farm, Tree Planting in the Plains, Osier Culture, The Introduction of Certain Foreign Trees, etc., were discussed in separate circulars and special articles or bulletins. A dis- cussion of the general aspects of silviculture will be found in the appendix. The iH'inciples of forest economy were also elucidated in the various annual reports, and especially in the report for 1893, in which a statement of the methods of administration and forest regulation of the German forest departments is given in full. In addition, more complete state- ments of the financial results of these German forest administrations i^repared in the Division were published in public prints, to show the elements of profitable forest management as exhibited by these examples. Since these statements are scattered through various publications and are not now readily accessible, it has been deemed expedient to present the same as an appendix to this report, and thereby aid in elucidating the means which the Division has employed to make the practical appli- H. Doc. No. 181 2 ■ 18 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICUL,TURE. cation of such forest management acceptable. A discussion of the principles of forest economy in general is also appended. To have established the conception that forestry, silviculture, and forest preservation is uot the planting of trees, but cutting them in such a manner that planting becomes unnecessary, is one of the most jiotent results of the efforts of the Division of Forestry. Timber-land owners have begun to realize that forestry begins when the first tree is cut. Planting is expensive and should be practiced only where the chances for a natural reproduction by intelligent use of the ax have been frustrated by man's carelessness or where they did not exist, as in the forestless regions of the West. Forest preservation, it must by this time have become clear, does not con cist in leaving the forest unused, but in securing its reproduction, just as the human race is preserved by the removal of the old and the fostering of the young. APPLICATION OF FORESTRY PRINCIPLES. To apply forestiy principles, be it in forest economy or be it in silviculture, we must study local conditions in the field. In this direction the Division has had, at first, poor ojiportunities. Not only did it not have at its command any land or forest area for experimental or demonstration jjurposes, but the men to carry on such field work were as yet not educated for the special work to be undertaken. Again, while the basis for an application of forestry principles may be gained by studies in the field, the final application can be secured only by trained men, just as any other technical business requires technical knowledge and skill. It might have been possible to make some practical demonstration of the methods of forest regulation and of silviculture by inducing private timber-landowners to permit their properties to be placed at the disposal of the Division for such demonstration, but the writer was at once met with the objection that such a course would not be a proper iJolicy for the Government, as the use of i)ublic money for the benefit of private individuals would not be justified, even though a valuable object lesson might be gained thereby. Attempts were made to secure permission to use public timber lauds or military reservations for such demonstration purposes, but without success. Practical experiments in the field were therefore excluded, with the exception of the experimental planting which became possible later through the cooperation of the agricultural State experiment stations. The Division was on the whole reduced to such studies and investigations as could be carried on without the control of any demonstration areas. 'J'he vast extent of our empire, with such diversity of soils, climate, and economical conditions, made the task of selecting even these problems of local aj)pJication an appalling one, especially under the limitations imposed by small appropriations and the absence of trained men. The large number of valuable species of trees of which the United States can boast adds to the difficulties in securing the necessary inlormation for the application of their management in the regulated forest. While the European forester can concentrate his attention upon a half dozen or so of the 20 or 30 species indigenous to his world, we are called upon to select from 500 species the 100 or more which we recognize as valuable for the forest. jSTot even their names are sufticiently established to allow a sure distinction by name among those who speak of them or handle tlieir lumber, or are called ujjon to supply seeds or plants. It was therefore a proper piece of foundation work, performed by the competent dendrologist of the Division, Mr. George B. Sudworth, to establish a nomenclature of our arborescent flora, both of vernacular and botanical names, which might form the basis of uniform usage. This excellent, painstaking, and laborious work, analyzing the laropriety and identity of over 0,000 names applied to our 500 species, has been xjublished as Bulletin 14 of the Division, followed by a more condensed list for general use as Bulletin 18. In addition, a select list of those species which we may for the present consider of immediate economic value, with notes of their distribution, their uses, and their general silvicultural require- ments, was also x)repared and is reproduced in the appendix, giving an idea of the vast field open for the student of forest biology. FOREST MENSURATION. 19 FOREST BIOLOGY. In order to apply silviculture, to manage a forest crop intelligently, we must first be acquainted with the biology, the life liistory, and development of the different species which compose our forest or which we desire to plant. We must know what conditions of soil, of moisture, of light they require for their best development; how their growth progresses from the seed to maturity, espe- cially their relative height growth and their light requirement or shade endurance. The Division engaged, therefore, in 1886, a number of botanists to study and report on the life history of our most imi)ortant forest trees. But it was soon found that such kind of field study from the forester's point of view was foreign to these men, and although a number of inter- esting notes were the result of this first venture into field work, tlieir publication had to be deferred until deficiencies in the information could be supplied. In this way the life history of the white pine, of the four important Southern pines, of the two yellow pines of the Northeastern States, of the spruce and the hemlock, of the juniper, of the bald cypress, and of the white cedar were studied. But so far only the monographs on the Southern pines and that on the white pine have been perfected far enough to be adjudged satisfactory for publication. The magnificent work on the Southern pines, by Dr. Charles Mohr, published as Bulletin 13, furnished a worthy beginning in tins line of investigation. It was the first attempt in the United States of a monographic study from a forestry point of view of the economic, technical, and silvicultural conditions and require- ments of four species of forest trees. The monograph on the white pine, being prepared for the press as Bulletin 22 while this report is being written, will in no way be inferior in contents to its predecessor, and several of the other monographs were in a fair way of completion when the writer withdrew from the direction of the Division. It is ui)on the basis of such knowledge as these life-histories bring that the forester is enabled to apply silvicultural principles in the management of his croi). In order to apply principles of forest economy he needs more; he must know the capacity of the species for production and the rate of growth in volume. Another line of work, therefore, is necessary to establish this capacity of production by measurements. FOREST MENSURATION. The forest crop differs from all other crops, and forestry differs from all other industries of production in two ways. There is, first, no definite j)eriod when the crop can be said to be mature, as in the case of agricultural products; it consists of annual accumulations, which are allowed to continue until the individual trees attain either a useful or a profitable size; and, secondly, to attain such size a long time, and with different species and conditions, a variable time is needed. Thus, for firewood production a growth of fifteen to twenty- five years might suffice, while for good lumber production not less than seventy-five to one hundred years and more are needed. This iudefiniteuess of the time of maturity and the unusually long xieriod of production during which the crop has to grow predicate peculiar business arrangements, entirely different from those prevailing in other industries if forest growing is to be carried on as a financial business, and so necessitate to a greater extent than with any other a full knowledge of the progress of the croj}. Tree measurements, especially measurements of the rate of growth of single trees and of whole stands of trees, furnish the basis for determining the question when under given conditions the useful or the profitable sizes may be expected to be attained, and also the question of quantitative production. The Division has therefore for some time, as opportunity, men, and money were at its disposal, carried on measurements of the rate of growth of certain species, especially of the important conifers. In the forthcoming monograph on the white pine a comprehensive statement of the growth of this most important timber tree, based on the analysis of nearly 700 trees from many localities will be found, which will show that this species is capable of producing, under proper management, larger amounts of valuable material in a shorter time than any of the European species. To establish the amounts which a species can produce in different lengths of time is a much 20 POKESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPAKTiMENT OF AGRICULTURE. more complicated matter tliau most people would suspect, especially since our measurements can only be made on trees and stands of trees which have grown in nature's unattended forests, while with the api)lication of knowledge and skill in the management of the crop quite different results may be secured. A bulletin of the Division, No. 20, has been published describing the methods of measurement of standing trees and forests and of the rate of growth of trees and forests. There have been many misconceptions abroad as to the rapidity of tree growth and the amounts that may be harvested from an acre in a given time. If wood alone were to be produced the mat- ter would be much more simple. We could, from the experience which has been gathered in other countries and in our own, soon arrive at a statement as to the amount of wood which an acre of a full-grown dense forest crop could produce, just as we know the productive capacity of an acre of wheat or barley. In an average of a hundred years the yearly growth, according to species, soil, and climatic conditions, would vary between 30 and 180 cubic feet of wood per acre each year. But, unless fire- wood is the object of forest cropping, it is not quantity of wood merely, but wood of given size and of given quality, wood fit for the arts, that is to be grown. It will only i)ay to raise wood of this kind. Hence, it is necessary not only to know what sizes can be grown in given periods of the life of the crop and what sizes can be profitably handled at the mill or in the market, but also what qualities are desired and under what conditions they can be produced. Trees develop very differently at different periods of their life. Thus, while a white-pine tree may in the first fifty years have grown on an average one-third of a cubic foot of wood i^er year, if we had waited till the hundredth year the average rate per year would appear as more than 1 cubic foot, and the total volume four to five times what it was at fifty years, although the diameter has only about doubled. Again, while at fifty years hardly more than 15 per cent of the total wood volume would have furnished saw timber, perhaps making 50 feet B. M., at one hundred years the proportion of the more valuable milling material would have risen to 40 per cent and more of the whole tree, and the output of timber would have reached 500 feet B. M. On the other hand, an acre of pine fully stocked which at one hundred years may have produced at the rate of 140 cubic feet per year could under the same conditions have produced for the first fifty years at the rate of 180^ cubic feet per year, or nearly one third more. Yet the value of the wood on that same acre at one hundred years is very considerably more than the fifty-year old wood, on account of the increased proportion of highly useful material that can be got from it. Similarly, we find that not more than 1 to 2 i^er cent of the wood produced in the coppice sprouts of twenty to twenty five years' growth, in which Isew England abounds, is serviceable in the arts, while 50 to 75 per cent and more maybe thus profitably utilized from the same acre if grown from seed and allowed to grow one hundred years. It will be readily seen from these few glimpses into the subject that this knowledge of the rate of development and yield of our timber trees is indispensable for the discussion of the profits of forest cropping, and also furnishes hints for rational methods of silviculture. This same white- pine tree, for instance, could have made much more wood if it had been allowed to grow without interfering neighbors, but it would not only have assumed a less useful conical shape, but would have put much of its energy into branches, which not only do not furnish serviceable wood, but produce knotty lumber, an inferior or unsalable article. Moreover, the wood of most or many of our trees changes in quality with age, so that with size, form, and freedom from knots not only the technical value, but the money value also, grows disproportionately. It will then appear at once that these measurements must precede the discussion of the ques- tion most momentous to him who is to be induced to engage in the business of forest cropping, the first and last question asked : IS FORESTRY PROFITABLE'? It is claimed that if this question were answered in the affirmative, forestry i^ractice would at once be established in this country. Unfortunately it is a question that nobody can answer in general terms. No business is profitable per se; one railroad fails, another pays; for profitable- ness depends upon a complexity of conditions which are local, and hence without given conditions it is useless to attempt to answer such a question. It has been shown that under the economic and populational conditions of Germany (see Appendix) forestry is — not everywhere, by any IS FORESTRY PROFITABLE? 21 means, but on the whole — a profitable business. There are large forest areas in eastern Prussia which even now do not earn their mere cost of administration, let alone the yielding of a net income on the capital represented. There are considerable areas in the mountains of Bavaria which are so disadvantageously located that they can not compete with the more favorably situated ones, and only because managed by the same owner, the Government, does the management appear profitable. This profitableness is expressed avowedly by a 3 or 4 per cent return on the capital involved which is tied up in the soil and the growing stock of wood that must be main- tained, and a smaller return is in many cases considered acceptable, while a larger return is probably rare. If, then, in a country with dense i)opulation, where in many places every twig can be marketed, with settled conditions of market, with no virgiu woods which could be cheaply exploited and come into advantageous competition with the costlier material produced' on managed properties, with cost of labor low and prices for wood comparatively high — if under such conditions the returns for the expenditure of money, skill, intellect in the production of wood crops is not more promising, it would seem hoiieless to develop the argument of profitableness in a country where all these conditions are the reverse, and a business man considers a per cent investment no sufficient inducement. Another point on which we must agree before discussing the question of profitableness is as to what we shall consider " profitable." The concejition as to profits to be expected from investment of capital varies with time and with different economic conditions. In our country, the rapid develoi)- ment of our vast resources has inti'oduced speculative aspects into almost every investment, even in bona fide business transactions, and the investor in business expects still a very much larger return than the low interest rates obtainable for money loans. Only when we are reaching a more settled, permanent civilization will the small but sure returns from such a business as the forestry business recommend themselves esiiecially to the large cajjitalist who seeks a permanent investment. From the standpoint of national economy, to be sure, the use of our poor soils, which are capable of producing- nothing but wood crops, is i^rofitable, though the money returns may not recommend themselves to the private investor. Again, if the question were asked. Is it profitable for a farmer to apply silvicultural prin- ciples in the cutting of his wood lot so as to reproduce a good second crop? the answer will be without doubt affirmative, provided the soil of the wood lot is not better adapted to agricultural production. So would the answer be to mine operators or furnace managers who own forest property for the purpose of supplying themselves with mine timber or charcoal as an adjunct to their business. The pulp manufacturer, too, who expects to run his mill continuously and has a definite object and i)ermaneut supply of raw material from his forest property to his own business in view, is in the same position; he will find it at least indirectly x^rofitable to apply both silviculture and forest economy from considerations which are conditioned on his own main business. But he who con- templates entering upon the independent business of forest growing to supply the great timber and wood market is in an entirely different position. The greater part of the forest property in this country is held either by speculators, who are waiting for the opportunity to dispos^e of the whole, or of the wood on it, who do not hold it as a permanent investment or as a basis for a business, or else by lumbermen, who from necessity or by education are also inclined, and by the momentum of their business methods are forced, not to look at their forest property as a permanent investment or upon their logs as a crop, but to treat it as a mine, a basis, to be sure, but only a speculative basis of their mill business. Only when these realize that there are no more speculative forest areas to be had, that the remaining virgin forest crop is either used up or out of the market, will they feel induced to alter their methods and engage in the production instead of the mere harvesting of wood crops, becoming breeders as well as butchers. There are other classes of capitalists, now in small numbers, who may, as in older countries, be induced to own and manage large forest properties with a view of practicing forestry, when they have found out that one of the safest investments, although promising only a small interest rate, is in forest properties. 22 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Forestry to be carried on profitably requires the bringing of large areas under one manage- ment, as the German governments do; it requires large amounts of capital permanently invested; it can not be carried on as a speculative business. To prove that this is so we need only inspect the comparatively poor results of private forestry in Germany, as given in the Appendix. Such investments will by and by attract our large capitalists and tiusts, when forestry will be carried on as profitably as in the older countries. But this is a matter which necessarily comes slowly and can not be brought about by any argument or action except that of economic changes. The writer, having had business experience himself, soon became convinced that before a general argument of the profitableness of forestry could be advanced many changes in economic conditions must take place, among which must be es])ecially a further reduction in virgin sup- plies and the establishment of the fact of a threatened scarcity of the same; in other words, an absolute necessity for the application of the art of forestry and also a change in the attitude toward investments in general from a speculative to a permanent character. He, therefore, was impressed the more with the necessity of Government action to counteract the destructive tendencies and to provide for the future, and also with the need of knowledge as to our actual supplies on hand. This knowledge can be had with satisfactory precision only by the expenditure of sufiScient funds, as intimated before. These, in spite of the urgent presentations of the matter could never be secured; the Census of 1880 had attempted the task with insufficient funds, at least with reference to certain classes of supplies, and the results, rightly or wrongly, were promptly discredited. The census authorities of 1890, being requested to fill this important gap in our knowledge of the country's condition, did not consider the matter as a proper one to be included in its investi- gations — the greatest source of wealth next to agriculture being thus neglected — although many inferior industries were thoroughly canvassed. The Division of Forestry was, therefore, in this particular reduced to taking iuforiuation second-hand and to attempt the various estimates, which have been discussed in the earlier part of this report, and some of which are rehearsed in the appendix. Whatever argument could be brought to induce the Government to at least take care of its own holdings was employed in reports, bulletins, and statements before Senate and House com- mittees. Notably in Bulletin 2, which describes in detail the conditions of the Eocky Mountain forests, mainly the property of the Federal Government, the duty of the State with reference to the property has been fully discussed, and finally through these efforts, assisted by other agencies, the Government was committed to the policy of forest reservations, happily inaugurated in 1891. For the Government, to be sure, other than financial considerations are paramount, and it can well afford, for cultural and economic reasons, to maintain forest reservations, even if they do not pay, or if they do not pay the rate of interest which the private business man expects from his venture. TREE PLANTING IN THE PLAINS. While we may, then, leave the development of this part of forest economy — the demonstration of its financial i^rofitableness — to the next generation, there is the indirect profit which comes to the farmer or owner of land iu stocking the poor parts of his property with a crop which will produce, if not an interest, yet an effect on the rest of his property. The settler in the forestless plains, especially, will pursue tree planting for the purpose of ameliorating his surroundings. Con- siderable attention has, therefore, been paid to developing silviculturaL methods under the condi- tions prevailing iu the plains. This tree planting has in view protection from cold and hot winds, shade and shelter, rather than wood supplies, and we may as well recognize at once the fact that, while undoubtedly this beneficial influence of timber belts may be secured in most parts of the arid and subarid belts, and incidentally the supplying of firewood and other timber of small dimensions for domestic use, it is entirely out of the question to expect that these plantings will ever furnish supplies for our great lumber market. These supplies will always, the writer believes, be grown in the regions in which forests now grow and which are by nature best adapted to wood crops. In these arid and subarid regions, where nature has denied tree growth, the climatic condi- tions are so different from those of the humid parts that not only different methods of cultivation TREE PLANTING IN THE PLAINS. 23 are necessary, but the plant material must be imported and selected ■with a view to a rigorous climate, characterized by extreme ranges of temperarure. A range of 40° below zero to V20° F. above must be endured by the trees, their moisture requirements must be of the smallest, and they must be capable of resi)ondiiig to the enormous demands of evaporation. At first., whatever trees ■will gro^w successfully from the stait under such untoward conditions -would have to be chosen, no matter what their usefulness other-wise might be. The first settlers have ascertained by trials some of the species that -will succeed under such conditions, but unfortunately most of these are of but small economic value and some of them are only short-lived under the conditions in ■which they have to grow. The methods of planting -were naturally suggested by the experience of orchardists and nurserymen, since forest planting had never been practiced in this country; but unquestionably many failures can be avoided by apj)lica- tion of forestry principles in these plantings. Whether more useful kinds can be found that may be grown to advantage, and whether methods of xjlanting can be devised by which a greater effi- ciency of the plantation may be gained, are problems -which the Division has taken up within the last few years. Such problems can, of course, only be solved by actual field work, experiment, or trial, and hence tlie cooperation of the State agricultural experiment stations was secured to carry on such experiments. The station authorities have placed some land at the disposal of the Department, and the professors of horticulture or some other officer of the station superintends, free of charge, the labor of planting, cultivating, etc., while the Division of Forestry furnishes the plans, plant material, and all expenses. So far, the stations of Montana, Utah, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Minnesota are engaged in this cooperative work. In addition, there are two jjlanting stations located in the forested regions, namely, one in Minnesota and one in Pennsylvania, to experiment on i^ractical methods of reforesting cirt-over waste brush lands. Some few years ago the writer came to the conclusion that the conifers, especially the pines, would furnish more useful and otherwise serviceable plant material for the arid regions. Not only are they of. greater economic value than most of the deciduous trees that have been planted, but, requiring less moisture for their existence, they would, if once established, persist more readily through droughty seasons and be longer lived; besides, their persistent foliage would give more shelter all the year around. A small trial plantation on the sand hills of Nebraska, described in the annual reports of the Division for 1890 and 1891, lent countenance to this theory. To be sure, the difficulty of estab- lishing tlie young plants in the first place is infinitely greater than would be experienced with most deciduous trees. A large amount of attention was, therefore, devoted to finding practicable methods of growing the seedlings cheaply for extensive use and of protecting them for the first few years in the plantations; for the transplanting of conifers is attended with considerable diffi- culties, especially in a dry climate, and they require protection from the sun and winds during the first few years. They must, therefore, be planted in mixture with "nurse" trees which furnish not too much and yet enough shade. It can not be said that the success in using these species has so far been very encouraging; nevertheless, the failures maybe charged rather to our lack of knowl- edge and to causes which can be overcome than to any inherent incapacity of the species. The experimentations should, therefore, be persistently continued. Mixed planting and close planting are undoutbedly the proper methods of quickly establishing forest conditions, when without further attention the plantation will take care of itself. But it is essential to know what species should be planted together and how closely in order to secure the best results, and this knowledge can only come from experience and actual trial, since the behavior of trees in regions in which they are not indigenous can not be ijredicted by anyone. The results of these trial plantings have been discussed at great length, in Bulletin 18 of the Division, by Mr. Charles A. Kefl'er, who has been in charge of this particular work. Other minor investigations and experiments calculated to increase our silvicultural knowledge for the benefit of the forest producer were also carried on, and the introduction of special strains of basket osiers, of tan-bark wattle trees, of cork oak, and Eucalyptus seed, as well as the distribution of seeds and seedlings to would-be planters — to be sure oidy in small amounts as justified by the small appro- priation — belong to this work of silvicultural advancement. 24 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. DISTRIBUTION OF PLANT MATERIAL. There is no doubt that to the settler on the treeless plain the supply of plant material could be made an effective incentive to forest planting, but it would have to be done on a different scale from that which lias been practicable under the appropriations for the Division. Distribution of plant material for agricultural use and for forest i^lanting differs in principle as well as in object. While seed distribution in the iirst case may be desirable for the purjiose of introducing new kinds and improving the character of agricultural crops, this can only exceptionally be the purpose in the distribution of forest-plant material. The native trees are almost invariably the best to plant. The object of the distribution would be to induce the planting of a crop which without such special inducement would not be planted at all. Moreover, the handling of tree seeds is connected with greater difficulties than of agricultural seeds, and planting of seedlings rather than of seed is the proper xjrocedure. Since forest planting means planting on large areas, if there is to be any result, and requires a large number of plants to the acre — not less than 2,000 — it is at once apparent that the Division could not supply the plant material for many acres or to many applicants. After useless and dis- couraging attempts to comply with the law, the effort was abandoned and the provision remained a dead letter, except when there could be secured seeds or plants of certain kinds, the adapta- bility of which to certain climatic conditions was desired'to be tested. TREES FOB THE ARID REGIONS. In 1897, at the request of the Secretary of Agriculture to devise means of finding the trees best adapted for planting in arid regions, including in this term probably all parts of the dry country west of the 100th meridian, which is practically treeless, the writer submitted a plan, which would at least insure a comprehensive and systematic basis for the accohiplishment of the final object. It contemplated the establishment of a series of arboreta in various parts of that dry region, where the arborescent flora of the arid regions of the world might be assembled and tested, after thorough study of the climates of the regions where this plant material was to be collected by competent men. A competent gentleman was secured to carry out this plan, the methods and objects of which are more fully set forth in Bulletin 21 of the Division of Forestry, This plan, devised for a specific line of introduction of exotics, recommended itself so well for gen- eral application in the work of plant introduction that it has been developed as a special branch of the Seed Division, where now, with special appropriations, the whole question of plant importa- tion is placed on a systematic basis. PROPAGANDA WORK. A large amount of attention, time, and energy has been spent by the Division and its chief to secure recognition of its field and to elucidate its meaning, its importance, aud its methods before , legislators, before associations, before the public, and in the technical and daily press. Its exhibits at the various expositions at New Orleans, at Cincinnati, at Paris, at Chicago, at Atlanta, at Nashville, at Omaha, have perhaps had as much effect in bringing the subject home to the people as_ its i^rinted utterances. While the many addresses and lectures delivered before associations and other public meet- ings, the many articles furnished to magazines aud journals, the many arguments and statements presented before legislative committees, may perhaps hardly be considered as work of an ofiicial nature, nevertheless they did their share in advancing correct ideas among the i)eop]e quite as much as if they had been uttered officially. The reiteration of the same truths in different garb is necessary if we desire to secure a reform, and every means must be seized upon if we desire to educate a large public. The Division, therefore, identified itself with every movement which was started in the same direction, in which its official functions directed it. It became the acknowl- edged assistant of all such movements. In thus molding public opinion it became instrumental in committing legislatures and gov- ernments to take an interest in forestry matters and to consider legislation in their behalf. While eventually many other influences became active in forwarding the forestry movement, it will not be denied that the first and the most active factor in advancing forestry reform has been the Division of Forestry. FOKESTRY LEGISLATION. 25 INFLTTENCE OF THE DIVISION OF FORESTRY ON THE FORESTRY MOVEMENT. In 1876, when the first agency to report on forestry was established in the Department, the very word "forestry" was absent from the dictionaries, and the word "forester" was defined as "an officer appointed to watch a forest or chase and to preserve the game (English)." The idea of an art by that name and of its objects and methods did not exist among our peo- ple, except with a few who had traveled abroad. To-day there is hardly a week when not one or more of the daily journals discuss with consid- erable familiarity some phase of interest pertaining to forestry, and it has become a matter of daily conversation, a topic of public lectures and magazine articles. That the Division has been the most potent inlluence in bringing about this change can be readily shown by the constant references to it when the subject is discussed, by the voluminous quotations from its publications, and by the uncredited, nevertheless often almost verbatim, restatements of its utterances by writers for the public press. There are in existence now one national (since 1882) and a number of State and local forestry associations engaged in promoting the subject in their various spheres of action. The Division, or at least its chief, has been either an active member or officer of some of these organized bodies, or else has been instrumental or helpful in bringing them into existence or assisting with advice or contributions to their programme. Many other associations organized for the promotion of allied purposes discuss the subject of forestry at their meetings, and their proceedings show not only the stimulating influence of the work of the Division, but contain a large number of contributions to their publications from the same source. Some twenty agricultural colleges have incorporated into their courses lectures on forestry, and "professors of forestry," usually the botanist or horticulturist, at these institutions impart their knowledge of the subject in either elective or required courses. The publications of the Division, being the most available technical hterature in the country, serve largely as the basis of these lectures or even as text-books. The State of New York has gone a step further and has this year established a fully organized professional school, the State College of Forestry at New York University, inviting the then chief of the Forestry Division to assume its directorship. The course prescribed for students who desire the degree of bachelor in the science of forestry is as fiill as any in other similar branches and as complete as those given at the best forestry schools of Germany. (See Appendix.) With the establishment of this first professional school of forestry we may say that the art of forestry, not merely as a matter for discussion, is engrafted upon our system and a new era in the movement for rational forestry methods is begun. The most important feature of this novel educational venture is an experimental area of 30,000 acres specially set aside to demonstrate the methods of silviculture and forest economy, so as to serve as a model eventually for the rest of the State property. FORESTRY LEGISLATION. Forest fires have been the bane of American forests. It is estimated that more wood has been burned up in the yearly conflagrations than has been utilized. There could be no expecta- tion of applying rational forestry methods until forest property is protected against immediate loss and destruction by tire. There were laws against incendiaries on the statute books of nearly every State, but they were inoperative and inefficient. The first effective law against forest fires in active operation was drafted by the writer in 1885 for the State of New York, and was inaugurated the same year. It provided for a well organized system to suppress fires. Substantially the same law, with minor modifications, has been adopted by the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Wis- consin, and Minnesota, the Forestry Division being at least the means of making the methods known through its reports and correspondence.^ Nine States have special forestry commissions or other agencies charged with taking care of the forestry interests of their States or else to investigate and report on desirable legislation, and three or four other States have charged some existing commission with similar duties. In many ' For this legislation and otUer specific information regarding conditions in tlie United States see Appendix. 26 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. if uot most case,s the legislation leading to these commissions has been either formulated or suggested by the writer, or at least supported by arguments and facts drawn from the Division. The State of New York has set aside a forest reserve of over 1,000,000 acres, and is adding yearly to it by purchase, intending to increase it ultimately to 3,000,000 acres. The legislation establishing the first commission to take charge of the foi'est property of the State was formulated by the writer in 1885 at the request of State Senator Low, who secured its passage, while several other bills drawn for the same purpose were tabled. The State of Pennsylvania has last year followed the example and launched into a similar policy. It has j)iii"chased, or is about to purchase, a number of forest reservations, whicli are placed under the management of the active forest commissioner. The Federal Government finally has reserved 38,000,000 acres of the public timber lands as forest reservations. While to commit our Government to such a i)olicy, which would twenty years ago have appeared entirely foreign to our ideas of government functions, could hardly have been accomplished by any one agency, nevertheless tlie result has been undoubtedly an effect of the educational campaign carried on mainly by the Division. Dr. Hough, in his third report, suggested the withdrawal of all public timber lands and discussed principles for their management. In 1886 the present writer formulated further methods of management (see page 164, Rejiort of the Commissioner of Agriculture for 1SS6), and in 1887 framed a comprehensive bill' which was presented to Congress and advocated through the American Forestry Association. This bill, afterwards known as the Paddock bill ' later modified into the so-called McEae bill,- contains the features upon which all subsequent legislation regard- ing forest reserves has been based. The section of the law of March 3, 1891, which establishes the policy of forest reservations was formulated by the then Secretary of the Interior who publicly aud in print" acknowledged his indebtedness for the idea to the educational influence referred to. In securing the first reservations to the extent of nearly 20,000,000 acres, the American Forestry Association a-nd the chief of the Division, at the same time the chairman of the executive com- mittee of the Association, were most active, as may be learned from the files in the General Land Oflice. Several bills providing for the administration of these forest reserves were also formulated and supported by argument before the Pubhc Lauds Committee of both House aud Senate, and the passage of one of these in both Houses was secured in 1895, failing to become a law only from lack of time to secure a conference report. While the influence of other agencies in bringing about these various advances toward a forestry system in the United States is not denied or undervalued, the writer, as a fair historian, has found it necessary to assume the position of seeming self-glorification. It was impossible to dissociate the personal efforts of the chief from the work of the Division, and it was also impossible to offer a justification for the existence of the Division, as was evidently required by the clause in the act of 1897 calling for this rei^ort, without tracing in definite directions the tangible results which its work has secured, directly or indirectlj'. In addition to the unquestionable advancement in educational and legislative direction, the Division has also i^roduced as described an amount of valuable technical information, which in itself is believed to furnish ample justification for its past existence. Finally, it should be stated that a small number of timber-land owners have ventured to place their woodlands under management. While in most of these cases the Division had no direct relation to the undertaking, its long-continued educational campaign, which made it apparent that decreasing supplies can only be met by intelligent recuperative methods, must have had its effect in inducing such beginnings. In conclusion, I may be permitted upon my retirement from the direction of its work to charac- terize the past period of twenty years of the existence of the Division as the period of propaganda and primary education. We have during this period made the beginnings for a new departure, I S. 2307, Fifty-first Congress. = See page 15 of the Report of tlie Division of Forestry for 1887. ^See Proceedings American Forestry Association, yo\. 10. FORESTRY LEGISLATION. 27 for an economic reform. We have laid the foundations upon which it will be possible to build a superstructure. Many things which were not possible, or would not have been timely to attempt before, can now be done because circumstances have changed, people have become educated, their minds have become receptive. Educated foresters, who were not at the command of the Division during the past period, can now be found in sufficient numbers to carry on technical work, which was imprac- ticable, nay impossible, before. While at first the Division of Forestry was the only ediicatioual element in the forestry move- ment, it may now, perhaps, be left to other agencies to carry on a general propaganda and cam- paign of enlightenment, and the Division can concentrate itself more upon the development of the technical side of forestry. Finally, however, a Division of Foresty in a Government which has reserved millions of acres of forest property must logically become the manager of that forest property, leaving the develop- ment of technical detail to a minor branch or to other institutions. B. E. Feenow, LL. D., Director mid Bean, Neio Yorh State CoUcfje of Forestry, and formerly Chief of Division of Forestry, U. iS'. Department of Agriculture. APPENDIX REPORT OJSr FORESTRY I]SrVESTIGATIO:^S, U. S. DEPAKTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. OOE"TEI^TS. A. Memorial of a coiumitteo of the American Association for the Advancement of Science iu behalf of forest proser\'atioii, leading to the establishment of th;; Division of Forestry 37 B. List of publications relating to forestry issued from the Department of Agriculture since 1877 40 C. Forests and forestry in the United States 45 1. Original condition of forest areas — Present condition — Foi-est botanical description 48 2. Trees of the United States important iu forestry — Biological Studies: Southern lumber pines 51 3. American woods 87 List of the more important woods of the United States — Comparative statements of properties of American woods — How to distinguish the different kinds of wood — Key to the more important woods of North America--Structure of the wood of the five Southern pines. 4. Economic aspects of forest resources 116 Forest conditions of Wisconsin — The naval store industry. 5. Development of a forest policy 166 Historical — Associated jiropaganda — Forestry commissions — Forest-fire legislation — Forestry edu- cation — Federal forest policy. D. Forest policies of European nations " 205 E. Forest conditions and methods of forest management in Germany, with a brief account of forest manage ment in British India 213 Forest area, extent and ownership— State control— Character of forest growth— Exploitation — Price of wood iu the forest — Price of manufactured lumber— Yield per acre — Consumption of wood materials — Financial results of forest inanag(mient. — Forest administration. Forest management of leading states : Prussia — Saxony — Bavaria — Wurttemberg— Baden — Alsace and Lorraine 225 Methods of German forest management 238 Forest management in British India 259 F. Principles of silviculture 264 How trees grow — How to plant a forest — How to treat the wood lot — The relation of forests to farms. G. Principles of forest economy 299 H. Forest influences _. 306 I. The work in timber physics in the Division of Forestry. By Filibort Roth, late assistant in Division of Forestry .-. 330 Historical — Southern and Northern oak — Southern, bled and unbled pine — Distribution of resin in pine — Mechanical and physical properties of Southern pine— Strength of large beams and columns — Summary of mechanical tests on 32 species — Tests of maximum uniformity — Relation of com- pression — Endwise strength to breaking load of beam — Development of the science of timber physics and methods employed. J. Metal ties for railway's and economies in the use of wooden ties. By E. E. Russell Tratman, C. E 396 31 ILLUSTEATIOl^S. PLATES. Plate I. Map showing distribution of forests and lumber regions in the United States 48 II. Map showing distribution of forest land, brush laud, and open country west of the 97th meridian, and national forest reservations 48 III. Map showing distribution of forest types in North America 48 IV. Fig. 1. Longleaf-pine forest in Louisiana flats, virgin, scorched by fire, as usual. Fig. 2. Loni;leaf- pine forest after removal of merchantable timber 64 V. Cuban-pine flatwoods of Florida 66 VI. Map showing distribution of longleaf-pine forests 68 VII. Map showing distribution of shortleaf pine 68 VIII. Map showing distribution of loblolly pine 68 IX. Longleaf pine {Pinus palustris), typical trees 74 X. Longleaf pine (Pinus jialustris), seedlings and young plant 74 XL Longleaf pine {Pinna palustris) , bud develoi)ment 76 XII. Longleaf pine {Pinus palusiris), male and female flowers 76 XIII. Longleaf pine {Finns palustris) , open cone, natural size 76 XIV. Cuban pine {Pinus keterophylla) , development of cone 78 XV. Shortleaf pine {Finns eehinata), forest-grown specimens in Missouri 80 XVI. Shortleaf pine {Finns eehinata), development of cone, seed, and leaves 80 XVII. Shortleaf pine {Pinus eehinata), seedling, male and female flower and leaf sections 80 XVIII. Loblolly pine {Pinus twda), typical tree 82 XIX. Loblolly pine {Pinus twda), female flowers, cone and seed 82 XX. Typical cross sections of Finns twda, heierophyUa, and glahra 114 XXI. Typical cross sections of Pinus xialustria and eehinata, and radial sections of Pinus palustris and glabra 114 XXII. Eadial sections of Pinus eehinata and heierophi/lla 114 XXIII. Radial sections of Finns twda and tangential sections of Pinus palustris and eehinata 114 XXIV. Tangential sections of Finns twda, heterophylla, and glahra 114 XXV. Tangential sections of Finns eehinata, heterophylla, and glahra 114 XXVI. Transverse resin ducts 114 XXVII. Map showing forest conditions of Wisconsin 138 XXVIII. Fig. 1. Chipping the longleaf pine. Fig. 2. Dipping the crude resin 144 XXIX. Fig. 1. American practice of boxing and chipping. Fig. 2. Tools used in American practice of tur- pentine orcharding 154 XXX. Fig. 1. Turpentine orcharding in France. Fig. 2. Tools used in French practice of turpentine orcharding 158 XXXI. Fig. 1. Turpentine gathering (Hugues system), till and pot. Figs. 2, 3, and 4: Cross sections through bled trees 158 XXXII. Map for direction of forest managers ■ 240 TEXT FIGURES. Fig. 1. Diagram showing comparative progress of height growth in average trees 85 2. Diagram showing comparative jirogress of diameter in average trees 86 3. Diagram showing comparative progress of volume growth in average trees 87 4. Non-porous woods 98 5. Ring-porous woods 99 6. Diffuse-porous woods 99 7. Wood of coffee tree 102 8. Wood of ash 103 9. Wood of red oak 103 10. Wood of chestnut 103 11. Wood of hickory 104 H. Boc. No. 181 3 33 34 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Page. Fig. 12. Wood of beech, sycamore, birch 105 13. Wood of maple 105 14. AVoodofelm 105 15. Woodof waluut 106 16. Wood of cherry 106 17. Variation of summerwood 109 18. Variation of specific gravity 110 19. Variation of summerwood, per cent Ill 20. Schematic representation of coniferous wood structure 112 21. Cell endings in pine 112 22. Cross section of normal and stunted growth in longleaf pine 113 23. Diagram showing arrangement of age classes 243 24. Diagram showing comparative progress of yields of spruce, fir, piue, and beech 244 25. Iron dibble used in setting out small pine seedlings 247 26. Tree classes : Classification according to crown development 253 27. Physiological importance of different parts of the tree; pathways of water and food materials 269 28. Bud development of beech 270 29. Buds of maple 270 ■ 30. Dormant bud on a 12-year-old branch of beech 271 31. Section through a 12-year-old stem of beech, showing manner of bud and limb formation 271 32. Section through a partly decayed knot in oak wood 271 33. Development in and out of the forest 272 84. Trees in and out of the forest 273 35. Sections of logs showing tlie relative development of knots 274 36. Scheme to illustrate the annual growth 274 37. Oak tree grown in the open 275 38. Maple tree grown in the forest 275 39. Showing plan of grouji system in regenerating a forest crop 289 40. Appearance of regeneration by group method 290 41. Method of layering to produce new stocks in coppice wood 292 42. Diiierences of mean annual temperatures of soil (W — O) 318 43. Difference of temperature (W — O) at the depth of 4 feet 319 44. Differences of soil temperature (woods and open fields). Comparison of deciduous and evergreen trees (W— O) 319 45. Difference of soil temperature (W — 0), all stations— German observatories 320 46. Differences of soil temperature (woods and open fields). Comparison of elevations above sea level (W— O) 320 47. Differences of temperature for young trees, Lintzel Station, woods and open fields (W — 0) 320 48. Effects of litter on soil temperature (littered surface — bare). (W — 0) 321 49. Difference of soil temperature, under sod and bare surface (sod — bare). Becquerel's observations 321 50. 51, and 52. Forest air temperature, difference of woods and open fields (W — 0), deciduous trees, evergreen trees, and young forest (Lintzel) 321 53. Forest air temperature differences, AV — O. German stations : ... 322 54, 55, 56, 57, and 58. Forest air temperature differences, woods and open fields (W — 0), at Friedrichsrode, Hagenau, Sonnenberg, Eberswalde, Schoo, Marienthal, Hadcrsleben, and average 323 59, 60, 61, 62, and 63. Forest air temperature differences, woods and open fields (W — 0) at Marienthal, Hadersleden, elevated stations, near sea level — average 324 64. Forest air temperature differences for the year at height of the tree top (W — O) 325 65. Average differences of tree-top temperature, sixteen German stations (W — O) 325 66. 67, 68, 69, and 70. Tree-top temperature, differences (W — 0) at Friedrichsrode, Eberswalde, St. Johann, Carlsberg, and Schoo 326 71, 72, 73, 74, and 75. Tree-top temperature differences, German stations (W — O), Sonnenberg, Kurwien, Hagenau, and Neumath— deciduous trees 327 76. Tree-top temperature differences, German stations, evergreen trees 328 77. Vertical temperature, gradient In woods, degrees Fahrenheit, for a hundred feet 328 78. Vertical temperature gradients from observations above trees 328 79. Forest temperature differences above trees, from Fautrat's observations : . . . 328 80. Evaporation and precipitation 329 81. Slonthly evaporation in the fields (upper curve) and woods (lower curve), in inches 329 82. Percentage of evaporation in tlie woods as compared with that In open fields 329 83. Ratio of evaporation from water surface in fields and forest to precipitation 329 84. Percentage of evaporation in woods to that in the ojien air 329 85. Method of chemical analysis of turpentine 336 86. Method of distillation of turpentine 337 87. Distribution of turpentine in trees 339 •» ILLUSTRATIONS. ^'^ Page. 340 88. Relationship of different parts of same disk .- ■ ^^ and age ■. ' " 353 m A^ariation of compression strengtli witli moisture - - -- II LsTof water in liln drying and reahsorption in air shrinking and swelling 3=^^^ 95 Relation of strength in compression endwise to weight of material ^^^ pression endwise - 373 98. Relation of fiber stresses and distortion g^g 99" Distribution of internal stresses in a heam at rupture....... ^^^ 100 Position of neutral axis and internal stresses at rupture of beam ^^^ 101. Fiber distortion in unit length of beam at elasticlimit _\\'.. 375 102. Position of neutral plane at rupture ggg 103. Method of sawing test logs - 3ge 104. Apparatus for determining speciac gravity -"-■• ggg 105. Result of physical examination (sample) A. MEMORIAL TO CONGRESS. MEMOEIAL OF A COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE ON BEHALF OF FOREST PRESERVATION, LEADING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DIVISION OF FORESTRY. [From Senate Ex. Doc. 28, first Session Fortytliird Congress, or Report No. 259, H. R., first Session Forty-third Congress.] At the meeting of the Association for tlie Advancement of Science held at Portland', Me., on tLe 22d day of August, 1873, the following resolution was passed: Resolved, That a committee be appointed liy this association to memorialize Congress and the several State legis- latures on the importance of promoting the cultivation of timber and the preservation of forests, and to recommend such legislation as may be deemed proper for securing these objects. Also, that this committee be instructed to cooperate with national associations for a similar object. The committee appointed consisted of PraTiklin B. Hough, Lowville, N. T. ; George B. Emerson, Boston, Mass.; Prof. Asa Gray, Cambridge, Mass.; Prof. J. D. Whitney, San Francisco, Cal. ; Prof. J. S. jSTewberry, New York City; Hon. Lewis H. Morgan, Eochester, N. Y. ; Col. Charles Whittlesey, Cleveland, Ohio; Prof. William H. Brewer, New Haven, Conn., and Prof. E. W. Hilgard, Ann Arbor, Mich. Under this appointment consultation has been had among members of this committee, who have requested the undersigned, on their behalf, to represent as follows: That the preservation and growth of timber is a subject of great practical importance to the people of the United States, and is becoming every year of more and more consequence, from the increasing demand for its use; and that while this rapid exhaustion is taking place, there is no effectual j)rovision against waste or the renewal of supply. We apprehend that the time is not distant when great public injury must result from this cause, and we deem it to be our duty to urge upon the Government the importance of taking timely action in liroviding against the evils that must otherwise follow. Besides the economical value of timber for construction, fuel, and the arts, which is obvious without suggestion, and must increase with the growth of the nation, there are questions of climate that appear to have a close relation to the presence or absence of woodland shade. The drying up of rivulets, which feed our mill streams and navigable rivers and supply our canals, the failure of the sources which supply our cities with pure water, and the growing tendency to floods and drought resulting from the unequal distribution of the rainfalls since the cutting off of our forests are subjects of common observation. In European countries, especially in Italy, Germany, Austria, and France, where the injuries resulting from the cutting off of timber have long since been realized, the attention of govern- ments has been turned to this subject by the necessities of the case, and conservative measures have in many instances been successfully applied, so that a supply of timber has been obtained by cultivation, and other benefits resulting from this measure have been realized. Special schools of forestry have been established under the auspices of government, and the practical applications of science in the selection of soil and conditions favorable for iiarticular species, and in the planting, care, and removal of timber, are taught and applied, with the view of realizing the greatest benefits at the least expense. 37 38 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. There is great clanger that, if not provided against, the fearful changes may happen to our largest rivers which have taken place on the Po and other large rivers of Italy, Prance, and Spain, caused by the destruction of the forests from which came their tribiitaries. These forests had retained, the water from the snows and rains of winter and spring, and supplied it gradually during the summer. Since their destruction the rain falling in the rainy season comes down almost at once, bringing with it earth and stones, deluging the banks of the larger streams, but leaving a very insufflcient provision for evaporation and against the consequent drought of Slimmer. Thus, when the forests about the sources of our great rivers shall be cut away, the water from the melting snows aud early rains will be liable to come down in vast floods, overflowing the banks and carrying ruin aud destruction in their course, while the affluent streams in summer will diminish or disappear, to the great injury of the country through which they flow. We deem it highly important that the true condition and wants of the country in this regard, and the injuries that may result from the destruction of the forests aud the exhaustion of our supplies of timber, should be known in time to provide a remedy before the evils are severely felt. There are facts of the greatest importance in relation to the past and present destruction of forests, the pressing want of timber trees in States without natural forests, and the changes that have taken place, or are taking place, in consequence of the destruction of the forests, that should be carefully collected and be widely and familiarly known, A knowledge of these facts would be everywhere of great value. They should be gathered, arranged, and so widely published as to reach the intelligent inhabitants of all the States. There is not a State or Territory without a direct interest in the subject. We should know the experi- ence of other countries and be able to apply whatever may be found therein suited to our soil and climate and consistent with the plan of our government and the theory of our laws. Individual or associated effort, unless organized and directed by authority, could not be expected to conduct these inquiries or make known the results with that fullness which the investigation would require. We therefore recommend them as worthy of the attention of Con- gress, as the immediate guardian of the Territories and the proper source of power in whatever concerns the interest of the whole country. We would therefore respectfully request the passage of a law creating a commission of forestry, to be appointed by the President and Senate, and that it should be required to ascertain, from the most effectual and reliable means within its power, and to report to Congress upon the following subjects: First. Upon the amount and distribution of woodlands in the United States, the rate of con- sumption and waste, and the measures that should be adopted to provide against the future wants of the country in the preservation and planting of timber. With this there should be an inquiry concerning the importation and exportation of lumber and other forest property. Second. The iufluence of forests upon the climate, and especially as to what extent their presence or absence tends to affect the temperature, rainfall, and other atmospheric conditions upon which agricultural success depends. Third. A full statement of the methods practiced in Europe in relation to the planting and management of forests, and an account of the special schools of forestry that have been estab- lished in foreign countries. Eespectfully submitted. ' Franklin B. Hough, Geo. B. Emerson, On Behalf of the Committee of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Washington, D, C, February 6, 1874. JOINT RESOLUTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSION. 39 JOINT EESOLTJTION for tlio appointment of a commission for inquiry into the destruction of forests and into the measures necessary • for the preservation of timber. Whereas it is asserted that the supply of timber within the United States is rapidly diminishing, and that great puhlic injury must result from its continued waste, without adequate means being taken for its preservation and production: Therefore, . . ^ 77 7 t^i *. Be it resolved Tiij the Senate and Rouse of Eepreseniatives of the United States of America m Conoress assemhled, That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized and required to appoint, by and with the adyico and consent of the Senate, a man of approved scientific and practical acquaintance with statistical inquiries, to be commissioner of °^^^slc 2 And be it further resolved, That it shall be the duty of said commissioner to prosecute investigations and inquiries on the subject with the view of ascertaining the annual amount of consumption, importation, and exporta- tion of timber and other forest products; the probable supply for future wants; the means best adapted to its pres- ervation and renewal; the influence of forests upon cliniato, and the measures that have been successfully apphed in forein-n countries for the preservation and restoration of forests; and to report upon the same to Congress. Sec 3 And U it farther resolved, That the heads of the Executive Departments be, and they are hereby, directed to cause to be rendered all necessary and practicable aid to the said commisshnier, by access to the public records and otherwise, in the prosecution of the investigations and inquiries aforesaid. B. LIST OF PUBLICATIONS RELATING TO FORESTRY ISSUED FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SINCE 1877. BULLETINS. No. 1. Report on the Eolations of Eailroads to Forest Supplies and Forestry, together with appendices on the structure of some timber ties, tlie behavior and the cause of their decay in the roadbed, on wood preservation, on metal ties, and on the use of spark arresters, by B. E. Fernow. Pp. 149, pis. 7, figs. 7. 1887. B'o. 2. Report on the Forest Conditions of the Eocky Mountains, with a map showing the loca- tion of forest areas on the Eocky Mountain range, and other papers. Pp. 252, map, 1, diagr., 1. 1888. Contents: Extracts from Reports of tlie Commissioners of the Land Office — The Government in its relation to forests, by I'rof. E. J. James — Report on the forest conditions of the Rocky Mountains, by Col. Edgar T. Ensign — Map showing the location of forest areas aud principal irrigation ditches in the Rocky Mountain region — Forest flora of the Rocky Mountains, by George B. Sud worth — Report on the forests of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties, Cal., by Abbott Kinney — Trees and shrubs of San Diego County, Cal. — The needs of the Yellow- stone National Park, by Arnold Hague, geologist in charge — Summary of legislation for the preservation of timber or forests on the public domain, by N. H. Egleston — The climate of Colorado and its effects upon trees, by George H. Parsons — Snow slides or avalanches, their formation and prevention, by B. E. Feruow. No. 3. Preliminary Eeport on the Use of Metal Track on Eailways as a Substitute for Wooden Ties, by E. E. Eussell Tratman, C. E., to which is added a report of experiments in wood season- ing by the Chicago, Burlington and Quiucy Railroad Company, and other notes. Compiled by B. E. Fernow. Pp. 79, diagr. 6. 1889. No. 4. Eeport on the Substitution of Metal for Wood in Railroad Ties, by E. E. Eussell Trat- man, C. E., together with a discussion on practicable economies in the use of wood for railway purposes, by B. E. Fernow. Pp. 363, pis. 30. 1890. No. 5. What is Forestry, by B. E. Fernow, Chief of Division of Forestry. Pp. 52. 1891. No. 6. Timber Physics. Part I. Preliminary Eeport. Compiled by B. E. Feruow, Chief of Division of Forestry. Pp. 61, pis. 6, figs. 12. 1892. 4°. 1. Need of investigation. 2. Scope and historical development of the science of "timber physics." 3. Organi- zation and methods of the timber examinations in the Division of Forestry. No. 7. Forest Influences. Pp. 197, figs, 63. 1893. 1. Introduction and summary of conclusions, by B. E. Fernow. 2. Review of forest meteorological observa- tions, a study preliminary to the discussion of the relations of forest to climate, by M. W. Harrington. 3. Relation of forest to water supplies, by B. E. Fernow. 4. Notes on the sanitary siguiticauce of forests, by B. E. Fernow. Appendices: 1. Determiuation of the true amount of precipitation and its bearing on theories of forest influences, by Cleveland Abbe. 2. Analysis of rainfall with relation to surface conditions, by George E. Curtis. No. 8. Timber Physics. Part 2. Pp. 92, pis. 12, figs. 22. 1893. Progress report : Eesults of investigations on long-leaf pine. Contents: Mechanical tests made at Washington University testing laboratory, St. Louis, by J. B. Johnson — Field report on turpentine timber, by F. Roth — Resinous contents aud their distribution in the long-leaf pine, by M. Gomberg — Field records of test material, by C. Mohr. No. 9. Eeport on the Use of Metal Railroad Ties and on Preservation Processes and Metal Tie-plates for Wooden Ties. By E. E. Russell Tratman, A. M., Am. Soc. C. E. (supplementary to report on the Substitution of Metal for Wood in Railroad Ties, 1890). Prepared under the direc- tion of B. E. Fernow, Chief of Division of Forestry. Px). 303, pis. 5. 1894. 40 LIST OF FORESTRY PUBLICATIONS. 41 ISTo. 10. Timber : An Elementary Discussion of the Characteristics and Properties of Wood. By Filibert Koth, special agent in charge of Timber Physics. Under the direction of B. E. Fernow, Chief of Division of Forestry. Pp. 88, flgs. 49. 1895. No. 11. Some Foreign Trees for the Southern States. (Cork, Wattle Tree, Eucalyptus, Bamboo.) Prepared under direction of B. E. Fernow, Chief of Division of Forestry. Pp. 32, x^ls. 3. 1895. No. 13. Economic Designing of Timber Trestle Bridges, by A. L. Johnson, C. E. Pp. 57, figs. 7. 1S96. No. 13. The Timber Pines of the Southern United States, by Chas. Mohr, Ph. D. Together with a Discussion of the Structure of their Wood, by Filibert Eoth. Prepared under the direction of B. E. Fernow, Chief of Division of Forestry. Pp. 160, pis. 27, figs. 18. 1896. No. 14. Nomenclature of the Arborescent Flora of the United States, by George B. Sudworth, deudrologist of the Division of Forestry. Prepared under the direction and with an Introduction by B. B. Fernow, Chief of Division of Forestry. Pp. 8, 419. 1897. No. 15. Forest Growth and Sheep Grazing in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, by Frederick V. Coville. Pp. 54. 1898. No. 16. Forestry Conditions and Interests of Wisconsin, by Filibert Eoth, special agent. With a discussion of objects and methods of ascertaining forest statistics, etc., by B. E. Fernow, Chief of Division of Forestry. Pp. 70, map of forest distribution in Wisconsin. 1898. No. 17. Check List of the Forest Trees of the United States, their Names and Rangi-s, by George B. Sndworth, deudrologist of the Div^ision of Forestry. Prepared under the direction of B. E. Fernow, Chief of Division of Forestry. Pp. 144. 1898. No. 18. Experimental Tree Planting in the Plains, by Charles A. Keffer, assistant chief of the Division. Prejiared under the-direction of B. E. Fernow, Chief of Division of Forestry. Pp. 94, pis. 5, figs. 1. 1898. No. 19. Osier Culture, by John M. Simpson. Prepared under the direction of B. E. Fernow, Chief of Division of Forestry. Pp. 27. 1898. No. 20. Measuring the Forest Crop, by A. K. Mlodziansky. Prepared under the direction of B. E. Fernow, Chief of Division of Forestry. Pp. 70, figs. 16. 1898. No. 21. Systematic Plant Introduction, by David A. Fairchild, special agent. Prepared under the direction of B. E. Fernow, Chief of Division of Forestry. Pp. 24. 1898. No. 22, The White Pine, a monograph, by V. M. Spaulding. Ee vised and enlarged by B. E. Fernow, with contributions by Filibert Eoth and F.A.Chittenden. (In press.) No. 23. The Uses of Wood in Mining and in the Charcoal Iron Industries, by John Birkinbine, C. E. With a discussion of methods of forest management applicable to woodlands subserving these industries by B. E. Fernow, Chief of Division of Forestry. (In press.) CIRCULARS OF INFORMATION. No. 1. Eequest to Educators for Cooiieration. No. 2. A Circular to Educational Men. No. 3. Increasing the Durability of Timber (information to wood consumers). Pp.4. 8°. No. 4. For Information of Eailroad Managers (use of chestnut oak for railroad ties). Pp. 3. 4°. No. 5. Arbor Day Planting in Eastern States. Pj). 4. 4°. No. 6. Instructions for Growing Tree Seedlings. Pp. 4. 4°. No. 7. The Government Timber Tests. Pp. ^. 8°. No. 8. Strength of "Boxed" or " Turpentine" Timber. Pp. 4. 8°. No. 9. Effect of Turpentine Gathering on the Timber of Longleaf Pine. P. 1. 8°. No. 10. Suggestions to the Lumbermen of the United States in Behalf of More Eational Forest Management. Pp. 8. 8°. No. 11. Facts and Figures Eegarding Our Forest Eesources, Briefly Stated. Pp. 8. 8°. No. 12. Southern Pine : Mechanical and Physical Properties. Pp. 12. 4°. No. 13. Forest Fire Legislation in the United States. Pp. 8. 8'^. No. 14. Is Protection Against Forest Fires Practicable? Pp. 4. 8°. No. 15. Snmmaryof Mechanical Tests on Thirty-two Species of American Woods. Pp.12. 4°. No. 16. Age of Trees and Time of Blazing Determined by Annual Eiugs. Pi>. 11. 8°. 42 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. No. 17. Eecent Legislation on State Forestry Commissions and Forest Reserves. Pp. 16. 8°. IsTo. 18. Progress in Timber Physics: Influence of Size on Test Eesults; Distribution and Effect on Strength of Moisture; Maximum Uniformity of Wood; Eelation of Compression End- wise Strength to Breaking Load of Beam. Pp. 20. 4°. ISTo. 19. Progress in Timber Physics: Bald Cypress. Pp.24. 4°. No. 20. Increasing the Durability of Timber. Pp. 5. 8°. CHARTS. I The lessons of erosion due to forest destruction. Three colored charts, 30J by 4SJ inches, showing: (1) How the farm is lost; (2) how the farm is regained; (3) how the farm is retained. 1896. REPORTS ON FOEESTRT. Vol. I. Eeport upon Forestry, prepared under the direction of the Commissioner of Agricul- ture, in pursuance of an act of Congress approved August 15, 1876. By Franklin B. Hough. Pp. 650. Index. 1878. Vol. II. Eeport upon Forestry, prepared under the direction of the Commissioner of Agricul- ture, in pursuance of an act of Congress ai^proved August 15, 1876. By Franklin B. Hough. Pp. 618. Index. 1880. Vol. III. Eeport upon Forestry, x^repared under the direction of the Commissioner of Agri- culture, in i)ursu.ince of an act of Congress approved August 15, 1876. By Franklin B. Hough. Pp. 318. Index. 1882. Vol. IV. Eeport njion Forestry, prepared by N. H. Eggleston. Pp. 421. Index. 1 map. 1884. ANNUAL REPORTS OP CHIEF OP DIVISION OF FORESTRY. [For years 1884-1893, inclusive, in annual reports of the Secretary of Agriculture for those years. For years 1894-1896, inclusive, in messages and documents for those years. For 1897, in annual reports of Department of Agriculture for 1897. Same, issued separately in pamphlet form for the years 1886, 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1897. From 1894 these reports refer only to administrative business ; before that year they contain technical matter.] The following subjects are more fully treated in these reports: Eeport for 1886 — Forestry problems of the United States. General iirinciples of forestry. List of ninety most important timber trees of the United States. Osier culture. Eeport for 1887. (Special, not iirinted in report of Department of Agriculture) — Trade notes and tariff on lumber — mill capacity of United States. Systematic plan of forestry work. Tree notes. Condition of forestry interests in the States. Eeport for 1888— Forest influences. Cultural and trade notes. Eeport for 1889— Seedling distribution. Timber-culture acts. Osier culture. Influence of forests on water supplies. Eeport for 1890— Wood-pulp industry. Tests of ISTorthern and Southern oak. Forestry education. Artificial rainfall. LIST OF FORESTRY PUBLICATIONS. 43 Eeport for 1891— Forestry lectures. Poisoiiiiig of street trees. Bamboo as substitute for wood. Forest-planting experiments in Nebraska. Southern lumber pines. Forest reservations and their management. Eeport for 1892— Forest conditions of the United States and the forestry movement Forest-inre legislation. Eeport on Oliickamauga National Park. The naval-store industry. Eeport for 1893— Methods of forest measurement. Consumption and supply of forest, products iu the United States. German forest management. ABTICLBS EEPEINTED FROM YEAEBOOKS. From Yearbook, 1894: Forestry for farmers. By B. E. Fernow. Pp. 40, figs. 15. From Yearbook, 1895: The relation of forest to farms. By B. E. Feruovs^. Pp. 8. Tree planting on the Western plains. By Ghas. A. Keffer. Pp. 20. From Yearbook, 1896: Tree planting in waste places on the farm. By Ghas. A. Keffer. Pp. 18. The uses of wood. By Filibert Eoth. Pp. 30, figs. 7. From Yearbook, 1897 : Division of forestry; relation of its work to the farmer. By B. E.Fernow, chief. Pp. 20. Trees of the United States important in Forestry. By Geo. B. Sudworth. Pp. 26. FAEMEES' BULLETIN. No. 67. Forestry for farmers. Pp. 48, figs. 15. MISCELLANEOTTS PUBLICATIONS. Catalogue of the Forest Trees of the United States which usually attain a height of 16 feet or more, with uotes and brief descriptions of the more important species. 1876. Pp. 38. Preliminary Eeport on the Forestry of the Mississippi Valley and Tree Planting on the Plains. By F. P. Baker and E. W. Furnas. Pp. 45. 1883. Arbor Day, its History and Observance. By N. H. Egleston. Pp. 80, figs. 12. 1896. Miscellaneous Special Eeport No. 5. The proper vahie and management of Government timber lands and the distribution of North American forest trees, being papers read at the United States Department of Agriculture May 7 and 8, 1884. Pp. 47. 1884. Miscellaneous Eeport No. 10. A descriptive catalogue of manufactures from native woods, as shown in the exhibit of the United States Department of Agriculture at the World's Industrial and Cotton Exposition at New Orleans, La. By Charles Eichards Dodge. Pp. 81. 1886. Trees of Washington, D. C. By B. E. Fernow and Geo. B. Sudworth. Unp. pi. 1891. Forestry in the United States. By B. E. Fernow. Report of United States commissioners to the Universal Exposition of 1889 at Paris. Vol, V, pp. lil-TJl, pis. 6. 1891. Timber physics. — Preliminary report: Need of investigation. By B. E. Fernow. (From For- estry Bui. No. 6.) Quarto, 16 pp. 1892. Letter to the Secretary of Agriculture regarding Forest Growth and Timber Consumption. By B. E. Fernow. Pp. 3. 1893. Instructions for the Collection of Test Pieces of Pines for Timber Investigations, n. d. Pp. 4. List of Publications relating to Forestry in the Department Library. Prepared under the direction of the Librarian. Pp. 93. 1898. 44 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. STATEMENTS BEFORE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES AND IN ANST\TEE TO SENATE RESOLUTIONS. Statement on the relation of irrigation problems to forest conditions by B. E. Fernow, before Special Senate Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation of Arid Lands. Fifty-first Congress, first session. Senate Eeport Ko. 928, vol. 4, 1890. Pp. 112-124. Statements in Keport 'So. 1002, Fifty-second Congress, first session. (To accompany S. 3235) "to provide for the establishment, protection, and administration of pnblic forest reservation, and for other purposes." Pp. 12. 1892. Senate Document No. 172, Fifty-third Congress, second session. Letter from the Secretary of Agriculture . . . transmitting information in relation to investigations and experiments in the planting of native pine seed in the sand hills of the Northwest. Pp.14. 8°. 1894. Statements in House Eeport No. 1442, Fifty-third Congress, second session. Investigations and Tests of American Timbers. Pp. 4. 1894. Statements in House Eeport No. 897. Public Forest Eeservations. Pp. 23. 1894. Statement of B. E. Fernow, Chief of Forestry Division, to the Committee on Agriculture, House of Eepresentatives, [in support of H. R. 8389, and H. E. 8390, providing for forestry schools] February 16, 1895. Pp 4. Senate Document No. 40, Fifty-fifth Congress, first session: White-Pine Timber Supplies. Statement prepared by the chief of the division. Letter of the Secretary of Agriculture. Pp. 21, 1897. C. FORESTS AND FORESTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. The following brief account of tlie forest conditions of the United States; of the trees of economic value which compose its forests; of the materials iu kind and quantity which they furnish; and of the status of the movement for the introduction of forestry principles iu their use, is brought together mainly from scattered data published by the Division of Forestry and from other sources. ORiaiNAi Condition of Forest Akeas. The territorial distribution of forest areas iu the United States, and indeed on the whole contiuent, can be divided with more or less precision into three grand divisions: (1) The Atlantic forest, covering mountains and valleys in the East, reaching westward to the Mississippi Eiver and beyond to the Indian Territory aiul south into Texas, an area of about 1,361,330 square miles, mostly of mixed growth, hard woods and conifers, with here and there large areas of coniferous growth aloue — a vast and continuous forest. (2) The mountain forest of the West, or Pacific forest, covering the higher elevations below timber line of the Eocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, and Coast Eauge, which may be estimated at 181,015 square miles, almost exclusively of coniferous growth, of enormous development on the northern Pacific coast, more or less scattered in the interior and to the south. (3) The prairies, plains, lower elevations, and valleys of the West, with a scattered tree growth, on which, whether from climatic, geologic, or other causes, forest growth is confined mostly to the river bottoms or other favorable situations, an area of about l,427, CVPRESS (Taxodiiim dhtichum Eicb.) 29. TAMARACK (Black Larch. Hackmatack.) (Larix laricina (Du Roi) Koch.) neter, 30. WESTERIV I.ARCII.. (Tamarack.) (Larix occidcntalis Nutt.) Height, 100 f OAK (Quercus rubra Linn.) Height, 100 feet + ; diameter, 3ifeet+. 52. BL.ACK OAK (yELLOWEARK OAK. YelLOW Oak. Quercitron Oak.) {Quercus velutina Lam.) 53. SPANISH OAK. {Red Oak.) 54. WATER OAK . s nigra Linn.) East of Rocky Mountains Most northerly of Atlantic oaks. . Soil and climate, and characteristics of growth. Warm, dry, sunny exposures. Foliage evergreen. Well drained, rich soils. Shade-enduring. Foliage evergreen. For planting on rocky banks and hillsides; ne^er in any but well-drainett situations. A Western substitute for White Oak, and especially recom- mended for prairie planting. Well-drained gravelly uplands, clay barrens, and poor sandy loams. Recommended for Western planting. Chiefly in wet or submerged swamps, but grows well in well- drained bottom lands and on rich, gravelly, or sandy loam uplands. In deep moist or inundated swamps and low banks of water courses. Succeeds in all loose, rich, fairly moist upland soils. Thrives in all soils, except an undrained one. The most rayid in growth of all the oaks. Sprouts vigorously from stump; of importance for tan-bark coppices. Gravelly uplands ; poorer soils than White Oak requires. Next to the Red Oak in rapidity of growth. Dry, barren suils; rapid grower. Heavy undrained soil; exceedingly rapid grower. A useful concoiniiant in Southern planting. LIST OF ONE HUNDRED TREES MOST VALUABLE FOR TIMBER. 59 List of one hundred species of trees of the United States most valuable for timher, with notes on their range of distrihutionj cultural requirements, and the character and uses of their u'ood — Continued. Name of apeciea and limit of size. 55. BEECH 3 feet 56. CHESTNUT Height, 100 feet + ; diameter, {Castanea dentata (Marsh.) Borkb.) BIjACK w^acivut. {Juglans nigra Linn.) 58. BUTTERNUT ("White Walndt.) {Juglans einerea Linn.) Height, 80 feet + ; diameter, 2 feet + . Regions of abundant growth. Beat development probably on " bluft'" formations of Lower Mississippi basin. Northeastern and Middle Atlantic Best development on westen slopes of Allegheny Mountains. Best development on southern slopes of Allegheny Mountains and in bottom lands of south- western Arkansas and Indian Territory. Northeastern States Soil and climate, and characteristics of growth Fresh, rich, but not necessarily a deep soil ; limestone soils. For rocky, exposed situations. Eapid grower and enduring shade exceedingly well, a fact which renders it one of the most valuable aids in forestry. Well drained gravelly soils; succeeds on rocky hillsides with soil of sufBcient looseness and depth ; on northern and eastern exposures ; will thrive on rather poor sand ; slow and uncer- tain in stiff, clayey soil; on limestone only when well fissured. Exceedingly rapid grower; moderately shade-enduring; sprouts most vigorously and pevMistently tvom the stump; large ijield per acre. Deep, loose, fresh to moist, warm, and sandy loam; will grow in a dry and compact soil, but not in a wet one. Hardy and rapid grower, especially in height; only centena- rians proiluce first-class quality of lumber, but useful timber may be produced in 40 to 60 years. Sprouts freely from the stump. Not recommended for arid or subarid regions nor for uplands. Prefers a deep, ricli, cool loam ; suited to cooler sites and colder climate than the foregoing species. Rapid grower when young. The Hickories, and other hard-seeded varieties. — The Hickories. — Wood very heavy, hard, and strong, tough, of rather coarse texture, smooth, and of straight grain. The broad sapwood white, the heart reddish nut brown. It dries slowly, shrinks and checks considerably ; is not durable in the ground, or if exposed, and, especially the sapwood, is always subject to the inroads of boring insects. Hickory excels as carriage and wagon stock, but is also extensively tised in the manufacture of implements and machinery, for tool handles, timber pins, for harness work, and cooperage. The hickories are tall trees with slender stems, never form forests, occasionally small groves, hut usually occur scattered amoug other broad-leafed trees in suitable localities. The following species all contrib- ute more or less to the hickory of the markets : , Name of species and limit of size. Regions of abundant growth. Soil and climate, and characteristics of growth. 59. SHAOBARK BIGKORV^ (Shellbabk Hickory.) {Hicoria ovata (Mill.) Eritt.) 60. BITXERWUT (Pignut. Swamp HicKORr., (Hicoria minima (Marsh.) Britt.) Height, 80 feet + ; diameter, 2 feet -1- . 61. MOCKERNUT (bullnut. kingnut. black Hickory. Bigbdd Hickory. "Whiteheaet Hickory.) (Micoria alba (Linn.) Eritt.) Height, 90 feet + ; diameter, 3 feet -h . 62. SHELLEARK HICKORY. (Bottom Shellbark.) [Hicoria laciniosa (Michx. f.) Sarg.) Eastern United States; wideiang Best development west of the Alle- gheny Mountains. Eastern United States ; wide range Eastern United States ; wide range. Central United States; local. npact soil not ohjectionahle; not on poor, Deep, fresh soil; a i dry, or wet soils. At lirst slow, but afterwards rapid grower; sprouts well from the stump. Moderately shade enduring. Somewhat liable to injury by frost. To replace Shagbark Hickory on low, moist, or wet ground. Sprouts well from the stump. Less liable to frost than Shagbark Hickory, but more subject to the ravages of insects. Rich, deep soil ; especially adapted to well-drained bottom lands, but succeeds with slower growth on drier uplands. Climatically confined. 60 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. List of one hundred species of trees of the Vniied States most valuable for timbeVj ivith notes on their range of distribution, cultural requirements, and the character and uses of their wood — Continued. Name of species and limit, of s 63. PECAN (Illinois Nut.) {Hicoria pecan (Marsh.) Britt.) Height, 75 feet i- ; diameter, 2 feet H-. 64. BLACK CHERKY (Rum Cherry.) (Primus serotina Ehrhart.) Height, 90 feet + ; diameter, 2 feet -\- . 65. SWEET OUM . {Liquidambar styracijlua Linn.) Heiffht, 100 feet -|- ; diameter, 3 fet't -)-. 66. LOCUST {Locust. Yellow Locust.) (Rohlnia pseudacacia Liim.) Height, 80 feet + ; 1^ feet + . 67. HONET LOCUST . (Sweet Locust. Honey Shucks. THREE-TIIOUN ED ACACIA. Black Locust.) Height, DO feet + ; diameier, 2feet +. 68. HACKBERRV (Nettle-tree.) (Geltis occidentalis Lii H 69. RED MULBERRY... {Morus rubra Linn.) Height, 60 feet + 2 feet -I- . 70. MAGNOLIA c (Linn) Sarg.) Height, 70 feet -f ; diameter, 2 feet. 71. CUCUMBER TREE [Magnolia aciuninata Linn.) Height, 90 feet 3 feet + . 72. TCMP-THEE. (White Wood.' Yellow Pop- lar.) (Liriodendron tulipifera Linn.) Regions of abundant growth. Best develoiinient in Arkansas and Indian Territory. Eastern United States ; wide Southeastern States. Greatest development in ba Mississippi River. Southern Allegheny regiq/i Allegheny Mountains; local; hut hy cultivation widely distributed east of Kocky Mountains. Central States Best development in bottom land of lower Ohio River basin. Wide- ly cultivated for hedges and or- nament. Northern and mainly east of the Rocky Mountains. East of longitude 98° Best development in basins of lower Ohio and Mississippi Southern and Gulf States, Best development along sippi in Gulf region. Mainly Middle Atlantic region. Best development in the southern A llegheny Mountain region. Eastern States. Greatest development in valley of lower AVabash River, and" on western slope of Allegheny Mountains in Tennessee, North Carolina, and the Virginias. Soil and climate, and characteristics of growth. land, hut succeeds fairly on upland p • Southwestern planting. More valuable perhaps for production of frnit tha purposes. Adapted to almost any soil and situation; best in deep, well- drained soil; will succeed also on dry soil. Very rapid grower, very soon reaching a useful size for cabinet wood. Endures considerable shade when young. The wide range of sitest to which it is adapted, its rapid growth and endurance of shade place it among the moat valuable forest trees of the United States, especially for Western planting. Not infected, by caterpillars io forest plantations. Succeeds on a great variety of soils; a tree of the swamp as well as of dry .soils; best on light, dry, aandy, and soils re- tentive of moisture. Rapid grower. Insect proof and generally healthy. Poor, loose s.ands give best quality of timber; not succeeding well in eouijiaet soils, bnt will thrive on a thin one, and grows (luickest on a rich, sandy loam. Very rapid grower while young; needs light very much; sprouts 2^ersi.'iti'7itly tiud vigoroasli/ from tlieroots. To heonly sparingly dispersed among shady companions, which will afford protection against the attacks of boreis. Easily propagated from seed, also by cuttings, suckers, and stakes. Eor short rotations and coppice management. Low, rich bottom land; rarely on high, dry, sterile hills; but often common on rich uplands, where it grows rapidly. Very rapid grower; needs light. Easily grown from seed, hut not from cuttings. Less liable to insect ravages; otherwise to be treated like Blade Locust, which it is recommended to replace in Soiithern localities. "Will grow tolerably well on the most barren and poorest soils, but best in a fertile one, cool and moist, where it is of rapid In Western planting recommended only as an adjunct. poorer dry soil; endures For Southwestern ]ilautii Cool, moist hummocks, with rich, deep, loose soil. Not hardy in Northern States; for strictly Southern tilimate. Id cool, moist, deep, rich soils of mountain slopes, valleys, and "coves." Succeeds also in fresh sandy or gravelly soils of moderate richness. clayey soils, in cool, moist situa- Tolerably rapid and persistent grower. Needs light very much ; hardy. Poor seeder, and low percentage of germination; seed to "lie over." Sprouts fairly from stum^. One of the largest and most valuable of the deciduous sott woods. LIST OF ONE HUNDRED TKEES MOST VALUABLE FOR TIMBER. 61 List of one Mndred species of trees of the United States viost valuable for thnher, with notes on their range of distrihutiov , cnltural requirements, and the charaeler and uses of their ivood — Continued. Kame of species and limit of size. Kegions of abundant growtii, 73. HARDY CATALPA. {Cafalpa speciosa Warder.) Height, 80 feet + ; diameter, 3 feet + . 74. COMMON CATALPA (Catalpa calalpa (Linn.) Karst.) Height, 40 feet -j- ; diameter, 1^ feet-h. South Central States; rare, but widely cultivated for ornament. Soil and climate, and characteristics of growth. Very rapid grower; sprouts vigorously from the stump; vliadc endnrinff. Good seeder and keeper. Readily propagated from seed, cuttiugs, and layers. Foliage subject to ravages Like the preceding, to be used in Southwestern planting, to which it is best adapted. The Ashes, Maples, Elms, etc.— The wood of the ashes is heavy, hard, strong, stiff, quite tough, not durable in contact with soil, straight grained, rouj^h on the split surface, and coarse in texture. The wood shrinks moder- ately, seasons with little injury, "stands" well, and takes a good polish. In carpentry ash is used for finishing lumber, stairways, panels, etc. ; it is used in shipbuilding, in the construction of cars, wagons, carriages, etc., in the manu- facture of farm implements, machinery, and especially of furniture of all kinds, and also for harness work; for barrels, baskets, oars, tool handles, hoops, clothespins, and toys. The trees of the several species of ash are rapid "Towers, of small to medium height, wich stout trunks; they form no forests, but occur scattered in almost all our broad-leaved forests. Name of species and limit of size. Regions of abundant growth. Soil and climate, and characteristics of growth. WHITE ASH {Fiaximts atnericana Li BI.A€K ASH (Hoop Ash. Ground Ash.) (Fraxinus nigra Marsh.) Eastern; wide range Depth, looseness, and moisture of soil of most importance. Best I in moist atmosphere of northern and eastern exposures. Will Be.st development in lower Ohio succeed in wet*and compact soilif well drained, biit maintains hasin. ' itself with alow growth in a light and dry one. j Kapid grower; liulil iiei-diiii:. thinning out rapidly, and tliereibre 1 requiring sIi;m1\ , slow ri' urowiug companions. Sprouts vigor- ously and iKisiNi. iiily iVoin the stump. Often a poor seeder; seed not <_-asi!v ki-]tt, ftiKiing to "lie over." Liable to attacks of horer and to frost wlien young. GREEN ASH {Fraxinus lanceolata Borkh.) Northern and Nortlieastern States The mo.st northerly of the ashes. Western States east of Kocky Mountains and South ; most com- mon and beat developed in the Mississippi Valley. BLUE ASH {Fraxinus qvadraiigidataMichx.) OREGON ASH (Fraximis oregona Nutt.) Height, 60 feet -|- ; diameter, 1^ feet -\-. SUOAR fllAPCE (Hard Maple. Sugar-tree.) (Acer saccharuTn Marsh.) SILVER MAPLE {White Maple. Soft Maple.) {Acer saccharinum Linn.) Height, 90 feet + ; diameter, 3feet-l-. Northwestern coast i Eastern United States. Soils like those for F. atnencana, but indifferent to drainage, and more dependent on moisture; therefore well adapted to un- drained situations in cool climate; otherwise like ( Less dependent on humidity of soil than the White Ash, but prefers a deep, cool, moist soil, and will succeed even on inun- dated lands. Rapid but not persistent grower. Seed germinates readily. The ash for Western planting. Less dependent on moisture deep, moist soil, and grows ihan other ashes; prelers ell on dry limestone soils Recommended for Western planting. Moist soils and climate. Best on moderately deep, loose, well-drained, strong, loamy, and calcareous soil, in moipt, cool position; will grow also on stiff clay, if not too wet, and on stony hillsides, if not too dry. Tolerably rapid and persistent grower ; moderately shade endur- ing; does not sprout well from the stump. Not well adapted to dry regions. nd climates, but best < Very rapid but not persistent grower; light needing; sprouts vigorously from the stump; liable to injury from winds; com- paratively free from insects. Especially recommended as a nurse in Western planting. 62 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. List 0/ one hundred species of trees of the United States most valuable for t'mherj tvith notes on their range of distrWution, cultural requirementSj and the character and uses of their wooti— Continued. !Name of species and limit of size. Kegions of abundant growth. Soil and climate, and characteristics of growth. 82. BED MAPLE. (Acer rubrum Linn.) Height, 90 feet + ; diameter, 3 feet + . 83. OREGON MAPLE. (Califoknia Maple. Broad- LEAS-ED Maple.) (Acer 'jnacrophjllum, Purah.) 84. BOXELDER (Ash-leaved Maple.) (Acer negundo Linn.) 85. WHITE EI.M (American Elm. "Water Elm.) (Ulmus americana Linn.) Height, 100 feet + ; diameter, 3i+. CORK ElilVI. (Hickory Elm. White Elm. Cliff Elm.) (Ulmus racemosa Thomas.) Height, 90 feet + ; diameter, WINGELM (TJlmus alata Michs..) ■ 88. SLIPPERY ELM . (Eed Elm. Moose Elm.) ■ ( TJhnus pubtscens Thomas.) Height, 60 feet + ; diameter, 2feet+. YELLOW BIRCH (Gray Birch.) (Betula lutea Michx. f.) Height, 80 feet + ; diameter, 3 feet +. 90. SWEET BIKCH . (Cherry Birch. Mahogany Birch.) {Betula lenta Linn.) Height, 60 feet + ; diameter, KIVER BIECH (Betula nigra Linn.) 92. OANOE BIRCH.. (White Birch. Paper Birch.) (Betula papyrif era Marshall.) Height, 60 feet + ; diameter, Best on low. wet soils, but will thrive in situations. joderately dry Pacific slope. Best development on rich bottom lands of southern Oregon. East of the Rocky Mountains Northeastern United States . Best development in southern On- tario and Michigan. Southeastern United States. Best development west of the Mississippi River. Northern Atlantic and Gulf States. Best development north of the Great Lakes. Same range as Yellow Birch. Eastern States Best development in the Snuth Atlantic and Lower Mississippi Valley regions. Rapid, but moderately persistent grower; endures more shade than .1. saccharinum L. ; sprouts vigorously from the stump. Usefulness in dry climates questionable. Rich bottom lands. Rapid grower in moist climate. Important on the Pacific slope. Best on low, rich ground, but will succeed on upland. Rapid but not persistent grower ; sprouts well from the stump ; hardy. Easily propagated. For forestry x>urposes, imported only as mtrse and soil cover, especially in Western planting. Adapted to a great variety of soils, but best on a rich, loose, moist one; requires less moisture than the ashes; bears occasional flooding. Rapid and persistent grower; sprouts well; euduroo moderate Important in forestry mainly as a nurse and for soil cover. Recommended for Western planting. Rich, moist, heavy, loamy soils. Probably to take the place of the White Elm in forestry. Most commonly on dry, gravelly uplands, but frequently in moist bottoms and along water courses. Very adaptive, and to bo used in Southwestern planting in place of the White Elm. Rapid bat not persistent grower. Easily propagated. Cool, moist atmosphere preferable. Capable of thriving on poor, but best on a moderately deep, loose, moist sand; hardy and very adaptive as to soils. Rapid and tolerably persistent grower; sprouting qualities greatly dependent on site. Vigorously in moist soils. Light needing. Easily propagated. Same as above species, but apparently not as rapid nor s siatent a grower. Almost exclusively on moist or inundated bottoms, along streams, and near ponds. Succeeds very well on moist, rich, porous, upland soils. Important as a substitute for Northern birches in Southwestern planting. Mostly on sandy soils in northern climates. Not on clay lands where the Yellow Birch thrives. LIST OP ONE HUNDRED TREES MOST VALUABLE FOR TIMBER. 63 List of one hundred species of trees of the United States most valuahle for timber, ivith notes on their range of distribntion, cultural requirements J and the character and uses of their wood — Continued. Name of species and limit of i Eegions of abundant growth. Soil iiud climate, and characteristica of growth. WHITE BIRCH.. Kortheastern coa«t regio (Betula populifolia Marsh.) 94. BASSU^OOO {Tilia americana Linn.) 95. WHITE BASS WOOD .... {Tilia heteropkylla Vent.) East of the Mississippi and Mis- souri rivers; wide range. Middle and South Atlantic gion. Height, 60 feet + ; diameter, 3 teet + . 96. SYCAMORE . {Platanus occidentalis liinn.) Height, 120 feet + ; diameter, 97. COTTONWOOD. Beat development i leghenies. Best development in bottom lands of the Ohio and Mississippi East of the Rocky Mountains . (Carolina Poplar. Big Cot- tonwood. Necklace Pop- lab.) {Popzilus deltoides Marsh.) Height, 100 feet+ ; diameter, 4Feet+, ■8. LARGE-TOOTH ASPEN.. Northern and Northeastern States (White Poplar.) (Populus grandidentata Michx.) BALM OF QILEAD. Northern United States . (Balsam Poplar. Tacamahac.) {Populvs halnaniifera Linn.) Height, 70 feet + ; diameter, 3 feet +. 100. ASPEN.. (American Aspen.) (Popuhis tremnloidcs Michx.) Height, 30 feet -h ; diameter, l^fectHj^. Northern and Southwestern (in United States) ; in Pacific re- gion, from 0,000 to 10,000 feet ele- vation. Adapted to drier and poorer soils than other birches. Short-lived; rapid grower; sj?rou(s readily from the stump. Probably least important of the birches. Deep, moderately loose, and somewhat moist soil; can endure a wet soil, but will not thrive on a dry one. Rapid and persistent grower; sprouts vigorously from the stump; endures moderate shade. Not very hardy, but in cool situations a desirable adjunct in forestry. Deep, rich, moist, well-drained soils of mountain coves, lower slopes, and on the banks of streams; frequent also on rich limestone soils of the plain, and succeeds on dry, gravelly, clayey, and sandy soils of moderate richness; important for Southern planting in place of the Northern basswood. Rich, moist soil, low ground, thriving in swamps subject to overflow ; grows well on moist upland. Wide climatic range, but liable to frost when young; light needing; secondary in forestry. Exceedingly rapid grower; sprouts vigorously from the stump; light needing; thinning out rapidly; short-lived and exhaust- ive to the soil; most readily propagated. Has been recommended for planting on Western prairies, chiefly on account of its rapidity of growth, ease of procuring plant' material, and of propagation. In forestry should be used only as a nurse with better and shady kinds. Northern States, in moist situations; grows well in all fresh upland soils. A substitute for cottonwood in the most northern localities. Thrives in moist, rich, well-drained soils. Of value mainly as atree naturally covering denudedmountain aides and as a quick-growing nurse for better kinds. Note 1. — Trees wbicli may be looked to as capable of enduring more or less unfavorable sites: Dry to barren soils : Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 15, 30, 31, 47, 48, 53, 64, 66, 68, 82, 87, 93. Insufficiently drained soils : Nos. 3, 9, 21, 28, 31, 32, 41, 50, 54, 65, 76, 82, 85, 86, 91, 96, Stiff soils : Nos. 31, 32, 53, 54, 67, 73, 74, 77, 84, 85. Prairie planiimj : Tried, Nos. 1, 4, 17, 25, 30, 31, 47, 51, 57, 59, 60, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 68, 70, 73, 75, 77, 78, 79, 81, 82, 84, 85, 87, 89. Worthy of trial, Nos. 2, 7, 11, 31, 40, 48, 69. Note 2.— Of exotics which have been successfully introduced for forest culture, the following may be cited as deserving more or less attention : Conifers: Scotch Pine {Pinna sylvestrisj L.), Austrian Pine {Finns anstriaca, Hobs.), Corsican Pine {Finns larido, Poir.), Norway Spruce {Picea excelsaj D. C.)j Nordmann's Fir {Abies Nordmanniana, Link.), European Larch {Larix EuropoiUy D. C). Broad-leafed trees: English Oak {Quercus robur^ L.), Cork Oak (Qnercus snher, Linn.), Black Alder {Alnus glnti- nosa, Gaertn.), Ailanthus {Ailanthns glandulosus, Desf.), Black Mulberry {Moras nigra, L.). Australian Gum Trees: Eucalyptus globulus J Labil., E. rostraia, Cav. Australian Wattle Trees: Acacia decurrenSj Willd., A. pycnantha fBenth, Gray Poplar {Populus cane^censj Smith), 64 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. BioLoaicAL Studies. As we shall see further on in this report the most important part of our forest resource is in the coniferous supplies, and among these especially in the pines, the white pine of the North and the yellow pine of the South. These latter covering vast areas, not less than 100,000,000 acres, furnish uow, and will still more in the near future, the most important staiiles of our lumber industry, as the white pine supplies are giving out. There is still a possibility of treating the uncut balance of these pineries in such a manner as to secure their continued productiveness. The Division of Forestry, therefore, devoted much time and attention to the study of the economic, botanical, silvicultural, and technological features of these pines. The results have been embodied in a magnificent monograph (Bulletin 13), prepared by Dr, Charles A. Mohr, of Mobile, Ala. To give an idea of the character of this work and at the same time a conception of the nature and development of these pines the following extracts and condensed statements are jiresented : SOUTHERN LUMBER PINES. The Southern States abound in those sandy soils which are the home of the pine tribes, and were once covered with seemingly boundless forests of the same. There are still large areas untouched, yet the greater portion of the primeval forest has not only been culled of its best timber, but the repeated couflagrations which follow the lumbering and, still more disastrously, the turpentine gatherers' operations have destroyed not only the remainder of the original growth, but the vegetable mold and the young aftergrowth, leaving thousands of square miles as blackened wastes, devoid of usefulness, and reducing by so much the potential wealth of the South. There are, in general, four belts of pine forest of different types recognizable, their boundaries running in general direction somewhat parallel to the coast line : (1) The coast plain, or pine-barren flats, within the tidewater region, 10 to 30 miles wide, once occupied mainly by the most valuable of Southern timbers, the longleaf pine, now being replaced by Cuban and loblolly pines; (2) the rolling pine hills, or pine barrens proper, with a width of 50 to 120 miles, the true home of the longleaf pine, which occupies it almost by itself; (3) the belt of mixed growth of 20 to CO miles in width, in which the longleaf pine loses its ijredomiuance, the shortleaf, the loblolly, and the hard woods associating and disputing territory with it; and (4) the shortleaf pine belt, where this species predominates on the sandy soils, the longleaf being entirely absent and the loblolly only a feeble competitor, hard woods being interspersed or occupying the better sites. Within the terri- tory the species that occur occupy diflereiit situations. Thus the Cuban, which accompanies the longleaf, usually occupies the less well-drained situations, together with the loblolly, which, although it can accommodate itself to all soils, reaches its best development in the rich lowlands and is specially well developed in the flat woods which border the coast marshes of eastern Texas; where it associates with the shortleaf pine it also seeks the moister situation. The longleaf and shortleaf pines are, iu quantity and quality combined, the most important, while the loblolly or oldfield piue, as yet not fully appreciated, coines next, occupying large areas. The Cuban pine, usually known as slash j^iue — always cut and sold without distinction with the longleaf pine — a tree of as flue quality and of more rapid growth than the longleaf pine, is associ- ated with the latter in the coast pine belt, scattered iu single individuals or groups, but appears to increase in greater proportion in the young growth, being by its manner of development in early life better fltted to escape the dangers to which the aftergrowth is exposed. Besides these four most important pines there are a number of others of less significance. The white pine [Finns strobus) of the North extends its reign along the higher mountain regions of North Carolina into Georgia, forming a valuable timber tree, but of small extent. The spruce pine (P. glabra) develops into timber size, but is found only in small quantities and mostly scat- tered, and has therefore as yet not received attention in lumber markets; but its qualities, and especially its forestal value, being a pine which endures shade, will probably be appreciated in the future. The other four species of pine found in the South, namely, the black pine (P. rigida), the Jersey or scrub pine (P. virginiana), the spruce pine (P. clausa), the pond piue (P. seroUna), do not or only rarely develop into timber trees of value, excepting that the scrub pine, occupying large areas of abandoned fields in Virginia, furnishes a considerable amount of firewood. The greatest confusion exists in the names that are applied to these four lumber pines promiscuously. Fig. 2.— Longleaf Pine Forest after removal of Merchantable Timber. SOUTHERN LUMBER PINES. 65 Maeket Names. The various names under wliicli Southern iiine lumber appears in the market are either general or specilic; the former being more or less general in application to lumber manufactured in the South, without reference to special localities, the latter referring to special localities from which the lumber is actually or presumably derived. In regard to the latter class of names it is to be regretted, perhaps, that they have been found necessary, the more because through their use not a few misconceptions and difficulties have arisen between consumers, manufacturers, and wholesale dealers, owing to the difficulty iu defiuing what tree species furnish lumber included by such name or names. The uninitiated may not understand that the various kinds of pine lumber manufactured in different States, although called by a specific name, may, after all, be of the same species and the same in all respects. "Florida long-leaved yellow pine" or "Florida pine" is iu no way different from that cut and manufactured in Georgia under the distinctive name of "Georgia long- leaved yellow pine" or "Georgia pine." The question as to any difference of quality dependent upon locality of growth is as yet undecided. The market names given to the various pines, uncertain as to their precise apj)licatibn in the minds of those that use them, or at least at variance with the conception of other authorities, are the folloT!7ing : General — Yellow pine, Southern yellow pine. Southern pine, long-leaved yellow pine, long- leaved pine, hard pine, pitch pine. Specific — Virginia yellow pine, Virginia pine, North Carolina yellow pine, North Carolina pine, Georgia yellow pine, Georgia pitch pine, Georgia pine, Georgia longleaf yellow, Georgia long leaved pine, Florida yellow pine, Florida pine, Florida long-leaved pine, Texas yellow pine, Texas long- leaved pine. The names "yellow i^ine," "Southern pine," seem first of all to be used as generic names, without distinction as to species. In the quotations from Western markets only "yellow pine" and "long-leaved yellow pine" or "long-leaved pine" are distinguished; the first name seemingly being now always used when "shortleaf" is meant, although it is also applied by advertisers from the longleaf-pine region to their product. In a market report of a leading lumber journal we find that "in the yellow pine line, longleaf, shortleaf, and curly pine can be bought," which would show that the attempt to distinguish the two kinds by their proper names is made. Curly pine, how- ever, is in most cases longleaf pine with a wavy or curly grain, a sport, which is also found in the shortleaf species. Loblolly seems not to be quoted in the Western markets. Formerly, while the longleaf pine was the only pine reaching the markets, it was commonly known under the name of "yellow pine," but notv the supply under this name may be made up of all the species indiscriminately. In Texas and Louisiana "yellow inne" designates the longleaf species, in Arkansas and Missouri the shortleaf, while there the name "longleaf" is applied to the "loblolly," which is rarely cut. In Florida, the Carolinas, and Georgia the name "yellow pine" is also used with less distinctive application. In Florida, besides the Cuban pine, which is never distinguished on the market, loblolly may also appear in the lumber jjile. In Georgia and the Carolinas, although locally the name "yellow pine" is most frequently applied to the shortleaf, in the market a mixture of long- leaf, shortleaf, loblolly, and Cuban pine satisfies the name. In England, where probably nothing but longleaf pine is handled, the current name is " pitch- pine," and this name is also most commonly used in Georgia and North and South Carolina, strictly applying to longleaf pine. In Boston only Southern and hard pine is mentioned without dis- tinction. It is in New York, Philadeli)hia, Baltimore, and other Atlantic markets that the greatest variety of names is used, with an attempt to distinguish two kinds, tlie longleaf and shortleaf, by using the name of the State from which the lumber is supposed to come, but neither the name nor the lumber pile agree always with the species that was to be represented. "North Carolina pine," which is supposed to apply specifically to shortleaf, will be found to include in the pile also better qualities of loblolly, sometimes to the amount of 50 per cent. Long- leaf forms only very occasionally a part of the supplies from this section. "Georgia pine" is meant to designate the longleaf species, and, like "Florida pine," does mostly conform to this designation excej)t as noted before under the name of yellow pine. H. Doc. 181 5 66 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. "Virginia pine" or "Virginia yellow pine" are names hardly knoM'n elsewhere than in the markets of Baltimore and Washington, where the balk of the common building timber consists of it. It applies in the main to the loblolly, with a very small percentage of shortleaf making its way into the pile. While this is mostly coarse-grained inferior material, selected stuff, when well seasoned, furnishes good finishing and flooring material. Field Names. Field names are those applied to the four Southern pine lumber species in the tree and logs. Such names are usually more or less known to dealers and manufacturers, but, aside from the market names already discussed, have only lately been applied to lumber in the market. Of the three pines, longleaf, shortleaf, and loblolly, the first alone is perfectly known by lumbermen and woodmen as a distinct "variety" (species). The remaining species, presenting to the lumberman's eye various forms according to the site producing the timber, are commonly supposed "varieties" or "crosses" more or less related to the longleaf pine. Specific differences in the lumber, both in appearance and quality, form, however, a sufficient basis of distinction as far as lumber is concerned, although this distinction is not necessarily carried out in putting lumber on the market. A few of the names in common use are frequently applied by lumbermen to entirely different species from those usually known to botanists by the same name. The perplexity thus arising, upon the supposition that the common names of our botanical text-books are applied to the species by lumbermen, is not inconsiderable, and can doubtless be avoided only by a more careful attention on the part of the people to real specific distinctions. The confusion in names is such that it is almost impossible to analyze properly the use of these names in the various regions. In the tabulated account of names on the next page, a geographical distribution has been given, as far as possible. Here only a few of the names are to be discussed. " Pitch-pine" is the name most commonly applied to the longleaf in the Atlantic regions, and where it occurs associated with the shortleaf and loblolly the former is called "yellow pine" and the latter is called "shortleaf." The name "longleaf or long-leaved pine" is rarely heard in the field, "longstraw" being substituted. The greatest difference of names and consequent confusion exists in the case of the loblolly, due no doubt to the great variety of localities which it occupies and consequent variety of habit of growth and quality. "Swamp" and "sap-piue" refer to comparatively young growth of the loblolly, coarse-grained, recognized by the rather deep longitudinal ridges of the bark, growing on low ground. " Slash-pine" iu Virginia and North Carolina is applied to old well-developed trees of both loblolly and shortleaf; iu Florida it is exclusively applied to the Cuban pine. When applied to the loblolly it designates a tree of fine grain, one half to two-thirds sap, recognized by the bark being broken into large, broad, smooth i>lates. This same form is also called "shortleaf pine" iu North Carolina. "Roseinary-j)ine" is a name j)eculiar to a growth of loblolly in the swamp region of the Oaro- linas, representing fully grown trees, fine grained, large amount of heart, and excellent quality, now nearly exhausted. " Loblolly" or "old-field j)ine," as applied to Finns tecda, is a name given to the second growth springing up ou old fields in the North and South Carolinas, while in Alabama and Mississippi, etc., the "old-field" pine is applied to Pimis echinata. The confusion arises mainly from an indiscriminate use of local names and from ignorance as to the differences in characteristics of their lumber, as well as the difficulty in describing these. Besides the names used in designating different species, there are names used by lumbermen to designate differences of quality in the same species and, in addition, names used in the markets without good distinction, until it becomes almost impossible to unravel the multiplicity of desig- nations and define their meaning. Architects are apt to specify "Southern pine," not knowing that the greatest range of qualities can be supplied under that name; or refuse to accept "Texas" or "North Carolina ijine" for "Georgia pine," although the same pine and quality can be furnished from either State. Dealers handle "longleaf pine" fi'om Arkansas, where the timber that is understood by that name never grew. Millmen fill their orders for this pine, either overlooking differences or without knowing them. FIELD NAMES OF PINES. 67 The following table of commou names, which have been found applied to the four sijecies furnishing Southern pine lumber, will most readily exhibit the difficulty arising from misappre- hension of names. These names are used in the various markets and in various localities in the home of the trees. Where possible the locality in which the name is used has been placed in brackets by the side of the name. Names of Soutliern himier pines in use. Botanical names. Pinus palustris Miller. Pinus echinata Miller. Syn. P. australis Michs. Syn. Pinus mitis Michs. I'inus virginiana var. echinata Du Koi. P. Tceda var. vanabilis Alton. P. variabilus Lamb. P. rigida Porcber. Best common names. LONGLEAF PINE: Shortleaf PINE: Local, market, and lumliermen's Soulliern vellow pine. Yellow i>iiie (N. C.,Va.). names. Southern hard pine. Sbort-leaved yellow pine. Southern beart-pine. Short-leaved pine. Southern pitch-pine. Virginia yellow pine (in part). Hard pine (Miss., La.). North Carolina yellow pine (in part). Heart pine (N. C.and So. Atlantic). North Carolina pine (in part). Pitcb-pine (Atlantic). Slash-pine (N. C. Va.). in part. Long-leaved yellow pine (Atlantic). Old-field pine (Ala., Miss.). Long-leaved pine (Atlantic). Bull-pine (?). Long-leaved pitch-pine (Atlantic). Spruce-pine. Long-straw pine (Atlantic). North Carolina pitcb-pine. Georgia yellow pine. ^ Georgia pine. Georgia heart-pine. Georgia long-leaved pine. Georgia pitch-pine. Florida ye,llow pine. Florida pine. Florida long-leaved pine. Texas yellow pine. Texas long-leaved pine. Botanical names. Pinux tcedaJjiuTi. Pinus cubensis Griesebacb. Syn. Pinus Tceda var. tenui/olia Alton. Syn. Pinits Tceda var. hetero-phylla Ell. P. elliotii Engelm. P. cuhnnsis var. terthrocarpa "Wright. Beat common names. Loblolly-pine : Local, market, and lumbermen's Slash-pine (Va., N. C), in part. Slash-pine (Ga., Fla.). names. Loblolly-pine (Gulf Kegion). Swamp pine (Fla. and Ala.), in part. Old-field pme (Gulf Region). Rusemary-pme (N. C, Va.). Bastard pine (Fla., Ala.). Meadow pine (Fla., E.Miss.), in part. Short-leaved pine (Va. N. C, S. C.). She pitch-pine (Ga.). Bull-pme (Texas and Gulf Kegion). Virginia pine. Sap-pine (Va., N. C.). Meadow pine (Fla.). Cornstalk pine(Va.). Black pine (Va.). Fox-tail pine (Va., Md.). Indian pine (Va., N". C). Spruce-pine (Va.), in part. Bastard pine (Va., N. C). Yellow pine (No Ala.,N.C.). Swamp pine (Va. N. C). Long-atraw pine (Va., N. C). in part. The botanical distinctions can be briefly tabulated as follows : Botanical diagnosis. Species. Pinus palustris Miller. Pinus cubensis Griseb, 3 in a bundle, 9 to 12 (exceptionally 14 to 15) inches long.. 2 and 3 in a bundle; 7 to 12 (usually 9 to 10) inches long. 4 to 6J (usually 4 to 5) inches long; 3 to 4J inches in diameter. {I to 1 inch broad; tijis. wrinkled ; deep russet brown; shiny. Very short; straight; declined. About ^ inch long; ^ inch in diameter; brownish. 1 to 1 inch broad; tips much wrinkled, light chestnut brown, gray with age. Buds Species. Pinus echinata Miller. Pinus tceda Linn. Leaves 2 and 3 in a bundle; Ig to 4 inches long; commonly 2i^ to 4 inches, 1^ to 2 inches long; IJ to 1^ inches in diameter A to g (exceptionally about k) inch broad; tips light yellow-brown. Exceedingly short (jV inch) delicate; straight, declined .. g to J inch long ; about ^ inch in diameter ; brownish 3 in a bundle, 5 to 8 inches long. 2h to 4i inches long; IJ to 3 inches in diameter, f to J inch broad; tips smooth; dull yellow-brown. Short; stout at base. J to 5 inch long; ^ inch in diameter; brownish. 68 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. In aspect and habit tlie lougleaf and Cuban pine somewliat resemble each other. The large silvery white buds of the longleaf pine, which constitutes its most strikiug character, and the candelabra-like naked branches with brush-like tufts of foliage at the end readily distinguish it from the Cuban pine, which bears a fuller and denser crown. The dark-green, glossy, and heavy foliage of the latter readily distinguishes this again from the loblolly, where these may appear associated, the latter having sea-green and thinner foliage. As a rule, the Cuban pine grows taller (up to 110 or 115 feet, with a diameter of 2 J to 3 feet) than the lougleaf, which rarely exceeds 105 feet and 20 to 36 inches in diameter. The Cuban pine forms massive horizontally spreading limbs, and at maturity a crown with rounded outlines. The longleaf pine forms a more flattened crown with massive but twisted gnarled limbs, which are sparingly branched. The thin bark of the longleaf (only one-quarter to one-half inch thick), of uniform reddish brown color throughout, exfoliates in thin, almost transparent, rhombic flakes; the thick bark of the Cuban pine of the same color exfoliates in very thin, broad, purplish flakes. The shortleaf pine is readily distinguished by the comparatively shorter and more scant appearance of its foliage. Moreover, this species is at once recognized by its characteristically small cones, Its habit is spreading, if compared with the more ascending, compact habit of the loblolly. At maturity the shortleaf has a much shorter bole (85 to 95 feet, diameter 1^ to 2 feet) than the loblolly (125 to 150 feet, diameter 4 to 5 feet), with which it is often associated, and a more pyramid-shaped crown. The reddish bark of the shortleaf in mature trees is broken into long plates, while the loblolly bark appears of grayish color and breaks into broader, larger, and more deei^ly fissured plates. Distribution and Habitat. The geographical distribution of the areas within which these four pines occur and their commercial development in them are shown in the accompanying maps, prepared by Dr. Charles Mohr for the monograph referred to. It is to be understood that not all the land within the boundaries indicated in the maps has been or is now covered by pine growth, but simply that within the lines the pines are found growing naturally. Nor is it to be understood that the areas which are indicated as producing a certain cut per acre do not contain places on which much more or much less lumber could be cut than the average figures given. These represent only a very general average for the region, based on conservative estimates, made for the purpose of showing more clearly the distribution in masses through the entire field of botanical distribution. These approximations do not pretend to serve as guides to the purchaser of timber lands further than to indicate in what regions he is likely to find the pine sought for in greatest abun- dance and best development. A lumber dealer may also learn at one glance that he can not possibly be supplied with longleaf pine from a mill in Arkansas, nor with shortleaf pine from a mill on the Gulf coast, unless it be supplied with logs fi'om inland. Within the boundaries of geographical distribution each species is found to occupy certain soils and sites, which form its habitat. The habitat of the pines in general is found on sandy and mostly well-drained soils. In regard to moisture conditions of the soil, the diflerent species adjust themselves differently. The longleaf pine is found ( only exceptionally otherwise) on the best- drained, deep, sandy, siliceous alluvium, while the Cuban pine is confined to the moister flats or pine meadows of the coast, and will grow closely down to the sandy swamps, not objecting to clayey admixtures in the soil, but shunning the dry, sandy pine hills. The shortleaf i^iue prefers a well-drained, light, sandy or gravelly clay soil or warm light loam, while the loblolly, often struggling with the shortleaf for the possession of the soil, can adapt itself to wetter situations. Extent of Meechantable Pine. The entire region within which these pines occur in merchantable condition comprises about 230,000 square miles or, in round numbers, 147,000,000 acres; for laud in farms, etc., 10,000,000 acres must be deducted, and allowing as much as two- thirds of the remainder as representing pine lands (the other to hard woods), we would have abou t 90,000,000 acres on which pine may occur. An average growth of 3,000 feet per acre — an extravagant figure when referred to such an area — CHARACTERISTICS OF DISTRIBUTION IN DIFFERENT REGIONS. 69 would make the possible stand 270,000,000,000 feet, provided it was in virgin condition and not mostly culled or cut. The probability is that the amount of standing timber of such sizes as are at present market- able will fall far below 200,000,000, although by a reduction of the standard of marketable logs, which is now 8 to 10 inch as lowest diameters, it may be increased to 300,000,000 feet B. M., of which one-third may be accredited to the most valuable — the longleaf pine. The annual cut of these i)ines exceeds at present 7,000,000,000 feet B. M. Those who rely upon the spontaneous natural reproduction of these pines to fill the gaps made in the virgin timber will do well to read the chapters on natural reproduction in Dr. Mohr's mono- graph on these pines, and the incidental remarks regarding the conditions for renewal and the appearance of the aftergrowth. If, in addition, they study the chapters on conditions of develop- ment, they will realize that the longleaf pine is bound to disappear largely even in the regions where it reigned supreme; that the Cuban pine, no despicable substitute, will take its place in the lower pine belt if allowed to propagate at all; but on large burnt areas the growth of scrubby oaks and brush will forever exclude this species, which eminently needs light. Loblolly and shortleaf, better fitted for warfare with other species, will do much in their respective habitats to recuperate, except in the mixed forest, where they are culled and the hard woods are left to shade out the after- growth, or where the continuous conflagrations have destroyed the mold and aftergrowth and given over the soil to scrubby brush growth, which for ages will either prevent the gradual return of the pines or impede their renewal and growth. Considering that the timber on which we now rely and ou which we base our standards comes from trees usually from one hundred and fifty to two hundred years or more old, and that non«of these pines makes respectable timber in less thau from sixty to one hundred and twenty-five years, the necessity of timely attention to their renewal is further emphasized. Chabacteuistics of Distbibution in Different Regions, longleaf pine. This pine occurs in all the South Atlantic and Gulf States at some distance from the coast, covering a belt of about 125 miles in width, interrupted only by the alluvial plains of the Missis- sippi and Eed rivers in Louisiana and Texas. In addition, there is found in western Georgia and Alabama an extension in islands or patches northward to latitude 34.5'^. Within this range, going from the shore inland, the following divisions can be made: First, the coast jjlain, from 10 to 30 miles from seashore, contains only scattered growth on the grassy flats — the higher levels on which this pine prevailed are now mostly occupied by loblolly and Cuban pine; second, the rolling pine lands or pine barrens proper, covered with alluvial sands, are occupied almost entirely by this tree in perfection; third, the region of mixed growth, where this pine occupies in the main only the drift-covered ridges and is associated with the loblolly and shortleaf i^ines. Here it attains a larger size, with more full-sized trees per acre. In Virginia this pine is almost extinct and replaced by loblolly. In North Carolina, through the agricultural district, this pine is mixed with loblolly and shortleaf and is of little importance down to the Neuse Eiver. The forests exclusively of longleaf pine begin below Bogue Inlet, with a width of 9j to 125 miles inland, reaching down to the State line, covering about 6,500,000 acres; very largely tapped for turpentine. In South Carolina the pine belt is about 150 miles wide; is mainly occupied by this pine, but on the hill lands is intermixed with the shortleaf. The southwestern plateau, with a porous sand soil, furnishes timber of excellent quality, much of which is still untouched. In Georgia the flat woods of the shore are mostly stripped of this pine; the vast interior plain of about 17,000 square miles is almost exclusively covered with this tree. In Florida the belt of longleaf pine of the Atlantic coast may be traced as far south as St. Augustine, being thence southward largely replaced by the Cuban pine. On the Gulf side more important longleaf growth is found farther southward, until the savannas and everglades are reached, where again the Cuban pine replaces it. In western Florida large areas are pretty well exhausted. The Gulf coast pine belt, covering some 10,000 square miles to the Mississippi Eiver basin, shows no difference from the Atlantic forest. 70 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. The Upper division of the pine belt or region of mixed growth in Alabama on a broken sur- face covers about 23,000 square miles, while the belt of drift deposit which crosses the State contains about 1,000 square miles, covered with longleaf pine of excellent quality and large yield per acre. The drift deposits along the Coosa Eiver, covering about 300,000 acres, and a detached portion of drift in Walker County of 60,000 acres, are covered with pine of fine quality hardly yet touched. Toward the west, in Louisiana, the coast-pine belt gradually passes into a mixed growth of shortleaf pine, oaks, and hickories on the uplands bordering the Mississippi. The slightly undu- lating flat woods of Louisiana sui)port a better timber growth than is generally found in the upland pine barrens; but this forest has been largely invaded, while the pine-hill region of Louisiana has remained almost untouched. The pine region west of the Mississippi Elver, limited to the sands and gravels of the region, follows on their eastern boundary the valley of the Ouachita Eiver for 150 miles. In the center of the region above the Eed Eiver pine ridges alternate with tracts of oak and hickory. Toward the Eed Eiver the forests covering the undulating pine lands remain practically unbroken to the Sabine Eiver. On the eastern side of the Eed Eiver the area is estimated at 1,625,000 acres, extending northward an average distance of 55 miles, cutting from 4,000 to 6,000 feet per acre, with no change in character to the Trinity Eiver in Texas. In that State the forests of longleaf pine cover about 5,000 square miles, merging toward the north into the region of shortleaf, toward the south into vast forests of loblolly pine. The fact that but little tapping for turpentine has been practiced In this region may be of importance from a market point of view. CUBAN PINE. This tree, which occurs mainly in the West Indies and South America, is confined within narrow limits in the United States, occupying the low coast plain of the Gulf States west of the Mississippi to a short distance beyond Pearl Eiver, and of the Atlantic coast as far north as lower South Carolina, near Charleston. It is rarely found more than 40 or 50 miles inland, on the so-called pine flats or pine meadows. Only in southern Florida does it cross from Gulf to Ocean on the low ridges through the everglades. It occurs either scattered through other forest growth of the swamps or in groves along the borders of sandy swamps above perjietual overflow, mixed with longleaf or, more rarely, loblolly pine, excepting south of Cape Canaveral and Biscayne Bay, where it forms open forests by itself. Being able to thrive on pure sand as well as on the clay soils with poorer drainage, it is apt to crowd out the young growth of longleaf pine when the old trees of the latter have been cut. It is indiscriminately cut and made into lumber together with the longleaf pine without distinction. Its field of distribution is indicated on the map of the longleaf pine by patched area. SHORTLEAF PINE. This tree is more widely distributed than any of the other x^ines, namely, from the southern shores of Connecticut, where it occurs only scattered, to the treeless plains of Kansas and south- ward in the main to the northern line of the main body of the longleaf forests. It is mostly associated with 'deciduous-leaved trees, becoming the predominant forest growth in parts of northern Alabama, Mississippi, and western Louisiana. In northeastern Texas and southern Arkansas it covers large areas, to the exclusion of almost every other tree. While in the early history of this country this pine seems to have beeen a staple along the Atlantic coast up to New York, it occurs now only scattered and in commercially unimportant quantities north of Virginia. From here southward it covers large areas, occupying the higher inland parts of the maritime pine belt, mixed with other coniferous and deciduous growth, and throughout the interior of the Southern States into the mountainous region. In North Carolina it is found from the coast to the mountains, and once formed about 2") per cent of the forest growth, now largely reduced. In South Carolina and Georgia it is similarly mixed in the upland forests of oak and hickory. In Florida it is confined along the northern border of the State to a narrow strip of ujilands, with a mixed growth of longlenf and hard-wood timber; in western Florida, where it is more rare, approaching the Gulf within 25 miles. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WOODT 71 In Alabama and Mississippi it forms the larger part of the interior upland forest, in some sections becoming the prevailing tree, especially in the Warrior coal fields and in the northern part of the central drift belt to northeastern Mississippi, while it is more sparsely scattered through the growth of the upper coast pine belt. But its best development evidently lies west of the Mississippi, occurring in greatest abundance and perfection in northeastern Texas, northwestern Louisiana, and southern Arkansas. In Texas, east of the Trinity Eiver, it forms dense forests almost entirely by itself. North of the Arkansas River it is found in smaller or larger areas, scattered through the upland regions to central Missouri. It is the pine of the Indian Territory, where large bodies occur, and of southwestern Missouri, and occurs also in Kansas as far north as the Osage River. It is less frequent in Kentucky and Tennessee, being more confined to the eastern portions of those States. Only a single station is reported from southern Illinois, and its occurrence in the other parts of the field of distribution is mainly of botanical interest. Since this tree occurs mainly in mixtures of different degree with other timbers, it is impos- sible to state yield per acre in general. In its western range, where it predominates, a cut of 3,500 to 4,000 feet B. M. per acre may be assumed. On the Atlantic coast supplies are largely reduced. A rough guess places the possible standing timber of this species at 160,000,000,000 feet B. M. LOBLOLLY PINE. This pine is found in all the Southern States excepting Kentucky and Missouri, with its northernmost limit on the banks of the Rappahannock, below Washington, D. G. On the Atlantic slope it occupies the flat lands of the tidewater districts, eitlier mixed with other species or forming compact bodies of timber. In Virginia it forms about 75 per cent of the timber standing east of the Eichmoud-Petersbnrg line, rapidly taking possession of abandoned fields. In North Carolina it associates with the longleaf pine, and is especially well developed in the low rich soil of the swamp borders, but here largely exhausted. Farther south in the pine barrens the longleaf pine prevails, and the loblolly is found only on the low borders of swamps and streams. In the Carolinas and Georgia it is also found inland to the foot of the mountains. In Florida it is rare, except in the northern part, being replaced southward by the Florida old-field pine (P. elausa). About one-half of the pine timber on the flat, badly drained table-lands of the Warrior coal field in north Alabama consists of this pine, forming compact bodies of heavy timber or associated with hard woods. It abounds in Louisiana and southern Texas, in the flat woods bordering the coast marshes, and in the latter State an area of fully 6,800 square miles, south of the shortleaf pine uplands and west of the longleaf area, is covered by an almost continuous forest of the loblolly, of excellent growth, yielding from 4,500 to 5,000 feet per acre on the average. Characteristics of the Wood. No more difficult task could be set than to describe on paper the wood of these pines, or to give the distinctive features so that the kinds can be distinguished and recognized by the uninitiated. Only the combined simultaneous impressions upon all the senses permit the expert to make sure of distinguishing these woods without being able to analyze in detail the characters by which he so distinguishes them. While in many cases there would be no hesitation in referring a given stick to one or the other species, others may be found in which the resemblance to more than one species is so close as to make them hardly distinguishable. The following attempt to diagnose these woods must, therefore, be taken only as an imperfect general guide. So far, even microscopic examination has not furnished unfailing signs. Color is .so variable that it can hardly serve as a distinguishing feature. The direction of the cut, roughness of surface, exudation of resin, condition of health, width of grain, moisture condition, even the mode of drying, exposure, etc., all h'ave their share in giving color to the wood. Bearing in mind this great complication of color effects, it will be granted that descriptions of the same, disturbed by peculiarities of each separate observer, will aid but little in identifying the woods. The sapwood of all the pines looks very nearly alike, and so does the heartwood. The color of the spring wood in the sap is a light yellowish with a shade of brown; the summer wood contains more brown, variable with the density of the cells and appearing darker when the bands 72 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. are more abruptly separated from the spring wood. The heartwood shows a markedly darker color with a reddish Hesh-color tinge added. It is perhaps easiest to distinguish the wood of the longleaf and Gubau pines from that of the shortleaf and loblolly. It is also possible to keep apart the longleaf from the Cuban ; but while, iu general, the shortleaf and loblolly can be more or less easily distinguished by color or grain, some forms of the latter (rosemary pine) so nearly resemble the former that no distinguishing feature is apparent. The most ready means for distinguishing the four seems to be the specific gravity or weight in connection with the grain. The proportion of sap and heartwood will also be an aid iu recognizing a log or log-run lumber iu the pile. These distinctive features are tabulated as follows, the figures representing average conditions of merchantable timber and mature trees: Diagnostic features of the wood. Name of Species. Longleaf pine. {Finns palustris Miller.) Cuban pine. (Pinus heterophylla (Eli) Sudw.). . 50 to . 90 . 55 to . 65 36 Fine and even; annual rings quite uniformly narrow on large logs, averaging generally 20 to 25 rings to the inch. Even dark: reddish-yellow to reddish-brown .. Lit lie; rarely over 2 to 3 inches of radius "Very abundant; parts often turning into "light wood; " pitchy throughout. . 50 to . 90 kiln-dried wood. I Most frequeut range "Weight, pounds per cubic foot, kiln-dried wood, average. Character of grain seen in cross section . 55 to . 70 37 Variable and coarse; rings mostly wide, averaging on larger logs 10 to 20 rings to the inch. •^finwnnfl Tirnnnri^n-n T?esiin ' than Longleaf; "bleeds" freely, yielding little scrape. Name of species. Shortleaf pine. [Pinus eehinata Miller.) Loblolly pine. (Pinus toeda Linn.). . 40 to . 80 .45 to. 55 30 Very variable ; medium coarse; rings wide near heart, followed by zone of narrow rings; not less tlian 4 (mostly about 10 to 15) rings to the inch, but often very fine- grained. ■Whitish to reddish-brown. .40 to. 80 kiln-dried wood. \ Most frequent range "Weight, pounds per cubic foot, kiln-dried wood, average. Character of grain seen in cross-section . 45 to . 55 31 Variable, mostly A^ery coarse; 3 to 12 rings to the inch, generally wider than in shortleaf. Moderately abundant, least pitchy; only near stumps, knots, and limbs. Longleaf and Cuban, but does not " bleed " if taxjped. Quality and Adaptation op Woods. The exhaustive research described in another part of tWs report has given a full answer to this part of the inquiry. The longleaf pine is superior wherever strength and durability are required. In tensile strength it approaches, and may surpass, east iron. In cross-breaking strength it rivals the oaks, requiring 10,000 pounds per square inch on the average to break it, while in stiffness it is superior, to the oak by from 50 to 100 per cent. It is best adapted for principal members of heavy con- st'fuction, for naval architecture, for bridges, trestles, viaducts, and hoitse building. The finer- grained, and especially the curly, timber is much sought for finishing wood. Its hardness fits it for planks and flooring, but unless quarter-sawed it is apt to " peel out." Being very resinous, it is sometimes difficult to handle in dry kilns, nor does it take paint readily; its hardness also makes it difficult to work, wearing out tools and muscles. The curly grained himber, which is found quite frequently, makes an elegant finishing and furniture wood. It is an excellent fuel, and its resinous products supply the world with pitch, resin, and turi^entine. Contrary to common belief, the tapping for turpentine was found, by a large number of tests lately made under direction of this division, not to weaken but to strengthen the timber in cross-breaking and compression and to increase its stiffness. (See full discussion in report on timber physics.) The Cuban pine, mostly known locally as slash pine, is generally cut and sold without distinc- tion from tlie longleaf, and its wood, if not superior in some respects, is probably not inferior in any to the latter, except as far as its coarser grain and larger amount of sapwood may influence USE OF WOOD. 73 its usefulness. The tests of the Tenth Census would make its mechanical properties even superior to those of the longleaf. The sbortleaf pine, comparatively free from resinous matter, softer, capable of sood finish, and more easily worked, furnishes a lumber better adapted to the use of the joiner, cabinetmaker' and carpenter than the other two. Tbere being more sapwood in the log-run lumber and greater variation in its growth, more need for grading exists. Until within two decades or so this lumber did not find ready market outside of its home, because the sapwood was apt to " blue;" but with the dry kiln these objections have been overcome, and it now finds wide application lor lighter framework, weatherboarding (taking paint more readily than the longleaf pine), for flooring, ceiling, wainscoting, window casings, and sash and doors, and for shingles. It is also adapted for building of railroad cars and manufacture of furniture. In cross-breaking strength it is at least 25 per cent weaker than the longleaf, although occasional sticks are found as strong. In stiffness the difference is not so great on the average, but the best stick so far tested falls 20 per cent below the best longleaf. In shearing strength, however, it seems to equal the latter, showing that, although weaker, its cell elements are as firmly knit together. The loblolly pine varies still more greatly in quality than the shortleaf pine, growing as it does under the most varied conditions. Flence opinions as to its value vary widely, and its use- fulness is but imperfectly understood, except perhaps in some parts of its home, like lower Virginia, -where most of the houses were built of this pine. Grown slowly on the poorer or wetter soils, at higher elevations and in a more northern climate, it produces more heartwood and belter quality, while the rank growth on better soils presents a sappy, light, coarse-grained wood, soft, and quick to decay. In ISTorth Carolina, where it occupies the swamp borders, the variety, or rather the "quality," known as "rosemary" or "slash" pine, now nearly exhausted, furnishes a timber from long and large old trees in no way inferior to the shortleaf, which it closely resembles and approaching even the longleaf. ' Strength and durability it does uot possess in great measure, but, properly seasoned, it fur- nishes a timber suitable for many purposes. Yet the timber tested from north Alabama seems to equal, if not surpass, in strength and stiffness the shortleaf from the same region. It is perfectly suited for rough work, joists and scantling, studding, and common boards, and about 75 per cent of the material for this purpose used in the markets of Baltimore and Washington comes from this pine, and the bulk is sawed in Caroline County, Va. Much is also used in Philadelphia. The best grades are selected for flooring, siding, and inside finish, although its liability to shrink, unless thoroughly seasoned, makes the propriety of this use doubtful. As cord wood it reaches also more northern markets (jSTew York), and where a brisk flame with quick heat is desired, as in bakeries, brickyards, and potteries, it is very good. The name under which this lumber goes is Virginia pine, although I have found builders calling it "yellow pine" and "Iforth Carobna" pine. Since this pine is of rapid growth, quickly occupying old abandoned fields and making saw logs in fifty years, it promises to become one of the prominent staples of our lumber market. In North Carolina only the better quality is cut and sold indiscriminately with the shortleaf as "North Carolina" pine, while in the Gulf States east of the Mississippi but little is cut, and that only on special orders for inferior work (except in north Alabama). In Texas, however, where this pine abounds in perfection, 25 and more per cent of the lumber handled is loblolly' although at Beaumont, the principal point of lumber production, but little of this material was found at the mills. In Arkansas it is called " longleaf pine," and some Northern lumber yards which must have longleaf pine from Arkansas seem to supply themselves with this material. It is tapped for turpentine wherever found in the turpentine orchard, yielding a more fluid resin than the longleaf pine. A fuller statement of the (piality of the wood of these pines will be found in another part of this report. Use op Wood. In its use the wood of all four species is applied much alike. The coarse-grained, heavy, resinous forms are especially suited for timbers and dimension stuff; while the fine-grained wood, whatever species it may come from, is used for a great variety of finishing purposes. 74 rORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Formerly these pines, except for local and house use, were mostly cut or hewn into timbers, but now especially since the introduction of dry kilns, Southern pine is cut into every form and grade of lumber. Nevertheless a large proportion of the total cut, especially of the longleaf pine, is still sawed to order in sizes above C by 6 inches and lengths above 20 feet for timbers, for which the longleaf and Cuban pine furnish the ideal materials. The resinous conditions of these two pines maike them also most desirable for railway ties of lasting quality. Since the custom of painting and graining woodwork has given way to natural grain with oil finish, the wood of these hard pines is becoming very popular for inside finish. Kiln-drying is successfully practiced with all four species, but especially with the Shortleaf and Loblolly pines which, if not artificially seasoned, are liable to "blue." The wood can be dried without great injury at high temperatures. Growth and Dbvblopmbnt. longleaf pine. In a fruitful year, before the close of the season, with the advent of si)ring, a dry and sunny state of the atmosphere favoring the fall of the seed, the seedlings are found to come up abun- dantly in every opening of the forest where the rays of the sun strike the dry ground. The lower (hypocotyledonary) part of the axis of the plantlet is close to the ground, with eight to ten erect cotyledons from 1 to li inches in length, their tips inclosed in the shell of the seed, with the long wing persistent and borne banner-like at the top of the plantlet. (See PI. X, a.) The elongation of the ascending axis proceeds slowly, growth in length being retarded until a certain thickness has been attained, resembling in this respect the growth of the stem of endogenous trees. Upon examination of a seedling in the latter part of April the cotyledons had disappeared and the caulicle was found to be from one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch long, its length not exceeding its diameter, hidden by a dense tuft of the needle-shaped primary leaves, which closely invest the terminal bud. At this stage a few fascicles of secondary leaves are already showing themselves, still inclosed in their sheaths. During the first three or four years its energy of growth is mainly expended upon the development of its powerful root system. (See PL X, e.) Before the first spring season has passed, the stout spindle-shaped taproot of the seedling is found to be over 3 inches in length and provided with several fine lateral rootlets, sometimes nearly as long as the main root. With the opening of June the primary leaves covering the axis are nearly all withered, only a few remaining to the end of the season. With the development of the suppressed secondary axes from which the foliage leaves proceed, the primary leaves are reduced to chaffy fimbriate bracts. Only a few of these primary leaves retain the needle-shaped form and green color, namely, those from which no leaf-bearing branchlets were developed. During the first season many of the fascicles of the foliage leaves contain only two leaves, and sheaths inclosing only one leaf are frequently observed. By the end of the first year the stem of the plantlet is rarely over three-fourths of an inch in length, the main root having attained a length of from 8 to 10 inches. Having reached the end of the second year the taproot is found from 2 to 3 feet in length, the stem scarcely li inches long, with an increase of diameter hardly i)erceptible. The conical ter- mination of the spring shoot is now densely covered with the delicately fringed bracts inclosing the buds of the foliage leaves, which impart to it the appearance of a silvery white tuft, by which this species is recognized at first sight. Dui'ing the following two years the growth proceeds but slowly, the length by the end of the fourth year averaging not more than 5 inches with a thickness of three-fourths to seven-eighths of an inch. During the same time the taproot is found to gain constantly both in thickness and length. (See PI. X, e.) A few single branches now make their appearance on the main axis. The increase of growth from one season to another up to the seventh or eighth year is difficult to follow, since the difference in the appearance of the spring and summer wood cells in the si^ongy wood of young trees is hardly perceptible, and the rings of annual growth, even as seen in cross sections prepared for microscopical examination, are mostly too indistinct to afford a safe criterion . LoNGLEAF Pine iPinus palustrisj Typical Tree. PINUS PALUSTRIS: SEEDLINGS AND YOUNQ PLANT. , germiaating seed; fc, young seedling just unfolded; c, seedling unfolding primary leaves ; d, foliage leaves at end of season; e, young tree, 3 to 4 years old- one-third natural size. ' GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT. 75 of tbeir age. As far as coakl be observed the growth proceeds equally slowly during the fifth and sixth years, the plant at the end of that period being from 5 to 7 or 7J inches in length. Stage of rapid groirth. — With its seventh year the tree may be said to enter on its most vigorous growth. Henceforth the stem (primary axis) increases rapidly in length, and the development of branches (lateral axes) proceeds at an equal rate in regular whorls, to which the symmetry of the tree in that stage of its development is due. During the seventh year, generally, the tree doubles its length, and during a number of successive years the rate of growth in that direction varies between 10 and 20 inches annually, as is clearly shown by the length of the internodes separating the whorls. As the branches increase in length tliey produce, in the same order mostly, two opposite secondary branches. With the rapid expansion of the leaf surface, the formation of wood keeps pace. The rate of growth in diameter, as well as in heiglit, during this period is, of course, variable according to differences in the physical condition of the soil, as well as in the available amount of plant food and moisture it contains, and no less upon differences in temi^erature and of exposure to light and air. When the tree has reached its second decade it begins to produce flowers and fruit. Having during the course of the following fifteen years reached a length of from 40 to 45 feet, with the main stem clear of limbs, the growth of branches does not j)roceed with the same regularity; consequently they are no longer arranged in regular whorls, but appear irregularly, and thus the symmetry of the tree is lost. Stage of slow grotcth. — Eapid as is the increase in length of the primary axis or trunk, amount- ing during the first half century, in the average, to 14 or 15 inches annually, the rate is subse- quently greatly diminished, averaging from the fiftieth to about the one hundred and fifteenth year but from 4 to 5 inches, and from this time to the age of two hundred and fifty years only IJ inches — that is, at a relative rate of 10, 3, and 1 in the three successive i^eriods. The decrease in the accretion of wood corresponds with the reduction in the growth of the branches and conse- quent reduction of foliage. From what has been said, it is seen that the longleaf pine attains maturity of growth, with the best qualities of its timber, at an age of from one hundred and eighty to two hundred years. After having passed the second century the trees are found frequently to be wind shaken and otherwise defective. The deterioration of the weather-beaten crown lessens the vitality of the tree, and the soil, under prevailing conditions, becomes less and less favorable. In consequence, the trees become liable to disease and mostly fall prey to the attacks of parasitic fungi (red heart). Instances of trees which have reached the maximum age of two hundred and seventy-five or three hundred years are exceptional. In order to ascertain the age required to furnish merchantable timber of first quality, meas- urements were made of a number of logs in a log camp in the rolling pine uplands of the lower division of the coastal pine belt near Lumberton, Washington County, Ala. From the results obtained it appears that in this section of the eastern Gulf region, at the lowest figure, two hundred years are requisite to produce logs of the dimensions at present cut at the sawmills. Demands upon soil and climate. — In its demands upon the soil this pine is to be counted among the most frugal, as far as mineral constituents, which are considered as plant food, are concerned, if only the mechanical conditions which influence favorable soil moisture are not wanting. It thrives best on a light siliceous soil, loamj^ sand or pebbles or light sandy loam, with a slightly clayey subsoil sufficiently i^orous to insure at least a partial underdrainage and to permit unim- peded development of the long taproot. Whenever the tree meets an obstacle to the development of this root it remains more or less stunted. The luxuriance of the growth and increase in size of the timber, however, is greatly influ- enced by the quantity of clay present, particularly in the deep subsoil, which improves aiechanical and moisture conditions. This is strikingly exhibited in the timber of the level pine flats west of the Mississippi Eiver, although the surface drainage is almost wanting and the underdrainage through the loamy strata slow, so that the surface of the soil remains damp or water-soaked for the greater part of the year ; the stand of timber of first-class dimensions exceeds considerably that of the rolling pine uplands on the Atlantic slope aud the lower part of the pine belt in the eastern Gulf region, which are poorer in clay. Evidently, although the underdrainage is less perfect, the moisture conditions during the dry season of the year, the time of most active growth, must be most favorable. The same fact is apj)arent in the upper part of the coast pine belt in 76 . FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Alabama and Mississippi, where, upon tlie same area, witli a smaller number of trees, tlie crop of timber may be considered almost twice as heavy as that found on the pine barrens proper farther south. On the soil of fine, closely compacted sand, entirely deficient in drainage as found in the so-called pine meadows along the coast of western Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi, as well as on the siliceous rocky ridges of central and northern Alabama, the tree is so stunted as to be of little or no value for its timber. "It is neither temperature alone, nor rainfall and moisture conditions of the atmosphere alone, ' that influence tree growth, but the relation of these two climatic factors, which determines the amount of transpiration to be performed by the foliage, and again with most species we must place this transpiration movement into relation with available soil moisture, in order to determine what the requirements and the most suitable habitat of the species are" (B. E. Fernow). Hence we find that east of the Mississippi River the longleaf pine occurs in greatest frequency along the isotherm of 60O F. ranging to 34° north latitude, while west of the Mississippi it follows a line between the isotherms of 63° and 64° F. and is scarcely found north of the thirty-second parallel of north latitude. Within this area of its distribution it is exposed to wide variation of temperature and moisture conditions. Under the influence of the vapor-laden breezes from the Mexican Gulf and an evenly dis- tributed rainfall ranging from 42 to G3 inches during the year, the longleaf pine appears of the same thrift and vigor of growth in the interior of Alabama under 34° to 35° north latitude, with the thermometer falling as low as i° F. (16o 0.) and a range of temperature of 93° (at Tusca- loosa), as it is found in the subtropical belt of the coast with a maximum temperature of 105° F. (40° (J.) and a range of temperature of 94° west of the Mississippi Eiver, although the temperature reaches rarely a minimum of IS-' and 12°, respectively, at the northern limit of the tree in these States, the diminished humidity of the atmosphere and lesser rainfall, particularly during the warmer season, account for its absence. There can be no doubt that the greater exposure to the violence of the sudden gusts of dry and cold wind known in Texas as "dry northers" exercises also no small influence in limiting the longleaf pine. Associated species. — The longleaf pine is eminently a gregarious tree, covering areas of wide extent, to the almost complete exclusion of any other species. In the flat woods of the coastal plain, pai'ticularly near its northern limit on the Atlantic slope, it is not infrequently associated with the loblolly pine; farther south and along the Gulf coast to the Mississippi River, more or less fre- quently with this tree and the Cuban pine. In the upper part of the maritime pine belt it not rarely occurs together with the shortleaf pine and the loblolly pine intermixed with the deciduous trees of the uplands, viz, the black oak, Spanish oak, black-jack, bitternut, mockernut hickories, and black gum. It will be apparent, from what has been said regarding the demands for light, that the asso- ciated species must be either slower growers or later comers, if the longleaf pine is to survive in the mixture. As has been pointed out elsewhere, with the culling of the longleaf pine from the mixed growths it must soon cease to play a part in them, since its renewal under the shade of the remaining associates is impossible. Enemies. — The greatest danger threatening the existence of the forests of longleaf pine must be ascribed to the agency of man, since their destruction is caused chiefly by the reckless manner in which they are depleted without heed to recuperation. The right of ownership has been gen- erally acquired on such low terms that since no value has been attached to the land without the timber, despoliation has been carried on with no other object than the quickest return of pecuniary j)roflts. Exploitation. — Such management could not but entail tremendous waste, a large percentage of the body of the trees felled being left on the ground to rot or to serve as fuel for the conflagrations which scour these woods almost every year. Infinitely greater than the injuries inflicted upon the forest by the logger and by getting out cross-ties and hewn square timber, which consist chiefly in the accumulation of combustible waste, are those caused by the production of naval stores. When the fact is considered that the production of the 40,000 barrels of spirits of turpentine, which on an average during the latter half of this decade annually reached the market of Mobile alone, implies the devastation of about 70,000 acres of virgin forest, the destruction caused by this industry appears in its full enormity. Under the management of the turpentine orchards O HE'OSMAin\.$Z LoNQLEAF Pine (Pinus palustris Mill.i: Bud and Leaf LoNGLEAF Pine (Pinus pauustris) : Male and Female Flowers. a fi-uiting branch with female aments at tip, and one and two seasons' cones; b. maleaments; f, female ament; d. saed-beai-ing scales; c, /, male aments ' g, detached anthers; It, i, detached lemale flowers. LoNGLEAF Pine (Pinus palustris Mill.): Fruit. a, open cone, natural size; b, c, detached scales, dorsal and ventral; d, e,f, g, seeds with wing-s. CUBAN PINE. 77 prevailing- at present, trees of such small size are tapped that they are unable to resist the force of the winds, and in a few years are inevitably prostrated, while the larger trees, weakened by the severe gashes on almost every side, become largely wind-shaken and the timber after a few years almost worthless. While a judicious tapping is not only justified, but demanded, by an economic system of exiiloitation, the prevailing methods of orcharding are unnecessarily destructive. The tapping of sapling timber not yet ripe for the saw, and the destructive fires started in connection with this industry, annihilating all young growth, prevent any renewal of the forest, while the working of large bodies of timber years before milling facilities are available leads often to a loss of 20 iier cent and more in both quality and quantity of the merchantable product. Fires. — The greatest injury to which the pine forests are subject in consequence of turpentine orcharding arises from the fires which are started every spring for the purpose of getting rid of the combustible matter raked from around the tapped trees in order to protect them from accidental conflagrations while they are worked. These forest fires, spreading far beyond their intended limits, destroy eutirelj»the youngest progeny of the pines, stunt the growth of the more advanced trees, aud cause the ruin of a large number of older ones in the abandoned turpentine orchards. Burning deeply into the gashes aud other exposed surfaces of the tapped trees, these fires hasten their prostration by the gales. Moreover, the fire causes cracks in the surfaces laid bare by the ax and the puller occasions greater exposure to atmospheric action, thus inducing more or less rapid decay. A test, made by sawiug through twenty-two logs taken at random from a turpentine orchard after it had beeu abandoned for a period of sixteen to eighteen years, showed that about one-half of the timber was i^artially decayed and shaky. Besides the production of naval stores as a cause of forest fires, there is another scarcely less potent. This is the practice prevailing among the settlers of burning the woods upon the approach of every spring in order to hasten the growth of grass for their famished stock. Fires are also frequently started through the carelessness of loggers and hunters, in the preparation of the ground for tillage, and by sparks from locomotives. These tires, occurring at least once during every year, cause the total destruction of the young growth of the longleaf piue. The danger to this species is much greater than to any other Southern wood, because of the greater length of time it requires to reach a size at which it can offer some resistance to fire. In the open forest of longleaf pine the fires are not so destructive to the larger timber as in the dense forests of coniferous trees further north, trees of larger size being, with some exceptions, but slightly, if at all, directly damaged. Another serious damage, however, resulting from the frequent recurrence of fires is the destruction of all vegetable matter in the soil. Deprived of the mulching needed for the retention of moisture, the naturally porous and dry soil, now rendered absolutely arid aud barren, is no longer capable of supporting any larger tree growth or other useful vegetation. Live stocl: — Of no less danger to the existence of the forests of longleaf pine is the injury caused by live stock. This agency, slow in its action, is sure to lead to their destruction unless restricted to some extent. Beside the damage due to the trampling down and mutilation of the young growth by herds of cattle roaming through the woods, the smaller domestic animals — goats and sheep — eat the tufts of the tender fohage of the seedlings, while liogs are seen digging up and chewing the spongy and tender roots of the young i>lants. As a further agency in the way of the renewal of this species, the destruction of the mature cones might be mentioned, caused principally by the squirrels, which jieel off the scales clean to the core in search of the sweet, nutritious seed. Storms. — Full-gTowu trees are frequently uprooted by the hurricanes which from time to time pass through the pine belt. Those having the taproot shortened by impeneti^able layers of indurated clay, interposed in the subsoil at varying depths, are invariably the first victims of the high winds. In trees grown in such places the taproot is found with a tumid and round base as smooth as if polished. CUBAN PINE. This is the earliest flowering of the Southern pines. The buds of the male flowers make their appearance in the early part of December, and the flowers open during the last days of January aud during the first week of February, This species produces abundant crops of cones every year, 78 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. almost without failure; they ripen in the fall of the second year; the seeds are discharged through the winter of the second year until spring. Germinating easily, their seedlings are found to come up copiously from early in the spring to the begiuuiiig of the summer in old fields and on every opening in the vicinity of the parent trees, wherever the rays of the suu reach the ground. The plantlets bear six to seven seed-leaves (cotyledons;. As soon as these have fairly expanded the terminal bud develops rapidly, and the first internode of the stem, increasing quickly in length, is densely covered with the soft, narrow, linear, pointed, primary leaves, which are fully an inch long. Before the end of the second month, in the axils of some of the leaves, the undeveloped branchlets, bearing the fascicle of the foliage leaves, make their appearance. With the further development of the foliage leaves, increasing in number during the growing season, the primary leaves wither away. By the close of the first season the plantlets are from 8 to 9 inches high, with a very slender taproot and many lateral rootlets near its upper end. After the beginning of the second season but few of the primary leaves are found to support the buds of the foliage leaves. The tendency to the production of secondary axes becomes manifest by the appearance of a single branchlet; on having reached the end of their second year the plants awe from 12 to 15 inches high, with a taproot not more than i inches long; at the end of their third year they average little less than 2 feet in height, with the taproot G inches long — the laterals being much longer. The crown from this period develops in regular whorls for a long succession of years. The Cuban pine, in its rate of growth and when fully grown, exceeds in its dimensions the longleaf pine. The taproot, less powerful than in its allies, is assisted by rnighty lateral roots running near the surface of the ground to support the tall, sturdy trunk, rising to a height of 110 or 115 feet, with a diameter of 2J, not uufrequently exceeding 3, feet, clear of limbs for a height of from 60 to 70 feet above the ground. The heavy limbs are horizontally spreading, from 22 to 24 feet at their greatest length, somewhat irregularly disposed; they form in the trees of full growth a rather dense crown of rounded outline. Trees of the dimensions mentioned, having passed the fullness of their growth, are found to be from one hundred to one hundred and forty years old, according to the surrounding conditions. The thick bark is of a clear, reddish color, laminated, and exfoliating in thin, broad, purplish flakes. Seedlings of the longleaf pine, which those of the Cuban pine somewhat resemble, can be readily distinguished at this period by the disproportion of height and diameter and absence of branch growth in the former. The rate of growth differs, of course, according to the conditions of soil and exposure. Saplings showing five rings of annual growth were found from 4^ to nearly 6 feet in height, with a diameter of from three-fourths to seven-eighths of an inch; between the age of from ten to twelve years the trees measure from 10 to 18 feet in height, with the stem clear for over half its length — even when grown in the open — and from 2 up to 4 inches in diameter. From this stage on the rate of growth ijroceeds most rapidly. At eighteen and twenty years heights of 40 to 50 feet and over, and diameters from 9 to 10 inches across the stump, cut close to the ground, are attained. Soil. — For its best development the Cuban pine requires a light, sandy, but constantly damj) soil, which is attained where the sandy surface is underlaid by a loamy subsoil retentive of moisture but sufficiently loose to give the roots unhindered access. Such conditions are found on the lands rising above the peri)etually wet swamps. On the flats, with a soil of fine, compact sand, devoid of all drainage and underlaid by a hardpan, where nothing but the saw palmetto api)ears to thrive, the tree remains of low, stunted growth, scarcely ever reaching medium size. In the depth of the swamp, with the soil wet and slushy throughout the year, where the tree is commonly met with, closely surrounded by white bay, red bay, black gum, titi, and white cedar towering high above it, it is of slow growth and frequently affected by red heart or red rot, partic- ularly near its northern limit. It is never found in alluvial bottoms, and eschews the dry, pine- barren hills, requiring a moderate but sure and even supply of soil moisture. Climate. — The range of its distribution coincides with the area of greatest rainfall in the Southern States, which, evenly distributed through all seasons, amounts for the year, in the mean, to 60 and 64 inches. The Cuban pine demands a warm climate, free from excesses in the range of temperature, as is aflbrded by the vicinity of the sea. It is found in greatest abundance and most perfect within Plate XIV. ^ ^ / ^ C.CLSlENSki =ii£. Cuban Pine (Pinus heterophylla (eii.) Sudw.; O.HBIOEy[f\N S: , closed ODne; 6, open cone; c, apophyses; d, cone scales, dorsal and ventral view; e,f, g, seed and seed wings, doi-sal and ventral vi( SHORTLEAF PINE. 79 the isothermal lines of G-t^ and 68° F., with a minimum of but a few degrees below the freezing- point. The tree, as observed at Mobile, has escaped uninjured the severe and unprecedented long spell of ice and snow during the latter part of January and first week of February, 1895, when the thermometer fell as low as 11° F., the flowers unfolding unimpaired by frost during the succeeding first days of milder weather. In its dependence on light it is less exacting than either the longleaf pine or the loblolly pine. It appears to thrive, from the earliest stage of its development, as well when partially shaded as in the open, in this respect resembling the Southern spruce pine. It is due to these facts, com- bined with the rapid progress of its growth from the earliest stage, that the Cuban pine is gaining the upper hand over the offspring of the light-requiring longleaf pine, which, on the damp soil of the coast plain, is soon outstripped and finally almost completely suppressed by the seedlings of this tree. In the inherent capacity for natural reproduction, or in the advantages for the renewal of its forests by man, the Cuban pine is not surpassed by any other of the species with which it is found associated. This tree commends itself strongly to the tree planter in the coast plain of the lower South. Producing seeds in abundance regularly and with certainty, being less exacting in its demands for direct sunlight, and hence successfully resisting the encroachment of competing species, being less liable to succumb to the destructive agencies of fire on account of its more rapid development in early life, it has greater promise of success than the others. If to this is added the rapid rate of growth, the great value of its timber, being equal to the longleaf, if not superior, and the abundant yield of its valuable resinous product, it becomes evident that in the reforestation of the low pine lands of the Southern coast region the Cuban pine is to be preferred to any other, not only within its original boundaries, but as far beyond its range of natural distribution as the climatic requirements of the tree will permit. SHORTLEAF PINE. The seeds begin to swell and to germinate in the early days of spring. In Mobile County, on the end of the first week of March, the plantlets had their cotyledons fully unfolded, which were found to vary from six to seven in number, with the lower (hypocotyledonary) part of the axis from IJ- to 2 inches long, the rootlets being somewhat less in length (PI. XVI, e, g). The development of the upper part of the axis (caulicle) from the terminal budlet and of the primary acerose leaves proceeds now rapidly. These primary leaves succeeding the cotyledons are stiff and spreading, about three-fourths of an inch long and covering the stem densely (PI. XVI, g), remain during the first season, withering from below during the warmer part of the season. By the close of the first season the caulicle or first shoot has attained a length of from 3 to 4 inches. On the shoot of the second season (rarely before) the secondary leaves, which constitute the foliage, make their appearance from the undeveloped branchlets in the axis of the primary leaves (PI. XVI, g). At the end of the second year the i>lants are 7 to 8 inches high, with a taproot 2 to 3 inches long. During this season adventitious buds appear at the collar of the stem, which bring forth vigorous sprouts, particularly if the stem has sustained the slightest injury. These shoots are covered with primary leaves, which are retained for one season. They are apt to form strong branches before the tree has reached its fourth or fifth year; such branches, which are produced profusely from the stumps of larger trees, scarcely survive another season. It is rarely that branches are produced in the second year, the first branches appearing generally in the third season in whorls of three to four. In the third year foliage leaves alone are produced in the axils of scales with their bases close to the stem. At the close of the third year the plants are from 12 to 18 inches high. Now the development of the root system advances rapidly, the taproot being by this time about 8 or 10 inches long, with strong lateral roots often double that length. Both taproot and lateral roots aie finally vigorously developed, penetrating deep into the gTound, so that trees of this species are rarely blown down by winds. At the end of the fourth year the plants are from 2 to 3 feet high, with the stem at best from five-eighths to seven-eighths of an inch thick. The branches of tbe whorls begin now in their turn to develop branchlets in whorls of secondary order. The develoj)ment of the primary axis and its branch system proceeds henceforth in the regular acrojietal order. As in all pines, the shoot of the main axis takes the lead in rapidity and 80 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. vigor of growth. By a number of measurements made at Cullman, north Alabama, of trees from the oj)enings in the forest, as well as from clearings, it was found that by the end of the fifth year they had attained a height varying between 3 and 5 feet, rarely over, the stem being from five-eighths to seven-eighths of an inch in thickness; by the end of the sixth year, from 6 to 9 feet high and from one-half to 2 inches in diameter; and at the tenth year, from 10 to 16 feet high and 'from 2 to 2J inches in diameter. At the age of fifteen to twenty years, with a total height of from 20 to 30 feet aDd a diameter, breast high, of 4 to 5 inches, the crown of the tree occupies from one-half to five-eighths of its height. Henceforth throughout the period of quickest growth its rate is greatly influenced by conditions of light and soil. At the age of fifty years the height of the trees varies between 40 and 60 feet and the diameter, breast high, between 10 and 14 inches. About this age, or perhaps a short time before, the height growth begins to decline and the branches become somewhat reclining below and spreading toward the top, and consequently the head of the tree becomes more rounded in outline. Between the ages of sixty and seventy years the trees are from 50 to 70 feet high and from 12 to 15 inches iu diameter, with the trunk clear of limbs for 30 to rarely over 40 feet. From this period on the growth proceeds at a slower rate. On reaching its one hundredth year the tree has attained a height between 90 and 95 feet and a diameter of fi'om 10 to 19 inches at most. Having now passed its period of vigorous life, the growth is henceforth insignificant. Between the ages of one hundred and twenty and one hundred and thirty years trees were found 90 to 110 feet high and from 18 to 24 inches in diameter. The oldest ti-ee encountered iu the measurements, with two hundred and eight rings of annual growth in the stunii), scarcely exceeded 109 feet in height and measured 24 inches in diameter. The largest tree felled was 117 feet high and 25 inches in diameter, with one hundred and forty -three rings in the stump. Occasionally trees are found of a diameter exceeding 3 feet, but such are exceptional. Soil and climate. — The shortleaf pine prefers a well-drained, light sandy or gravelly clay soil or warm loam, even if deficient iu the elements of plant food. Soils of this character which are found widely prevailing over the undulating or broken uplands, if only of sufficient dejjth, will produce this tree in greatest perfection. It avoids the strongly calcareous and the rich alluvial soils, as well as purely siliceous, being dependent on the presence of a certain amount of clay by which the mechanical condition of the soil is improved, rendering it more compact and more retentive of moisture. That a purely sandy and highly x^orous soil is not favorable to this tree is shown by the stunted growth of the waifs sometimes found in the openings of the forests of longieaf pine on the sandy, arid uplands in the lower part of the coast pine belt. Distributed in its range over 10 degrees of latitude and exposed to wide differences of temperature, it shows almost the same thrift of growth near its northern limits under the isotherm of 50° F. and in regions where the thermometer falls to near 20° below zero as in lower latitudes with a mean annual temjierature of 64° F. It can, therefore, endure a considerable range of temperature. The conditions of atmospheric moisture evidently exercise a much more decided influence over its distribution, and, without doubt, upon its individual development. The tree is found in greatest abundance and of best growth where, within the limits of its distribution, the annual rainfall varies between 48 to 52 inches, is less frequent in the districts where the precipitation exceeds 56 inches, .still scarcer where the annual rainfall averages below 44 inches, and entirely wanting where this is less than 40 inches. Hence it is found best developed in the upper part of the Gulf States and west of the Mississippi Eiver in adjacent northern districts from the interior of Georgia to northeastern Texas, where the most favorable conditions in regard to atmospheric precipitation prevail. The tree seems to avoid the humid air of the coast along the Gulf, as well as along the seashore of the Southern Atlantic States, nor does it ascend the mountains in these States above an altitude of 2,500 feet. Relation to light and associated species. — The shortleaf pine, like most pines, is a light-needing species, being, however, less sensitive to a deficiency in this direction than the longieaf and Cuban pines, which latter succumb in competition with the shortleaf pine. Originally the shortleaf pine is found more or less associated with various oaks (Spanish oak, blackjack, scarlet oak, post oak, and black oak), the mockernut and the pignut hickory, and more rarely with the chestnut, the mountain oak, and the scrub pine. All of these species prefer the warm, lighter soils of the uplands. These companions of the shortleaf pine are joined in the lower Southern States by Shortleaf Pine iPinus echinatai, Forest-grown Specimens in Missouri. 9-6i'6|Mi7,i3',' cW Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata mui.) Cone, seed, and leaves. O.V4t\VltN\P.»* S t Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata Jliii.), a, brancti with male aments; h, brani;h with female aments at lip and one season's cones at c; d, male flowers; e, f, g, development of seedling; h, I, sections through leaf bundle. LOBLOLLY PINE. 81 the loblolly and loiigleaf pine. Wherever in these upland forests an opening is made the short- leaf pine gains over its associates, finding its only successful rival in the loblolly pine. It is in the Southern States proverbial that in the upland forests " the pine is crowding out the hard-wood timber," a fact early observed. The displacement is effected either gradually in the course of time, or instantly when the removal of the original timber growth has been sudden. In the upper part of the maritime pine belt, where it is associated with the longleaf pine, the latter is sure to be replaced by the shortleaf species, often joiued in the course of such invasion by the loblolly pine. LOBLOLLY PLNB. The crops of seed are produced quite abundantly every year and copiously dispersed over the vicinity of the mother trees by the wind, the offspring quickly taking possession of old fields and clearings in the forest. The seeds germinate in the early spring. The ends of the cotyledons remain for a short time after germination inclosed in the endosperm. The number of the germinal leaves (cotyledons) is mostly six, rarely seven. At the time of the unfolding of the cotyledons the lower (hypocotyle- doiiaiy) part of the axis of the plant is about 1 inch in length. The rootlets are half that length, and are provided with several acropetal secondary rootlets. The caulicle grows rapidly, and is soon covered with the stiff, needle-shaped, and strongly serrulated primary leaves. Before the spring season has passed the bundles of secondary or foliage leaves make their appearance in the axils of the former. At the close of the summer season the plautlet has attained a height of from 6 to 8 inches, the i^pper part of the stem covered with foliage leaves, the acerose primary leaves of the lower part having completely withered. In examining a large number of young plants never less than three leaves in a bundle have been found during this or any subsequent stage of the growth. With the second year the primary leaves have all become reduced to the ordinary form of the leaf bract — lanceolate, acuminate, with fimbriate white hyaline edges and tips. In all the specimens examined it was found that the growth of the main axis proceeded less rapidly during the second season, but produced a regular whorl of from three to four lateral axes. At the close of the second year the main stem rarely exceeds 10 inches in height. At the end of their third year the plants are from 18 to 20 inches high, the stem being from one-fourth to five-sixteenths of an inch in thickness. The branches, forming regular whorls, are erect and produce in their turn whorls of secondary order. The root system shows a correspond- ing increase, the taproot being from 6 to 8 inches long, with numerous stout lateral roots. With the fourth year the loblolly pine enters seemingly upon the period of quickest growth. As ascertained by many measurements, the trees at the eud of their fourth year average 3 feet in height and from one-half to seven-eighths of an inch in diameter, and at the eud of the fifth year measure nearly 5 feet and from 1 to IJ inches iu diameter. At the beginning of the seventh year the tree attains a height of 10 feet, and with the close of the first decade trees are found 12 to 16 feet high and from 2a to 3 inches in diameter. Some trees begin to mature their first cones by the tenth year. The above measurements were made in 1890 in the vicinity of Cullman, Ala., on trees taken indiscriminately from the midst and near the border of a dense pine thicket covering a field plowed for the last time iu 1883, and from an adjoining opening in the forest protected from fire and but rarely used for pasture. According to a number of measurements made of trees in the southern Atlantic States, the Gulf region, and southern Arkansas, the loblolly pine reaches at the tenth year, on the average, a height of 20 feet, doubling this height during the succeeding decade. During this period of quickest growth the increase iu height proceeds at the rate of 2 feet per annum, and trees twenty years old average 4i inches in diameter breast high. At the age of fifty years the trees are from 65 to 75 feet in height (average about 70 feet) and 15 inches in diameter breast high. The annual increase for this period of thirty years is about 1 foot in height and 0.35 inch in diameter. From numerous observations it appears that the loblolly pine attains the fullness of its growth at the age of one hundred years, with a height, on the average, of 110 feet and a diameter breast high of 2 feet, the length of merchantable timber varying between 50 and 60 feet. The annual rate of height growth during the second half century is about eight-tenths of a foot, and the diameter H. Doc. 181 6 ^ 82 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS V. S. DEPAETME^^T OP AGRICULTURE. growth eigiiteen one -huTidrecItlis of au iiicli. Hencefortli the growth iu height remains almost stationary. A dozen trees from one hundred to one hundred and fifty years okl were found to vary from 99 to 125 feet in height, with a length of trunk free from limbs of from 60 to 68 feet and from 19 to 27 inches in diameter at breast height. From tabulated records of growth it becomes evident that under similar conditions of soil and exposure the rate of increase for the various stages of growth show but slight differences in localities widely distant from each other. Soil mid climate. — The loblolly pine prefers a moist, cool, sandy, or light loamy soil, which if not always moist, should have greater retentiveness for moisture than is required by most of the other upland pines. It reaches its greatest perfection in the perpetually moist or fresh forest lands with a soil of a sandy loam, rich iu vegetable mold which border the swamps of the coast region. The tree is not found on the porous highly silicious soils of the more elevated uplands, where the longleaf pine almost exclusively prevails. It also avoids heavy clay and calcareous soils of the uplands and the alluvial lands. The loblolly pine is a tree of austral regions confined to the humid belt of the austroriparian or Louisianian zone and the lower border of the Carolinian life zone, which on the Atlantic coast follows quite closely the isothermal line of 56° F.; westward, in the direction of the Gulf coast, the isothermal line of 60°. The mean temperature of the winter along the northern limit is about 45°, with the lowest temperature only occasionally falling below 10° F. This tree approaches the Appalachian zone only under the influence of a peninsular clime between the Delaware and Chesapeake bays. The loblolly appears to be indifferent to the wide differences in the amount of atmospheric precipitation existing within the vast range of its distribution. Extending from Florida (isotherm, 70°) to the thirty-ninth degree of north latitude on the Atlantic coast (isotherm, 56°), it is found of equal thrift on the Gulf shore, with its damp air and annual rainfall exceeding 64 inches, and in the flat woods of Texas, where the mean annual precipitation is only one-half that amount, with a mean of 6 inches during the winter months. In fact, the loblolly pine is found most frequently and is more widely distributed in the districts of lesser precipitation. It is certainly more dependent on the supplies of soil moisture than upon atmospheric humidity. Relation to light and associated species. — This species is less exacting in its demands for direct sunlight than the kindred species within its range. To this relation may be ascribed the success which it achieves in the struggle for the possession of the soil with the shortleaf pine. Observing this contest as it is going on between the competing species in the forest, the conditions of the soil being equally favorable, the loblolly pine, under the cover of shade, outstrips the shortleaf pine under the same conditions; and, on the other hand, where the sunlight has had unhindered access, it gives way to its competitor, being then subjected to the disadvantage resulting from a speedier desiccation of the soil. Through such influences it is that, under conditions seemingly equally favorable to either one of these pines, now the one and now the other is found to predominate. In the deep forests covering the rich swampy lands of the coast regions, the loblolly pine forms comparatively a small part of the rich and varied growth consisting chiefly of deciduous trees, black gum, sweet or red gum, water oak, and mockernut, to which in the lower South the magnolia, sweet bay, red bay, and Cuban pine are to be added. Although requiring less sunlight than most i)ines, in the gloomy impenetrable shade of these dense forests the progeny of the loblolly pine has no future, especially as these lands once cleared are devoted to tillage, being of great agricultural value. On the lands of a poorer, more exposed soil in the maritime plain of the southern Atlantic States, in Virginia and Xorth Carolina, and in southwestern Texas, this pine forms more or less compact forests. In these forests the tree is always succeeded by its own progeny, either in the course of nature or after the artificial removal of the original forest growth. On the coast of Georgia, in Florida, and in the coast plain of the eastern Gulf States, the loblolly pine is scattered among the Cuban and the longleaf pine; there its second growth meets a formidable competitor in the first named of these species. In the flat woods, deprived of drainage, the Cuban i)ine is always found to vastly outnumber the loblolly among tlie young forest growth. In the upper part of the great maritime pine belt the loblolly pine is frequently found among the mixed growth of magnolia, Spanish, red, post, and blackjack oaks, mockernut and pignut hickory, shortleaf pine, Loblolly Pine (.Pinus t/eda), typical Trees. a, aments of female ilowers; (., immatui-e cone, i L.OBLOLLY Pine (Pinus t/eda l.). " i growth; c, mature cone; d. open cone; c, /, g, seed and winij. ; scales, outer and inner side; LOBLOLLY PINE. • 83 and southern spruce pine. Throughout this region the tree takes almost undisputed possession of the old fields. In the interior, on the uplands of oaks and shortleaf pine, the loblolly is sure to gain the upper hand and to retain its hold among the young forest growth, giving way to its most aggressive competitor, the shortleaf pine, only when under the disadvantage of a greater exposure and a greater lack of moisture in the soil. Enemies. — Principally confined to low, damp localities, not easily liable to invasion by the frequent conflagrations which scour the southern pine forests, the loblolly pine suffers less from destruction by fire than any other species. In virti^e of the inherent facilities for its natural renewal resulting from its fecundity and from the rapidity of its development from the earliest stages of growth, any damages inflicted by that agency are more easily repaired. The same causes afford it also greater protection against incursions of live stock. As also observed in the short- leaf pine, the rapidly growing seedlings form, after a few years, thickets of such density as to be avoided by the larger quadrupeds, and by the time such thickets, in the course of natural thinning out have become more open, the trees have reached dimensions which place them beyond the danger of being tramped down or otherwise injured by live stock. The rapid spread and thrift of the second growth, unprotected and uncared for, observed everywhere within the range of the distribution of this pine, are witnesses to its greater immunity from such dangers. Owing to the large amount of sapwood, the timber of the loblolly is more liable to the attacks of fungi and to the ravages of insects. The mycelium (spawn) of large polyporous fungi is found frequently infesting the woody tissue of the living tree, the hyphse (filaments) of the spawn destroying the walls of the wood cells, causing the wood to assume a reddish color and rendering it brittle in the same way as is observed in the living longleaf-pine timber affected with the disease called " red heart." It seems that the destruction caused by this disease in the loblolly pine is from the start more rapid in consequence of the larger proportions of sapwood, and perhaps also on account of the broader bands of soft spring wood naturally accompanying wood of rapid growth. In a piece of wood examined in north Alabama, the filaments of the spawn of one of these fungi crossing each other in every direction were found to form a dense film interposed between the spring and summer wood, causing its easy separation in the direction of the concentric rings, and, as the destruction of the wood proceeds, forming finally a compact layer of the nature of amadou, or tinder. In the longitudinal section the rays were found full of cavities, caused by the breaking down of the cell walls, and these cavities were filled with the white film of these filaments, which similarly affected the adjoining tracheids of the resinous summer wood. The felled timber left on the ground is soon infested by a host of faugi of the genera Agaricus, Tramites, Lentinus, Polyporus, and others, the nearer identification of which has not been undertaken. From the very limited observations that have been made it clearly appears that this pine suffers equally as much, if not more, than the other pines of Southern growth from insect enemies of various kinds. The larvte of the same Capricorn beetles {CeramMcidw) burrow in the body of the timber. Those of the roundheaded borers {Goleophora) dig their channels in the sapwood, as is indicated by the occurrence of several species of jumping beetles (Buprestidce) which are found clinging to the leaves and branches of this tree. The most fatal injury it sustains is caused by the bark borers (Tomicidce), this pest particularly affecting the trees during the formation of the last cambium layer in the later summer months. Trees felled in August are immediately infested by multitudes of these destroyers. Favored by a high temperature and an abundance of nourishment, several generations of them succeed each other before the close of the season, the countless broods soon infesting every tree in the vicinity and carrying their work of destruc- tion over the full expanse of the young forest growth. Under this affliction the forests often present, by their drooping rusty-colored foliage, a sad picture of disease and decay. Weevils {Gurculionidcca) deposit their eggs in the youngest tender shoots; the larvae which hatch from them eat their way into these shoots, causing their decay, and thus destroy the symmetry of the tree and impair the usefulness of the resulting timber. Other species of the same family puncture the older branches, lay their eggs in the exuded resin, their larviie injuring the tree in a similar way. The larviie of spittle insects injure the terminal bitds, which are also found infested by the larvtB of pitch moths [Betinice), causing them to wither. The foliage seems to be less frequently 84 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. attacked by sawflies (Lopliyrus) tliau the tender young leaves of the longleaf pine, as by the rapidity of their growth tlie young leaves sooner harden, and are therefore less relished by these depredators. The evidences of the work of the pine leaf miners (caterpillar of Gelechia) have been frequently observed in Alabama, and everywhere are seen the deformities caused by galliiies and scale insects. Natural reproduction. — If the shortleaf pine has been spoken of emphatically as the future timber tree of the light-rolling uplands of the interior, the loblolly pine might be titly designated as the timber tree of greatest promise in a large part of the coast plain from the Middle Atlantic States to the limits of compact forest growth beyond the Mississippi Eiver. Tbe promptness with which it colonizes the old fields and other clearings, and the tenacity with which it retains from one generation to another the ground once taken possession of, clearly point to the important part this tree is to take wlien the ruthless stripping of timber lands practiced at present gives place to the management of the forests under a system of fostering care, tending to their future maintenance and to tbe disposal of their resources on the principle of true economy with an eye to the future welfare of the country. No timber tree will be found better adapted for forest planting in the southern part of the Atlantic forest division. It is only in the narrow belt of flat woods along the shores of Florida, Georgia, and the eastern Gulf region that it is likely to find its superior in the Cuban pine (Pinus heteropliyUa). Besides the advantages of adaptability to varied soil and climate it excels in rapidity of growth during the earliest stages, and the copious production of seeds which, almost without fail, are plentifully distributed every year over the vicinity of the parent trees. As an evidence of the facility with which the reproduction of a compact forest by this pine is effected, it is only necessary to point out the spontaneous groves near the settlements, representing, as they do, every stage of development. In the coast region the second growth, if not interfered with under proper soil conditions, yields in fifty to sixty years timber of dimensions rendering it fit to be sawn into lumber well adapted for various uses, as already mentioned. Conclusion. — In this attempt at a sketch of the life history of this tree, the object was constantly kept in view of placing its value among the products of tbe Southern forests in tbe proper light. From the consideration of the structure of the wood and its physical properties, it clearly appears that although inferior to tlie wood of the longleaf and Cuban pines, the timber of this species fully equals that of shortleaf pine, and that the present practice of treating thein as equivalent seems therefore justified. As an abundant and cheap source of timber of inferior grades, and especially when the rapidity of its growth is considered, the loblolly pine is of no less economic importance than the other timber trees of the same section. At present held in low esteem in the great lumbering districts of the lower South, where the supplies of the superior timber of the longleaf pine still abound and receive the preference, the value of the timber of the loblolly pine is quickly recog- nized in other districts which, but a short while ago boasting of large resources, are now stripped of them. Its physiological peculiarities make it an im^jortant factor in the future forestry of this section. Its propagation is successful over a vast expanse in the southern section of the Atlantic forest region, and by its productive capacity, mode of development, and behavior toward com- peting species in the struggle for existence, the loblolly pine possesses great advantages for its natural and artificial renewal, adapting it particularly for the restoration of the forests on the lowlands of the maritime region. Comparative Rate of Growth. The species naturally develop somewhat differently, according to the soil conditions in which they occur. Without going into a detailed discussion, which may be found in the bulletin referred to, a comparison of the rate of growth of the four species, based on a large number of measure- ments, gave, for average trees and average conditions, the results shown in the accompanying- diagrams (tigs. 1 to 3), which permit the determination of the rate of growth at different periods of their life. From these it appears that the Cuban jiiue is by far the most rapid grower, while the longleaf pine, which usually grows associated with the former, is the slowest, loblolly and shortleaf occupying a j)osition between the two. KATE OF GROWTH. 85 The longleaf shows for the first five to seven years hardly any development in height, and begins then to grow rapidly and evenly to the fiftieth or seventieth year, and even after that period, though the rate is somewhat diminished, progresses evenly and steadily, giving to the height curve a smooth and persistent character. The diameter growth shows the same even and persistent progress from the start, and the volume growth also progresses evenly after the rapid height-growth rate is passed at seventy years. The Cuban pine ceases in its maximum rate of height growth at thirty years, starts with its diameter growth at about the rate of the loblolly, but alter the twenty-fifth year leaves the latter behind for the next twenty-five to thirty years, then proceeds at about the same rate, but persisting longer than the loblolly. At the age of fifty years the Cuban pine with 46 cubic feet has made nearly twice the amount of the loblolly and more than four times that of the longleaf; 110 ^« 100 t -^ QO p -^ ^^^ flo y i \^ !^ io^ e^^ i^^^^ 70 / y A 1 A^ :^ 60 / / V s ^ m ^ 50 / / <^ 40 '/ / 30 J ^ 20 i '//( '/ 10 /^ / E*^ f- 2 3 A 5 £ 1 6 fl 1 10 a 12 i: 14 a'' ISO Fig. 1 — Diagram showing comparative progress of lieight growtli in average trees. but at one hundred years the difference is reduced, being then 115, 90, and 55 cubic feet, respec- tively, for the three species. Both loblolly and shortleaf pine reach their maximum growth sooner than the other two species. While these still show a persistently ascending line at one hundred and twenty to one hundred and forty years, the rate of growth in the loblolly shows a decline after the one-hundredth year, and the shortleaf has done its best by the eightieth year. These facts give indications as to the rotation under which these various species may be managed. As stated before, the growth of trees, especially in tlie virgin forest, is quite variable even for the same species and same soil conditions. An average, therefore, like the one presented in the diagrams, however perfect, could apply only when large numbers are considered. Thus there are fast-growing trees of longleaf and slow growing of Cuban or loblolly pine. Yet the diagrams will fairly well represent the average growth, with the possible exception of the Cuban pine, for which the number of measurements was too small to furnish reliable data. 86 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. American Woods. The great variety of trees already enumerated furnishes almost as great a variety of charac- teristic woods. There is, perhaps, no country in the world which can command such a wealth of woods for strictly useful purposes, although the Tropics may yield a larger variety of ornamental woods. The work of the Division of Forestry has concerned itself largely with the study of American woods, the crop of American forests. It is, therefore, appropriate to include in this report a brief resume, giving a description of the various kinds of wood and their present application in the arts, reproduced from Bulletin 10, In the countries of Europe the kinds of wood used in construction and manufacture are so few that there is but little difflculty in distinguishing them. In our own country the great variety of woods, and of useful woods at that, often makes the mere distinction of the kind or species of 82 1/0^/<2< > . ^ 20 / . 18 ^ ^ 16 ( n ^»\ 7 - ^^ , ■^ 14 -^ ^K/^ . <^' 12 A ^^ y t y 10 A 3J\ V /<^^ 8 / '} / ' y / 6 // '/ 4 / V 2 // V (Hi 1 D 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 30 i 1 10 1 c 50 1^ 1-0 150 Fig. 2— Diagram sliowing comparative progress of diameter growtli in average trees. tree most difficult. Thus there are at least eight pines (of the thirty-five native ones) in the mar*- ket, some of which so closely resemble each other in their minute structure that they can hardly be told apart; and yet they differ in quality and should be used separately, although they are often mixed or confounded in the trade. Of the thirty-six oaks, of which probably not less than six or eight are marketed, we can readily recognize by means of their minute anatomy at least two tribes— the white and the black oaks. The distinction of the species is, however, as yet uncertain. The same is true as to the eight kinds of hickory, the six kinds of ash, etc. Before we shall be able to distinguish the wood of these species unfailingly more study will be neces- sary. The key given in the present publication, therefore, is by necessity only provisional, requir- ing further elaboration. It unfortunately had to be based largely on external appearances, which are not always reliable. Sometimes, for general practical purposes, this mere appearance, with AMERICAN WOODS. 87 some minor attributes, siich as color, taste, etc., are together sufficient, especially when the locality is known from which the species came, and in the log pile the determination may by these means be rendered possible when a single detached piece will leave us doubtful as to the species. In the market the distinctions are often most uncertain, and a promiscuous application of names adds to the confusion. To be sure, there is not much virtue in knowing the correct name, except that it assists us in describing the exact kind of material we desire to obtain. Nor is there always much gained in being able to identify the species of wood, but that it predicates certain qualities which are usually found in the species. In selecting material, then, for special purposes we first determine what species to use as having either one quality which is foremost in our requirements, or several qualities in combina- tion, as shown by actual experience or by experiment. 120 dv^ 110 k,Su)c / / 110 / / / 90 y / ^ ^ / / BO .r^^ f / '' no > f Y f / / SO / / ^^P ^^ s / so / /f ^' ,5 4 ¥ 40 / / A '/ / / 30 / /^ y / / 20 / .i^ f / / 10 / i^ ^ ^ y 0' 1 %,^ e — ^ 4 s \ 6 a 1 a & a s 0. K II IJ 13 14 > '^ I50 Fio. 3— Diagram showing comparative progress of volume growth in average trees. The uses of the various woo'ds depend on a variety of conditions. The carpenter and builder, using large quantities of material and bestowing a minimum amount of labor on the greater part of the same, uses those kinds which are abundant, and hence cheap, to be had in large dimensions, light to ship, soft to work and to nail, and fairly stiff and insect proof— a combination represented in the conifers. They need not be handsome, hard, tough, or very strong, and may shrink even after they are in place. Wheu it comes to finishing- woods, more stress is laid on color and grain and that the wood shall shrink as little as possible. The furniture maker, who bestows a maximum amount of work on his material, needs a wood that combines strength, and sometimes toughness, with beauty and hardness, that takes a good polish, keeps Joint, and does not easily indent. It must not warp or shrink when once in place, but it need not be light or soft or insect proof or abundant in any one kind, and in large dimensions, nor yet particularly cheap. 88 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Tougiiness, streugtb, and liarduess combined are sought by tbe wagon maker. The carriage builder, cooper, and shingle maker look for straight-grained, easy- splitting woods, and for a long fiber, the absence of disturbing resinous and coloring matter, knots, etc. Durability under exposure to the weather, resistance to indentation, and the holding of spikes are required for a good railroad tie; lasting qualities, elasticity, and proportionate dimensions of length and diameter for telegraph i^oles. Sometimes in practice it is immaterial whether the stick be of white oak or red oak, and many wood yards make no distinction, in fact do not know any, but the experienced cooper will quickly distinguish, not by name, perhaps, but by quality, the more porous red or black oak from the less porous white species. On the other hand, the very same white oak — Querctis alba, usually a superior article — may furnish so poor material for a handle or a plow beam that a stick of red oak Mould be preferable. The inspection, then, must be made not only for the species but for the quality, with reference to the purpose for which the stick is to be used. LIST OF THE MORE IMPORTANT WOODS OP THE UNITED STATES. A. COSriFEROUS WOODS. Woods of simple aud uniform atruoture, generally light, soft but stiff; abundant in suitable dimensions and forming by iar the greatest part of all the lumber used. Cedar. — Light, soft, stiff, not strong, of fine texture; sap aud heart wood distinct, the former lighter, the latter a dull grayish brown, or red. The wood seasons rapidly, shrinks and checks but little, and is very durable. Used like soft pine, but owing to its great durability preferred for shingles, etc. Small sizes used for posts, ties, etc' Cedars usually occur scattered, but they form, in certain localities, forest.s of considerable extent. a. White cedars. — Heartwood a light grayish brown. 1. White cedar (Thujia occidentalis) (Arborvitaj) : Scattered along streams and lakes, frequently covering exten- sive swamps ; rarely large enough for lumber, but commonly used for posts, ties, etc. Maine to Minnesota and northward. 2. Canoe cedar (Tltuya pUcata) (red cedar of the West) : In Oregon and Washington a very large tree, covering extensive swamps ; in the mountains much smaller, skirting the water courses ; an important lumber tree. Washington to northern California aud eastward to Montana. 3. White cedar (Chamwcyparis ihyoides): Medium-sized tree, wood very light and soft. Along the coast from Maine to Mississippi. 4. White cedar (Cliamaicyparis lawsoniana) (Port Orford cedar, Oregon cedar, Lawson's cypress, ginger pine): A very large tree, extensively cut for lumber; heavier and stronger than the preceding. Along the coast line of Oregon. 5. White cedar (Litocedrus decurrens) (incense cedar): A large tree, abundantly scattered among pine and fir; wood fine grained. Cascades and Sierra Nevada of Oregon and California. 6. Red cedars. — Heartwood red. 6. Red cedar (Jtiniperus virginiana) (Savin juniper) : Similar to white cedar, but of somewhat finer texture. Used in cabinetwork in cooperage, for veneers, and especially for lead pencils, for which purpose alone several million feet are cut each year. A small to medium sized tree scattered through the forests, or, in the West, sparsely covering extensive areas (cedar brakes). The red cedar is the most widely distri biited conifer of the United States, occurring from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from Florida to Minnesota, but attains a suitable size for lumber only in the Southern, and more especially the Gulf, States. 7. Redwood {Sequoia sempen'irens) : Wood in its quality and uses like white cedar; the narrow sap wood whitish; the heartwood light red, soon turning to brownish red when exposed. A very large tree, limited to the coast ranges of California, and forming considerable forests, which are rapidly being converted into lumber. Cypress. 8. Cypress (Taxodinm distichum) (bald cypress; black, white, and red cypress): Wood in appearance, quality, and uses similar to white cedar. "Black cypress" and "white cypr,ess" are heavy aud light forms of the same species. The cyi)ress is a large deciduous tree, occupying much of the swamp and overflow land along the coast and rivers of the Southern States. Fir. — This name is frequently applied to wood and to trees which are not fir; most commonly to spruce, but also, especially in English markets, to xiine. It resembles spruce, but is easily distiuguished from it, as well as from pine and larch, by the absence of resin ducts. Quality, uses, and habits similar to spruce. 9. Balsam fir (AMes bahamea) : A medium-sized tree scattered throughout the northern pineries; cut, in lumber operations whenever of sufficient size, and sold with pine or spruce. Minnesota to Maine and northward. 10. White fir {Abies grandis and Abies concolor) : Medium to very large sized trees, forming an important part of most of the Western mountain forests, aud furnishing much of the lumber of the respective regions. The former occurs from Vancouver to central California and eastward to Montana; the latter from Oregon to Arizona and eastward to Colorado and New Mexico. ' Since almost all kinds of woods are used for fuel and charcoal, and in the construction of fences, sheds, barns, etc., the ennraeratiou of these uses has been omitted in this list. AMERICAN WOODS. 89 11. White fir (Abies amabilis) : Good-sized tree, often forraiug extensive mountain forests. Cascade Mountains of Washington and Oregon. 12. Red fir (Abies nobilis) (not to he confounded with Douglas fir; see No. 37): Large to very large tree, forniino-, with A. amabilis, extensive forests on the slope of the mountains between 3,000 and 4,000 feet elevation. Cascade Mountains of Oregon. 13. Red fir (Abies magnifica) : Very large tree, forming forests about the base of Mount Shasta. Sierra Nevada of CalifoiTiia, from Mount Shasta southward. Hemlock. — Light to medium weight, soft, stiff but brittle, commonly crossgrained, rough and splintery ; sap wood and heartwood not well defined; the wood of a light, reddisli-gray color, free from resin ducts, moderately durable, shrinks and warps considerably, wears rough, retains nails firmly. Used principally for dimension stuff and timbers. Hemlocks are medium to large sized trees, commonly scattered among broad-leaved trees and conifers, but often forming forests of almost pure growth. 14. Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis): Medium-sized tree, furnishes almost all the hemlock of the Eastern market. Maine to Wisconsin; also following the Alleghanies southward to Georgia and Alabama. 15. Hemlock (Tsuga merlensiana) : Large-sized tree, wood claimed to be heavier and harder than the Eastern form and of superior quality. Washington to California and eastward to Montana. Larch or tamarack. — Wood like the best of hard pine, both in appearance, quality, and uses, and owing to its great durability, somewhat preferred in shipbuilding, for telegraph poles, and railroad ties. In its structure it resembles spruce. The larches are deciduous trees, occasionally covering considerable areas, but usually scat- tered among other conifers. 16. Tamarack (Larijc laricina) (Hackmatack) : Medium-sized tree, often covering swamps, in which case it is smaller and of poor quality. Maine to Minnesota and southward to Pennsylvania. 17. Tamarack (L. occidentalis) : Large-sized trees, scattered, locally abundant. Washington .and Oregon to Montana. Pine. — Very variable, very light and soft in '-soft" pine, such as wliite pine; of medium weight to heavy and quite hard in "hard" pine, of which longleaf or Georgia pine is the extreme form. Usually it is stitf, quite strong, of even texture, and more or less resinous. The sapwood is yellowish white; tlie heartwood orange-brown. Pine shrinks moderately, seasons rapidly, .and without much injury; it works easily; is never too hard to nail (unlike oak or hickory); it is mostly quite dur.able, and if well seasoned is not subject to the att.acks of boring insects. The heavier the wood, the darker, stronger, and harder it is, and the more it shrinks and checks. Pine is used more extensively than any other kind of wood. It is the principal wood in common carpentry, as well as in all heavy construction, bridges, trestles, etc. It is also used in almost every other wood industry, for spars, masts, planks, and timbers in shipbuilding, in car and wagon construction, in cooperage, for crates and boxes, in furni- ture work, fur toys and patterns, railway ties, water pipes, excelsior, etc. Pines are usually large trees with few branches, tUe straight, cylindrical, useful stem forming by far the greatest part of the tree; they occur gre- gariously, forming vast forests, a fact which greatly facilitates their exploitation. Of the many special terms applied to pine as lumber, denoting sometimes differences in quality, the following deserve attention: "White pine," "pumpkin pine," "soft pine," in the Eastern markets, refer to the wood of the white pine (Pinus strobiis), and on the Pacific coast to that of the sugar pine (Piniis Jambertiava). "Yellow pine" is .applied in the trade to all the Southern lumber pines; in the Northeast it is also applied to the pitch pine (P. rigida) ; in the West it refers mostly to bull pine (P. ponderosa). " Yellow longleaf pine," "Georgia pine," chiefly used in advertisement, refers to longleaf pine (P. jialtistris). " Hard pine " is a common term in carpentry, and applies to everything except white pine. "Pitch pine " includes all Southern pines .and also the true pitch pine (P. rigida), but is mostly applied, especially in foreign markets, to the wood of the longleaf pine (P. palusiris). For the great variety of confusing local names applied to the Southern pines in their homes, part of which have been adopted in the markets of the Atlantic seaboard, see report of Chief of Division of Forestry for 1891, page 212, etc., and also the list below: a. Soft pines. 18. White pine (Pinus strobus) : Large to very large size tree; for the last fifty years the most important timber tree of the Union, furnishing the best quality of soft pine. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New England, along the Alleghanies to Georgia. 19. Sugar pine (Pinus lambertiaiia) : A very large tree, together with Abies concolor, forming extensive forests; import.int lumber tree. Oregon and California. 20. White i>ine (Pinus tiioniicola) : A large tree, at home in Montana, Idaho, and the Pacific States; most common and locally used in northern Idaho. 21. White pine (Pinus jtexilis): A small tree, forming mountain forests of considerable extent and locally used; eastern Rocky Mountain slopes; Montana to New Mexico. 6. Hard pines. 22. Longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris) (Georgia pine, yellow pine, long-straw pine, etc.) : Large tree ; forms exten- sive forests, and furnishes the hardest and strongest pine lumber in the market. Coast region from North Carolina to Texas. 23. Bull pine (Pinus ponderosa) (yellow pine): Medium to very large sized tree, forming extensive forests in Pacific and Rocky Mountain regions; furnishes most of the hard pine of the West; sapwood wide; wood very variable. 90 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 24. Loblolly pine ( Piiius tcvda) (slash pine, old-field pine, rosemary pine, sap pine, short-straw pine, etc. ) : Large- sized tree; forms extensive forests; -wider-ringed, coarser, lighter, softer, with more sap wood than the long- leaf pine, hut the two often confounded. This is the common lumber pine from Virginia to South Carolina, and is found extensively in Arliausas and Texas. Southern States; Virginia to Texas and Arkansas. 25. Norway pine (Piniis resinosa) : Large-sized tree, never forming forests, usually scattered or in small groves, too-ether with wliite iiine; largely sapwood and hence not durable. Minnesota to Michigan; also in New England to Pennsylvania. 26. Shortleaf pine {Pinus echinata) (slash pine, Carolina pine, yellow pine, old field pine, etc.) : Resembles lob- lolly pine; often approaches in its wood the Norway pine. The common lumber pine of Missouri and Arkansas. North Carolina to Texas and Missouri. 27. Cuban pine {Pinns helerophylla) (slash pine, swamp pine, bastard pine, meadow pine) : Resembles longleaf pine, but commonly has wider sapwood and coarser grain; does not enter the markets to any great extent. Along the coast from South Carolina to Louisiana. 28. Bull pine (Pinns jeffrei/i) (black pine): Large-sized tree, wood resembling bull pine (P. 2>onderosa) : used locally in California, replacing P. ponde.rosa at high altitudes. The following are small to medium sized pines, not commonly offered as lumber in the market; used locally for timber, ties, etc. : 29. Black pine {Pinus murrayana) (lodge-pole pine, tamarack) : Rock Mountains and Pacific regions. 30. Pitch pine (Finis rigida) : Along the coast from New York to Georgia and along tlie mountains to Kentucky. 31. J ersej TDine (Pinus virginiana) (scrub pine) : As before. 32. Gray pine (Finns dirarioata) (scrub pine) : Maine, Vermont, and Michigan to Minnesota. Redwood. (See Cedar.) Sjiruce. — Resembles soft pine, is light, very soft, stifi^, moderately strong, less resinous than pine; has no distinct hoartwood, and is of whitish color. Used like soft pine, but also employed as resonance wood and preferred for paper pulp. Spruces, like pines, form extensive forests ; they are more frugal, thrive on thinner soils, and bear more shade, but iisiially require a more humid climate. "Black" and "white spruce," as applied by lumbermen, usually refer to narrow and wide ringed forms of the black spruce (Picea nigra.) 33. Black spruce (Pieea mariana): Medium-sized tree, forms extensive forests in northeastern United States and in British America; occurs scattered' or in groves, especially in lowlands throughout the Northern pineries. Important lumber tree in Eastern United States. Maine to Minnesota, British America, and on the AUeghanies to North Carolina. 34. White spruce (Picea alha) : Gener.ally associated with the preceding; most abundant along streams and lakes, grows largest in Montana, and forms the most important tree of the subarctic forest of British America, nortliern United States, from Maine to Minnesota, also from Montana to Pacific, British America. 35. White spTuce (Picea engelmanni): Medium to large sized tree, forming extensive forests at elevations from 5,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level; resembles the pi-eceding, but occupies a different station. A very important timber tree in the central and southern parts of the Rocky Mountains. Rocky Mountains from Mexico to Montana. 36. Tide-land spruce (Picea siieliensis): A large-sized tree, forming an extensive coast-belt forest. Along the seacoast from Alaska to Central California. Bastard Spruce. — Spruce, or fir in name, but resembling hard pine or larch in the appearance, quality, and uses of its wood. 37. Douglas spruce (Pseudoisuga iaxifoUa) (yellow fir, red fir, Oregon pine): One of the most important trees of the Western United States ; grows very large in the Pacific States, to fair size in all parts of the moun- tains, in Colorado up to about 30,000 feet above sea level ; forms extensive forests, often of pure growth. Wood very variable, usually coarse grained and heavy, with very pronounced summer wood, hard and strong ("red" fir), but often fine grained and light ("yellow" fir). It replaces hard pine and is especially suited to heavy construction. From the plains to the Pacific Ocean; from Mexico to British America. Tamaraclc. (See Larcli.) Tew. — Wood heavy, hard, extremely stiff, and strong, of fine texture, with a pale yellow sapwood, and an orange-red heart; seasons well and is quite durable. Yew is extensively used for archery, bows, turner's ware, etc. The yews form no forests, but occur scattered with other conifers. 38. Yew (Taxus Itrevifolia) : A small to medium sized tree of the Pacific region. B. BROAD-LBAVED WOODS (HardwOOds). Woods of complex and very variable structure, and therefore differing widely in quality, behavior, and conse- quently in applicability to tlie arts. Ash. — Wood heavy, hard, strong, stiff, quite tough, not durable in contact with soil, str.iight-grained, rough on the split surface, and coarse in texture. The wood shrinks moderately, seasons with little injury, stands well, and takes a good polish. In carpentry ash is used for finishing lumber, stairways, panels, etc. It is used in ship- building, in the construction of cars, wagons, carriages, etc., in the manufacture of farm implements, macbiuery, and especially of furniture of all kinds, and also for harness work ; for barrels, baskets, oars, tool handles, hoops, clothespins, and toys. The trees of the sever.-il species of ash are rapid growers, of small to medium height, with stout trunlcs ; they form no forests, but occur scattered in almost all our broad-leaved forests. 39. White ash (Fraxinns americana) : Medium, sometimes large-sized tree. Basin of the Ohio, but found from Maine to Minnesota and Texas. 40. Red ash ( Fraxinns penmsijlvanica) : Small sized tree. North Atlantic States, but extends to the Mississippi. AMERICAN WOODS. 91 41. Black ash (Fraxinus nir/ra) (hoop ash, ground ash) : Medium-sized tree, very common. Maine to Minnesota and southward to Virginia and Arliansas. 42. Blue ush {Fraxinus qiiadrangulata): Small to medium sized. Indiana and, Illinois; occurs from Michigan to Minnesota and southward to Alabama. 43. Green ash (Fraxinus viridis) : Small-sized tree. New York to the Rocky Mountains and southward to Florida and Arizona. 44. Oregon ash (Fraxinus oregana) : Medium-sized tree. Western Washington to California. Aspen. (See Pojylar.) Bassuood. 45. Basswood ( Tilia americana) (lime tree, American linden, lin, hee tree) : Wood light, soft, stiff hut not strong, of fine texture, and white to light brown color. The wood shrinks considerably in drying, works and stands well; it is used in carpentry, in the manufacture of furniture and wooden ware, both turned and carved, in cooperage, for toys, also for paneling of car and carriage bodies. Medium to large sized tree, common in all Northern broad-leaved forests; found throughout the Eastern United States. 46. White basswood (Tilia lieterophylla) : A small-sized tree most abundant in the Allegheny region. Beech. 47. Beech (Fagus lalifolia) : Wood heavy, hard, stiff, strong, of rather coarse texture, white to light brown, not durable in the ground, and subject to the inroads of boring insects ; it shrinks and checks considerably in dry- ing, works and stands well and takes a good polish. Used for furniture, in turnery, for handles, lasts, etc. Abroad it is very extensively employed by the carpenter, millwright, and wagon maker, in turnery as well as wood carving. The beech is a medium-sized tree, common, sometimes forming forest ; most abundant in the Ohio and Mississippi basin, but found from Maine to Wisconsin and southward to Florida. Birch. — Wood heavy, hard, strong, of fine texture; sapwood whitish, heartwood in shades of brown with red and yellow; very handsome, with satiny luster, equaling cherry. The wood shrinks considerably in drying, works and stands well and takes a good polish, but is not durable if exjjosed. Birch is used for finishing lumber in building, in the manufacture of furniture, in wood turnery for spools, boxes, wooden shoes, etc., for shoe lasts and pegs, for wagon hubs, ox yokes, etc., also in wood carving. The birches are medium-sized trees, form extensive forests northward, and occur scattered in all broad-leaved forests of the Eastern United States. 48. Cherry birch (Betula leiita) (black birch, sweet birch, mahogauy birch): Small to medium-sized tree; very common. Maine to Michigan and to Tennessee. 49. YeWow hivch. (Betula lutea) (gray birch) : Medium-sized tree; common. Maine to Minnesota and southward to Tennessee. 50. Red birch (i?etetem(7ra) (river birch) : Small to medium sized tree; very common; lighter and less valuable thau the preceding. New England to Texas and Missouri. 51. Canoe birch (Betula papijrifcra) (white birch, paper birch): Generally a small tree; common, forming forests; wood of good quality but lighter. All along the northern boundary of United States and north- ward, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Blade timlnut. (See Wain i(t.) Blue heecJi. 52. Blue beech (Carpinus caroliniana) (hornbeam, water beech, iron wood) : Wood very heavy, hard, strong, very stiff, of rather fine texture and white color; not durable ia the ground; shrinks and checks greatly, but works and stands well. Used chiefly in turnery for tool handles, etc. Abroad, much used by mill and wheel Wrights. A small tree, largest in the Southwest, but found in nearly all parts of the Eastern United States. Bois d'aro. (See Osage orange.) Buckeye — liorse chestnut. — Wood light, soft, not strong, often quite tough, of fine and uniform texture and creamy white color. It shrinks cousider.ably, but works and stands well. Used for wooden ware, artificial limbs, paper liulp, and locally also for building lumber. Small-sized trees, scattered. 53. Ohio buckeye ((JEsculus glahra) (fetid buckeye) : AUeghenies, Pennsylvania to Indian Territory 54. Sweet buckeye (JEsculus octandra) : AUeghenies, Pennsylvania to Texas. Butternut. 55. Butternut (Juglans cinerea) (white walnut) : Wood very similar to black walnut, but light, quite soft, not strong and of light brown color. Used chiefly for finishing lumber, cabinetwork, and cooperage. Medium-sized tree, largest and most common in the Ohio basin ; Maine to Minnesota and southward to Georgia and Alabama, Catalpa. 56. Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa) : Wood light, soft, not strong, brittle, durable, of co.arse texture and brown color; used for ties and posts, but well suited for a great variety of uses. Medium-sized tree ; lower basin of the Ohio River, locally common. Extensively planted, and therefore promising to become of some importance. Ckerrij. 57. Cherry (Prunus serotina): Wood heavy, hard, strong, of fine texture; sapwood yellowish white, heartwood reddish to brown. The wood shrinks considerably in drying, works and stands well, takes a good polish, and is much esteemed for its beauty. Cherry is chiefly used a-s a decorative finishing lumber fcir buildings, cars, and boats, also for furniture and in turnery. It is becoming too costly for many purposes for which it is naturally well suited. The lumber-furnishing cherry of this country, the wild black cherry (Primus serotina), is a small to medium sized tree, scattered through many of the broad-leaved woods of the western slope of the AUeghenies, but found from Michigan to Florida and west to Texas. Other species of this genus, as well as the hawthorns (Cratwgus) and wild ajiple (I'yrns), are not commonly offered in the market. Their wood is of the same character as cherry, often e\ en fiui^r, but iu small dimensions. 92 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Chestnut. 58. Chestnut {Castanea dentaia): "Wood light, moderately soft, stiff, not strong, of coarse texture; the sapwood light, the heartwood darker brown. It shrinks and checks consider.ibly in drying, works easily, stands well, and is very durable. Used in cabinetwork, cooperage, for railway ties, telegraph poles, and locally in heavy construction. Medium-sized tree, very common in the AUeghenies, occurs from Maine to Michigan and southward to Alabama. 59. Chinquapin (Castaufa pnmila): A small-sized tree, with wood slightly heavier but otherwise similar to the preceding; most common iu Arkansas, but with nearly the same range as the chestnut. 60. Chinquapin ( Castanopsis cliri/sopliylla) : A medium-sized tree of the western ranges of California and Oregon. Coffee tree. 61. Coffee tree (Gymnocladiis canadetisis) (coffee nut): AVood heavy, hard, strong, very stiff, of coarse texture, durable; the sapwood yellow, the heartwood reddish brown; shrinks and checks considerably in drying; works and stands well and takes a good polish. It is used to a limited extent in cabinetwork. A medium to large sized tree; not common. I'ennsj'lvania to Minnesota and Arkansas. CoUonwood. (See Poplar.) Cncumier tree. (See Talip.) Elm. — Wood heavy, hard, strong, very tough; moderately durable in contact with the soil; commonly crussgrained, difficult to split and shape, warps and checks considerably iu drying, but stands well if properly handled. The broad sapwood whitish, heart brown, both with shades of gray and red; on split surface rough; texture coarse to fine; capable of high polish. Elm is used in the construction of cars, wagons, etc., in boat and shipbuilding, for agricultural implements and machinery; in rough cooperage, saddlery and harness work, but particularly in the manufacture of all kinds of furniture, where the beautiful figures, especially those of the tangential or bastard sections, are just beginning to be duly appreciated. The elms are medium to large sized trees, of fairly rapid growth, with stout trunk, form no forests of pure growth, but are found scattered in all the broad-leaved woods of our country, sometimes forming a considerable portion of the arborescent gi-owth. 62. White elm ( Vlmus americana) (American elm, water elm) : Medium to large sized tree, common. Maine to Minnesota, southward to Florida and Texas. 63. Rock elm (Ulmns racemosa) (cork elm, hickory elm, white elm, cliff elm): Medium to large sized tree. Michigan, Ohio, from Vermont to Iowa, southward to Kentucky. 6-t. Red elm {XJhnus puhescens) (slippery elm, moose elm): Small-sized tree, found chiefly along water courses. New York to Minnesota, and southward to Florida and Texas. 65. Ce(\av e\m. (JJlmiis crassifoUa) : Small-sized tree, quite common. Arkansas and Texas. 66. Winged elm (Ulnms alata) (Wahoo): Small-sized tree, locally quite common. Arkansas, Missouri, and eastern Virginia. Gum. — This generdl term refers to two kinds of wood usually distinguished as sweet or red gum, and sour, black, or tupelo gum, the former being a relative of the witch-hazel, the latter belouging to the dogwood family. 67. Tupelo {Nyssa sylvatica) (sour gum, black gum) : Maine to Michigan, and southward to Florida and Texas. Wood heavy, hard, strong, tough, of fine texture, frequently crossgrained, of yellowish or grayish white color, hard to split and work, troublesome in seasoning, warps and checks considerably, and is not durable if exposed; used for wagon hubs, wooden ware, handles, wooden shoes, etc. Medium to large sized trees, with straight, clear trunks; locally quite abundant, but never forming forests of pure growth. 68. Tupelo gum (J^yssa aqiiatica) (cotton gum) ; Lower Mississippi basin, northward to Illinois and eastward to Virginia, otherwise like preceding species. 69. Sweet gum (Liquidamhar styracijiua) (red gum, liquidambar, bilsted) : Wood rather heavy, rather soft, quite stiff and strong, tough, commonly crossgrained, of fine texture; the broad sapwood whitish, the heartwood reddish brown ; the wood shrinks and warps considerably, but does not check badly, stands well when fully seasoned, and takes good polish. Sweet gum is used in carpentry, in the manufacture of furniture, for cut veneer, for wooden plates, plaques, baskets, etc., also for wagon hubs, hat blocks, etc. A large-sized tree, very abundant, often the principal tree In the swampy parts of the bottoms of the Lower Mississippi Valley; occurs from New York to Texas and from Indiana to Florida. Maclcberry. 70. Hackberry {Celtis oceidentalis) (sugar berry): The handsome wood, heavy, hard, strong, quite tough, of moderately fine texture, and greenish or yellowish white color; shrinks moderately, works well, and takes a good polish. So far but little used in the manufacture of furniture. Medium to largo sized tree, locally quite common, largest in the Lower Mississippi Valley; occurs in nearly all parts of the Eastern United States. Hickory. — Wood very heavy, hard, and strong, proverbially tough, of rather coarse texture, smooth and of straight grain. The broad sapwood white, theheart reddish nut brown. It dries slowly, shrinks and checks considerably ; is not durable in the ground, or if exposed, and, especially the sapwood, is always subject to the inroads of boring insects. Hickory excels as carriage aud wagon stock, but is also extensively used in the manufacture of implements and machinery, for tool handles, timber pins, for harness work, and cooperage. The hickories are tall trees with slender stems, never form forests, occasionally small groves, but usually occur scattered among other broad-leaved trees in suitable localities. The following species all contribute more or less to the hickory of the markets: 71. Shagbark hickory {TJUoria orata and H. lacimosa). Shellbark hickory: Medium to large sized trees, quite common; the favorite among hickories; best developed in the Ohio and Mississippi basins; from Lake Ontario to Texas, Minnesota to Florida. Sliellbark more local. AMERICAN WOODS. 93 72. Mockernut hictory (Hicoria alba) (black liickory, ball and blade nut, big bud, and white-heart liiokory) : A medium to large-sized tree, with the same range as the foregoing; common, especially in the South. 73. Pignut hickory {Hicoria glabra) (brown hickory, black hickory, switch-bud hickory) : Medium to large sized tree, abundant; all eastern United States. 74. Bitternut hickory {Hicoria minima) (swamp hickory) : A medium-sized tree, favoring wet localities, with the same range as the preceding. 75. Pecan (Hicoria pecan) (Illinois nut) : A large tree, very common in the fertile bottoms of the Western streams; Indiaua to Nebraska and southward to Louisiana and Texas. Holly. 76. Holly (Ilex opaca) : Wood of medium weight, hard, strong, tough, of fine texture and white color ; works and stands well; used for cabinetwork and turnery. A small tree, most abundant in the Lower Mississipj)! Valley and Gulf States, but occurring eastward to Massachusetts and northward to Indiana. Horse-chestnut. (See Buckei/e.) Iromvood. (See Blue beech.) Locust. — This name applies to both of the following: 77. Black locust (Robinia pseudacada) (black locust, yellow locust) : Wood very heavy, hard, strong, and tough, of coarse texture, very durable in contact with the soil, shrinks considerably and sufters in seasoning; the very narrow sapwood yellowish, the heartwood brown, with shades of red and green. Used for wagon hubs, tree nails or pins, but especially for ties, posts, etc. Abroad it is much used for furniture and farm implements and also in turnery. Small to medium sized tree, at home in the AUeghenies; extensively planted, especially in the West. 78. Honey locust ((JZefZifeirt triacanthos) (black locust, sweet locust, three-thorucd acacia): AVood heavy, hard, strong, tough, of coarse texture, susceptible of a good polish, the narrow sapwood yellow, the heartwood brownish red. So far, but little appreciated except for fencing and luel; used to some extent for wagon hubs and in rough construction. A medium-sized tree, found from Pennsylvania to Nebraska, and southward to Florida and Texas; locally quite abundant. Magnolia. (See Tulip.) Maple.— Wood. he.avy, hard, strong, stiff, and tough, of fine texture, frequently wavy-grained, this giving rise to "curly" and "blister" figures; not durable in the ground or otherwise exposed. Maple is creamy white, with shades of light brown in the heart; shrinks moderately, seasons, works and stands well, wears smoothly, and takes a fine polish. The wood is used for ceiling, flooring, paneling, stairway, and other finishing lumber in house, ship, and car construction; it is used for the keels of boats and ships, in the manufacture of implements and machinery, but especially for furniture, where entire chamber sets of maple rival those of oak. Maple is also used for shoe lasts and other form blocks, for shoe pegs, for piano actions, school apparatus, for wood type in show-bill printing, tool handles, in wood carving, turnery, and scroll work. The maples are medium-sized trees, of fairly rapid growth ; sometimes form forests and frequently constitute a large proportion of the arbo- rescent growth. 79. Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) (hard maple, rock maple) : Medium to large sized tree, very common, forms considerable forests. Maine to Minnesota, abundant, with birch, in parts of the pineries; southward to northern Florida; most abundant in the region of the Great Lakes. 80. Red maple (Jeer rubruui) (swamp or water maple) : Medium-sized tree. Like the preceding, but scattered along water courses and other moist localities. 81. Silver maple (Acer saccharinum) (soft maple, silver maple): Medium-sized, common; wood lighter, softer, inferior to hard maple, and usually oifercd in small (juantities and held separate in the market. Valley of the Ohio, but occurs from Maine to Dakota and southward to Florida. 82. Broad-leafed maple (Acer macrophgllum) : Medium-sized tree, forms considerable forests, and, like the pre- ceding, has a lighter, softer, and less valuable wood. Pacific Coast. Mulberry. 83. Red mulberry (Morus rubra) : Wood moderately heavy, hard, strong, rather tough, of coarse texture, durable; sapwood whitish, heart yellow to orange brown; shrinks and checks considerably in drying; works and stands well. Used iu cooperage and locally in shipbuilding and in the manufacture of farm implements. A small-sized tree, common in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, but widely distributed in the eastern United States. OaJc. — Wood very variable, usually very heavy and hard, very strong and tough, porous, and of coarse texture; the sapwood whitish, the heart " oak" brown to reddish brown. It shrinks aud checks badly, giving trouble in seasoning, but stands well, is durable, aud little subject to attacks of insects. Oak is used for many purposes — in shipbuilding, for heavy construction, in common carpentry, in furniture, car, and wagon work, cooperage, turning, and even in wood carving; also iu the manufacture of all kinds of farm implements, wooden mill machinery, for piles and wharves, railway ties, etc. The oaks are medium to large sized trees, forming the predominant part of a large portion of our broad-leaved forests, so that thcs(! are generally "oak forests" though they always contain a considerable proportion of other kinds of trees. Three well-marked kinds, white, ' red, aud live oak, are distinguished and kept separate iu the market. Of the two priucipal kiuds white oak is the stronger, tougher, less porous, aud more durable. Red oak is usually of coarser texture, more porous, often brittle, less durable, and even more troublesome iu seaf5oning than white oak. In carpentry and furniture work red oak brings about the same price at present as white oak. The red oaks everywhere accompany the white oaks, and, like the latter, are usually represented by several species in. any given locality. Live oak, once 94 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. largely employed in sbipbiiilding, i^ossesses all the good qualities (except that of size) of white oak, even to a greater degree. It is one of the heaviest, hardest, and most durable building timbers of this country; in struc- ture it resembles the red oaks, but is much less porous. 84. White oak {Quercus all/a): Medium to large sized tree, common in the Eastern States, Ohio and Mississippi valleys; occurs throughout eastern United States. 85. Bur oak {Quercus maerocarpa) (mossy-cup oak, over-cup oak): Large-sized tree, locally abundant, common. Bottoms west of Mississippi ; range farther west than preceding. 86. Swamp vrhite oak (Quercus platanokles) : Large-sized tree, common. Most abundant in the Lake States, but with range as in white oak. 87. Chinquapin oak {Quercus acuminata) (chestnut oak): Medium-sized tree. Southern Alleghenies, eastward to Massachusetts. 88. Basket oak (Quercus michauxii) (cow oak): Large-sized tree, locally abundant; Lower Mississippi and eastward to Delaware. 89. Over-cup oak (Quercus lyrata) (swamp white oak, swamp post oak): Medium to large sized tree, rather restricted; ranges as in the preceding. 90. Post oak (Quercus minor) (iron oak): Medium to large sized tree. Arkansas to Texas, eastward to New England and northward to Michigan. 91. Chestnut oak CPHercds j))'m«s) : Medium to large sized tree. Throughout the Allegheny Mountains. 92. White oak (Quercus garvyana) : Medium to large sized tree. Washington to California. 93. White oak (Quercus loliata) : Medium to large sized tree; largest oak on the Pacific coast; California. 94. Red oak (Quei'cus rnhra) (black oak): Medium to large sized tree; common iu all parts of its range. Maine to Minnesota, and southward to the Gulf. 9.5. Black oak (Quercus velutina) (yellow oak) : Medium to large sized tree ; very common in the Southern States, but occurring north as far as Minnesota, and eastward to Maine. 96. Spanish oak (Quercus dirjitata) (red oak) : Medium-sized tree, comr^on in the South Atlantic and Gulf region, but found from Texas to New York, and north to Missouri and Kentucky. 97. Scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea) : Medium to large sized tree; best developed in the lower basin of the Ohio, but found from Maine to Missouri, and from Minnesota to Florida. 98. Pin oak (Quercus palustris) (swamp Spanish oak, water oak): Medium to large si::ed tree, common along borders of streams and swamps. Arkansas to Wisconsin, and eastwai'd to the Alleghenies. 99. Willow oak (Quercus phellos) (peach oak) : Small to medium sized tree. New York to Texas, and northward to Kentucky. 100. Water oak (Quercus nigra) (duck oak, possum oak, punk oak): Medium to large sized tree, of extremely rapid growth. Eastern Gulf States, eastward to Delaware and northward to Missouri and Kentucky. 101. Live oak (Quercus virginiana) : Small-sized tree, scattered along the coast from Virginia to Texas. 102. Live oak (Quercus clirysolepis) (maul oak, Valparaiso oak) : Medium-sized tree; California. Osage orange. 103. Osage orange (Toxylon pomiferum)(&o\s d'Arc) : Wood very heavy, exceedingly hard, strong, not tough, of moderately coarse texture, .and very durable; sapwood yellow, heart brown on the end, yellow on longitudi- nal faces, soon turning grayish brown if exposed; it shrinks considerably iu drying, but once dry it stands unusually well. Formerly much used for wheel stock in the dry regions of Texas; otherwise employed for posts, railway ties, etc. Seems too little appreciated; it is well suited foi turned ware and especially for wook carving. A small-sized tree of fairly rapid growth, scattered through the rich bottoms of Arkansas and Texas. Persimmon. 104. Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) : Wood very heavy and hard, strong and tough ; resembles hickory, but is of finer texture; the broad sapwood cream color, the heart black; used iu turnery for shuttles, plane stocks, shoe lasts, etc. Small to medium sized tree, common and best developed in the lower Ohio Valley, but occurs from New York to Texas and Missouri. Poplar and coUomocod (see also Tuli}) wood). — Wood light, very soft, not strong, of fine texture and whitish, grayish to yellowish color, usually with a satiny luster. The wook shrinks moderately (some crossgrained forms warp excessively), but checks little; is easily worked, but is not durable. Used as building and furniture lumber, in cooperage for sugar and flour barrels, for crates and boxes (especially cracker boxes), for wooden ware and paper jiulp. 105. Cottonwood (Populus deltoides): Large-sized tree; forms considerable forests along many of the Western streams, and furnishes most of the Cottonwood of the market. Mississippi Valley and west; New England to the Rocky Mountains. 106. Balsam (Populus lalsamifera) (balm of Gilead) : Medium to large-sized tree; common all along the northern boundary of the United States. 107. Black Cottonwood (Po()kZhs proximate shrinkage of a board, or set of hoards, 100 inches wide, drying in the open air. (1) All light conifers (soft pine, spruce, cedar, cypress) (2) Heavy conifers (hard pine, tamarack, yew), iioney locust, box elder, wood of old oak, (3) Ash, elm, walnut, poplar, maple, beech, sycamore, cherry, black locust (4) Basswood, birch, chestnut, horse-chestnut, blue beech, young locust (5) Hickory, young oak, especially red oak TJp to 10 Strength in compression of common American woods in well-seasoned selected pieces. [Approximate weight per square inch of cross section requisite to crush a piece of wood endwise.] Pounds. (1) Black Jocust, yellow and cherry biroli, hard maple, best hickory, longleaf and Cuban pines, and tamarack...' - 9, 000-|- (2) Common hickovy, oak, birch, .soft maple, walnut, good elm, best ash, shortleaf and loblolly pines, western hemlock, and Douglas fir 7, 000-|- (3) Ash, sycamore, beech, inferior oak, Pacific white cedar, canoe cedar, Lawson's cypress, common red cedar, cypress, Norway and superior spruces, and fir '---- 6, 000-|- (4) Tulip, basswood, butternut, chestnut, good poplar, white and other common soft pines, hemlock, spruce, and fir 5, COO-f (5) Soft poplar, white cedar, and some Western soft pines, and firs 4, 000-|- Strength in cross-ireaking of well-seasoned, select pieces. strength of the extreme fiber S Wl per square 2 by 2 inches and ^ feet long. (]) Kobinia (locust), hard maple, hickory, oak, birch, best ash and elm, longleaf, shortleaf, and Cuban pines, tamarack -- (2^ Soft maple, cherry, ash. elm, walnut, inferior oak, and birch, best poplar, Norway, loblolly, and pitch pines,' black and white si)ruco, liemlock, and good cedar (3) Tulip, basswood, sycamore, butternut, poplars, wliite and other soft pines, firs, and cedars Poxcnds. 13, 000 AMERICAN WOODS. 1)7 Prom the following table of strengtli in tension and compression it will be seen that these two are not always proportional, the stiffer conifers excelling in the latter, the tougher hardwoods in the former : Ratio of strength in tension and compression, showing the difference between rigid eonifers and tough hard woods. Hatio : Tensile strengtli. E = A stick 1 square inch in cross section. Weight required to — Pullapa^t. ^^I'^l^ Hickory Elm Larch Longleaf pine Pounds. 32, 000 29, 000 19, 400 17, 300 Founds. 8,500 7,500 Table of stiffneas {modnhm of elasticity) of dry wood. — General averages. Modulus of elasticity 4D6d3 per square Approximate weight whicli deflects by 1 inch a piece — 1 by 1 inch and 12 inches long, 2 by 2 inches and 10 feet ' long. (1) Live oak, good tamarack, longleaf. Cuban, and ahortleaf ]>ine, good Doiiglaa spruce, western hemlock, yellow and cherry birt^h, hard maple, beecb, Incust, and tbe best of oak and hickory . (2) Birch, common oak, hickory, white and black spruce, loblolly and red pine, cypress, best of ash, elm, and poplar and black walnut (3) Maples, cherry, ash, elm, sycamore, sweet gum, butternut, poplar, bass wood, white, sugar, and bull pine, cedars, scrub pine, hemlock, and fir (4) Bos elder, horse chestnut, a number of western soft pinea, inferior grades of hard woods In general wet or greenwood shears about one-third more easily than dry wood j a surface parallel to the rings (tangent) shears more easily than one parallel to the medullary rays. The lighter conifers and hard woods oft'er less resistance than the heavier kinds, but the best of pine shears one-third to one-half more readily than oak or hickory, indicating that great shearing strength is characteristic of "toueh" woods. Reaiatance to shearing along the fiber. Per square inch. (1) Locust, oak, hickory, elm, maple, asb, birch (2) Sycamore, longleaf, Cuban, and ahortleaf pine, and tamarack (3) Tulip, bass wood, better class of poplar, Norway, loblolly, and white pine, spruce, red. cedar (4) Soft poplar, hemlock, white cedar, flr '. , 'Over. ^Leggt^an. Note.— Resistance to shearing, although a most important quality in wood, has not been satisfactorily studied. The values in the above table, taken from various authors, lack a reliable experimental basis and can be considered as only a little better than guesswork. The following indicates the hardness of our common woods: 1. Very hard woods requiring over 3,200 pounds x^er square inch to produce an indentation of one-twentieth inch: Hickory, hard maj^le, osage orange, black locust, persimmon, and the best of oak, elm, and hackberry. 2. Hard woods requiring over li,400 pounds per square inch to produce an indentation of one- twentieth inch : Oak, elm, ash, cherry, birch, black walnut, beech, blue beech, mulberry, soft maple, holly, sour gum, honey locust, coffee tree, and sycamore. 3. Middling hard woods, requiring over 1,600 j)ounds per square inch to produce an indentation of one-twentieth inch: The better qualities of Southern and Western hard pine, tamarack, and Douglas spruce, sweet gum, and the lighter qualities of birch. 4. Soft woods requiring less than 1,600 pounds per square inch to produce an indentation of one-twentieth inch : The greater mass of coniferous wood; pine, spruce, fir, hemlock, cedar, cypress, and redwood; poplar, tulip, basswood, butternut, chestnut, buckeye, and catalpa, H. Doc. No. 181 7 98 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. lianije of durabiliiy in railroad ties. White oak and chestnut oak. Chestnut Black locust Cherrjf, black walnut, locust . Tears. ■ Tears. 8 Redwood , 12 8 Cypress and red cedar 10 10 ' Tamarack 7 to 8 7 Longleafpiue 6 B, "hard" pint inner edge of O, soft pine : ar, annual iigi s. w., summer wood; Elm 6 to 7 I Hemlock 4 to 6 Red and black oaks 4 to 5 I Spruce 5 Ash, beech, maple 4 | HOW TO DISTINGUISH THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF WOOD. The carpenter or other artisan who handles different woods becomes familiar with those he employs frequently, and learns to distinguish them through this familiarity, without usually being able to state the points of distinction. If a wood comes before him with which he is not familiar, he has, of course, no means of determining what it is, and it is possible to select pieces even of those with which he is well acquainted, different in appearance from the general run, that will make him doubtful as to their identification. Furthermore, he may distinguish between hard and soft pines, between oak and ash, or between maple and birch, which are characteristically different; but when it comes to distinguishing between the several siiecies of pine or oak or ash or birch, the absence of readily recognizable characters is such that but few practitioners can be relied upon to do it. Hence, in the market we find many species mixed and sold indiscriminately. To identify the difl'erent woods it is necessary to have a knowledge of the definite, invariable dift'erences in their structure, besides that of the often variable differences in their ap- pearance. These structural differ- ences may either be readily visible to the naked eye or with a magnifier, or they may require a microscopical examination. In some cases such an examination can not be dispensed with, if we would make absolutely sure. There are instances, as in the i^ines, where even our knowledge of the minute anatomical structure is not yet sufficient to make a sure identification. In the following key an attempt has been made — the first, so far as we know, in English literature — to give a synoptical view of the distinctive features of the commoner woods of the United States which are found in the markets or are used in the arts. It will be observed that the distinction has been carried in most instances no further than to genera or classes of woods, since the distinction of species can hardly be accomplished without elaborate microscopic study, and also that, as far as possible, reliance has been placed only on such characteristics as can be distinguished with the naked eye or a simple magnifying glass, in order to make the key useful to the largest number. Eecourse has also been taken for the same reason to the less reliable and more variable general external appearance, color, taste, smell, weight, etc. The user of the key must, however, realize that external ajipearance, such, for example, as color, is not only very variable but also very difficult to describe, individual observers differing especially in seeing and describing shades of color. The same is true of statements of size, when relative, and not accurately measured, while weight and hardness can perhaps be more readily approximated. Whether any feature is distinctly or only indistinctly seen will also depend some- what on individual eyesight, opinion, or practice. In some cases the resemblance of different species is so close that only one other expedient will make distinction possible, namely, a knowl- edge of the region from which the wood has come. We know, for instance, that no longleaf j)ine grows in Arkansas, and that no white pine can come from Alabama, and we can separate the white cedar, giant arbor vita^ of the West and the arbor vitas of the Ifortheast only by the difference of the locality from which the specimen comes. With all these limitations properly sp.w -■ Fig. 4. — "Non-porous" woods. A, fir; ring; 0. e., outer edge of ring; i. e sp. w., spring wood; rd, resin ducts. AMERICAN WOODS. 99 appreciated, the key will l)e found helpful toward greater familiarity with the woods which are more commonly met with. The features which have been utilized in the key and with which— their names as well as their appearance— therefore, the reader must familiarize himself before attempting to use the key, are mostly described as they appear in cross section. They are: (1) Sapwood and heartwood, the former being the wood from the outer and the latter from the inner part of the tree. In some cases they differ only in shade, and in others in kind of color, the heartwood exhibiting either a darker shade or a pronounced color. Since one cau not always have the two together, or be certain whether he has sapwood or heartwood, reliance upon this feature is, to be sure, unsatisfactory, yet sometimes it is the only general characteristic that cau be relied upon. If further assurance is desired, microscopic structure must be /P ^ examined; in such cases reference has 1^5qIp°-°— J 1°^-^^ been made to the presence or absence of tracheids in pith rays and the struc- ture of their walls, especially prqjec- ions and spirals. (2) Annual rings. They are more or less distinctly marked, and by means of such marking a classification of three great groups of wood is possible. (3) Spring wood and summer wood, the former being the interior (first formed wood of the year), the latter the exterior (last formed) part of the ring. The proportion of each and the manner in which the one merges into the other are sometimes used, but more frequently the manner in which the pores appear distributed in either. (4) Pores, which are vessels cut through, appearing as holes in cross section, in longitudinal section as channels, scratches, or indentations. They appear only in the broad-leaved, so called, hard woods; their relative size (large, medium, small, minute, and indistinct, when they cease to be visible individually by the naked eye) and manner of distribution in the ring being of much importance, and especially in the summer wood, where they appear singly, in grou^js, or short broken lines, in continuous concentric, often wavy, lines, or in radial branching lines. (5) Resin ducts (see fig. 4), FlG.S.— "Eiug •«'., 'iTimmer wood ; sp lines ; rt, darker tracts of hard fibe: pitli rays. ods — white oak and hickory, a. r ., spring wood ; v, vessels or pores ; annual ring I., "concentric" i forming the firm part of oak wood ; pr ft b , d ieech 'Diftuse-porous' Sycamore I Birch ! oods. «r, annual ring; pr, pith rays "fine" at &, "indistinct" at il. which appear very much like pores in cross section, namely, as holes or lighter or darker colored dots, but much more scattered. They occur only in coniferous woods, and their presence or absence, size, num- ber, and distribution are an important distinction in these woods. (6) Pith rays (see fig. 6), which in cross section appear as radial lines, and in radial section as interrupted bands of varying breadth, impart a peculiar luster to that section in some woods. They are most readily visible with the naked eye or with a magnifier in the broad-leaved woods. In coniferous woods they are usually so fine and closely packed that to the casual observer they do not appear. Their breadth and their greater or less distinctness are used as distinguishing marks, being styled fine, broad, distinct, very distinct, conspicuous, and indistinct when no longer visible by the naked (strong) eye. (7) Concentric lines, appearing in the summer wood of certain sj)ecies more or less distinct, resembling distantly the lines of pores but much finer and not consisting of pores. (See fig. 5). Of microscopic features, the following only have been referred to: (8) Tracheids. 100 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. (9) Pits, simple and bordered, especially the number of simple pits in the cells of the pith rays, which lead into each of the adjoining tracheids. For standards of weight, consult table on page 95 ; for standards of hardness, statement on page 97. Unless otherwise stated the color refers always to the fresh cross section of a piece of dry wood; sometimes distinct kinds of color, sometimes only shades, and often only general color effects appear. HOW TO USE THE KEY. Nobody need expect to be able to use successfully any key for the distinction of woods or of any other class of natural objects without some practice. This is especially true with regard to ■woods, which are apt to vary much, and when the key is based on such meager general data as the present. The best course to adopt is to supply one's self with a small sample collection of woods accurately named. Small, polished tablets are of little use for this purpose. The pieces should be large enough, if j)ossible, to include pith and bark, and of sufficient width to permit ready inspection of the cross section. By examining these with the aid of the key, beginning with the better-kuowu woods, one will soon learu to see the features described and to form an idea of the relative standards which the maker of the key had in mind. To aid in this, the accom- panying illustrations will be of advantage. When the reader becomes familiar with the key, the work of identifying any given piece will be comparatively easJ^ The material to be examined musti, of course, be suitably prepared. It should be moistened ; all cuts should be made with a very sharp knife or razor and be clean and smooth, for a bruised surface reveals but little struc- ture. The most useful cut may be made along one of the edges. Instructive, thin, small sections may be made with a sharp penknife or razor, and when i^laced on a piece of thin glass, moistened and covered with another piece of glass, they may be examined by holding them toward the light. Finding, on examination with the magnifier, that it contains pores, we know it is not conifer- ous or nonporous. Finding no pores collected in the spring- wood portion of the annual ring, but all scattered (diffused) through the ring, we turn at once to the class of " Difluse-porous woods." We now note the size and manner in which the pores are distributed through the ring. Finding them very small and neither conspicuously grouped, nor larger nor more abundant in the spring wood, we turn to the third group of this class. We now note the pith rays, and flndipg them neither broad nor conspicuous, but difficult to distinguish, even with the magnifier, we at once exclude the wood from the first two sections of this group and place it in the third, which is repre- sented by only cue kind, cottonwood. Finding the wood very soft, white, and on the longitudinal section with a silky luster, we are further assured that our determination is correct. We may now turn to the list of woods and obtain further information regarding the occurrence, qualities, and uses of the wood. Sometimes our progress is not so easy; we may waver in what group or section to place the wood before us. In such cases we may try each of the doubtful roads until we reach a point where we find ourselves entirely wrojig, and then return and take up another line; or we may anticipate some of the later-mentioned features and finding them apply to our specimen, gain additional assurance of the direction we ought to travel. Color will often help us to arrive at a speedy decision. In many cases, especially with conifers, which are rather diflflcult to distinguish, a knowledge of the locality from which the specimen comes is at once decisive. Thus, northern white cedar, and bald cypress, and the cedar of the Pacific will be identified, even without the somewhat indefinite criteria given in the key. KEY TO THE MORE IMPORTANT WOODS OF NORTH AMERICA. I. Nonporous woods. — Pores not visible or conspicuous ou cross sectiou, even witb magnifier. Annual rings distinct by denser (dark-colored) bands of summer wood (fig. 37). II. Ring-porous woods. — Pores numerous, usually visible ou cross section without magnifier. Aunual rings distinct by a zone of large pores collected in the spring wood, alternating with the denser summer wood (fig. 5). ///. Diffuse-porous icoods.— Pores numerous, usually not plainly visible on cross section without magnifier. Annual rings distinct by a fine line of denser summer-wood cells, often quite indistinct; pores scattered through annual ring; no zone of collected pores in spring wood (fig, 6). Note. — The above-described three groups are exogenous, i. e., they grow by adding annually wood on their circumference. A fourth group is formed by the endogenous woods, like yuccas and palms, which do not grow by such additions. AMERICAN WOODS. 101 I. NONPOROUS Woods. (Includes all coniferous ^voods.) A. Resin ducts -wanting.' 1. No distinct lieartwood. a. Color eifect yellowisli white; summer wood darlier yellowish (under microscope pith ray without tracheids) _ Firs. h. Color effect reddish (roseate) (under microscope pith ray with tracheids) Hemlock. 2. Heartwood present, color decidedly different in kind from sapwood. a. Heartwood light orange red ; sapwood pale lemon ; wood heavy and hard Ye^v. 1>. Heartwood purplish to brownish red; sapwood yellowish white ; wood soft to medium hard light, usually with aromatic odor Bed cedar, c. Heartwood maroon to terra cotta or deep brownish red; sapwood light orange to dark amber, very soft and light, no odor ; pith rays very distinct, specially pronounced on radial section Redwood. 3. Heartwood present, color only different in shade from sapwood, dingy-yellowish brown. a. Odorless and tasteless Bald cypress . b. Wood with mild resinous odor, but tasteless White cedar. c. Wood with strong resinous odor and peppery taste when freshly cut : Incense cedar. B. Resin ducts present. 1. No distinct heartwood ; color white ; resin ducts very small, not numerous Spruce. 2. Distinct heartwood present. a. Resin ducts numerous, evenly scattered through the ring. a'. Transition from spring wood to summer wood gradual ; annual ring distinguished by a fine line of dense summer-wood cells; color white to yellowish red; wood soft and light Soft pincs.^ V. Transition from spring wood to summer wood more or less abrupt; broad bands of dark-colored summer wood ; color from light to deep orange; wood medium hard and heavy Hard pines.- i. Resin ducts not numerous nor evenly distributed. a'. Color of heartwood orange-reddish; sapwood yellowish (same as hard pine) ; resin dxicts frequently combined in groups of 8 to 30, forming lines on the cross section (tracheids with spirals), Douglas spruce. b'. Color of heartwood light russet brown; of sapwood yellowish brown; resin ducts very few, irregu- larly scattered (tracheids without spirals) Tamarack. ADDITIONAL NOTES FOR DISTINCTIONS IN THE GROUP. Spruce is hardly distinguishable from fir except by the existence of the resin ducts, and microscopically by the presence of tracheids in the medullary rays. Spruce may also be confounded with soft pine, except for the heart- wood color of the latter and the larger, more frequent, and more readily visible resin ducts. In the lumber yard, hemlock is usuallj- recognized by color and the silvery character of its surface. Western hemlocks partake of this last character to a less degree. Microscopically the white pine can be distinguished by having usually only one large pit, while spruce shows three to five very small pits in the parenchyma cells of the pith ray communicating with the tracheid. The distinction of the pines is possible only by microscopic examination. The following distinctive features may assist in recognizing, when in the log or lumber pile, those usiually found in the market : The light straw color, combined with great lightness and softness, distinguishes the white pines (white pine and sugar pine) from the hard pines (all others in the market), which may also be recognized by the gradual change of spring wood into summer wood. This change in hard pines is abrupt, making the summer wood appear as a sharply defined and more or less broad band. The Norway pine, which may be confounded with the shortleaf pine, can be distinguished by being much lighter and softer. It may also, but more rarely, be confounded with heavier white pine but for the sharper defini- tion of the annual ring, weight, and hardness. The longleaf pine is strikingly heavy, hard, and resinous, and usually very regular and narrow ringed, showing little sapwood, and differing in this respect from the shortleaf pine and loblolly jiine, which usually have wider rings and more sapwood, the latter excelling in that respect. The following convenient and useful classification of pines into four groups, proposed by Dr. H. Mayr, is based on the appearance of the pith ray as seen in a radial section of the spring wood of any ring : Section I. Walls of the tracheids of the pith ray with dentate projections. a. One to two large, simple pits to each tracheid on the radial walls of the cells of the pith ray. — Group 1. Represented in this country only by P. resinosa. b. Three to six simple pits to each tracheid, on the walls of the cells of the pith ray. Group 2. P. laeda, palustris, etc., including most of our "hard" and "yellow" pines. ' To discover the resin ducts a very smooth surface is necessary, since resin ducts are frequently seen only with difficulty, appearing on the cross section as fine whiter or darker spots, normally scattered singly, rarely in groups, usually in the summer wood of the annual ring. They are often much more easily seen on radial, and still more so on tangential sections, appearing there as fine lines or dots of open structure of different color or as indentations or pin scratches in a longitudinal direction. = Soft and hard pines are arbitrary distinctions and the two not distinguishable at the limit. 102 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Section II. Walls of traclieids of pith my smooth, without dentate projections. a. One or two large pits to each tracheid on the radial walls of each cell of the pith ray.— Group 3. /'. strobiib, lambertiana, and other true wliito pines. h. Three to sis small pits on the radial walls of each cell of tlie pith ray.— Group 4. P. parnjana, and other nut pines, including also /'. halfouriana. II. Ring-porous Woods. [Some of Group D and cedar elm imperfectly ring-porous.] A. Pores in the summer wood minute, scattered singly or iu groups, or in short broken lines, the course of which is never radial. 1. Pith rays minute, scarcely distinct. a. Wood heavy and hard; pores in the summer wood not in clusters. a'. Color of radial section not yellow -Jsft. b'. Color of radial section light yellow ; by which, together with its hardness and weight, this species is easily recognized r- Osage orange. 1). AVood light and soft; pores in tlie summer wood in clusters of 10 to 30 Gaialpa. 2. Pith ravs very fine, yet distinct; pores iu summer wood usually single or iu short lines; color of heartwood reddish brown, of sapwood yellowish white; peculiar odor on fresh section Sassafras. 3. Pith rays fine, but distinct. a. Very heavy aud hard ; heartwood yellowish brt)wn Blaolc locust. 1). Heavy; medium hard to hard. a'. Pores in summer wood very minute, usually in small clusters of 3 to 8; heartwood light orange brown - -Sc(i mulberry. V . Pores in summer wood small to minute, usually isolated ; heartwood cherry red Coffee tree. 4. Pith rays fine but very conspicuous, even witliout magnifier ; color of heartwood red, of sapwood pale lemon -- - Honey locust. Fig. 7.— Wood of coffee tree. B. Pores of summer wood minute or small, in concentric wavy aud sometimes branching lines, appearing as finely feathered hatchings on tangential section. 1. Pith rays fine, but very distinct; color greenish white; heartwood absent or imperfectly developed. Hachherry. 2. Pith rays indistinct; color of heartwood reddish brown, sapwood grayish to reddish white Elms. C. Pores of summer v^ood arranged in radial branching linos (when very crowded radial arrangement somewhat obscured). 1. Pith rays very minute, hardly visible Chestnut. 2. Pith rays very broad aud conspicuous Oak. D. Pores of summer wood mostly but little smaller than those of the spring wood, isolated and scattered; very heavy and hard woods. The pores of the spring wood sometimes form but an imperfect zone. (Some diffuse- porous woods of groups A and B may seem to belong here.) 1. Fine concentric lines (not of pores) as distinct, or nearly so, as the very fine pith rays; t>uter summer wood with a tinge of red, heartwood light reddish brown Hickory. 2. Fine concentric lines, much finer than the i>ith rays; no reddish tinge in summer wood, sapwood white, heartwood blackish Persimmon. ADDITIONAL NOTES FOR DISTINCTIONS IN THK CROUP. Sassafras and mulberry may be confounded but for the greater weight and hardness aud the absence of odor in the mulberry; the radial section of mulberrv also shows the iiith rays conspicuously. Honey locust, coflee tree, and black locust are also very similar in appeai'auce. The honey locust stands out by the conspicuousuess of the pith rays, especially on radial sections, on account of their height, while the black locust is distinguished by the extremely great weight andhardness, together with its darker brown color. AMERICAN WOODS. 103 The ashes, elms, hickories, and oaks may, on casual observation, appear to resemble one another on account of the pronounced zone of porous spring wood. The sharply defined large pith rays of the oak exclude these at once; the wavy lines of pores in the summer wood, appearing as conspicuous, finely feathered hatchings on tangential section, distinguish the elms; while the ashes differ from the hickory by the very conspicuously defined zone of spring- wood pores, which in hickory appear more or less interrupted. The reddish hue of the hickory and the more or less brown hue of the ash may also aid in ready recognition. The smooth, radial surface of split hickory will readily separate it from the rest. Fig. 10 Wood of cliestuut. Tlie different species of ash may be identified as follows: ]. Pores in the summer wood more or less united into lines. a. The lines short and broken, occurring mostly near the limit of the ring.. i. The lines (juite long and conspicuous in most parts of the summer wood. . ff kite ash. . Green ash. 104 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 2. Pores in the summer wood not united into lines, or rarely so. a. Heartwood reddish brown and very firm Bed ash. b. Heartwood grayish brown, and much more porous Black ash. In the oalis, two groups can be readily distinguished by the manner in which the pores are distributed in the summer wood. In the white oaks the pores are very fine and numerous and crowded in the outer part of the summer wood, while in the black or red oaks the pores are larger, few in number, and mostly isolated. The live oaks, as far as structure is coTicerned, belong to the black oaks, but are much less porous, and are exceedingly heavy and hard. III. Dii'FOSE-PORous Woods. [A few inilistinrtly ring-porous woods of Group If, D, and cedar elm niny seem to belong here.] A. Pores varying in size from large to minute; largest in spring wood, thereby giving sometimes the appearance of a ring-jiorous arrangement. 1. Heavy and hard; color of heartwood (especially on longitudinal section) chocolate brown Blackwalniit. 2. Light and soft ; color of heartwood light reddish brown Butternut. B. Pores all minute and indistinct; most numerous in spring wood, giving rise to a lighter colored zone or line (especially on longitudinal section), thereby appearing sometimes ring porous; wood hard, heartwood vinous reddish; pith rays very fine, but very distinct. (See also the sometimes indistinct ring-porous cedar elm, and occasionally winged elm, which are readily distinguished by the concentric wavy lines of pores in the summer wood) Cherry. TPia. 11.— Wood of hickory. C. Pores minute or indistinct, neither c(mspicuously larger nor more numerous in. the spring wood and evenly distributed. 1. Broad pith rays present. a. All or most pith rays broad, nnmerons, and crowded, especially on tangential sections, medium heavy and hard, difficult to split Sycamore. h. Only part of the pith rays broad. a'. Broad pith rays well defined, iiuite numerous ; wood reddish-white to reddish Beech. h'. Broad pith rays not sharply defined, made up of many small rays, not numerous. Stem fur- rowed, and therefore the periphery of section, and with it the annual rings, sinuous, bending in .and out, and the large pith rays generally limited to the furrows or concave portions. Wood white, not reddish _ Bhie teech. 2. No broad pith rays present. a. Pith rays small to very small, but ijuite distinct. a'. Wood hard. a" Color reddish white, with dark reddish tinge in outer summer wood -- Maple. i". Color white, without reddish tinge Solly. V . Wood soi't to very soft. a". Pores crowded, occupying nearly all the space between pith rays. a'" . Color yellowish white, often with a greenish tinge in heartwood Tiilip poplar, Cucumber tree. V" . Color of sapwood grayish, of heartwood light to dark reddish brown Sxveet gum. b". Pores not crowded, occupying not over one-third the space between pith rays; heartwood brownish white to very light brown Basswood. b. Pith rays scarcely distinct, yet if viewed with ordinary m.ignifier, plainly visible. a'. Pores indistinct to the naked eye. a". Color uniform pale yellow j pith rays not conspicuous even on the radial section Buckeye. v. Sapwood yellowish gray, heartwood grayish brown; iiith rays conspicuous on the radial sec- tion - Sour gum V. Pores scarcely distinct, but mostly visible as grayish specks on fhe cross section; sapwood whit- ish, heartwood reddish AMERICAN WOODS. 105 D. Pith, rays not visible or else indistinct, even if viewed witii maguider. 1. Wood very soft, white, or in shades of brown, tisually with a silky luster Cottonwood (poplar) . ADDITIONAL NOTES FOR DISTINCTIONS IN THE GROUP. Cherry and birch are sometimes confounded. The higli pith rays on the cherry on radial sections readily distin- guish it; distinct pores on birch and spring-wood zone in cherry as well as the darker vinous brown color of the latter will prove helpful. a b , d . _Beech . j- Sycamore i Birch ,- Fk;. 12. — "Wood of "beech, sycamore, and birch. rio. U.— "Wood of elm. a rod dm ; 6 white elm ; Two groups of birches can be readily distinguished, though specific distinction is not always possible. 1. Pith rays fairly distinct, the pores rather few and not more abundant in the spring wood; wood heavy, usually darker CUrry birch and yellow hirch. 2. Pith rays barely distinct, pores more numerous and commonly forming a more porous spring- wood zone; wood of medium weight...... Canoe or paper Urch. The species of maple may be distinguished as follows : 1. Most of the pith rays broader than the pores and very conspicuous Sufiar maple. 106 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 2. Pith rays not or rarely broader than the pores, fine but conspicuous. a. Wood heavy and hard, usually of darker reddish color and commonly spotted on cross section. .JJed maple. b. Wood of medium weight and hardness, usually light colored Silver maple. Red maple is not always safely distinguished from soft maple. In box elder the pores are finer and more numerous than in soft maple. The various species of elm may be distinguished as follows ; 1. Pores of spring wood form a broad band of several rows ; easy splitting, dark brown heart Red elm. 1. Pores of spring wood usually in a single row, or nearly so. a. Pores of spring wood large, conspicuously so White elm. b. Pores of spring wood small to minnte. a'. Lines of pores in summer wood fine, not as wide as the intermediate spaces, giving rise to very compact grain Mock dm. b'. Lines of pores broad, commonly as wide as the intermediate spaces Winged elm. c. Pores in spring wood indistinct, and therefore hardly a ring-porous wood Cedar elm. Fig. 15.— Wood of Tvalnat. p. r., iiitli rays; c. I., concentriclines ; v, vessels or pores; su.w., summer wood ; sp.w., spring wood. Flo. 16 'Wood of cherry. STRUCTURK OF THE WOOD OF THE FIVE SOUTHERN PINES.' The wood of these innes is so much alike in appearance and even in minute structure that it can be discussed largely without distinction of species. The distinctions, as far as there are any, have been pointed out in the introduction. Here it is proposed to give in more detail the characteristics of the wood structure. SAP AND HEART WOOD. All five species have a distinct sap and heart wood, the sap being light yellow to whitish, the heart yellowish to reddish or orange brown. The line of demarcation between the two is well defined, without any visible transition stage. The location of this line does not as a rule coincide with the line of any annual ring, so that the wood of the same year's growth may be sap on one side of the tree and heart on the other. The difference in this condition may amount to ten or twenty rings, which ou one side of the same section will be heart, on the other side sap. There is considerable variation in the relative width of the two zones as well as the number of rings involved in either and also in the age at which the transition from sap to heart-wood begins. This age was rarely found to be below twenty years; as a rule the transformation begins in young trees when the particular section of the tree is between twenty and twenty-five years old, but the ijrogress of heart formation does not keep pace with the annual growth, being more and more retarded as the tree grows older, so that while in a section twenty-five years old twenty- two rings may be sap wood, at thirty-five years the sapwood will comprise only thirty rings; at forty-five years, forty rings; at eighty years, fifty rings ; and in sections two huntlred years old the outer eighty to one hundred rings will still be sap. A young tree of longleaf pine (No. 22) was, for instance, found to show the following relations: Section. Height from .stump. Age of section. Kings of sap. Ill ... . Feet. 6 14 22 30 42 Tearti. 46 38 30 24 18 Xnmber. ' 40 IV 33 27 23 ■ .17 VII XX XII ' Keprinted from Bulletin 13. WOOD OF SOUTHERN PINES. 107 The change from sap to heart wood begins earlier iu young trees than iu the younger portions of older trees; iu these latter, sections thirty-six and forty years old are quite conimouly found still entirely made up of sapwood, while in young trees, as stated above, the change begins before the age of thirty years. The progress of the transformation is somewhat influenced by the rate of growth; it is slower in slow-growing trees and usually also on the slower-growing radius, 1. e., there are more rings of sapwood. The width of the sapwood, on the other hand, stands in relation to the rate of growth iu an opposite manner; it is wider in young and thrifty than in old and stunted trees, and widest along the greatest radius of any section; similarly, it is wider in the faster-growing loblolly, Cuban, and spruce pines than in the slow- growing longleaf. Besides being of a lighter color the sapwood differs from the heartwood in several respects. Its resin is limpid and oozes out of the pores or resin ducts of any fresh cut; that of the heartwood does not flow, except in rare cases, from saturated pieces or "light wood." The sapwood contains much less rosin — both rosin and turpentine — than the heartwood. Thus in a section of longleaf the sapwood contained only 0.2 per cent of turpentine and 1 per cent of rosin, while the heart contained from 2 to 4 per cent of turpentine and 12 to 2-1 per cent of rosin, and though this is an extreme case the heart generally has three to five times as much resinous matter as the sap. The fresh sapwood contains three to five times as much free water as the heartwood and is, even when seasoned, more hygroscopic and subject to relatively greater shrinkage than the heart. This capacity for taking up water readily is probably one of the reasons why sapwood decays more readily. Iu addition, the parenchyma cells of the medullary rays and resin ducts (see further on) contain, at least in the outer parts of the sapwood, living protoplasm and reserve food materials which are readily seized upon by fungi which cause "bluing" and decay. Such living tissue does not exist in the heartwood. The heartwood in old logs generally is heavier than the sapwood. This is not due to any later thickening or growth of its cell walls, after their original formation, but is due chiefly to two causes : 1. The heartwood of old logs was formed when the tree was younger, and made, naturallj^, heavier wood. 2. The accumulation of resin in the heart already referred to increases often very considerably the weight of the heartwood. In the same way the sapwood of old logs, such as supply the sawmills, is weaker than the heartwood of the same logs, but this is not because the wood is in the sapwood condition, but because it is lighter and its summerwood ijer cent smaller, being, as stated before, the product of old age, when heavy and strong wood is no longer formed. Chemically the wood substance of sapwood is practically like that of heartwood; the coloring substances which permeate the cell walls in heartwood appear to be infiltrations, i. e., deposited in the walls from solutions; they are insignificant in amount, and their true nature, especially the processes leading to their formation, are not yet fully understood. The most modern views which consider these coloring bodies or heartwood substances as products of oxidation of tannin still require confirmation. ANNUAL RINGS. The layers of growth, known and appearing on any cross section as annual rings, show very distinctly in the wood of these pines. In a section 8 or 10 feet from the ground the rings are widest at the center, of considerable width for the first thirty to fifty rings, the i^eriod of most rapid growth in height; then they grow more and more narrow toward the periphery. In the last sixty to one hundred rings of very old logs the decrease is very small, the rings remaining practically of the same width. The same year's growth is usually wider in the upper jiart of the stem, both in young and old trees, but the average width of the rings is naturally greater in the upper part ouly of young trees; in old and also in stunted trees it is smaller, since in these the upper x^ortions do not share in the more rapid growth of the early years. Rings over half an inch wide are frequently seen iu loblolly and occur in sprnce pine; rings one-fourth of an inch in width occur in very thrifty saplings of all five species, but the average width of the rings for sapling timber is usually less than one- fourth of an inch, commonly one-eighth. In trees over one hundred years old it drops to one-twelfth of an inch and even below. The average 108 FORESTRY INVESTI(4ATIONS U. fi. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. width of the rings is uormally smallest in longleaf pine, being one-twenty-flfth of an inch and less. (See also tables and diagrams of rate of growth in the introduction, as well as in the several monographs.) The influence of orientation on the width of the rings is completely obscured by other, more potent influences, so that sometimes the radius on the north side, other times that of some other side, is the greatest ; and it is a common observation to see this relation vary within wide limits, even in the trunk of the same tree. Stunted trees of longleaf pine over one hundred years old with an average width of ring of one-flftieth of an inch are frequently met with in old timber; of the other species no such trees were observed. The decrease of the width of the rings from center to periphery is never perfectly uniform. Not only do consecutive rings differ within considerable limits, but frequently zones of narrower rings, including thirty or more years' growth, disturb the general regularity. Where these zones consist of very narrow rings, one-fiftieth of an inch or less, tie wood is of distinctly lighter color and weight. Since the value of this class of wood depends not only on its strength and stiffness but also on the fineness of its rings (grain), in so far as the grain influences both the appearance and the ease of shaping as well as other mechanical properties, the width of the annual ring is of great importance, from a technical point of view, the finer-ringed (grained) wood of the same weight always deserving and mostly receiving preference. The rings of the limbs are narrower than the corresponding rings of the stem. Moreover, they are usually of different widths on the upper and lower side of the same branch, those of the latter excelling in width those of the former. Frequently the wider lower part of a ring of a branch appears like a "lune" on the cross section, quite wide (one-eighth of an inch and more) in its lower median part, and scarcely visible, often entirely fading out on the upper side. This difference is commonly accentuated by the appearance of the wood itself. In the upper part the wood of the wing is normal and light colored, owing to a very small summerwood per cent; on the lower wide part, the " luue," the wood is commonly of reddish color, either even throughout the entire width of the ring, or else in several varicolored bands, which give the appearance of two or more separate ill-defined rings. Sometimes the earliest formed springwood is included in this unusual coloration, at other times only the median portion of the ring. This "red wood," as it has been termed by the French and German writers, is composed of very thick walled cells and increases markedly the weight of the wood, so that the wood of the side containing it is usually much the heaviest. It is of interest that the several "lunes" in any cross section occur rarely, if ever, exactly one above the other, but commonly the radius passing through the middle of one "lune" makes an angle of 20 to 40 degrees with the radius passing through the middle of another "lune." Often successive "lunes" show considerable deviation in position and commonly difi'er in width or degree of development. Accepting the most recent explanation of this phenomenon as expressed by Hartig and Cieslar,' it would appear that the formation of these broad "lunes" of especially strong cells is dne to pressure-stimulus on the growing cambium, caused by the weight of the limb and its peculiar position, increased at all times by movements of the limb due to the wind. More- over it seems that the formation of one well-developed "lune" relieves for a time the pressure, and with it the necessity for a repetition of this formation. These "lunes" are most conspicuous in the limbs of these pines near the trunk, and disappear at variable distances from the trunk and with them disappears the eccentricity and the difference in appearance and weight of the wood of the limbs. Immediately at the junction of limb and stem the pressure is constant, and the result is the formation of almost uniformly thick- walled tissue in all parts of the ring, giving to the "knot" its great weight and hardness. Lunes similar to those of the limb are frequently observed in the stems of small trees; wherever this has been noted it was found on the underside of a leaning or curved portion.^ Occasionally such a "lune" extends for 12 and more feet up and down. Quite distinct from this modification of the annual ring is another modification frequently seen, especially in young trees, giving rise to so called "false" rings. It consists in the appearance of 'A. Cieslar, "Eotholz d. Fiohte," Centralblatt f. d. g. Forstwesen 1896, p. 149, and Robevt Hartig "Das Rothholz der Fichte" in Forstlich-naturwisseiischaftliche Zeitschrift, 1896, p. 165. ' Cieslar produced them at will by bending young spruce saplings. WOOD OF SOUTHERN PINES. 109 one or more, rarely two, dark colored lines, which precede the true summerwood band of the ring. These lines, resembling the summerwood in color and composed like it of thiuk-walled cells, follow the true springwood of the year and are separated from the summerwood and from each other (if there are more than one) by a light-colored line resembling springwood. While occasionally this is somewhat misleading in counting the rings, a moderate magnification usually suffices to distinguish the real character of the tissues, as described later on. A more serious difSculty arises in very old, slowly growing trees, where the ring sometimes is represented by only one to three cells (see fig. 18) and occasionally disappears, i. e., is entirely wanting in some, parts of the cross section. Generally these cases, due to various causes, are too rare to seriously interfere in the establishment of the age of a tree. SPRING AND SUMMER WOOD. The difference between spring and summer wood is strongly marked in these pines, the transition from the former to the latter being normally abrupt and giving- to the annual ring the appearance of two sharply defined bands. (See figs. 17 and 22.) In wide rings the transition l^-LAST 50-4-2!iP 50 RINGS.- Jf- IRINGS OR 50 ' |yrs. growth.' I (SUMMER WOODJ SUMMER WOOD. I _22%. ! 30%. I 350 50 RINGS. ^ -4IH 50 RINGS. ;^CENTRAL 28 RINGS.sl SUMMER WOOD. 45/1. SUMMER WOOD. 52%. SUMMER WOOD. 46%. Fig. 17 — Variation of summerwood per cent from pith to bark. is sometimes gradual. The springwood is light colored, has a specific gravity of about 0.40, and thus weighs somewhat less than half as much as the darker summerwood, with a specific gravity of about 0.90 to 1.0.5, so that the weight and with it the strength of the wood is greater, the larger the amount of summerwood. (See figs. 17 and 19.) The absolute width of the summerwood varies generally with the width of the ring (see diagram, fig. 19), i. e., the wider the ring the wider the summerwood band. It decreases in a cross section of an old log from near the pith to the periphery, and in the same layer, from the stump to the top of the tree. Where the growth of the stem is very eccentric, the wood along the greater radius has the greatest proportion of summerwood; thus, in a disk of longleaf, for instance, there is on the north side a radius of 152 mm. with 27 per cent summerwood; on the south side a radius of 98 mm. and a summerwood per cent of only 20 per cent. In the stump section the great irrregularity in the contour of the rings is accompanied by a corresponding irregularity in the outline of the summerwood. The summerwood generally forms less than half of the total volume of the whole log (see fig. 17); it forms a greater part of the coarse-grained wood which was grown while the tree was young than in the fine-ringed outer parts of the log, grown in the old age period. It also forms a greater 110 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. part in the volume of the butt than of the top log, aud thus fully explains the well-known difference in the weight, strength, aud value of the various parts of the tree. The following table serves to illustrate this point. The numbers in each line refer to the average values for the same ten annual layers through three sections of the tree at varying height. The figures in italics below refer to specific gravity for the same layer. The values for specific gravity were calculated on the basis of allowing a specific gravity of 0.40 for springwood and 0.90 for sumraerwood, the values for the entire disks as actually observed being given below: Summerwood per cent and specific gravity in various parts of a tree of longleaf pine. Rings from periphery. 1 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 60 61 to 70 71 to 80 81 to 90 44 .68 35 .57 18 .49 91 to 100 101 10 110 111 to 120 121 130 131 to 140 141 til 150 151 to 160 161 to 170 171 to ISO 181 to 190 191 to 200 201 to 210 211 to 220 221 to 230 231 to 236 Aver- age for total. Section 1, 3 feet from' ground. Section IV, 35 feet from 39 .59 26 .eg 23 .51 44 .sa 24 .s-n 16 4S 40 .IJO 25 17 .48 42 .fii 34 .57 18 .49 38 .59 28 .54 18 .49 35 24- .5'J 20 ..0 45 .C^ 26 .53 IB .48 32 .56 24 .5H 20 .50 66 .7S 49 .64 26 .53 43 .61 31 .55 21 .50 43 .61 33 .56 24 52 .66 43 .61 19 56 .68 34 .57 19 .4!) 48 .64 40 .60 .51 46 .6S 31 .55 16 .48 48 .64 34 .57 18 .4.0 43 .61 33 .56 .42 47 .63 33 .56 47 .63 3] .56 52 .66 22 .51 45 .6i' ()6 .43 42 .61 al5 .47 45 .625 Section VII, 70 feet from .545 .490 a Six rinsis next to pitli. ved values of .specific gravity for tlit ; 0.700, 0.560, .intl 0.490, reaiiectively. It will be noticed that the greatest difference between the calculated and the actual value of specific gravity occurs in the section at the stump. This is fully accounted for by the fact that large amounts of resin, not considered iu the values of summerwood per cent, always occur in this portion, adding from 5 to 20 per cent to the weight of the wood. ^ 1.^ ^ -V ^ / / \ / "^ / / <, — — — - --- \ 0-/ / ^,^ ■— — ' " \^ Sf ■EC/f IC c JMV try ^ > J y X \ .^ --" --v^ -'- ■^ , ■^ ^ y- \ / \ \ um ER-WOO D P rff.ci F^ /'' n \ \ ^ y A J ,\ y ,- \ \ \ / i i ^ 6 \ ' 6 i 1 1 I 1 ? 1 ! 1' t 1 J 1 5 1 7 1 i 1 9 i 2 1 2 2 2 \ 3 24 Decades of Rings from, pei-iphery ■ Fig. 18— Variation of specific gravity Tvitli summerwood per cent and age of section in longleaf pine, tbe solid lines referring to a section 3 feet from the ground, the dotted lines to one 14 feet from the ground. (Specific gravity as actually observed on pieces of 1 inch radi.l extent.) In stunted trees the summerwood forms nearly as great a per cent of the total volume for the whole tree as in thrifty trees of the same age, but in the stunted growth, or extremely narrow ringed portion of otherwise normal trees, the per cent of summerwood is markedly decreased, a .feature which becomes conspicuous iu the lighter color of the wood of such portions. (See diagram, fig. 213, A.) Where, on the other hand, the rate of growth iu an old tree is suddenly increased by the accessibility of more light, for instance, the summerwood per cent also is disproportionately increased, but this disproportion appears to be more transient, i. e., a decrease in the summerwood per cent sets in sooner than for the rate of growth or the width of the rings. (See fig. 10.) In some of the rapidly grown loblolly aud spruce pine the summerwood forms but a small part of the WOOD OF SOUTHERN PINES. Ill ficst teu to twenty years' growth, and in all cases the first few riugs about the pith have but little summerwood. In general, the summerwood per cent varies in the several species as well as in the individual with the weight of the wood, which is least in the spruce pine, greatest in Cuban and lougleaf pine, and stands between these in loblolly and shortleaf. It furnishes a very useful criterion to distinguish between these groups, and especially to select strong timber. In the limb, the summerwood is most abundant in the knot (all wood practically partaking of the character of summerwood, at least as far as the thickness of cell walls is concerned) and in the 1 1 ± 150 1 1 1 § / HI / •S y '^ • 1 \ / / \ ^-'''^ \ 1 / ■ -, / \ 1 ; / / •^ \ 1 1 Y 1 ^ , 'i 1 ^ ~^SJ ^\ / / sUM D. -X- N. / ' \ -/ ( \ /f V iiV c.^^^-- 7 \ ^ ~V / \ 'wno iX ---' ^v —'- ^ \ .^ 2 2 3 4 5 6 7 S 9 10 n 12 13 M 15 16 if 18 19 20 21 Decades of Rings Trom periphery . Flo. 10.— Variatiou of summerwood jier cent mth rate of growth (width of ring) in tree No. 3, lougleaf pine. Note.— Only the heaxT^ line represents summerwood per cent; the others indicate the actual width of the rings (njipcr pair) and of the liand of summerwood (lower pair). part next to the stem, decreasing with the distance from the trunk. As might be expected, it also forms a larger per cent of the wood of the underside of limbs and the concave portions of bent trunks. (iRAIX OF THE WOOD. Though usually (piite straight grained, the wood of these species is by no means always so. Spiral growth, leading to " cross-grained " lumber, occurs frequently, is usually more pronounced in the basal portions of the tree, and commonly varies from pith to bark in the same log. Wavy grain resembling that of the maple (curly maple) has not been observed, but an irregular wavy grain, due to the fact that the surface of the trunk for many years is covered with small, low eminences, 1 to a few inches across, is frequently seen, especially in longleaf pine, and leads to remarkably pretty patterns. Unfortunately the contrast of spring and summer wood being so very pronounced, the figures are somewhat obtrusive and therefore not fully appreciated. 112 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. MINUTE ANATOMY. The minute structure or histology of the wood of the five species under consideration is that of a group whose position in a general classification of the wood of pines is indicated in the follow- ing scheme, suggested by Dr. J. Schroeder, and more completely by Dr. H. Mayr,' in which they appear as part of group 2 of Section I. Sfiction I. Walls of the tracheitis of the pith ray, with dentate projections. a. One to two large, simple pits to each tracheid on the radial walls of the cells of the pith ray. — Group 1. Represented in this country by F. resinosa. 6. Three to sis simple pits to each tracheid on the walls of the cells of the pith ray. — Group 2. P. tccda, palustria, etc., including most of our " hard '' and " yellow " pines. Section II. Walls of tracheids of pith ray smooth, without dentate projections. a. One or two large pits to each tracheid on the radial walls of each cell of the pith ray. — Group 3. P. strobus lamhertiana, and other true white pines. b. Three to six small pits on the radial walls of each cell of the pith ray. — Group 4. P. parryana, and other nut pines, including also P. balfouriana. The general features of structure of coniferous woods are represented in the accompanying cut (flg. 20). The structural elements, as in all pine, are few and simple, and consist of (a.) tracheids, the common wood fibers, forming over 90 per cent of the volume; (&) medullary or pith rays, minute Fig. 20. — Schematic representation of coniferous wood struc. _P(Q^ 21 Cell eiidiuca in nine ture : wood of spruce — 1, natural size ; 2, small part of one ring magnitied 100 times. The vertical tubes are wood libers, in this case all "tracheids;" m.. medullary or pith ray; n, transverse tracheids of pith ray; a, &, and c, bordered pits of the tracheids more enlarged. cell aggregates composed of two kinds of cells, scarcely visible without magnifier and then only on the radial section, yet forming about 7 to 8 per cent of the volume and weight of the wood in these species; (c) resin ducts, small passages of irregular length surrounded by resin-secreting cells scattered through the wood, but forming two more or less connected systems, one running in the direction of the fibers, the other at right angles to the first, the individual ducts of the latter system always occupying the middle portion of medullary rays. The tracheids, or common wood fibers, are alike in all five species, and resemble those of other pines: they are slender tubes, 4.5 to 6 mm. (about one-fourth inch) long, forty to one hundred times as long as thick, usually hexagonal in cross section, with sharp or more or less rounded outlines (see PI. XX), flattened in tangential direction at both ends (see PI. XX, A/), the diameter in radial direction being 45 to 55 /< (about 0.002 inch) in the springwood, and about half that, or 21 to 25 /A, in the summerwood, and in tangential direction about 40 /a, on the average in their 'Dr. J. Schroeder, Holz der Coniferen, Dresden, 1872, p. 65; Dr. H. Mayr, Walduiigen von Nordamerika, Miin- chen, 1890, p. 426. WOOD OF SOUTHERN PINES. 113 middle. They are arranged in regular radial rows (see PI. XX), wliicli are continuous tlirougli an indefinite number of rings, but the number of rows increasing every year to accommodate the increasing circumference of the growing stem. (See PI. XX, c.) The fibers of the same row are practically conterminous, i. e., they all have about the same length, though at their ends they are often bent, slightly distorted, and usually separated (see PI. XX, B c; also fig. 21), their neighbors filling out the interspaces. There is no constant difference in the dimensions of these fibers in the different species here considered. In every tree the fibers are shortest and smallest EiG. 22 — Cro33 aection of normal and stanted growth in Longleaf Pine. near the pith of any section, rapidly increasing in size from the pith outward, and reaching their full size in about the tenth to twentieth ring from the pith. To illustrate: In a section of longleaf pine, 10 feet from the ground, the diameter of the tracheids in radial direction is in /<=0.001 mm,: Kumberof rings from center. Spring- wood. Summer- wood. Average. >* (J- IJ- 1 24 15 24 2 34 23 32 3 45 24 40 4 43 26 36 7 50 26 38 10 52 28 36 24-33 62 28 36 44-53 62 27 37 H. Doc. 181- 114 PORESTEY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. As usual iu conifers, tlie traclieids are largest iu the roots aud smallest iu the limbs. In these, pines, especially in longleaf pine, they are larger in well-grown wood than in tliat of extremely stunted trees, though very narrow rings in otherwise normal trees do not share this diminutive size of the tracheids. (See fig. 22, A and B, where a few very narrow rings are made up of elements of normal size.) The following average figures illustrate the difference between wood from very stunted trees aud that of normal trees in longleaf pine, of which we give an average from an extensive series examined : Radial diam- Number of tree. Ago. Average width of ring. eter ot tra- cheids in apringwood /x = 0.001 mm. Character of tree. 4 5 6 7 86 6U 70 08 Millimeters. 0.4-0.6 .4 .4 2.0 31-36 30-36 33-38 52 Stunted. Do. Do. Xormal.- As soon as the average width of the annual rings gets above 0.5 mm. the dimensions of the elements approach the normal. Thus, in trees Nos. 1 and 2, with average width of annual rings 0.5 to 0.6 mm., the average diameter of the tracheids in radial direction is 35 to 48 /a. ISTormally, the diameter in radial direction is greatest in the first-formed or inner part of any ring, and decreases even before the summerwood is reached. In narrow rings with an abrupt beginning of the summerwood, so common In these Southern pines, the diameter is quite constant throughout the springwood, but changes, together with the thickness of the wall, quite suddenly with the beginning of the summerwood, thus adding to the sharpness of the outlines of the two parts. (See PI. XX; also fig. 22, B.) In nearly all sections there is an additional marked decrease in radial diameter in the last 3 to 5 cells of each row, which helps to emphasize the limits of the ring. In the so-called "false" rings, mentioned before, the cells of the false summerwood part resemble those of the normal summerwood. The recognition of the false ring as such rests upon the difference in shape and dimensions of the last cell rows in comparison with those adjoining. In the true summerwood the last cells are much flattened, with small lumen and somewhat reduced walls making a sharp definition toward the springwood of the next ring, which is still further accentuated by the wide lumen and thin wall of the cells of the latter. In the "false" summer- wood, on the contrary, the end cells are not flattened, and the cells of the light- colored adjoining zone of wood have but a moderately wide lumen and comparatively thick walls. The fact that the outline is less regular and commonly incomplete — i. e., it does not extend around the entire section — also aids in recognizing the false rings. In the "lunes" of both limb and stem referred to above the fibers are smaller, more rounded in cross section, and commonly exhibit conspicuous intercellular spaces between them. The walls of these are often much thicker than those of the summerwood of the same ring at this point. Since the radial diameter of the fibers of the summer- wood is only about half as great as that of the springwood, it is clear that the number of fibers of the summerwood forms a much greater per cent of the total number of fibers than is indicated in the per cent of summerwood given above and based upon its relative width. Thus, in wood haviug 50 per cent of summerwood there are, iu number, twice as many tracheids in the summer- wood as in the springwood. The walls of the cells are generally about 3 to 3i /x thick in the springwood, while in the summerwood they are 6 to 7 /( thick on the tangential side and 8 to 11 j.i thick on the radial side of the fiber. Generally it may be said that the thickness varies inversely as the extent of the wall, i. e., the greater any diameter the thinner the walls parallel to this diameter, which gives the impression that each cell is furnished an equal quantum of material out of which to construct its house and had the tendency of giving an equal amount to each of its four or six sides. Generally the absolute width of the ring does not affect the thickness of the cell walls, the fibers of wide rings having no thicker walls than those of narrow rings; but when the growth of a tree is unusually suppressed, so that the rings are less than 0.5 mm. (0.02 inch) wide and each row consists of only a few fibers, the walls of the fibers of the summerwood, like those of the last- Typical Cross Sections of Pinus t/eda, heterophylla, and glabra. )•. d., resiD ducts; s. c, secreting cells; m. r., medullaiy rays; sp. w., spring wood; sii. ;c,,sumnieL- wood. 4 Piws T.EDA ■ a-b. transverse traoheids; c, simple pits; rf-e, row of tracheids; /, flattened terminal of tracheid. 'b Pinus heterophylla : a-b, row of tracheids; c, terminal of tracheid; d-e, bordered pits. c', Pinus glabra ; a-6, single row of tracheids; c-b, same row doubled. rt |^j^^a^_j \p._ ^~rn^S\ ^ 1° J Ip R k) ^ r ® :^ I °J % [©p© E ^^fe__ OoTooo Sad LiiwCSr^ ,SZ/.H'. *■ Sg-^ ^11^2^1^ TYPICAL CROSS SECTIONS OF PiNUS PALUSTRIS AND ECHINATA, AND RADIAL SECTIONS OF PiNUS PALUSTRIS AND GLABRA. 4 cut thi-ough a row of parenchyma, the other through A, PiKUS ECBiNATA. Cross Section of two rings; sp. xo., Y'''Sy<^^^\^^■^-^^:^^^^^l°^]^ B, PiNL-s PALUSTRIS. Cross sectiou o£ a very narrow ring. Of the two medulLaiy lays one a row of tracheids. . i ,i„,.„ ..„„o. *,. trn^hoirls nf the medullary rays; p., parenchyma of the same; s. p, simple pits Cand D, PiNUS OLABRA. Radial sections; m. ^'-./n^dullary rays ft. tia^^^^ bordered pit. The ray at Cis made up of tracheids leading from the parenchyma to the neighbormg tracheids or common noeis, t.u.,uij, £, PiNus PALUSTRIS. Radial section; lettering a s in D loo ths rest ^sn Originals magnified; A, ^i". the rest '■{»; illustrations: A, 't , the rest ¥ . Radial Sections of Pinus echinata and heterophylla. , medullary rays; p. , parenchyma of same; tr., transverse traoheids of rays; s p., simple pits; b p., bordered A and B, Pincs echinata. m. r. pits; c. is a triple i ay above; TANGENTIAL SECTIONS OP PiNUS ECHINATA, HETEROPHYLLA, AND GLABRA, SHOWING NUMBER ANO DISTRIBUTION OF TANGENTIAL SECTIONS OF ^^'^^''p^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ PROPORTION OF PiTH-RAY CELLS. ducts; m. r., y^edullaij rays^^ illustrations: A-C, »?=; D-F. ¥■ Magnifluatioa of originals: A-L, -,", u Ji, i . "■■ '"" Plate XXVI. TRANSVERSE RESIN DUCTS-TaNGENTIAL VIEWS. A-C Finds T«DA. D and E, P. palustris, M&FflcaTion^o™originaIs, a?o; of illustrations. J^, P. ECSINATA. G, P. HETEROPHYLLA. 1 ducts; tr., transverse tracheids; WOOD OP SOUTHERN PINES. 115 formed 2 or 3 fibers of normal rings, are thinner, so that in tbese cases tlie wood is lighter in color and weight not only because there is relatively less summerwood, but also because the fibers of this summerwood have thinner walls. (See fig. 22, A and B.) In very stunted trees, where the rings are all very narrow, the reduced thickness of the walls is counterbalanced by the smaller size of the cells. All tracheids communicate with each other by means of the characteristic "bordered" pits, the structure of which is shown in fig. 20. These pits occur only on the radial walls of the fibers. They are most abundant near the ends of each fiber, fewest in the middle, form broken rows, single or occasionally double. (PI. XXII, 0.) As in other pines the pits of the summerwood differ in appearance from those of the springwood. In the latter the i)it appears in the cell lumen (radial view) as a perforated saucer-like eminence; in the former as a mere cleft, elongated in the direction of the longer axis of the fiber. (See PI. XX, B, d and e; PI. XXIII, D, d and E, a.) In both the essential part of the pit Is similar, a circular or oval cavity resembling a double convex lens, with a thin membrane dividiug it into two equal planoconvex parts. (This membrane is shown only in the drawings, PI. XXIII, D, and E.) In keeping with the small radial diameter of the fibers of the summerwood, these pits are much smaller in the siimmerwood than springwood, and usually are very much fewer in number. The simple pits are in sets and occur only at the points where the fiber touches the cells of a medullary ray. (See fig. 21, also PI. X'XIII, E, sp., and other figures of this plate and PI. XXIV.) Above and below these simple pits occur very small bordered pits, communicating with those of the short tranverse fibers or tracheids which form part of all medullary rays. (See PI. XXI, I),b.p.) As in all pines, the medullary or pith rays are of two kinds, the one small, 1 cell wide, and 1 to 10 — in large averages 5 to 7 — cells high; the other large, and each containing in the middle part a transverse resin duct. (See Pis. XXI, XXIII, XXIV, and XXVI.) Of the former there occur about 21 to 27 on each square millimeter (about 15,000 per square inch) of tangential section. The second class are much less abundant and scattered very irregularly, so that sometiuies areas of several square millimeters are found without any of these rays. Generally abox;t one of these rays occurs to every 1.5 or 2 square millimeters, or about 300 to 400 per square jnch of tangential section. In all rays the cell rows forming the upper and lower edge (see PI. XXI) are composed of short fibers or tracheids (transverse tracheids), while the inner rows contain only parenchyma cells. Occasionally small rays occur which are composed of tracheids only. (See PI. XXI, 0.) Frequently the rows of parenchyma are separated by one, rarely by two, series of tracheids (see PI. XXIII, D, and PI. XXIV, D), giving rise to "double" or "triple" rays. The number of cell rows in each medullary or pith ray varies from 2 to 10, on an average from 5 to 7, and of these the rows of tracheids or fibers form more than half. (See PI. XXV, where the outer cells or tracheids are marked with dots.) The tracheids of the rays have thick walls covered with point-and-bar-like projections, the boldest of which are on the upper and lower walls and surround the bordered pits. (See Pis. XXI and XXII.) These short tracheids communicate with the common wood fibers, with each other, as well as with the parenchyma cells, by means of small bordered pits, which in this last case are bordered on one side (side of the tracheid) and simple on the other (half-bordered pits). The parenchyma cells occupying the inner rows of each ray communicate in the springwood part of the ring with each neighboring tracheid by 3 to-6, commonly 4 to 5, simj)le elliptical pits, in the summerwood by a single narrow, elongated slit-like pit (see Pis. XXI and XXII), and with each other by small, irregular, scattered simple pits. The walls of these cells are generally smooth, but local thickenings, especially on the upper and lower walls, and surrounding the pits, occur quite frequently, though not regularly. The parenchyma cells of the rays are usually somewhat broader and higher than the fibers^ the average height for both being about 21 to 27 ^, the average width about 20 /(, while the length of each cell and fiber, greater in springwood and least in the summerwood, is from two to ten times as great as the height. Assuming 25 ju and 20 jj. to represent the average height and width, and allowing 25 rays of G cell rows each to each square millimeter of tangential section, then the rays form about 7,5 per cent of the total volume and weight of the wood of these species. An attempt 116 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. to utilize for purposes of identification the difference in the number, size, and distribution of tliese rays, or the proportion between tlie number of rows of tracheids and those of parenchyma cells, as was done by Dr. J. Sehroeder,' has not been successful, and appears of little promise. The large rays with transverse resin ducts resemble the smaller rays described. On PI. XXIV at A such a ray is seen both in radial and tangential section. Series of transverse tracheids occupy the upper and lower edge, but the interior, unlike that of common rays, is several cells wide, and contains an open duct in its widest portion. (See PI. XXIV, r. d.) This duct is commonly more or less filled with resin (see PI. XXIV, E) ; it is surrounded by thin-walled secreting cells, and, in the heart wood, often divided or filled up by thylosis, i. e., by very thin walled, much puffed out cells, growing out of the surrounding secreting cells before the latter perish. The walls of the secreting cells are quite thin, those of the remainder of the parenchyma vary to some extent in the different sx)ecies. In the longleaf and loblolly pines the walls of the parenchyma composing the i)riucipal part of the ray are generally quite thick (see PI. XXIV, A-E), thicker than those of the cells of ordinary rays, and especially thickened near the simple pits by which these cells communicate with each other. In Cuban and shortleaf this thickening is much less conspicuous, and absent entirely in many cases (see PI. XXIV, A), while in the spruce pine it seems wanting altogether. These ducts exist even in the very first ring (next to the pith), are smaller and more numerous near center, but have essentially the same structure iu the wood of the fifth and later years. The tracheids of the pith rays are wanting next to the pith, but occur in all rays in the outer part of even the first ring. The rays in this ring are generally lower, composed of fewer cell rows, but the cells are larger than the rest of the wood. Both shape and size of these medullary rays are very variable; an average of about 0.4 mm. for the height of the ray and 60 ju for the width at the resin duct was observed. An attempt lo utilize the shape, especially the appearance of the two edges, as a means of separating the wood of these species has so far failed entirely. The large resin ducts running lengthwise in the wood or parallel to the common wood fibers are much larger than the transverse ducts, measuring, inclusive of the secretive cells, on an average about 0.2 mm. (0.008 inch) on their smaller radial diameter and about 0.3 mm. on the tangential. (See PI. XX, A, r. d.) They are usually situated in the summerwood of each ring, often in narrow rings, causing an irregular outline. They are smaller and more numerous near the pith, here usually forming several series in one annual ring, more numerous in wide rings than in narrow ones, but their number per square inch of cross section as well as their dimensions appear to be independent of the width of the rings. In their structure they resemble those of other pines. They are surrounded by thin-walled resin-secreting parenchyma, part of which often appears as if not directly connected with the duct. (See PI. XX, A.) In many cases all the tissue between two neighboring ducts is of this parenchyma. Longitudinal and transverse ducts frequently meet and thus form a continuous network of ducts throughout the wood. ECONOMIC ASPECTS OP FOREST RESOURCES. One thousand million dollars is the value of the raw products which are annually derived from the forests of the United States. There is no other resource, there is no other business or trade which approaches iu magnitude or importance, in production of values or in the intimate relation to all pursuits of life that which is based upon the exj)loitation of our forest resources, excepting alone agriculture and its adjuncts. Professor James, in Bulletin 2 of the Division of Forestry, figured upon the basis of the census for 1880 as follows: If to the value of the total output of all our veins of gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron, and coal, were added the value derived from the petroleum ■wells and stone quarries, and this sura were increased hy the estimated value of all the steamboats, sailing vessels, canal boats, flatboats, and barges, plying in American waters and belonging to citizens of the United States, it would still be less than the value of the forest crop by a sum suf6cient to purchase at cost of construction all the canals, buy at par all the stock of the telegraph companies, pay their bonded debts, and construct and equip all telephone lines in the United States. ' Dr. Julius Sehroeder, das Holz der Coniferen, Dresden, 1872. ECONOMIC ASPECTS. 117 Even if, instead of the value of the wood article, ready for marketing, we refer only to the stuQipage, i. e., the royalty which the wood consumer pays to the laud owner for the privilege of taking the valuable material from the land, we will find it ten times as large as the royalties paid for coal, and twenty-flve times as large as those paid for iron ore. IsTay, even compared with farm rents, the stumpage value of an acre of forest exceeds its farm value. We can then assert that next to the soil and climate itself, the basis for agricultural produc- tion, our forest resources are the most important at the present time as iiroducers of the most needful materials of our civilization. Nay, if we realize that in addition the forest cover as a mere surface condition of the earth affects our local climate, and, still more, acts favorably upon the distribution of our water supplies — the most essential factor in agricultui-al production — we can not easily overrate its value, either as a factor of production or as an element of protection; its prod- uct and its protection are as much necessaries of life as air and water. It has furthermore this advantage over all other resources, that by the mere manner of exploi- tation, without much human labor, it can be reproduced; it is a restorable resource which can be utilized without deteriorating or exhausting it, provided the exploitation be carried on rationally and with due regard to the laws of tree growth. The truth of the assertion that the forest, next to agricultural resources, furnishes a larger product than any other resource, and that the industries relying on wood supplies employ more capital and labor and produce more values in their product than any one other industry or group of like industries, will appear from the following statement: Leading industries compared. [Data irom Censas 1890, in round numbers.] Agriculture Forest products, total Forest industries, enumerated Forest products, not enumerated (estimated) . Manufactures usingwood Total wood aud wood manufactures Mineral products, total Coal Gold and silver .' Pig-iron industry Iron and steel manufact ures Leather Leather manufactures Wooleu mau ufactures Cotton manufactures Millions. $15, 982 Millions. $2, 460 1, OM From this table it appears that agriculture, standing first in capital, persons employed, aud value of products, the industries relying upon forest products stand easily second, exceeding in the value of products the mining industries by more than 50 per cent. The industries relying directly or indirectly on forest products employ readily more than one million workers (enumeration being imperfect), producing nearly two billion dollars of value. The manufactures relying on wood wholly or in part more than double the value of the lumber or wood used, giving employment to more than half a million men and about equaling the combined manufactures of all woolen, cotton, and leather goods in persons employed, wages paid, and values produced. Census statistics of the employment of capital, persons employed, and wages paid in the minor forest industries are absent. The fact that many people are only temporarily or incidentally and for a part of the year engaged in the exploitation of the forest would make such enumeration well-nigh impossible. Besides the lumber industry and such kinds of exploitation as can be, at least, approximately enumerated — always remaining below the truth — a large number of industries and manufactures rely upon wood as the principal material, others employing it to a greater or less extent. An attempt has been made to classify these according to the estimated percentage of wood entering into their products and assuming that capital, labor, and value of products add the same proportion to the total as the raw materials used, and these figures have been employed in the preceding table. As a matter of fact, there is probably more labor employed in shaping wood than this percentage would indicate. 118 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. Forest industries and manufactures using wood. Articles. Capital. Employees. "Wages. Haw mate- rial. Value of product. Forest industries emiiuerated: Thousands. $496. 340 61,541 4,063 Hundreds. 2,862 401 153 Thousands. $87, 784 11, 354 2,933 Thousands. .$231, 556 11,007 3,506 Thousands. $403, 668 34, 290 8,077 Total 561,943 3,477 102,071 245, 169 446, 034 Manufactures practically all -wood : 3,374 13, 018 13, 028 81, 543 17,817 66, 394 1,300 908 120,271 1,941 7,820 2,712 7,455 333 65 140 109 1,409 247 639 18 8 869 38 84 31 28 3 2,134 6,477 5.208 9J,524 11, 655 34. 471 772 572 48, 970 344 4,267 1, 237 1, 229 155 3,567 14, 245 1,388 137, 847 2,637 38, 796 1,187 331 104, 927 935 3,947 1,499 2,005 214 7,092 25, 513 16, 262 O rnp^tpi^nfr " 281, 195 38, 618 94, 871 2,402 1,239 183, 682 2,194 10, 940 3,598 4,628 512 337, 908 3,650 212, 027 331, 523 672, 750 materials : a Total . 169, 983 89?991 1,.356 687 714, 460 35, 730 ] 14, 383 57, 192 229, 408 114, 704 materials: 6 321, 059 107, 619 2,143 714 123,588 41,196 148, 578 49, 520 318, 218 106, 072 1 & materials ; c 76, 841 7,684 915 92 46, 854 4, 685 49,291 4,929 443, 170 131, 820 13, 182 543, 402 5, 134 293, 638 906, 708 a Includes carriages and wagon-factory product, children's carriages and sleds, steam and street cars, coflins and burial caslcets, chairs, ■whcelbarrnwR, .sewing-machine cases, artiiicial limbs, refrigerators, and shipbuilding. & Includes aLTicuitural implements, billiard tables, r.iilroad and street car repairs, furniture repairs, w.isliing machines .and wringers, and organs and ]ji:iiios. c Includes blaclisuiitliiug and wheelwrighting, bridges, brooms and brushes, gunpowder, artists' materi.lls, windmills, toys and games, sporting goods, lead pencils, pipes, and pumps. The most valuable part of the forest growth, that -which it took the longest time to grow, is, of course, that which is cat into lumber. The lumber and sawmill business of the ITnited States has no equal in the world in extent or in efficiency. From being hardly developed fifty years ago beyond local importance, this bu.siaess, through the develoi^raent of the means of transportation as well as of the country to the west, has rapidly advanced to enormous pnjportious. The extent and distribution of the sawmill business through the States is, perhaps, best illus- trated by the following statement of the number of the various classes of mills and their daily capacity as computed from the Directory of the Northwestern Lumberman: Number of mills, lof/giug railroads, and daily capacitij of mills. [Computed from data publislied in Korthwestem Lnmberman, 1892.] Sawmills. a a 1 Daily sawmill capacity. Daily sbingle-mill capacity. United States. t Lowest. Highest. Lowest. Highest. 355 270 282 10 56 349 6 7 20 2 7 20 292 158 78 6 22 129 61 40 16 3 i Feet B. M. 4, 686, 000 2, 530, 000 1, 452, Olio 48, 000 342, 000 2,851,000 Feet B. M. 8, 730, 000 4, 720. 000 3, 095, 000 100, 000 710, 000 5, 525, OOO JVtH/l&er. 3,208,000 972, 000 390, 000 42, 000 114, 000 716, 000 Xumber. 1, 860, 000 75] 000 1 10 1 1,515,000 1,322 62 685 128 5 12, 909, 000 22, 880, 000 5, 442, 000 738 887 73 46 39 42 96 3 4 6 255 266 11 2 5 44 39 10 92. 0, 670, 000 14, 597, 000 174, 000 252, 000 470, 000 12, 680, 000 27,190,000 540, 000 535, 000 900, 000 2, 266, 000 2, 814, 000 36, OUO NewJersev Delaware.: 5 1 2 12, 000 1,785 151 539 89 104 22, 163, 000 41, 845, 000 5,128,000 10, 085, 000 a Shingles may be averaged 5,000 to the 1,000 feet B. M, SAW MILLS. 119 Number of mills, logging railroads, and daily capavUy o/miHs— Continued. Sawmills. "a » 1 1 g Daily sawmill capacity. Daily sliiuKie-mill capacity. United States. 1 ■ji St to Lowest. Highest. Lowest. Higlieat. 100 140 70 144 68 21 16 17 31 26 9 67 8 2 2 17 29 34 21 44 Feet £. M. 1, 602, 000 1, 932, 000 840, 000 3, 086, 000 Feet B. M. 3.260,000 3, 605, 000 1,580,000 5, 495, 000 Nutnhcr. 168, 000 162, 000 369, 000 816, 000 Number. 330, 000 355, 000 476, 000 1, 470, 000 Soutliern Atlantic States 454 123 141 152 106 112 325 123 1,347 29 246 128 7, 460, 000 13, 940, 000 1, 515, 000 1 12,086,000 1 2, 630, 000 237 42, 632, 000 78, 665, 000 23, 430, 000 13 13 13 3 is" 20 18 29 4 6 2 1 20 36 34 15 2, 036, 000 2,514,000 2, 740, 000 1, 926, 000 3, 665, 000 4, 505, 000 6, 016, 000 3,405,000 890, 000 812, 000 282, 000 1, 636, 000 1, 675, 000 1, 665, OOO 506, 000 2, 945, 000 Gulf States 522 55 115 13 106 9,216,000 16, 590, 000 3, 620, 000 1 6,680,000 150 847 477 103 2 52 32 2 30 265 67 101 26 2 61 79 20 2 3, 602, 000 6, 370, OOC 800, 000 j 1, 525, 000 21, 630, 000 14, 724, 000 4, 182, 000 42, 046, 000 27, 586, 000 8, 965, 000 12,356,000 8, 700, 000 2, 700, 000 25,680,000 15, 865, 000 4, 740, 000 Northern lumbering States 1,427 86 723 129 101 9 i 40, 536, 000 3, 850, 000 4, 192, 000 1, 158, 000 78,596,000 23, 762, 000 1 46, 285, 000 576 649 109 78 68 41 30 32 9 82 51 9 7, 820, 000 8, 130, 000 2, 770, 000 162, 000 300, 000 264, 000 310, 000 640, 000 445, 000 Illinois Northern asrieultural States 1,234 ~2^661 187 71 142 10 9,206,000 18,720,000 726, 000 1, 295, 000 Lalce States 273 794 271 111 49, 472, 000 94, 315, 000 24,488,000 1 47,580,000 136 218 332 284 184 93 117 111 33 41 14 34 29 56 15 33 37 32 27 ■ 9 40 10 20 45 10 1,425,000 3, 146, 000 4, 018, 000 5, 030, 000 2, 016, 000 2, 596, 000 6, 970, 000 7, 695, 000 9, 615, 000 3, 820, 000 770, 000 306, 000 ISO, 000 1, 074, 000 214, 000 1, 490, OOO 690, 000 360, 000 1, 920, OOO 365, 000 n, •' Central States 1,154 395 148 138 125 15,636,000 39, 695, 000 2, 544, 000 4, 715, 000 Towa 42 1 18 4 6 19 2 1,400,000 3, 655. 000 900, 000 1,786,000 North Dakota 1 14 186, 000 12, 000 360, 000 25, 000 186, 000 365, 000 Nebraska Kausas Prairie States 65 7 33 2 1, 598, 000 ■4, 040, 000 1, 086, 000 3, 630, 000 2, 150, 000 1,219 102 "" isT 140 125 17, 233, 000 33, 735, UOO • 6, 865, 000 24 10 34 15 17 3 ii 1 11 7 29 8 1 1 438, 000 60, 000 420, 000 222, 000 ISO, 000 1, OOO, 000 110, 000 820, 000 405, 000 350, 000 162, 000 96, 000 318, 000 108, 000 12, 000 310, 000 170,000 620, 000 210, 000 W.\0UlIUj3 . 3 Eastern HockyMountiaii region 100 20 56 4 1, 320, 000 2, 685, 000 696, 000 160, 000 24, 000 48, 000 24, 000 1, 335, 000 3? 6 31 10 9 5 1 20 2 g 2 306, 000 212, 000 182, 000 146, 000 680, 000 380, 000 285, 000 310, 000 315, 000 50, 000 i T't >i 50, (100 Ari zona 1 84 15 33 2 766, 000 1, 555, 000 246, 000 510, 000 Kooky Mountain region 184 36 89 Z7~ '. 6 2, 086, 000 4, 240, 000 6, 105, 000 5, 225, 000 5, 500, 000 942, 000 2, 20,3, 000 380. 000 2, 114, 000 1, 886, 000 159 184 178 3 7 16 64 25 83 2 33 11 28 3, 446, 000 2,122,000 2, 860, 000 4,010,000 3, 645, 000 "Washington - 521 26 172 2 72 9, 018, 000 16, 830, 000 4, 696, 000 8, 370, 000 Total 8, 818 1,118 2,728 672 717 133, 159, 000 250, 745, 000 40, 251, 000 96, 295, 000 a Sliingles may 1)6 averaged 6,000 to the 1,000 feet B. M. This sawmill capacity, of between 140,000,000 aiid 270,000,000 feet B. M. daily, which for our purposes can be considered practically the same to-day, would indicate a* ^^^^ very lowest an annual product of about 35,000,000,000 feet B. M., requiring in round numbers 5,000,000,000 at least cubic feet of forest-grown material. 120 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. Besides these mills, such other establishments of woodworking industries as use wood directly from the forest iu log or bolt size, like the wood-pulp industry, the cooperage industry, etc., and the requirements of our railroads for ties, bring the total cut surely to 5,500,000,000 cubic feet of wood of superior quality, to furnish which continuously at least 350,000,000 acres must be kept under eflBcient forest management, as may be figured by inspecting the record of experience in Germany in another part of this report. This total annual cut, including all material requiring bolt or log size, is estimated at 40,000,000,000 feet B. M. It is made up of the following kinds: FEET E. JI. WMtepine '12,000,000,000 Spruce aud fir - 5,000,000,000 Hemlock - - 4,000,000,000 Longleaf pine ., 4,000,000,000 Sliortleaf and loblolly --- 3,000,000,000 Cypress 500,000,000 Redwood 500,000,000 All other conifers - 1,000,000,000 Total conifers ■_ 30,000,000,000 Oak 3,000,000,000 All other hard woods 7,000,000,000 Total ■- 40,000,000,000 In this cut the various regions participate in the following proportions : FEET B. M. New England and North Atlantic States 6,000,000,000 Central States 5,000,000,000 Lake Region »13, 000, 000, 000 Southern States 13,000,000,000 Pacific States ' 4,000,000,000 Miscellaneous : 2,000,000,000 If we add other materials furnished by the forest supplementing by estimates the data furnished by the census of 1890, we come to the following statement of our total annual wood consumiJtion : Amount and value of forest 2)roducts used during the cetisus year . Classea of products. Quantity. Estimated cubic contents of forest- grown m aterial. a Value. I. Mill products : 6 Agricultural implement stock Bobbin and spool stock - Carriage and wagon stock feet.B.M.. do.... do.... do.... do.... .do.... 30, 000, 000 49, 000, 000 66, 000, 000 94, 000, 000 27, 630, 000, 000 Cubic feet. $582, 000 1, 435, 000 All thfiv snwRfl 1 hfi-p .iu ot e sawe iumDer ... Total sawed lumber 27, 869. 000. OCO 2, 365, 000, 000 110,000,000 9, 276, 000, 000 1, 178, 000, 000 183, 000, 000 4, 000, 000, 000 314,829,000 3, 709, 924 Pickets and palings Shingles . do.... do.... 750, 000 200, 000, 000 300, 000, 000 175, 000, 000 17, 000. 000 do.... 7, 762, 000 4, 934, 000 4, 675, 000, 000 348, 984, 924 II. Eailroad construction: 80, 000, 000 400, 000, 000 80, 000, 000 5, 000, 000 a?otal 485, 000, 000 40. 000, 000 a Estimated by the Division of Forestry. b Tbese data have been compiled by Mr. Priest from the reports of 21,011 establishments (representing probably 70 per cent in number and 95 per cent in value of product), of which 18,06i manufactured sawed lumber as principal product, 702 manufactured shingles exclu- sively, 438 manufactured staves and headings exclusively, and 1,807 used logs or bolts in the manufacture of the various classes of products stated under the head of "Miscellaneous," and corrected by the inclusion of the quantities used for customs sawing not given in the census figures. c Canvass of Division of Forestry. * This figure is by this time (1899) greatly reduced ( increase in other materials, especially Southern pine. account of the waning supply of "White Pine, the deficiency being made up by WOOD CONSUMPTION. 121 Amount and value of forest products used during the census year 1S90 — Contmued. Classes of products. Estimated cubic contents of forest- grownmaterial, a III. Exported timber not included in Subdi\'isi( Hewn timber, 6,900, 000 cubic feet Logs and round timber Hived staves, stave and bolts Total rv". Wood pulp : (t 300,000 tons ground paper pulp 80,000 tons soda pulp 60,000 tons sulphite pulp fiber 50,000 tons pulp foe otber purposes V. Miscellaneous mill products otber than lumber manufactured directly fr bolts e Total materials requiring bolt or log size . This last figure of " miscellaneous products " is a very considerable underestimate, based upon census returns, and we are entirely safe in rounding otf tlie total of sizable timber used and its value to ■ "VI. I'uelin the shape of woodrf ■ In the shape of charcoal Til. Wood used for dyeing extracts and' charcoal for gunpowder c Total amount and value of wood consumption . YIII. lN"aval stores : c Tarpentine barrels. Hosin do... IX.e Wood alcohol gallons. Acetic acid in acetate of lime , Tanning materials : c Hemlock bark cords. Oak bark do--- Hemlock and bark for extract do.. - Sumac leaves for tanning tons . Sumac leaves for extract do. . . Various, not accounted for XI. Maple sugar pounds e Maple sirup gallons e Total value of forest by .products . Total value of all forest products Add 10 per cent for omissions and underestimates a ■ Total value of wood and forest products at original place of production, estimated to have been used during census year 1890 CuMc Je&t. 9, 000, 000 $1, 231 2, 500, 000 2, 000, 000 600, 000 1, 500, 000 12, 000, 000 75, 000, 000 80, 000, 000 , 327, 000, 000 5,500,000,000 18, 000, 000, 000 250. 000, 000 16, 200, 000 1, 056, 000 322, 150 64, 200 3,300 3,750 32, 952, 927 2, 258, 376 6, 925, 000 2, 783, 500 307, 500 i, 730, 000 3, 550, 000 20, 765, 000 418, 029, 924 450, 000, 000 450, 000, 000 7, 000, 000 437, 000 Total value. $7, 872, 872 2, 110, 000 a Estimated by the Division of Forestry. fcErom returns of Bureau of Statistics, TJ. S. Treasury Department. c Based on figures of the Eleventh Census. d Based on figures of the Tenth Census and canvass of Division of Forestry. Making allowance for the increase in business and values aud rounding ofit" the values given for 1890, we may estimate the present conditions about as follows: Mill products, lumber, shingles, implement and furniture stock, etc $150, 000, 000 Eailroad construction Export timber AVood pulp Miscellaneous bolt sizes Total materials requiring log 45, 000, 000 5,000,000 5,000,000 50, 000, 000 : and bolt sizes -' 555, 000, 000 Fuel and fencing 450,000,000 7, 000, 000 500, 000 8, 500, 000 2, 500, 000 15, 000, 000 5, 500, 000 Charcoal Dyewood and gunpowder Naval stores Wood alcohol and acetic acid Tanning material Maple sirup and sugar Grand total 1,044,000,000 It should, of course, be understood that all such figures are mere approximations to the truth based upon careful consideration of the partial information obtainable for the single items. In comparison with these enormous amounts and values expressing home consumption and home production, the amounts of imports and exports become quite insignificant. The imports of wood aud other forest materials amount to between twenty and thirty million 122 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. dollars annually, about 25 per cent of which consists of materials which do not grow on this continent. The balance comes mainly from Canada. The exports of forest products and partly manufactured wood materials varied until two years ago between twenty-five and thirty million dollars, with twelve to fifteen million more of manufactures in which wood plays an important part. To be sure, there are constant increases in exports as well as imports, but the amounts as stated are small in comparison, with home ijroduction and consumption remaining generally below the tliirty-million-dollar mark, and a little above or below 3 per cent of all exports, as appears from the following table, which shows the value of exports of forest products, crude, or only slightly enhanced in value by manufacture : Vahte of exports of forest products, 1860-1S97. Year. Value. Total ex- ports of (loniestic products. Tear. Value. Total ex- ports of domestic products. Year. Value. Total ex- ports of domestic products. $10, 299, 959 14, 897, 963 19, 165, 907 18, 076. 668 19, 943, 290 17, 750, 396 16, 336, 943 17,321,268 19, 486, 051 Per cent. 3.26 3.27 3.43 3.04 3.14 2.55 2.34 2.11 2.20 1882 $26, 580, 264 28, 636, 199 26, 222, 959 22, 014, 839 20,961,708 21, 126, 273 23, 991, 092 26, 997, 127 29, 473, 084 Per cent. 3.50 3.56 3.62 3.03 3.15 3.01 3.51 3.70 3.49 1891 $28, 715, 713 27, 957, 423 28, 127, 113 28, 000, 629 28, 576, 235 33, 718, 204 . 40,489,321 Per cent. 3.29 1883 1892 2.75 3.38 1885 1894 3.22 1886 1895 3.61 1896 3.91 1888 1897 3.92 ' 1889 1890 To get an idea of the character of the materials exported, whether raw or manufactured, and the approximate territorial distribution of the same, the following table is reproduced from the report of the Division of Forestry for 1893. It shows that the Southern States furnish the largest amount of raw material exports in value, while the Northern States furnish the bulk of the manu- factured articles. To be sure, for this tabulation only the freights at ports could be utilized which do not allow a very close territorial distribution of the lilace of production. Exports of wood and cerlain ^vood products durinff the year ending June SO, 189^, hy districts of country whence crported. Eaw materials : Boards, deals, planks, etc Joists and scautliug Hoops and hoop poles Laths Paliufis and pickets Shingles __ , Shocks Staves All other lumher Timher (sawed) Timber (hewn) Logs and other round timber . ITirewood Kosiu Tar Turpentine and pitch Spirits of turpentine Bark and bark extract Total raw materials Manufactures : Agricultural implements Carriages and horse cars Cars, passenger and freight — Matches Organs Doors, sash, and blinds Moldings, trimmings, etc Hogsheads and barrels, empty. Household furniture Wooden ware All other wood manufactures- . Total manufactures Total exports 2,337 76 5,841 691,867 946, 210 657, 304 37, 235 242, 770 875, 371 1,604 652, 777 38, 534 16, 966 445, 249 84, 268 Dollars. 2, 220, 327 157, 130 13, 466 75 1,183 39, 671 46, 052 709, 952 29, 651 259, 653 57, 986 740, 502 551, 678 250, 687 1, 844, 333 Dollars. 1, 400, 319 10, 685 131 14, 685 4,707 29, 309 41 ,"719 3,976 113, 755 531, 933 8,746 2, 755, 811 12, 078 2,217 4, 050, 533 155, 440 Dollars. 9, 672, 493 228, 513 88, 222 17,717 6, 259 87, 992 781, 537 2, 211, 716 1, 061, 397 2, 673, 154 983, 574 1, 923, 604 1,604 3, 418, 459 52, 417 18, 336 4, 500, 721 239, 708 , 878, 102 11, 251, 732 27, 957, 423 I, 682, 784 , 799, 344 ., 145, 473 48, 657 748, 938 191, 045 169, 623 281, 533 !, 751,111 326, 991 , 551, 013 48, 114 27, 197 134, 626 G5, 753 73, 954 56, 565 3, 395 1,673 12, 124 1,423 5,162 112, 261 2,289 64, 647 27, 404 70, 322 22, 808 21,537 2,101 92, 116 16, 951 3,092 178, 660 3, 794, 983 1, 944, 170 1, 320, 265 73, 666 772, 582 295,918 202, 589 290,113 3, 090, 146 356, 653 1, 827, 470 389, 146 13, 968, 455 a District No. 1 includes all of the United States north of Baltimore and east of the Eocky Mountains. District No. 2 includes the terri- tory having its outlet by the South Atlantic ports. District Ho. 3 includes the territory adjacent to the Gulf ports. District No. 4 embraces that portion of the United States bordering on the Pacific Ocean. WOOD EXPORTS. 123 The following diagram shows graphically the changes in export during the last thirty-two years : Bange of exports of forest products foi- twenty -five years from 1S65 to 1S89, and 1897. I. All forest products, crude aud manufactured. II. Lumljer, timber, and partly manufactured wood products. Years.'Q: E § 1^1 MiJIion Do//ars. 50 40 35 30 25 20 IS 10 8 5 3 1 / / / / / / / \ / ^ t 1 \ I / / / / J / I / \ ^ ' \ \ / / 1 ^ 1 \ / N / / ^ H \ y / \ / / / ' / r- , 1 ^ / S ^ 1 r 1 i \ / ^ 1 ' V 1 ^ ^ \ 1 / 1 -J 1 \ N 1 \ I 1 s s t s \ / — ' \ \ / , ^ / s ^ \ ' \ y / — ■"* m s r* V ^ / --< ■— < / / s 9 7 5 3 1 ^ -7^ ^ rl- — " V "J ^ / . / 1 w 'V — ' s «... -y , -- ■' > ' 's / 'O ^ -~, s / \ ^ _, ^ ^ V- / *.^ ,-' ' S' . ^ III. Naval stores. IV. Wood manufactures, wliolly of wood. V. Manufactures partly of wood. Note. — The above summary of exports, in addition to the materials given in the summary of the Bureau of Statistics as "Wood and its manufactures," properly includes the following prodiicts, being entirely or in their 124 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. material largely derivetl from the forest: Naval stores, bark and tanniug extracts, asLcs, ginseng, sumac, together with matches, agricultural implements, carriages, cars, and musical instrnments. During the last two years a notable increase iu exports has taken place, which brings the figures for wood products and wood manufactures, with nearly $60,000,000, to more than double the amount of ten years ago, and 40 j^er cent more than tive years ago, when the exports amounted to nearly $43,000,000. This increase unfortunately is mostly iu raw materials, logs, and lumber, and is probably due to a very active export trade, especially in oak, with Germany. The naval store industry has also considerably increased in exports. To show how the various articles of export compare the following table will serve, iu which the exports of 1890 and 1897 are recorded : Exports of wood and wood products from the United States for the years ending June 30, 1890 and 1S97. Agricultnral implements : Horsepowers Mowers and reapers Plows and cultivators Ail other, and parts of Bark, and extract of, for tanning- Carriages and b orse cars Cars for steam railroads Ginseng pounds. Organs number. Matches Rosin -barrels. Tar do... Turpentine and pitch do... Spirits of torpentiue gallons. Firewood cords. Boards, deals, and planks M feet. Joists and scantling - . do... Hoops and hoop poles. Laths - M. Palings, pickets, and bed slats U . Shingles M. Shooks Box. other number. staves and headings All other lumber Timber: Sawed M feet. Hewn cubic feet. Logs and other round timber Doors, sash, and blinds Moldings, trimmings, and other house iinishing.s Hogsheads and barrels, empty Household furniture "Wooden ware *. All other wood manufactures , Total . 1,601,377 28, 806 18, 327 11, 248, 920 7,648 612,814, 26, 684 10, 491 2,981 S6, 527 $3, 474 2, 092, 638 878, 874, 2, 066, 980 2, 689, 698 605, 233 750, 683 62, 284 2, 762, 373 56, 105 35, 037 4, 500, 931 16, 746 9, 974, 888 3S1,6J0 69, 97S 24, 951 30, 653 111, 926 118, 557 766, 007 2, 476, 857 1, 365, 141 3, 384, 847 1, 381, 747 1,680,346 320, 840 116,295 425, 278 3, 088, 903 360,515 2, 197, 816 46, 006, 781 2, 429, 116 17, 640 18, 920 17, 302, 823 $3, 127, 415 590, 779 1, 623, 492 241, 979 1.955,760 ' 990, 950 840, 686 799, 132 70, 988 4, 088, 163 34, 878 44, 366 4, 447, 551 (a) 13, 076, 247 423, 875 («) («) (a) 103, 231 529.492 597. 606 3, 922, 931 3, 162, 470 4, 036, 214 1,236.112 3,945,106 857, 401 197, 934 267, 345 3, 785, 143 531, 480 3, 253, 110 50,; a Not specified. While undoubtedly increase in prices influences somewhat these figures, the following diagram, showing the range of prices for export materials, would indicate that this influence has not been appreciable, the prices remaining remarkably even, with the exception of the period after the war, and lately showing even a sinking tendency, although probably only temporarily. Annual average export prices of wood and certain wood products for each of the ten years ending June SO from 1SS2 to 1891, and 1S97. Articles. 1883. 1883. 1884. 1885. 1886. 1887. 1888. 1889. 1890. 1891. 1897. "Wood, and manufactures of: M feet.. ,$16. 90 $16. 78 $17. 06 15.44 2.43 2.96 3.58 11.17 .16 1.83 2.10 2.23 .34 $15. 93 14.06 2.13 2.90 3.20 10.60 .15 1.73 1.77 1.85 .30 $15.20 13.97 2.71 2.45 3.15 10.82 .16 1.74 1.90 2.48 .34 $15.38 14.67 2.39 2.63 3.10 11.79 .16 1.69 1.94 2.08 .34 $16. 39 15.16 2.57 3.07 3.32 12.41 .17 1.53 1.90 1.74 .34 $16. 99 13.37 2.44 2.89 2.72 12.38 .18 1.49 1.99 1.81 .39 $16. 28 14. 30 2.38 3.06 2.27 12.49 .16 1.72 1.95 1.91 .41 $16. 17 13.70 3.61 2.75 3.41 11.88 .18 1.04 2. 26 2.01 .38 .$14. 90 rin 11.70 Laths, palings, pick'ets, bed slats, etc M . . Shingles ...M.. "'z'.bY 3.99 ""s.'oi' 3.60 """'i.'76 Firewood cord.. io.'io .19 Naval stores : 1.96 1.98 do.... 2.35 Spii'its of turpentine gallons.. .47 .44 .25 We find also by inspection of trade journals that, although many of the great staples have in some regions been entirely exhausted and in others approach exhaustion, prices of lumber have not PRICES OF WOOD. 125 advanced in proportion for various reasons. Competition, stimulated by active railroad building, opening up of virgin fields of supply, improved machinery, systematized methods of logging and of handling and marketing material have tended to keep the price down. Meanwhile stumpage has increased rapidly for such kinds as show rapid decrease in supply. Thus white pine stumpage more than doubled in ten years, while walnut, tulip poplar, and ash stumpage has increased manyfold as the supply has grown scarcer. In the markets, while the average price for lumber has advanced but little, the better grades have appreciated disproportionately. From the carefully collected census statistics for ship- Export price of lumher from 1855 to 1895. [The prices given represent market value at time of exportation in the ports whence the lumber was exported, averaged for all ports.] 18S5 I860 ms 1870 1875 1880 1885 1890 1895 ^■=,4 \ \ 31 1 \ 30 1 \ _ 1 \ 21 \ 26 \ \ ZS 1 / \\ 24 1 / \\ 23 1 J 22 1 1 21 N ?0 ■/ ^ 19 / \ 18 / \ \ 17 -- \ li le — — - '; ^^^^ IS / ^-~^ ^ 14 ' ^ -^ ^^ — 13 ^^ '^^ : 12 11 10 y — 7 6 S 4 3 1 ' --. — . ^ = Boards, joisfs and scantlings, M ft. Timber, 100 cubic ft Shingles, M. building, which requires all first-class material, the average price per 1,000 feet, B. M., for the country at large for the following kinds appears: White oak other oaks Hard pine White pine.... Fir Spruce Cedar Cypress Average of all . $30. 70 34.90 24.40 34.70 21.00 20.00 40.00 31.00 30.00 $19.00 (Indiana) 20. 00 (Indiana, Kentucky, West Virgioii 12.00 (Alabama) 20. 00 (Minnesota) 1,5.00 (Washington) 12.00 (Delaware) 17. 00 (Missouri) 18.00 (Mississippi) $125.00 (California). 102.00 (California). 42.00 (Iowa). 100.00 (Georgia). 80.00 (Massachusetts). 50.00 (Washington). 65.00 (Connecticut). 50. 00 (Delaware) . Firewood, even in the densely settled parts, remains stationary in price, on account of aban- doned farms and culled woodlands producing it in abundance; in fact, in many sections its value has decreased, competition of coal aiding in its reduction. FHcesfor lumber and stumpage of white pine. [Compiled from report of Saginaw Board of Trade.] 1866. 1807. 1868. 1869 . 1870. 1871- 1872. 1873 . 1874. iber, per 1,000 Stumpage, per 1,000 'eet B. M. leet. $11. 50 to $12. 00 12.00 12.00 12.50 12.00 12.50 13.00 11.50 10.50 9.60 9.00 12.50 12.50 13.00 12.50 13.00 12.00 11.00 10.00 10.00 9.50 $1. 00 to I 1.25 1.50 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.25 Tear. 1877. 1878. 1879 . 1880 . 1881 . 1883. 1883 . 1884 . 1885 . 1880 . 1887 . Lumber, per 1,000 Stumpage, per 1,000 feet 13. M. feet. to $9.75 10.00 11.00 12.00 13.00 14.50 14.00 13.00 13.00 13.00 13.00 2. .50 2.75 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.00 4.50 4.50 4.50 5.00 6.50 6.50 6.50 126 FORESTKY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTDEE. To show what position we occupy as exporters of forest products the following tabulations reproduced from the report of the Division of Forestry for 1887 will be of interest, placing the United States fourth among the seven or eight great exporters, the general position having hardly changed to date. Austria- Hungary should have been included in this comparison; it would not, however, materially change the relations. Meview of the timber export trade of the jirincijial exjjorthnj countries, (a) Sweden Norway Finland Eussia (imperfect) Germany (official) Italy (oak staves) Canada (official) United States (official) Total i, 216, 800 I, 691, 400 ;, 927, 700 . 507, 390 Cubic feet. 113, 805, 285 64, 812, 000 39, 480, 725 146, 352, 340 54, 287, OOn 357, 400 172, 910, 890 122, 173, 650 714, 179, 280 Cuhic feet. 121, 966, 020 65, 455, 500 42. 095, 625 149, (i09, 955 63,15:1,100 717,850 168,028,850 114,074,370 744, 901, 270 Amount and prices of lieivn and satcn wood (exclusive of staves and furniture wood) imported into Great Britain, and jjroportion furnished by various countries, (a) Amount, Price per 100 cubic feet. Approximate percentages. Tear. Norway, Sweden. Hussia. Canada. Germany. United States. Other countries. 1831 CuUc feet. 276, 757, 300 309, 758, 350 322,811,900 299, 863. 750 308, 248, 950 268, 059, 960 275,451,000 $2.72 2.54 2.42 2.26 2.25 2.11 (?) 3G 36 36 37 37 38 38.7 20 24 20 22 23 23 23.7 23 21 26 20 20 21 19 4 5 5 5 5 3 3.6 7 6 C 7 6 7 7 9 8 7 9 9 8 8 294, 421, 600 2.38 36.8 22.3 21.5 4.4 6.7 8.3 As to imports, the changes from year to year are also comparatively trifling, though, of course, in the direction of increase, remaining also for the last ten years below $30,000,000 and ranging within $10,000,000 to $14,000,000. In these imports about one -fifth represents materials which we do not or can not produce in our country— such as certain cabinet woods; mahogany, ebony, etc., cork, and certain dye and tanning materials. The other four-fifths is material which comes into competition with our own products, and the bulk of this comes from Canada. Yet, balancing our imports with exports from and to that country, we do not get more than about $10,000,000 worth from our neighbor, an insignificant percentage of the one-billion dollar annual home product. This wiU appear from the following tables: Value of imports of wood, and wood manufactures from Canada to the United States. [United States Bureau of Statistics.] From — 1892. 1893. 1894. 1895. 1896. Nova Scotia and New Brunswiclc : $413, 536 742, 875 1, 640, 804 9, 012, 215 $340, 680 888, 789 2, 642, 094 9, 974, 274 $334, 267 658, 806 3, 415, 403 7,7 55,856 $1, 972, 885 179, 489 9, 240, 665 950, 778 108, 179 $2, 763, 630 85, 056 Quebec and Ontario : 11, 700, 851 133, 148 11, 809, 430 13, 845, 837 12, 144, 332 12, 451, 996 WOOD IMPORTS. 127 Value of exports of wood and wood manufactures from the United States to Canada. [United States Bureau of Statistics ] To- 1892. 1893. 1894. 1895. 1896. $115,110 1, 746, 867 100, 743 $92, 208 1, 990, 831 100, 012 $208, 737 2, 740, 868 111,914 $190, 186 2, 416, 728 146, 423 $216, 977 Total 1, 963, 730 2, 183, 051 3,061,519 2, 753, 347 The character and relative proportion of the imports will appear from the following tabulation, in which the segregation of articles free of duty and dutiable refers to conditions prevailing in 1892 and 1893; while in 1897 the bulk of lumber and timber was on the free list. Adding dye- woods and their extracts, sumac and other tanniug materials, and such smaller wood products as form an inconspicuous part in manufactures, the amount of imports would be increased by about $1,500,000. Imports of wood and wood products for home consumption during the years ending June SO, 1S9S, 1S93, and 1897. Free of dntij. Firewood cords. Lo^s and round timber Hailroad ties number . Sbingle and stave bcilts Handle and bead bolts Ship timber Sbip planking Hop poles. , ebony, niahog.-iny, etc . Hemlock bark cords. Bamboos, ratt.ans, canes, el c , Briar root or briar -wood, and the like, partially manufactured Ashes. Fence posts Tar and pitch of wood barrels. Turpentine, spirits of gallons. Turpentine. Venice pounds. Pitch, Burgundy do... Total fre Wood unmanufactured not specially X'rovided for Timber; Used for spars, wharves, etc cubic feet.. Hewn and sawed do Squared or sided not specially provided for do Lumber : Boards, planks, deals, and other sawed lumber M feet.. Sawed lumber, not otherwise specjtied do Sawed boards, planka, deals — cedar, ebony, etc Clapboards ." M . . Hubs, posts, laths, and otherrough blocks. Laths M . , Pickets and palings M. Cedar poles, posts, and railroad ties No. Shingles II. Sliooks Staves Manufactures, all others : Barrels or boxes containing oranges, lemons, etc., apart from con- tents Casks and barrels, empty , Chair cane or reeda manufactured Cabinetware and household furniture Osier or willow, prepared for manufacture Osier or willow, manufactures of Wood pulp tons.. Veneers of wood Bark extract, for tanning pounds.. Sumac do — Corks and cork bark m.anufactured do — Matches , !Frames and sticks for umbrellas All other manufactures of wood or of which wood is the component of chief value Total dutiable - 198, 850 "748,626' 9, 337 36, 642 281,430 12, 295 445, 804 14, 036 259,157 3,157 , 115, 986 12, 973 :, 724, 703 671, 064 $411, 482 1,188,797 131, 295 44, 387 59, 573 31,721 79, 622 18,412 230, 959 48, 395 2, 234, 003 1,368,344 356, 346 1, 198, 813 39, 185 54, 855 31,351 3, 352 3,470 3,092 4,386 199, 187 '6l'9,'235 1,179 10, 273 20, 694 207, 220 $403, 601 2, 164, 273 97, 857 53, 505 53, 129 29, 865 8,404 38, 968 332, 244 61,634 2, 662, 658 1,641,294 241, 244 922, 529 40, 470 76, 306 31, 051 6,376 4,077 2,365 3,558 7, 442, 640 1, 416, 331 5, 117 99, 187 29, 823 327, 359 22, 679 259, 583 731,299 62, 981 551,657 467, 514 919 181,337 411,712 82, 633 123, 820 1,831,231 8,264 408 294, 744 9,432 1, 419, 484 65, 139 327, 442 5, 483 1,815.949 470, 001 8, 365, 408 26, 952 943 62, 868 492 0, 283, 8(15 1, 533, 274 24, 205 113,988 28, 227 462, 140 36, 700 271, 236 916, 759 45, 746 646, 613 555, 987 531 173, 907 382, 199 64, 427 125,916 2, 909, 097 750 71 398, 400 351,731 133,152 H 17, 258 $252, 352 2, 616, 397 244, 817 (a) 39, 924 (a) 342, 320 (a) 651, 897 (a) 1, 273, 101 1, 323, 409 133, 051 806, 703 54, 342 (a) 27, 024 172,813 1, 296, 503 205, 242 272, 166 13, 047 100, 672 461, 413 207, 671 (a) a Not specified, included in other items. other materials. 128 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. In former years the imports were more closely differentiated in the reports of the Statistical Bureau, especially as to the kinds of cabinet woods. To show this differentiation, and also to enable us to form an idea of the amount of wood rei^resented in the importations of materials which we could produce, and in our exports, an estimate of their cubic contents was made in the report of the Division of Forestry for 1887. A portion of the tables, which covered the period from 1880 to 1887, is here reproduced. It appears from these that our imports represent in the neighborhood of 100,000,000 cubic feet of wood, while our exports, worth nearly $(30,000,000, must at ijresent amount to j)robably 200,000,000 cubic feet. From these tabulations we also see that we pay for imports at the rate of 15 to 16 cents per cubic foot, while our exports are figured at between 11 and 12 cents. Exports of wood and loood products, lSSS-1887. Articles. 1883. 1884. 1885. 1886. 1887. Cubic feet. Value. Cubic feet. . Value. Cubic feet. Value. Cubic feet. Value. Cubic feet. Value. 432, 600 41,617,166 1, 737, 300 a 301, 100 938, 826 357, 332 a48,674,010 13, 063, 6C0 19, 913, 220 31, 757, 962 ?15, 552 8, 377, 908 138, 983 45, 108 203, 779 89, 333 4, 867, 401 1, 567, 631 3, 102, 232 1, 540, 637 254, 016 f 34, 438, 360 \ 1,048,456 4,455,900 1 153, 000 1 114, 540 857, 141 653, 985 f 4,579.311 \ 40, 297, 200 8, 135, 000 1 16,704,331 \ 10, 615, 065 21, 307, 900 $9, 464 7, 079, 701 195,043 356, 470 22, 295 15, 615 183, 521 186, 853 1, 526, 437 2, 686, 473 976,191 2, 247, 328 1, 735, 382 1, 704, 635 209, 376 34, 231, 192 1, 081, 324 4,332,450 158, 617 174, 881 637,042 720, 426 4, 396, 395 29, 261, 100 9,841,200 12,770,667 8, 411, 066 21, 147, 200 $6, 985 6, 570, 576 183, 166 346, 598 20, 277 28, 615 132, 976 205. 836 1, 465, 465 1,950,794 1, 182, 142 1, 009, 485 1, 289, 281 1,691,780 261,408 36, 155, 464 898, 143 2, 804, 830 295, 855 150, 645 581,996 604, 498 3, 295, 041 30,451,500 9, 792, 500 10. 112, 000 5,037,612 15, 732, 100 $8, 568 6,620,911 151, 119 224, 385 48, 377 10, 544 103,049 174, 723 1,198.444 2, 030, 097 1. 175, 009 2, 092, 557 829, 019 1,258,575 160, 600 35, 396, 666 717, 250 2, 673, 150 221, 008 109, 680 541, 016 547, 016 2,815,515 30, 089, 325 10, 036, 600 13, 967, 410 4,260,639 13, 015, 975 $4, 975 Boards, deals, andi 0,531,144 Joists and aoantli-ng...) Hoops and liooppoles, 213, 852 Laths 1 Palings, pickets, and J 32, 940 13, 853 101, 282 Shooks, other 1 Staves and headings.../ All other lumber Timber, sawed \ Timber, hewed J Logs and other timber. . 938, 505 2, 005, 955 1,204,393 1, 976, 750 697, 915 1, 041, 278 Total uumannfac. 158, 793, 116 20, 948, 624 143, 614, 205 18,925,408 127, 372, 936 16,683,878 122, 173, 652 15, 934, 467 114, 651, 850 15, 065, 879 Manufactures of— Doors, sash, andblinds Moldings, trimmings, 393, 256 231, 548 426, 912 3, 239, 775 541, 685 2, 290, 784 294,942 173, 661 320, 184 2, 429, 831 406, 264 1, 724, 838 378, 688 175, 204 432,275 2, 838, 256 428, 619 2, 120, 952 284, 016 131, 403 324, 206 2, 128, 692 321,464 1, 590, 714 356, 007 139, 913 663, 277 2, 829, 083 441, 647 1, 848, 531 267, 005 104, 935 497, 458 2, 121, 812 331,235 1, 386, 398 364, 437 152, 080 609, 333 2, 638, 327 434, 648 1, 973, 257 273 328 Hog.shoads and bar. 401, 645 3, 439, 158 689, 072 3, 263, 615 301, 234 2, 679, 369 510, 770 2, 447, 711 456, 992 Household furniture. . 1, 978, 745 325, 986 All other manufac. 1, 479, 943 Total manufactures . 7, 793, 445 5, 845, 084 7, 132, 960 5, 349, 720 6, 373, 994 4, 780, 495 6, 278, 458 4, 708, 843 6, 172, 082 4, 629, 055 Naval stores : 3, 242, 818 4, 306, 229 f 2, 909, 074 \ 91, 248 I lis, 842 3,885,500 2, 198, 267 66, 449 29, 847 2, 690, 231 1,963,091 36, 208 32, 999 2, 811, 777 2 301,636 39,772 Turpentine and pitcbj 3, 489, 985 Total naval stores and spirits of tar- 7, 609, 047 7, 004, 700 4, 984, 794 4, 844, 075 Bark and tanning ex- 87, 528 124, 499 3, 883, 919 3, 061, 639 1,20 J. 613 292, 851 106, 809 3, 442, 767 3, 552, 814 1,079,118 346, 218 69, 840 2, 561, 602 2, 898, 698 941,344 283, 086 82, 204 2. 367, 258 2, 584, 717 871,446 41, 499 35, 603 23,280 27, 401 103,388 25, 793 77, 379 Agriuultnralimplements 142, 112 115, 944 831, 837 Miscellaneous 163, 965 8, 361, 197 42, 703, 952 177, 715 150, 924, 880 8, 474, 359 139, 224 6, 817, 702 130, 789 128, 582, 899 6; 188, 724 31, 676, 109 26, 793 120, 749, 726 3,287,314 166, 750, 526 39, 754, 187 133, 886, 154 33, 266, 869 28, 842, 881 a The estimates of cubic feet marked, (a) : be taken as only approximately correct. i based upou the values giv ud not upon official report^ of quantity, and are therefore to. CONIFEROUS SUPPLIES. Imports of loood and wood products, 1S8S-1SS7 . 129 1883. 1 1884. 1 1886. 1886. 1 1887. Articles. Cubic feet. Yalue. Cubic feet. Value. Cubic feet. Value. 1 Cubic feet. Value. Cvbic feet. Value. Free of duty. Wood, unmanufactured, not else-whero speci- fied: 16, 260, 804 7, 673, 100 »10,a77,617 7, 456, 080 202, 468 86, 436 $397, 391 613, 847 622, 657 186,402 60, 617 28, 812 16, 249, 82 1 5, 617. 300 6, 764, 359 9, 933, 680 190, 016 125, 829 323, 200 $373, 912 449, 382 382, 719 248, 342 47, 504 41, 943 40, 399 5,941 56,765 364, 410 80, 961 8,512 6, 987, 694 28, 785 60, 690 257, 529 57, 596 215, 454 84, 066 280, 150 31, 686 668, 440 158. 419 14, 560 348, 055 15, 597, 216 4,811,800 3, 850, 301 4, 847, 080 58, 652 63, 369 150, 200 $338, 806 384, 948 187, 168 121, 177 14, 663 22, 123 18, 780 9,637 47, 334 288, 979 38, 960 11, 712 6, 189, 781 41, 827 59, 039 199, 819 51,027 158, 043 70, 015 253,703 19,666 16,910,400 5, 748, 000 7, 265, 085 5, 374, 280 156, 076 56, 571 100, 000 $349, 134 459, 843 377, 443 134, 367 39, 019 18, 857 12,511 6,897 36, 849 236, 198 25, 827 2,221 5, 639, 813 59, 389 60, 615 198, 756 61, 318 171, 523 105,449 269, 961 9,273 564,276 176, 679 9,079 34, 187 1,224 308, 101 15, 164 238, 380 I 462,809 72, 403 520, 184 69, 043 2,807 10, 910 42, 363 479, 861 46, 957 2,698 12, 641 219, 583 891,392 16, 464, 288 7, 338, 400 8, 424, 833 5, 254, 800 181, 988 98, 094 26, 224 $327, 349 Lo^a andround timber. 484, 945 Shineleand stave bolts. 45,497 W H 1 19, 132 wooapuix) 47, 353 343, 559 324, 202 18,990 7, 009, 644 30, 224 66, 620 205,513 60, 494 281,831 37, 446 27, 410 127. 316 459, 759 91,400 272, 956 Dutiable. Wood, unmanufactured, not elsewhere specified. 2, 593, 616 156, 656 43, 754, 061 918, 933 370, 111 2, 779. 648 610, 400 1, 469, 650 149, 784 109, 538 647, 688 71,812 44,725,966 841, 253 337, 167 2, 982, 784 375, 920 1, 206, 282 336, 264 1, 040, 546 311,680 73, 290 41,854,165 998, 807 327, 993 2, 477, 008 375, 920 976, 556 280, 060 942,318 206, 616 20, 231 39, 933, 981 1, 303, 413 337, 161 2, 457, 216 406, 080 1, 107, 414 421, 796 1, 002, 710 142, 896 9,967 40,297,865 1, 397, 450 260, 867 3, 061, 728 388, 800 1, 254, 176 463, 996 1,129,258, 17, 862 1,025 Lumber : Boards, planks, deals, 5, 825, 320 Hubs, posts, lasts, and rough blocks 46, 956 241, 077 Pickets and palings 185, 611 Sliooks and packing 115, 999 StavR'i Bark extracts, chiefly 51 504, 289 147, 132 11, 628 106, 395 466,378 Cork and cork bark, 209, 532 8,101 4, 064 1, 957, 208 12,192 [ 2,576 233, 291 . 54, 424 26«,05S [ 865, 559 38, 953 424, 058 47, 824 814 12, 336 101, 305 406, 8U9 313, 348 10, 529 116,018 1, 591, 322 35,465 11, 396 8,486 1, 602, 744 25, 458 Manufactures : a Casks and barrels Cabinet ware and fur- 1,896 295, 064 51, 691 237, 834 1. 607,007 83, 921 668, 868 63,614 365 7,051 45, 206 1,411,916 1,494 268, 810 28, 665 202, 663 \ 557, 305 223, 016 520, 605 26,311 432 1,117 8,698 592, 771 52, 306 654 5,984 226, 491 879, 243 I 1,367,690 1,780 387,234 Osiers and willows, peeled and dried Osier and willow bas- 18, 516 312, 179 AU other manufac- [ 482,349 Free of duty. Cabinet woods : h Box 35, 202 263, 825 Ebony 51, 211 1,685 23, 975 66, 513 :::::::::::: 663, 473 Mahogany n I7* ocr 1 62, 308 Eose 4,009 5,834 315, 173 935, 871 1,339 All •other c.-il)iiiet 465, 814 934,427 252. 084 Cork wood or bark, un- manufactured ! 1, 239, 247 96, 830, 134 15,299,481 93, 477, 230 15,447,292 79,446,796 12,893,405 84,186,712 12,461,985 87, 796, 860 13, 341, 609 ' a E,,timate,l from v.alues reported, actual measuren.onts not being. given The principal ob|ect m the comp^ilation of these tables has b^^^^ to show the quantity of forest material involved in our exports and imports. All estimates ot quantity are made on the basis ot the cib^^ foot as a common standard. Where the reports from which these tables are compiled do not give quantities but only values, the quantities have beei estimated from the values. In the case of manufactures, such as barrels, cabinet ware, etc., articles are estimated to have one- tt M oftolir value iuma^^^ is reckoned as worth 25 cents per cubic foot. Kound timber is reckoned at 8 cents per cubic foot, ship timber at 25. Shingles are estimated at 14 cubic feet per 1,000, and lath at 16 teet per 1,000. ,„„„;„*. „f ilt will be seen by a comiiarison of figures th-it only about one-fifth in value of all importations of wood and wood products consists of articles not producible in this country. From the preceding tabulatioii of the annual cut of timber it appears that about three- fourths of our consumption comes from coniferous growth— pines, spruces, lirs, hemlock, red- woods, cedar, etc. This particular portion of our resource is, therefore, the most important, and again the white pine has so far formed the bulk of these supplies. It will, therefore, appear appropriate to reproduce such portions of Senate Document Xo. 40, furnished by the Division of Forestry, as will elucidate the economic condition of this particular part of our resource. H. Doc. 181 9 130 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. CONSUMPTION AND SUPPLIES OF CONIFEROUS WOODS. Ever since the publication of tlie statistics of the Tenth Census regarding the white pine timber standing — nearly iifteen j^ears — there has been a contention as to their correctness. Time has proven their extreme inaccuracy, for, while then only eight years' supply was supposed to be standing when the annual cut was 10,000,000,000 feet, we have, with an increased cut, lumbered' white pine for sixteen years and still there is a considerable quantity left. Yet at last the end is visible, and even the most sanguine can not longer hide the truth that within the next decade we shall witness the practical exhaustion of this greatest staj)le of our lumber market. As stated before, even now there are really no statistics upon which to base a correct prog- nostication as to the date of this exhaustion. Bstiiuates only are available, and estimates of standing timber are proverbially unreliable, mostly underestimates, and always to be taken with caution. Furthermore, if an estimate of the duration of supplies of a special kind is to be made, it is necessary not only to know the supplies and the present cut, but also to foresee the changes in the cut, the replacement in the market by other kinds, and the economies that may be prac- ticed in the methods of logging; as, for instance, by the reduction in the size acceptable for saw logs, by cutting smaller trees, by the use of band saws, and by closer utilization generally, whereby the duration of supplies can be lengthened. Thus, while the estimates of the Tenth Census were based on a minimum log of, say, 10 or even 12 inches diameter, in the present practice 8-inch and even 5-inch logs are used ; while in 1880 hemlock went begging and whitewoodhad not yet been found to answer as a good substitute for white pine, and Southern pine had not yet begun to compete, the interchangeableness of all these species in the market now renders the forecast still more complicated. Nevertheless, it has become apparent that while white pine will be cut in the United States for many decades, as owners of the stumpage control their holdings, the enormous amounts which have hitherto been cut annually can not be had beyond the next five or six years, even with Canada to help in eking out our deficiencies. CONSUMPTION. From the statistics of the cut since 1873, compiled by the Northwestern Lumberman, it appears that since that year the stupendous amount of 154-,000,000,000 feet, B. M., and 83,000,000,000 shingles, or altogether in round numbers 105,000,000,000 feet of white pine has been cut in the States of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota; and this total may be readily increased, by allowing for cuts in other parts of the country, to over 200,000,000,000 feet, B. M., which this single species has yielded to build up our civilization in the last twenty-three years, or in the last ten years at the rate of eight to nine billion feet, an amount to produce which continuously at least 30,000,000 acres of well-stocked and well-kept pine forest would be required. Divided for convenience and comparison into six-year periods, the cut in the Northwest appears to have been as follows, according to the source cited : White pine sawed iy mills of Michigan, Wisoonsin, and Minnesota. [In billion feet, B. M., round numbers. 1 1S73-1878. 1879-1884. 1885-1890. 1891-1896. 23 2 40 3 48 3 44 2 25 43 51 46 A total of 165,000,000 feet, B. M. From 1873, when the cut was about 4,000,000,000 feet, the draft on this resource was con- stantly increased until 1892, when it reached its maximum, nearly 9,000,000,000 feet, B. M., and 4,500,000,000 shingles. Then a gradual decline began to 7,000,000,000 feet in 1893, 0,750,000,000 feet in 1891, rising once more to over 7,000,000,000 in 1895, and reaching the lowest output in 1890, with 5,500,000,000 feet; shingle production declining similarly to 1,500,000,000, which, translated CONIFEROUS SUPPLIES. 131 into board measure, raises the requirements for tliat year to little less than 7,500,000,000 feet. This decline does not necessarily indicate any giving out of the su^jply, but might have been due, and probably was due, to business depression generally and to the competition of other kinds of lumber and shingles. The total output of white pine in 1890, before the maximum was reached and when the cut of the N'orthwest was recorded for lumber and shingles as a little over 9,000,000,000 feet, was placed by the competent agent of the Eleventh Census, in charge of the statistics of lumber manufacture, at 11,300,000,000 feet of white pine and Norway pine, or about 25 per cent as coming from other regions, while hemlock, spruce, and hr were estimated as furnishing 7,900,000,000 feet, so that our requirements of these classes of timber may for ordinary years be placed in round numbers at 20,000,000,000 feet. In discussing the question of duration of supplies it can, as stated before, be reasonably done only by considering at the same time all supplies of a similar nature — namely, of the white pine, Jforway pine, spruce, and hemlock at least— which can be and are used more or less inter- changeably, and will be still more so in the future, to meet our immense requirements for this class of material. That these requirements are not to remain stationary, but have a tendency to increase, may be seen from the development of the wood-pulp industry. "While in 1881 the daily capacity of wood-pulp mills was less than 750,000 pounds, it had more thau doubled in 1887, and then increased steadily, doubling almost every three or four years, as follows : Pounds. 1887 1,687,900 1888 2,153,500 1889 3,474,100 Pounds. 1892 5,136,300 1893 6,495,400 1894 7, 231, 900 1890 4,012,200 j 1895 9,027,000 1891 4,497,200 i This last figure may be conservatively estimated to correspond to an annual consumption of probably 800,000,000 feet, B. M., of material. There was imported from 1891 to 1896 wood pulp to the value of $10,337,659, as follows: 1891 $1,902,689 1892 1,820,143 1893 2,908,884 1894 1,664, .547 1895 984,692 1896 1,056,704 Total 10,337,659 SUPPLIES. While the above figure of 20,000,000,000 feet, B. M., gives a fair idea as to average consump- tion, which may vary perhaps by 10 per cent one way or the other, we are much less certain as to supplies standing. For Minnesota the chief fire warden of the State has attempted a canvass, the result of which would indicate nearly 18,000,000,000 feet as standing in the State, including Norway pine, the estimate having been made for 1895. This has been criticised by competent judges as much too high; nevertheless, adding the estimates of all other kinds of coniferous wood, some of which as yet remains unused, it is thought that a statement in round numbers of 20,000,000,000 feet of coniferous wood in Minnesota fit for lumbering, though large, would be reasonably enough near the truth for our purposes in forecasting the probabilities. For Wisconsin we have a very close estimate, made by the Division of Forestry in 1897 and fully described in Bulletin ISTo. 16 of that Division. According to this canvass the amount of white pine standing is still 15,000,000,000 feet, B. M., and of all coniferous wood 29,000,000,000 feet, while the writer in the Senate document had estimated it at 30,000,000,000 feet. For Michigan a canvass from towusliip to township has been made by the commissioner of labor of the State for 1896, which develops an area of 2,250,000 acres in pine and hemlock. If the average stand per acre, which the census of 1890 showed as 6,000 feet for white pine, is applied to the whole area, the amount of timber standing would be 15,000,000,000 feet, which, for 132 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. safety, we may increase by 20 per cent, or say 18,000,000,000 feet, of wliicli 6,000,000,000 would be white pine. For Pennsylvania the partial returns of the commissioner of forestry would make an estimate of 10,000,000,000 feet pine and hemlock appear highly extravagant. In a private communication he estimates the standing timber of white pine at 500,000,000, of spruce at 70,000,000, and of hem- lock at 5,000,000,000 feet, B. M. For New York, without much basis, 5,000,000,000 may be allowed as an extravagant figure, with a cut of not less than 500,000,000 feet; another 3,000,000,000 for New Hampshire; and, with a closer estimate, based on figures given by the forest commissioner of Maine, that State may be given at best not to exceed 10,000,000,000 feet of spruce, pine, and hemlock. It is well known that in the "Pine Tree" State the white pine is long since reduced to a small proportion of the coTiiferous wood standing. The spruce country is confined to the ele- vated northern half of the State, north of a line from the White Mountains to Mars Hill, with a spruce-bearing area of probably less than 6,000 square miles. The stand on the two main spruce-producing drainage basins, the Kennebec and Androscoggin, has been estimated at round 5,000,000,000 feet, B. M., with a present cut of round 350,000,000 feet. Partial statistics of the cut would indicate a total cut of coniferous woods in Maine of not far from 500,000,000 feet in 1895 and preceding years. In all these estimates of standing timber the writer has leaned toward extravagance rather than understatement, and thus the total is found to add up 100,000,000,000 feet of coniferous growth in the Northern States, of which less than half is pine, to satisfy a cut of at least 18,000,000,000 to 20,000,000,000 feet per annum. The writer does not say that iu less than six years every stick of pine, spruce, and hemlock will be cut, for such figures as these do not admit of mathematical deductions, but the gravity of the question of supply is certainly apparent. Even doubling the estimates, it is found that, with the present rate and method of cutting, ten years would exhaust our virgin timber of these classes. We should add that much more intimate knowledge exists now regarding these supplies than was possible iu 1880, when much of the country was still unopened and unknown. OTHER CONIFEROUS SUPPLIES. The Southern pines, to be sure, will enter more largely into competition, as also the cypress and other coniferous woods of the South. The entire region within which i^ines occur in the South in merchantable condition comprises about 330,000 square miles, or, in round numbers, 147,000,000 acres; for laud in farms, 10,000,000 acres must be deducted, and allowing as much as two-thirds of the remainder as representing pine lands (the other to hard woods), we would have about 90,000,000 acres on which pine may occur. An average growth of 3,000 feet per acre — an extravagant figure when referred to such an area — would make the possible stand 270,000,000,000 feet, provided it was in virgin condition and not largely cut out or culled. Altogether, the writer has reached the conclusion that, adding all other coniferous wood in the South, an estimate of 300,000,000,000 feet would be extravagant, which, added to the Northern supply of coniferous wood, gives a total supply of 400,000,000,000 feet to draw from in the Eastern United States; and as the entire cut of these classes of wood appears now to be not less than 25,000,000,000 feet a year, and probably is nearer 30,000,000,000, it may be stated with some degree of certainty that not fifteen to twenty years' supply of coniferous timber can be on hand in the Eastern States. In 1886 the writer ventured a statement that there was 600,000,000,000 feet of coniferous growth in the Eastern States; the cut was then estimated at 12,000,000,000 feet. If an average cut of 20,000,000,000 for the last ten years be allowed, which is reasonable, the present estimate of 400,000,000,000 standing would lend color to the approximate correctness of these figures. If the inquiry is extended to the coniferous growth of the Pacific coast, which, in spite of the distance, must finally come to our aid, only partial comfort wUl be found. The writer's estimate of 1,000,000,000,000 feet standing has been by competent judges declared extravagant. The annual cut on the Pacific coast approaches certainly 4,000,000,000 feet; hence, adding these figures to those obtained for the East, with 1,400,000,000,000 feet standing at best, and a cut of at least 30,000,000,000 feet per annum, there would appear to be, under most favorable contingencies, not CANADIAN SUPPLIES. 133 more than forty to fifty years of this most uecessary part of our wood supply in sight if the same lavishness in the use of it is continued. To be sure, there is some new growth and reproduction going on. The probability as to the former is that decay and destruction by fire offset the accretion on the old timber of coniferous growth, and no one familiar with our forest conditions and present methods will indulge in a hope that the reproduction and young growth can materially change the results. Long before any new reproduction can have attained log size we will have got rid of the virgin supplies. CANADIAN SUPPLIES. As to importations, there is practically only one country from which such timber can be obtained — Canada. The statistician of the department of agriculture of the Dominion of Canada in 1895 estimated the white pine standing at 37,300,000,000 feet, with an annual cut of nearly 2,000,000,000 feet, including spars, masts, shingles, etc., which, as will readily be seen, can not materially change the position stated before, namely, that the next decade may witness the practical exhaustion of this greatest lumber staple. Even allowing 10,000,000,000 feet of merchantable spruce, which may be found in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, such allowance can not appreciably retard this exhaustion, since the total annual cut of Canadian coniferous wood exceeds 5,000,000,000 feet. Fifty per cent may be readily added to the estimates of standing timber in eastern Canada, thus assuming 75,000,000,000 feet as on hand, and still Canada's cut alone will exhaust her resources in fifteen years, and this country will assist her to get rid of it in less time. So far the importations from Canada, although rapidly increasing, have been insignificant wlieu compared with our home consumption. The importations of all kinds of forest products and wood manufactures have been hardly over 1 per cent of our own ijroductiou, and, if we confine the inqxiiry to coniferous material only, the proportion of the importation of this class of materials rises to hardly 5 per cent of our home production of the same kinds. To arrive at an idea of the extent to which we have so far drawn on our neighbors for conif- erous supplies, an atterax^t has been made in the following table to segregate from the trade and navigation reports of the Dominion of Canada those items which have reference to this discussion, translating into board measure approximately the returns given in other measures. These figures are probably somewhat below the truth, but are sufficiently accurate for the present purpose, and are moreover the only ones available. M.rports of coniferous products from Canada to United States. [In millions of feet, B. M., rounded off.] Coniferous products. 1877-1882. 1883-1888. 1889-1894. 1892. 1893. 1894. 1895. 1896. Logs; 6 years. 6.5 9.0 2.2 6 years. 9.5 26.6 4.6 6" years. 20.0 86.9 504.5 5.0 23.0 74.0 5.9 21.0 127.0 5.2 17.9 277.9 2.2 25.0 212.2 Pine 16.7 40.7 611.4 102.0 153.9 301.0 239.4 Lumber : 31.5 43.5 965.8 1.4 14.9 3.9 108.7 64.8 1, 132. 9 .8 21.8 1.6 (a) 204.5 250.7 3, 098. 1 .7 132.2 165.5 {a) 53.0 38.7 651.4 33! 4 51.0 89.4 759.1 42.5 42.8 1, 018. 3 44.2 44.0 549.5 40.3 36.5 65.8 Timbers 30.0 62.0 61.5 76.3 1,061.0 1, 330. 6 3,851.7 806.7 1. 001. 8 1,201.6 779.8 1,077.7 1, 371. 3 4,463.1 908.7 1,155.7 1, 502. 6 1, 019. 2 aToo small to be stated in millions of feet, B. M. It will bo seen that each six years' period shows an increase, and that the exports of the last three years were only 25 per cent lower than those of the six preceding years. The largest imports were recorded for 1891, when nearly 1,250,000,000 feet partly manufactured coniferous wood and 300,000,000 feet of logs of conifers were imported. This latter importation increased steadily up 134 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS V. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. to that time, furnishing raw material mainly to our Michigan mills, whose home supjily is largely gone. Eegardiug the importations of logs, it is interesting to observe that they increased in quantity, without reference to the existence or absence of the export duty which the Canadian Government imposed in 1886 and abolished in 1891, and the price per M feet also seems uninfluenced. The necessity for these supplies to our mills, especially the mills of the Saginaw (Michigan) district, began to assert itself in 1886, the very year the export duty was imposed to prevent, if possible, these exports of raw materia!, and has grown constantly, the decline in 1895 and 1896 simply marking the general business depression. Logs imported from Canada. Piue logs. Spruce logs. Hemlock logs. Tear. Quantity, M feet. Value. Price per M feet. Quautity, M feet'. Value. Price perM feet. Quantity, M feet: Value. Price perM feet. 974 380 2,869 6,350 468 10, 839 32,144 36, 099 7ii, 963 127, 084 277, 947 212,231 157, 400 $3, 012 2,S00 24,4.52 49, 242 3,875 94, 287 261, 626 313, 281 651, 540 1, 056, 355 2, 359, 951 1, 860, 319 1,423,489 $8.23 6.05 8. .52 7.75 8.28 8.70 8.14 8.54 8.81 8.32 8.49 8.77 9.06 6,820 11, 165 17, 541 17, 626 20, 714 20, 360 26. 073 28, 494 23, 404 21, 103 17, 926 25, 095 15, 182 $31, 793 49, 449 81, 874 88,773 99, 450 137, 298 156, 898 158, 384 141,168 123, 254 107. 250 90, 990 86, 075 $4.06 4.43 4.67 6.65 4.80 6.71 6.02 5.56 6.02 5,84 6.00 3.64 5.67 4,818 3,629 6,881 4, 206 4, 512 6,420 2,962 2,210 5,057 5,880 5,217 2,217 4,761 $19, 168 14, 752 28, 076 17, 447 18, 383 24,261 12, 288 9,802 21, 426 20, 036 19, 713 9,017 18, 607 $3.98 1885 1887 1889 1890 . . . 1892 .. . 1893 1896 It will be evident from these statements that our virgin coniferous supplies must share the fate which the buffalo has experienced, unless a practical application of rational forestry methods and a more economic use of supplies is presently inaugurated. Since coniferous wood represents two-thirds to three fourths of our entire lumber-wood consumption, and its reproduction requires more care and lofiger time than that of hard woods, the iirgency of changing methods in its use and treatment will be apparent. No more striking statement of the decline in white-pine supplies could be made than to cite the number of feet in logs which passed the nine leading booms in the lower peninsula in Michigan in 1887, namely 2,217,104,985 as against 505,134,656 feet in 1893, a decrease of nearly 80 per cent, chargeable no doubt in part to other modes of transportation, but nevertheless foreshadowing unmistakably the practical exhaustion of sui^plies. Another indication of the waning of sujjplies may be found in the increase of prices paid for stumpage. While, owing to improvement in means of transportion machinery and mill practice and to the close comj)etition of mills, the increase in the price of lumber has been comparatively small except for the best grades, which are becoming scarcer with the reduction in the size of the average log than the poorer grades, the prices paid for the trees in the woods, the stumpage has more than doubled for each decade from 1866 to 1886, as appears from the table given above. At present it would probably be difficult to find any stumpage desirably located at the highest price prevailing in 1887, and this year (1898) stumpage even of the southern pine has gone up to $4.00 and $6.00 per M feet. Returning now to a consideration of the consumjition of wood materials in general we can summarize with the statement that our consumption at j)resent of all kinds, sizes, and description, including the enormous firewood supplies of a round 180,000,000 cords, can not fall short of 25,000,000,000 cubic feet of forest-grown material, counting in the waste in the woods and the mills and loss by fire. That means a consumption of 50 cubic feet per acre of forest, or 350 cubic feet per capita.* Considering that in the well-kejit forests of Germany, where reproduction is secured by * The largest part of this consumption is for firewood. According to the census of 1880 the consumption of firewood must then have been 280 cubic feet per capita (figuring 100 cubic feet solid to the cord), and this amount has probably not been reduced during the last decade. This flj-ewood is not, as in older countries, made up of inferior material — brush and small fagots — but is, to a large estentj split body wood of the best class of trees. FOREST FIRES. 135 skillful management, the total growth per acre, brush and branch wood included, averages only 55 cubic feet, it needs no argument to prove that we are cutting yearly far more than can be reproduced, especially when we consider that while in Germany all inferior material is utilized, we use even for firewood purposes good-sized material, body wood, hardly inferior to saw timber, so that the comparison should be rather with the production of what the Germans call "derbholz," including all material over 3 inches, which averages hardly 38 cubic feet per acre and year. The inadequacy of our supplies for continuous use at the present rate, it must appear, is unquestionable, unless we apply more rational methods of treating our forest areas. That for a time at least decrease of consumption is not likely to occur we may learn from a comparison of figures of consumption from decade to decade, which indicate an increase of 30 per cent or more. Estimates of value of forest vroduets used in 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1890. [Including all raw, partially manufactured, wholly manufactured wood prodacts, fuel, and naval stores ; estimated upon the basis of census iigures, and other sources of information.] Articles. 1860. 1870. 1880. 1890. $155, 000, 000 45, 000, 000 50, 000, 000 6, 000, 000 135, 000, 000 $340, 000, 000 62, 000, 000 100, 000. 000 14, 000, 000 210, 000, 000 $400, 000, 000 55, 000, 000 110, 000, 000 30, 000, 000 328, 000, 000 $438, 000, 000 40, 000, 000 350, 000, 000 Total a391, 000, 000 716,000,000 923, 000, 000 1, 028, 000, 000 a Probably 25 per cent underestimate. Considering the consumption in relation to the population, we find by comparison with other nations of equally civilized conditions that, if our figures are approximately correct, our per capita consumption is from eight to twenty times more than the per capita cousumption of Germany, France, or England. For while we figure 350 cubic feet of all kinds for our people, Germany uses 44, France 32, and England 15 cubic feet per capita. And if we exclude the more uncertain firewood consumption and estimates of waste, and compare only the most important part of the consumption, we find the relation not less striking; for while we consume nearly 80 cubic feet of log timber, equal to 50 cubic feet of sawed goods, or between 500 and 600 feet B. .M., per capita annually, Germany requires only 15 cubic feet of sawed material, or about 150 feet B. M.; France 8.3 cubic feet, and England, importing nearly all her wood materials, can get along with one-quarter of oirr consumption. We see, then, that there is a wide margin for saving in wood supiilies by substituting iron and stone in our structures; by using jireservative processes with our railroad ties and other timbers; by using our wood materials with more discretion and knowledge. Our enormous annual loss by fires, largely due to the many wooden structures, and giving rise to a destruction of property estimated at $100,000,000, constitutes a drain on our forest sui^plies which can be largely avoided. FOREST FIRES. Another cause of useless and wasteful decimation of forest supplies is occasioned by the yearly conflagrations, which destroy not acres but square miles of standing timber and the young- growth, and even the soil, the fertility, an accumulation of centuries of decaying leaf mold. Eegarding the loss by fire no adequate conception can be formed. Fires are of such general occurrence that only tlie larger conflagrations are noticed, and it is difficult to obtain reports as to their extent and destructiveness. In the South the foolish custom of annually burning off the old grass in order to gain a fort- night's earlier pasturage still prevails and gives rise to widespread destruction, which is increased by the coniferous composition of the larger part of these areas and the additional danger occasioned by turpentine orchards. In the West carelessness of campers seems to be the principal cause of fires, which, owing to the dryness of the climate and absence of population interested in stopping the conflagrations, assume frightful dimensions and often not only destroy square miles of timber, but endanger the lives and property of settlers. 136 FORES'fRY INVESTIGxiTIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. From locomotives without spark arresters or carelessly baudled at the ash pit comes the greatest danger in the East. To estimate even the direct loss or damage from this source is well- nigh impossible, much less the indirect loss, which consists in the destruction of the forest floor, the handing over of the ground to worthless brush, brambles, and inferior tree growth, or, as happens in some regions, the burning of the soil down to the rock, leaving an irredeemable waste. Thus the accumulation of centuries— it takes from three to five centuries to make a humus soil 1 foot in depth — is destroyed in one brief season by carelessness. In the census of 1880 an attempt was made to ascertain the extent of the iires and the conse- quent loss in money value. Upon unsatisfactory and partial returns a total of over 10,000,000 acres was reported burned, with a loss of over $25,000,000 in value. A canvass made by the Division of Forestry some years ago, which was highly unsatisfac- tory in its returns, these being vague and reporting only very partially, shows that in the districts reporting more than 12,000,000 acres of woodland were burned over during 1891. The report showed log timber killed 473,387,000 feet B. M. and damage from forest flres to other than forest property to the extent of $503,500, besides injury to valuable forest growth difficult to estimate. What proportion of the actual destruction these reports represent it is impossible to tell. They show, however, that in spite of the growing sentiment against such useless waste the nuisance has hardly abated in the last ten years. The loss from prairie flres to crops, tree growth, build- ings, and other property was reported by the same correspoudents at $1,633,525. In some years these losses by fire are, to be sure, much greater than in others, especially for given localities. Thus the flre which raged around Green Bay, in Wisconsin, during the Jatter part of September and beginning of October, 1871, is reported to have utterly devastated 400 square miles of territory, several villages being wiped out, at least 1,000 people perishing, and 3,000 being left destitute; the damage being estimated at $3,000,000, not including that of the thriving village of Peshtigo, with 2,000 inhabitants. Another flre in Wisconsin (around Phillips) and in neighboring Minnesota, still in our memory, occurred during the drought of July and August, 1894, the latter known as the great Hinckley flre, when the estimate of loss of lile exceeded 1,000, although it is only known that 437 were surely lost, while over 2,000 were made homeless, the material loss, not including the timber, being estimated at $750,000. Another most destructive flre occurred in 1881 in Michigan, when the fire ran over forty-eight townships in the peninsula between Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay, and a belt of timber country, partly settled, 60 miles in length and 10 to 30 miles in width, comprising a round million acres, was absolutely destroyed. The number of people killed was 138 and the value of property destroyed $2,000,000, not taking into account the timber and the loss to the future, for this region remains still to a large extent a mere brush waste. In comparison with our figures of bona fide consumption the direct loss in material is but a small matter, perhaps 2 to 3 per cent of the total value of forest products, but the indirect loss can hardly be overestimated. This lies not only iu the destruction of the fertility of the soil, but in discouraging more conservative forest management on the part of forest owners, while the constant risk from fire is an incentive to turn into cash as quickly as possible what is valuable iu the forest growth, leaving the balance to its fate. There is a crying need in the United States for economic reform in this matter of playing with fire. If the fire nuisance could be reduced to the unavoidable proportion, half the forestry problem would be solved. FOREST SUPPLIES. Having traced our consumption of forest supplies, it remains to consider the condition of the resource from which this consumption is to be drawn. We have to distinguish here between virgin supplies now ready for the ax — the standing timber — and new growth to supply future wants. Again we have, unfortunately, no statistics which would permit us to speak with assurance on this question. As regards the coniferous supplies of standing timber we have already made computations, showing that 100,000,000,000 feet for the North, 300,000,000,000 feet for the South, and less than 1,000,000,000,000 for the West, or altogether about 1,400,000,000,000 feet B. M., would have to be considered an extravagant estimate to meet the estimated cut of this class of materials of 30,000,000,000 feet per annum. FORESTS OF WISCONSIN, -^^ ' An estimate based on reported average cut per acre-winch, to be sure, is extremely variable, . :t,^v torn nrre to acre but also from time to time as the standard of marketable logs ra:ges-ruld b^in^ tlTtotal of the timber standing ready for the ax to about the following figures as very rough and probably very liberal approximations : ^^^^ ^ ^^ 700,000,000,000 Southern states 500,000,000,000 Northern States ''''..'. 1,000,000,000,000 Pacific coast '■"' 100,000,000,000 Rocky Mountains 2, 300, 000, 000, 000 Total To arrive at these figures we have assumed that the amount of timber to be found on the total forest area reported a« given in the preceding table, may be set, as an average for every acre at iToO feet B Tfli ti,e Southern States, 6,000 feet for the Northern States, somewhat less than oo 000 feet for the Pacific coast States, and 2,000 feet for the Bocky Mountains. ^''W admit that these are only guesses based upon personal «b-vation, convers^^^^^ lumbermen and such iucomplete records as could be inspected. It is believed that tl^e ^-gures arriearng toward overstatement rather than the other way. For the purpose of estimating Z ikel hood of ontinued supplies these figures will suffice to show that «-/esource is easily exhaustfble When it is considered that the bulk of the most important supplies (the coniferous Jrees'is to be found in the far West, thousands of miles away from our centers of civilization, the i«nect of the economic conditions is not assuring. ,. ,. Is to m^lacenient by young growth, of supplies cut, the possibility of estimate even is pre- cliidtr and we cln on y state in general that by culling the valuable kinds and leaving the ree ^S'fZoZlvZd slfade the ground, as is done through all the hard-wood region, the reproduc- Lfofvrabls"eli'2osf prevented; that the reproduction from the stump in the coppice, Thrh IccupIb the largest share of the forest area of Xew England and the Eastern Atlantic ""C ^re co"°;lT;cr,pti„. of a .pecm» area, the S«e of WIsconsio, itM...".d prese.. : efe™ :itlL b/proJ Filibeg Eotb Made i. 18»8 "j »'«>;»; P^p setTe in its general aspects for tie entire great lambeting section of tbe Horthwest. FOEBST CONDITIONS OF WISCONSIN. PTIYSIOOEAPHY. The iiart of the State lying north of a line from Green Bay to St. Croix, with the counties of Portage Wood and Jackson as^outhern outposts, contains practically the entire stand of lumber^ Sre trmbrof both pine and hardwoods in Wisconsin. Nine-tenths of the area P-^^^t^^J'^f lope rStg f oin southeast, south, and southwest to a flat divide whi^h runs ea.t and west c ose oTake Superior, and one-t^nth is occupied by a steeper slope from this divide to the lake About 43pLcen7of ths a,ea is formed by an upland plain with low flats, not -- ^ If ^^^f {^^^^^i^,; tnd the rest is ordinary rolling country with considerable areas of low but steep rolling, "choppy, r't ho e? "'^^^^^^^^^^ la-1- Tbe drainage is mostly excellent in spite of the fact tbat tins area pot uoie, VI , . 1 12 per cent swamp laud. Over a large part of the r Z ■:":^:^^ Tlmihrol^ a dnvlng stream, and nearly all creeks have tm^S! Ov'r 25 ;^r ce^tlf the area is d'rained by the Chippewa and its tributaries, about 21 iDer cent by the Wisconsin, and 14 per cent by the St. Croix. T^e soil and subsoil of about 50 per cent of this territory is a deep gray loam, more oi less mixed with Uvel a deep fertile red clay skirts Lake Superior and sandy lands fr-«-f-°;^^-^ ^d southwestern edge, while three large islands of sandy land, one on the upper St. Croix, :;leirth?h;af waters of the Wisconsin, and the third stretching from the Menominee to 138 FOUESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Lake Shawano, interrupt the loam hind area. Classed from the farmer's standpoint, about 22 per cent of the land must be called good farm laud, about 40 per cent medium, while fully 37 per cent shoidd never be cleared of woods. The climate is cold, winters long, spring nearly wanting, summer short but warm, and fall long and cool. As indication of the climate it may be said that hickories practically do not occur; that white oaks are restricted to the southern and drier western parts; ordinary corn does not usually ripen in the greater portion of the territory, and a])ple trees have so far largely failed even in the more southern counties. OWNERSHIP. Of the 18,500,000 acres of territory under consideration less than 7 per cent is cultivated, about 24 per cent held by actual settlers, little more than 1.6 per cent belongs to the State, nearly 5 per cent to the United States (2 per cent to Indians), little over 5 per cent to railway companies, and hardly 1 per cent is held by the counties, who are all anxious to rid themselves even of this small bit of communal property. Of the remaining 63 per cent lumbermen own about 80 per cent, i. e., 50 per cent of the entire area, or about 25 per cent of the area of the entire State belongs to them. THE FOREST AS IT WAS. Formerly nearly all of the 27 counties were covered with one uninterrupted forest, and only along the southern and southwestern limits did this forest give way to oak aud jack pine openings and brush prairies. On the gray loam lands was a mixed forest of hardwoods and white pine; on all sandy lands and also on most of the red clays of Lake Superior it was pinery proper, i. e., a forest of pines, principally white pine, some Norway, and small amount of jack i^ine, without hardwoods of lumber size. In the eastern half, which is more humid, the hemlock grew among the hardwoods on most of the gravelly clay and loam lands, but, like white pin« under these same conditions, it was found chiefly as mature timber, often nothing but old large trees scattered among the hardwoods, or here and there in compact bodies or groves, without any young growth to indicate active reproduction. Evidently both were here losers in the general struggle for posses- sion of the ground. Besides these three main conifers the balsam and spruce occurred thinly scattered, the latter chiefly in swamps. Most swamps were then timbered, the cedar prevailing in those of the Green Bay region; both cedar and tamarack together, one or the other alone, but more commonly mixed, occiipied the majority of swamps, while the tamarack, commonly as a pure but small growth, occupied all those of the southern and southwestern part, and even stocked the openings. The hardwood forest, heavier, denser, and composed of larger trees in the southern part, and on better soils, while quite thin and scrubby northward and on the lighter gravel lands, was made up of a small number of kinds. Its character varies on the two sides of nearly the same line which limits the hemlock. On the south and west of this liue it was au oak forest in which both white and red oak were abundant, oak was predominant, and the birch scarce or wanting; on the north and east of the line birch was the principal hardwood; the white oak was almost wanting, the red oak scattering, and often for many miles the forest was without an oak of any kind or size. Of the other hardwoods, basswood and maple were generally and rather evenly distributed; elnr in very variable i^roportioiis occurred in most hardwood forests, while ash, generally black ash, was mostly confined to the low flats and swamps. THE FOKBST AS IT IS. At present the pine is largely cut both from the mixed forests and in the pinery; entire uncut or virgin townships scarcely exist, and in every county large and small "pine slashings" or "stump i^rairies" are met. In the hardwoods, the oak and basswood, aud to some extent the elm, have been culled over large tracts, and entire counties, like Wood and Barron, have been logged over (not logged clean). Besides this the hardwood and still more the hemlock, about most pine slashings, but especially on all lighter soils where the pine predominated, have suffered from fire, and over large areas they are entirely fire killed. Many if not most of the swamps have been burned over, and present all stages from the dense green swamp forest to a bewildering tangle ol charred masses of dead and down timber. It is estimated that about 8,500,000 a('res, or 45 per cent of the total area, is cut-over land, most of which is also burned over and largely waste. S'S'3 ^ C8^ iss . ■st^ ■B a <£ 9 i^ d-s 1l J3 |«i S6 as CM ifS 4?£ "^1 B c3 => *<2 ©"^ fill S5 •|-^ .S o '3 a o " rt « . fci S cS ifi ? O C (D "^ .2 5 P. -Ml:*'*" .2fi£ =8 O s gi3 g'a 11 9 § 1 i i i @S ffl FORESTS OF WISCONSIN. 139 PRESENT SUPPLIES. Considering present supplies of pine, over 80 per cent of whicli are owned by lumbermen, it must be borne in mind that in spite of many years of logging but few townsliips of the better stocked regions, outside of settlements, are logged clean, and counties like Chippewa, Clark, Wood, and Marathon still contiuue to furnish large quantities of pine logs of all sizes, for it is not so much a lack of good logs as the fact that of late everything is cut clean which has reduced the average size of log to nearly half what it was twenty years ago. It is especially the fragmentary condition of the forest which makes general or wholesale estimates difficult, and 'causes the opinions on pine supplies to vary within sxich wide limits. "Most men know little about what their neighbors have," and "the man whose pine supply is nearly at an end, and who finds it hard to buy more stumpage, thinks that everybody shares his trouble." These two statements, vari- ously expressed, may be heard in many places, and fully indicate the difficulty. The following figures of merchantable supplies still standing, secured by the methods above indicated, are probably quite near the truth, though the total appears still somewhat conservative: standing pine, liemlocJc, and hardwood saw timber in the State of IVisconsin in 1S9S. CoTiiity. Million feet B. M. County. Million feet B. M. Pine. Hemlock. Hardwood. Pine. Hemlock. Hardwood. 300 150 3,000 200 500 200 3,500 25 50 150 500 350 100 150 250 200 300 600 260 350 200 1,260 650 700 400 1,500 100 1,000 240 60 200 1,500 300 200 1,500 350 100 240 320 10 so' 500 480 550 950 120 240 280 280 24 Polk 300 640 30 100 500 960 Dunn 550 Taylor 950 225 480 275 385 960 275 50 875 850 1,200 150 220 Trnn Wood 40 300 300 700 850 600 Total T fnpnln 16, 665 7,640 13, 889 aEau Claire is only considered for its pine and St. Croix and Pierce only for hardwoods— the tliree counties being really outside of the scope of this work. The detailed estimates given by woodsmen of hemlock and still more of hard woods, vary much more than those of pine. Lack of experience in hard wood, custom of estimating only certain kinds, and discriminating selections in the hardwood markets, which consider only the better sizes or qualities, have led to great diffei'ences in figures on yield. The general results above given are very conservative for both hemlock and hard woods in spite of the fact that they represent rather the higher than the average estimates. A more correct view of present supplies may be obtained from a study of the following figures, in which all the wood supplies are arranged in three classes, a portion of the hemlock which, at present rating, is not real saw timber being thrown together with the cedar and part of tamarack and jack pine as a second class. Of these figures it may be said that of the 92,000,000 cords of hardwood fully one-third, or 30,000,000 cords, an equivalent of 15,000,000,000 feet B. M., might still be placed with saw timber. Wood supplies classified. Character of wood. CONIFEROUS. White pine Red (Norway) pin Jack pine Hemlock Tamarack Cedar Spruce Million Million fcetB.M. feetB.U. 14, 500 Secondary timber. Bolt sizes, post, poles, ties, etc. 1,700 2, 500 1, 400 Millions. 1, 000 1.500 5, 000 3.000 Character of wood. HAEDWOODS, Oak Basswood Birch Elm Ash Maple Others Total Grand total Million feet B. M. 1,380 3,500 3,300 2,200 timber. Bolt sizes, post, poles, ties, etc. Million feet B. M. 92, 000 104, 000 140 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. The above estimates of jack piue, spruce, balsam, tamarack, and cedar must be regarded as rough approximations, since the areas stocked with these timbers are very difficult to ascertaiu. What these supplies of piue have been in the past may be inferred from the following calcu- latious, the basis for which have been verified for large areas on the Chippewa, Black, Wisconsin, and Wolf rivers, and may be supposed to understate the truth by at least 10 to 15 per cent. Prohable original stand and present stand of mercliantatle pine in the State of Wi Kiver basin. Number of towns stocked. Yield per to-wn. Yield on river. Yield on river in jier cent of total. Present stand. Kemarks. 40 100 40 175 172 00 28 27 47 76 225 125 200 200 175 125 125 150 150 150 200 Million/eet. 9,000 12, 500 8,000 35,000 30, 100 7,600 3,500 4,050 7,050 11, 400 1,400 6.9 10.7 6.1 26.7 22.9 5.7 2.3 3 5.4 8.7 1 Million/t. 270 3,560 475 3,000 2,575 470 150 600 1,500 4,200 Contains much .)ack-pine barrens. Includes heiivy hardwood forest. Much hardwood forest. Do. Only AVisconsin side. 772 129, 500 10, 700 Of these 129,500,000,000 feet there is approximately— Billion feet. Standing at present 16. 7 Cut between 1873 and 1898 66 Probable cut 1840 to 1873 20 Total accounted for 102. 7 Leaving a balance of nearly 27,000,000,000 feet wasted, to which must be added several billions as growth since 1840. Of this enormous waste certainly more than 60 per cent, or about 20,000,000,000 feet, is due to fire, the rest failing to storms, old age, and waste in cutting. This is white pine only. Besides this injury to pine, fire has killed more than 5,000,000,000 feet of hemlock, at least 1,000,000,000 feet of cedar, and several billions of hard woods, besides large quantities of tama- rack, and in addition has killed stands of young sapling pine (under 8 inches diameter) covering many thousand acres which to-day would furnish 5,000,000,000 feet and more of merchantable material. PEESENT GROWTH. The amount of timber which at the present time is growing each year on the stocked portion of this area may very safely be placed at about 925,000,000 feet B. M., and is distributed among the several kinds of timber as follows : Million feet. White and Norway pine 250 Jack pine 30 Hemlock 75 Tamarack 30 Cedar 20 Spruce and balsam 20 Eard woods 500 Total 925 Of this growth the greater part is balanced by decay or natural waste, which in all wildwoods necessarily equals growth when large areas and long periods are considered. For white pine, Norway, and jack piue, also for tamarack and cedar in Wisconsin, nearly half the present growth takes place in forests of young, immature timber, since this largely ijrevails. With the old pine mixed in the hard- wood forest, and especially with hemlock, decay proceeds faster than growth; for spruce and balsam an increase can hardly be assumed, and even in the hardwoods the growth and decay is practically in a state of equilibrium. FORESTS OF WISCONSIN. 141 PRESENT EXPLOITATION AND MAEKET. At the present time logging of pine is going on in nearly every part of this territory. The average annual cut for the last ten years has been about 3,000,000,000 feet; and pine land, pine stumpage, and logs find a ready market everywhere. Hemlock is peeled to quite an extent, the bark being mostly used by local tanneries; small quantities are cut to lumber, chiefly dimension stuff, and considerable quantities are converted into railway ties, mining timber, etc., and also into pulp, but on the whole this material is still very much underrated. The hardwoods are logged and sawn mostly on a small scale. Several hundred small mills are cutting hardwoods, mostly into lumber, much into special sizes and shapes, and large quantities are iised for cooperage and wagon stock. Exact figures of the total annual cut in hardwoods are wanting, but 500,000,000 feet is a safe estimate. Spruce and to a less extent balsam are bought for pulp; cedar finds ready market and is extensively cut everywhere for posts, poles, ties, and shingle timber, but tamarack still remains tabooed, and even sappy Norway poles for piling are preferred to this much sui^erior material so that but little tamarack is cut. From tables just published by the Iforth western Lumberman the following approximation of consumption of lumber is derived. This does not take into account all the scatterred domestic consumption and remains as all such statistics necessarily do, somewhat below the truth: White pine, Norway pine, and hemloclc lumier cut in IVisconsin in 1S97. Locality. Lumber. Shingles. Lath. Locality. Lumber. Shingles. Lath. M. feet. 167,455 104, 132 185, 203 50, 217 398, 744 274, 879 126,518 Thousand. 65, 943 35, 967 45, 744 10, 000 85, 920 138, 382 78, 661 Thousand. 25, 003 14, 478 33,931 5,300 51, 634 55, 250 15, 214 M. feet. 265, 350 36, 670 228, 800 Thousand. 30, 764 47, 343 70, 000 11,000 25, 000 65, 000 41, 000 Thousand. Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis Mills below Minneapolis a. 60, 000 Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Sault Ste. Marie (Soo) -. Green Bay shore at Menominee c Mills below Menominee 167, 000 129, 000 30, 000 2, 359, 968 750, 724 345, 548 a One-third of total cut reported credited to Wisconsin. b One-half of total cut reported credited to Wisconsin, c Proportion of cut credited to Wisconsin. Note. — Of the above total cut, 125,000,000 feet wa.3 hemlock. Besides this there is more than one-quarter billion feet of hardwoods recorded from mills, which can safely be increased to half a billion for unrecorded cuts at small country mills in the woods. FUTURE OF PINE MILLING. How long the present sujiply of pine will last is impossible to foretell. As the price of stumpage increases and the number of owners (and with this the opportunity to buy pine) decreases, one mill after another drops out. With the concentration of ownership a reduction in output will be the consequence which will continue to the last (if a "last" there be), so that even the present stand is likely not to be cut out in eight to ten years, as might be inferred from a comparison of present supply and cut, but may easily last twenty and more years. FOREST AND COMMONWEALTH. The importance of the forest for the State of Wisconsin is very great, and the statement that "the forest industries have built every foot of railway and wagon road, nearly every town, school, and church, and cleared half of the improved land in north Wisconsin," is by no means an extravagant exaggeration. In 1890, according to the census, the forest products at first hand, including lumber and all sawn timber; ties, hewn and round timber (not saw logs), poles, piling, posts, etc.; cooperage, furniture and wagon stock in the rough, and not including tan bark, pulp wood, and the immense quantities of timber used for firewood, fencing, and farm use and construction, represented the enormous sum of $40,400,000. If to this is added only $10,000,000 as representing the value of the wood for home use, fuel, fencing, farm construction, etc., the products of the forest at first hand equal in value one-third of the products of agriculture. And to these alone they are really comparable, since in most 142 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. manufactures large quantities of material appear repeatedly, often with slight or no mocliflcations, as output of the same manufacture, as when a piece of costly sheet metal is first credited to the rolling mill, then to the tank or boiler maker, who merely cuts aud rivets it into shape, and finally, -without any modification at all, reappears as part of a distilling outfit or steam machinery, and thus the same highly manufactured article appears three separate times as items of the iron industry. The sawmilling industry of the State alone represents a capital of about $84,000,000, or equal to more than one-eighth of the total valuation of taxable property of the State. The same industry pays a tax of $681,000, a sum equal to half the entire State taxes. It pays $3,000,000 for running expenses aside from wages, more than $15,000,000 for wages and contracts for bring- ing the raw material to the mill, besides expending nearly $1,000,000 for the maintenance of teams. Besides these establishments, active in the mere exploitation of the woods, there are planing and pulp mills, furniture, cooperage, carriage, and car shops, the value of whose finished products in wooden materials amount to over $25,000,000 per year. The greater part of these is directly dependent for continuance on the forest supplies of the State. FORESTS AND WATER PLOW. The value of the forests in tempering the rigors of a northern continental climate and in maintaining a more uniform water flow by regulating drainage conditions can not here be consid- ered; suface it to say that the Fox River is failing, that the "June freshets," formerly a regular phenomenon of all the driving streams of this area, no longer occur, that hundreds of small swamps have become fields and meadows without a foot of ditching, and that miles of corduroy roads and roadways paved with poles and logs remain as unused relics, reminders of a moister state of things. FUTURE OF SUPPLIES AND MILLING. What the future will do for these important forests is difiacult to say. That the pine forests are fast disappearing, that the hardwoods are being cut and their productive area reduced, is evident to everyone. A closer examination shows that the hemlock growth can not be depended upon to continue itself by unaided natural reproduction. It has failed to reproduce for a long time. It also appears that the hardwoods, though perfectly able under normal conditions to hold their own and continue as forests, have not done so; that, especially on all lighter soils, the burned over lands are covered with runty, unpromising remnants, unable to keep out weeds aud grass from the soil, injured by fire, and scarcely able to maintain the semblance of a woodland. That pine, especially white pine, is jterfectly capable not only to continue as forest, but also to reclothe old burned-over slashings on all kinds of soil, is amply proven by the numerous extensive young groves which may be seen, especially about Shawano, Grand Eapids, Black Eiver Falls, and along the Wisconsin and Chippewa, and which occur in every county of north Wisconsin, probably aggregating not less than 200,000 acres. But it is equally certain that the great mass of pine slashings have remained and will continue to remain barren wastes, and that of the 8,000,000 acres of cut-over lands in north Wisconsin not one-tenth is stocked with growing timber. And even the swamp woods have no future, for it is here, among the tall marsh grass aud masses of dead poles, that most of the fires start. WHAT IS LOST TO THE STATE. In this way an area now measuring about 8,000,000 acres and rapidly increasing in extent remains unproductive. Counting only 20 cubic feet, or 100 feet B. M., as the annual growth per acre on lands entirely without any care save protection against fire, the State of Wisconsin loses annually by this condition of things 800,000,000 feet B. M. of marketable saw timber; nor is this all, for even with primitive management this amount could largely be increased. RESUJI^ OF CONDITIONS. We have, then, briefly, the following state of affair^: Of the 18,500,000 acres under considera- tion not more than 7 per cent are under cultivation; the balance is forest, brush, swamps, or FORESTS OF AVISCONSIN. 143 waste. About 8,000,000 acres are cut over and practically exhausted for the present. Of available timber supplies a round 30,000,000,000 feet B. M. of coniferous material and some 14,000,000,000 feet of hardwoods, besides 100,000,000 cords of cord wood, are to be found on the 9,000,000 acres remaining. The present consumption of saw timber alone may be set down as over 3,000,000,000 feet, not including railroad ties, pulp wood, posts, i^oles, and other boltvsize material, while the cut of coniferous material alone for the year 1897 may be placed at 2,500,000,000 feet B. M. The wood consumption altogether equals in value one-third the products of agriculture in the State. The lumber and wood-working industries relying upon this crop represent a capital of over $100,000,000, the lumber mills alone paying half the State taxes, and in wages and running expenses over $25,000,000. Not less than 20,000,000,000 feet of pine timber have been wasted by fires since lumbering began, about sixty years ago. The detrimental influence of forest destruction on waterflow of rivers is unmistakable. As to the condition of the forest and cut-over lands, it may be stated that there are no entire townships which remain uncalled and in virgin condition. Of the 8,000,000 acres of cut-over land not one-tenth is stocked with growing timber, and this whole acreage has become unproductive. About 500,000 acres comprise the really promising young jjine growths in parcels of any extent. While pine reproduces wherever fire does not prevent, the great mass of pine slashings have remained and will continue to remain barren wastes under the present policies. WASTE I>AND AND AGRICULTURE. The injunction that this land is needed for agriculture, that it soon will all be settled, and that even the sandy soils produce potatoes and are pi'ofitably farmed by improved methods may well be answered by a concrete case: The old settled counties of Waushara, Adams, and Marinette have an aggregate area of 1,114,000 acres, their improved land amounts to 340,000 acres, leaving fully 70 per cent, or 804,000 acres, in brush and waste lands. In 1895 these counties supported wood industries whose products amounted to the pitiful sum of $13,000, and probably the material for these was imported, instead of having 80,000,000 feet of pine to sell, which, under simple methods of care, might have been derived from these brush and waste lands. How soon the 17,000,01)0 acres of wild land in northern Wisconsin will be settled and improved no one can tell. The likelihood is that at least 10,000,000 acres, and among these much of the best lauds, will remain unproductive brush land for fifty years to come. Remedies. — What advantage it is to the county and State to have unproductive sand lands settled by poor and ignorant people and supijort farms " without barns'' can not here be discussed. In the same way it is not here contemplated to enter into the question of communal property, i. e., whether it might not be well for a county, which can get land for the mere taking, to hold a few townships as county forest, and have these county forests at least defray the county expenses, giving at the same time work to many people. What can be done to save the enormous loss to the State is clear — the land must be restocked and young timber must be given a chance to grow. What the fire has done to the pine supply is aj)j)arent from the conservative figures of original stand of piue. This same work of destruction continues during this very fall (1897); many hundreds of acres of young sapling pine were ruined by fire, and it will require many years before the opening up of settlements and roads suflices to suppress the fire fiend. From this it is clear, and the fact is fully conceded by all persons conversant with the conditions of these woods, that the first and most imiDortant step in the right direction consists in the proper organization of an eflicient fire police. That a diversity of opinion as to the methods and even the possibility of suppressing the fires should exist is but natural. To most people the entire subject is foreign, the problem too large; to many even well-informed and experienced men the forest fire is an enormous affair, a calamity which man is entirely unable to combat. jSTevertheless, the best informed men, nearly all woods- men (" cruisers " and loggers), whose opinions were sought in this connection expressed themselves in favor of such a policy and certain of good results. The beginning of a forest-fire protection by the State is laid, but it requires further organization to be successful. 144 FOEESTIiY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Without eularging on this important subject, it may be of interest to point out a few funda- mental facts which may help to shape a policy: (1) All fires have a small beginning. The Peshtigo fire, by far the most terrific ever experi- enced in Wisconsin, was liuown to be burning and gathering headway for fully two weeks before it broke out in the final and then perfectly unmanageable form. The Phillips flre was heard and the smoke seen and felt in the town for days before it reached the village and converted it into ruins. (2) All fires stop of their own accord after they have run for but a moderate distance, evidently finding obstacles which gradually reduce their power. The Peshtigo fire did not involve the fourth part of Marinette, the Phillips tire not a fourth of Price County, and a most intense fire in northern Chippewa, which when at its best sent firebrands across a lake over half a mile wide, did not keep on running, but stopped without going much, if at all, beyond the county line. (3) The majority of fires are small fires. When the "whole country is on fire," it is not one fire, but hundreds of separate fires, all or nearly all of which have had their origin in carelessness. (4) It is carelessness and not malice, and it is more carelessness of letting fires go than of starting them, which has resulted in the enormous losses mentioned before. (5) Forest fires are both prevented and fought successfully in the wild forests of India, as well as in all parts of Europe, in localities where hundreds of acres of the young saphng pine with their fine and largely dead and dried-up branches (along the lower part of the stem) stand so thick that it is almost impossible to pass through, and where, in addition, poverty and chagrin among a dense population living close to the confines of the woods furnish willful and malicious incendiaries. To the greater part of opponents of a determined effort to cope with the problem, it may also be pointed out that for this country experience is as yet almost entirely wanting; that in New York State and in Maine the fire police has done well; that it is impossible for anyone to say at present just how successful the fire police of north Wisconsin could be. The success depends, of course, upon methods and organization, measures and men. Reforestation. — What maybe done to restock the land will vary from place to place, according as the land is well under way to reclothe itself, or is a bare waste, or is a tangle of debris or covered with worthless thickets of fire-damaged woods. This work may be done at once or by piecemeal, it may be done thoroughly or roughly, it may assist nature to a small or large degree, and any detailed directions are beyond the scope of this report. To those who are frightened at the mere idea of planting forests, and who scorn European methods as impracticable in this country, it may be of interest to know that in the government forests of Saxony, which from 400,000 acres yield an annual net revenue of $1,900,000 continuously, and where forests are largely planted with nursery stock, the sylvicultural work of planting, sow- ing, etc., all told, amounts on an average for the entire woods to 10 cents jjer acre, and involves only 6 per cent of the total expenses, all logging operations included. Whether similar efforts will pay here as long as the laud is held by private owners whose fortunes are only of to-day, and whose heirs will prefer to i^arcel the land out to inexperienced settlers, can not here be considered. The experience abroad and also in this country indicates that che State must at least undertake the most difficult and unprofitable parts, and that the greatest good to the greatest number lies in State ownership of forests. New York waited a long time to see private owners manage its woods rationally, but has found itself compelled at last to buy the land and to establish a forest organization to keep its mountains from being converted into desert brush lands and its streams from being alternately dry branches and mud torrents. THE NAVAL STORE INDUSTRY.' The most important indnstrj^ in the United States concerned in the utilization of by-products from the forest is the tanbark industry, which was at great length canvassed and discussed in volume 3, Reports on Forestry. Next to it in importance stands the turpentine or naval stoi'e industry, which is practically confined to the ijineries of the Southern States within a belt of about 100 miles in width along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from North Carolina to Louisiana. The imiiortaiice of this latter industry is found not only in the value of its products, namely, nearly $10,000,000 worth per year, furnishing the bulk of the naval stores used in all the world, ' Reprinted mostly from Report of the Chief of Division of Forestrj^ for 1892. Plate XXVIII. NAVAL STORE INDUSTRY. 145 but also iu the indirect iuflueiu-e whicli this industry exerts on the condition and future of one of our richest forest resources. Owing to the wasteful and careless manner iu which this industry is carried on and the disastrous conflagrations that follow in its train, which destroy thousands of acres of the most valuable timber every year, while the margin of profit to the turpentine gatherer is comparatively small, this industry may be considered the most unprofitable to the nation at large in spite of the large aggregate value of its products. This is not so by necessity, but due to faulty methods. The object of this discussion is to create a more general interest iu the industry, give information regarding its methods, show its defects, and pave the way toward improvement and more rational procedure. One of the most important results of the investigations of the Division of Forestry was the establishment of the fact that the bleeding of the Southern i)ines for the jiurpose of gathering naval stores does not, as has been generally maintained, affect the quality of their timber. Even the claim that tapped or bled trees lose their durability does not find any support in the chemical analyses made, which seem to prove that there is no change in the condition or chemical constitu- tion of the heartwood due to bleeding; that the turpentine collected must come from the sap, where aloue it is found in a condition permitting it to flow. Nor is there any physiological reason for assuming any change. ^ But while there is no deterioration of the timber due to the process of bleeding, it can be said with truth that thei-e is no more destructive agency at work in the longleaf pineries of the South than the turpentine industry, and that without necessity. The damage and destruction do not result directly, although by the boxing of immature trees a considerable loss to the future is involved, and by the crude boxing much of the most valuable part of the tree is needlessly wasted; but often indirectly from fires, which annually sweep the turpentine orchards and destroy millions of feet of valuable timber, the resin collected on the scars of the trees rendering them highly inflammable. The trees which are not killed by the fire are soon destroyed by bark beetles and pine borers, which find a breeding place in the trees which, after the injury by fire, are blown down by the wind. "Hence," says Dr. Mohr, "the forests invaded by the turpentine industry present in five or six years after they are abandoned a picture of ruin and desolation painful to behold, and iu view of the destruction of the seedlings and younger growth season after season all hope for the restoration of the forest is excluded." It appears from the report of Dr. Mohr, agent of this division, that in 1890 over 2,000,000 acres of pine forest which were in orchard must have been exposed to this danger, and that every year adds between 600,000 and 800,000 acres of new orchard. PRODUCTS OF THE TURPENTINE INDUSTRY. Kaval stores. — Under the name of naval stores are comprised all the resinous products and their derivatives that are gathered from coniferous trees. The name comes probably from the fact that the bulk of these products is or was used in the economy of ship construction and ship management, although now, with iron as a substitute for wood in shipbuilding, other industries may consume pei'haps a larger portion. These products are: (1) Sesin or crude turpentine. — This is the crude material obtained by "tapiiing" or "bleeding" the trees, a mixture of resinous material and oil of turpentine, iu whicli the resins are partly disaob'ed, partly suspended. According to the species from which it is obtained, the consistency of the resin varies, depending upon the relative proportion of hard resin particles and oil; the more oil, the more liquid is the resin. The "fine" turpentine or resin, which comes from larch and fir or balsam trees, is semiliquid, more or less transparent and clear, and remains clear on exposure to the air. The "common" turpentine, which is furnished by the other trees tapped for it, is usually not at all transparent or clear, but is semiliquid or hard, the fluidity being lost by evaporation of the oil on exposure. Most resins are yellow or brown iu color, darkening on exposure; most of them possess a characteristic odor and taste; they have a specific weight of nearly 1, and when hard melt readily at low temperatures. They are not soluble in water, but readily so iu alcohol, ether, or oil of turpentine; they are free from nitrogen, poor in oxygen, and rich in carbon, aud of somewhat acid reaction. With alkalies the so-called resin soap is formed. The best grades of turpentine are usually obtained (not necessarily so) in the product of the first: j'ear, known as "virgin dip" or "soft white gum;" in the following years it becomes " yellow dip," being darker colored and less liquid every year, while "scrape" or "h.ard turpentine" is the product hardened on the tree and scraped ofi". By distillation of the crude resiu are obtained the important resinous products of trade. (2) Spirits of turpentine or oil of turpentine. — This is the liquid distillate from the crude resin. When pure, it is H. Doc. 181 10 146 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. a mixture of hydrocarbons of the formula, CmHie; hut the impure product from the still contains also other hydro- carbons and acids. To rectify it, it is mixed with limewater and again distilled; yet, according to the source from ■which derived, the nil of turpentine possesses ditferent qualities. Freshly prepared oil of turpentine, especially that from virgin trees worked for the first time, is colorless, tasteless, a thin fluid, of peculiar smell, of low specific wein^ht (0.855-0.875), and its boiling point at 300-340° F. Most of the oils of turpentine of the trade polarize light to the left, but the American oil polarizes it to the right, and may thereby be recognized. The oil evaporates very readily in ordinary temperature, and by oxidation thickens until hard, becomes yellow, and shows sour reaction. It burns with a strongly sooty flame ; it is insoluble in water, but soluble in alcohol. It is a good solvent for many resins, wax, fats, caoutchouc, sulphur, and phosphorus. In the arts it is used mainly for the preparation of varnishes, in paints, and in the rubber industry. It is also used for illuminating purposes as pine oil, or mixed with alcohol as camphene, and under other names. It has a wide use in medicine internally and externally. It is often used in the adulteration or imitation of various essentia] oils. (3) Rosin or colox>hony. — This is the residue remaining from the distillation of the crude turpentine or resin. According to the nature of the crude turpentine, which depends on the number of seasons the tree has been worked it shows different properties. It is either perfectly transparent, translucent, or almost opaque; in color, from pale yellow, golden or reddish yellow, through all shades to deep dark brown, almost black; and of diiferent degrees of hardness; some soft enough to take the impression of a finger nail, and some so hard that only iron will make an impression. The hard colophony or rosin is almost without smell or taste, of glassy gloss, very brittle, easily powdered. It becomes soft at about 176° F. and melts between 194° and 212° F. It is soluble in the same solvents as the crude resin; its specific weight is 1.07. Rosin is used in the manufacture of varnish, sealing wax, putty, soap, paper, etc. In the American market the following grades are distinguished : WG — window glass ; WW — water white, the lightest colored grade, obtained from virgin dippings and under special care at the distillery; N — extra pale; M — pale; K — low pale; I— good No. 1; H — No. 1; F — good No. 2; E — No. 2; D — good strain; C — strain; B — common strain; A — black. By dry distillation of the rosin are obtained the following three products: (a) Light rosin oil, which is used in the fabrication of varnishes. (6) Heavy rosin oil, which is used in the numufacture cf printers' ink, machine oil, axle grease, etc. These oils, known in commerce as pale oil, pine oil, ink oil, etc., are of a light reddish or brown color, more or less fluorescent, with a specific gravity of 0.98 to 1; of slight odor but characteristic taste. The distillation is carried on at a dull, red heat, yielding about 85 per cent of rosin oil. They are composed of a mixture of several hydrocarbons of indefinite nature (colophene, heptin, etc.), and contain from to over 15 per cent of resinous acids. They are insoluble in water, slightly so in alcohol, can not be saponified, but form unstable compounds with slaked lime and other bases. The rosin grease made by stirring slaked lime finely suspended in water is an excellent lubri- cant, adapted especially for metal bearings in machinery and wagons. Mixed with sweet oil, rape oil, or the denser mineral oils, it is used for the preparation of lubricating oils. These oils are also used in the manufacture of varnish, in the preparation of cheap paints used to cover metal, roofs, etc. (e) Common pitch. — This is the residue from tiie dry distillation of rosin; a glossy, black, brittle body, which is used in the manufacture of the common ship-chandlers' pitch, used for calking of vessels, shoemakers' pitch, and black pigments. Pitch is also obtained by boiling tar down until it has lost about one-third or more of its weight. The navy pitch of commerce has more or less rosin of lowest grades added to it. It commands a price of about •$1.50 i>er barrel. (4) Brewers' pitch. — This is used for pitching beer kegs and barrels, and is obtained when the distillation of the crude turpentine is stopped, before all the oil has been distilled. It therefore contains a certain quantity of oil of turpentine; if too much, the pitch foams when melted and imparts a disagreeable, sharp taste to the beer, while with too little oil the pitch becomes brittle aud does not adhere to the barrel. The best quality of this product is obtained from the larch, and is produced mostly in Tyrol, but there is quite an amoirnt of brewers' pitch made in the Southern pineries. (5) Tar. — This is not exactly a by-product of the turpentine orchard, but is mostly a product of destructive distillation of the wood itself. Most of the tar in the United States is made in North Carolina, where the industry has been largely carried on from earliest colonial times. In other parts of the Southern coast ]iine belt it is only produced for home consumption. Perfectly dry wood of the longleaf pine — dead limbs aud trunks perfectly seasoned on the stump, from which the sapwood has rotted — are cut into suitable billets, piled into a conical stack in a circular pit lined with clay, the center communicating by a depressed channel with a receptacle — a hole in the ground — at a distance of 3 or 4 feet from the pile. The pile is covered with sod and earth, and otherwise treated aud managed like a charcoal pit, being fired froni apertures at the base, giving only enough draft to maintain slow smoldering combustion. After the ninth or tenth day the flow of tar begins, and continues for several weeks. It is dipped from the pit into barrels of 320 pounds net, standard weight, mostly made by the tar burner himself from the same pine. From one cord of dry "fat" wood or "lightwood" from 40 to 50 gallons of tar are obtained. There is but little profit in the business, except that it employs labor in remote districts at a season (winter) when there is but little else to do. The price of tar, at present quoted as low as $1.05 per barrel at Wilmington, N. C, has been depressed, especially since considerable quantities of tar are produced incidentally in the destructive distillation of wood iu iron retorts for charcoal purposes. (6) Oil of tar. — This is obtained by distillation of the tar. It is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons with some wood alcohol and a small qnantity of creosote, often more or less covereil by empyreumatic substances, with adensity of 0.841 to 0.877. It is used as an insecticide and for various external applications in domestic and veterinary practice. NAVAL STOKE INDUSTRY. 147 SOURCES OF SUPPLY. Naval stores are beiag produced on a commercial scale mainly in Austria, France, on the island of Corsica, in Spain, Portugal, Galicia, Russia, and the United States. The largest amount of European turpentine comes from the black x^ine (Pimis laricio) and the maritime pine {Pinus maritima). The first of the two, which yields the largest amount, is tapped especially in Lower Austria, France, and Corsica. The latter, which does not furnish much resin, is tapped especially in France, between Bayonne and Bordeaux, where about one and a half million acres are covered with it; also in Spain, Portugal, and on the North African coast. In Germany, especially in the Black Forest, the Norway spruce is tapped, but not to any great extent. In Southern Italy and the Italian Alps the larch furnishes resiu of excellent quality, although small quantities per tree and year, which is known in trade as Venetian turpentine. Occasionally, and especially in Galicia, Eussia, the Scotch pine and fir are tapped; the turpentine from the latter species which is bled in Alsace is known as "Strasburg" turpentine. The Hungarian turpentine, so called, conies from the Carpathian Mountains and is derived from the pine known as Pinus pumilio. In the United States a considerable amount of naval stores used to be collected in colonial times from the pitch i^ine of the North Atlantic States [Pinus rigida) ; but this species has been so far exhausted and forest conditions so changed that this industry is now practically extinct in the North and the business of turpentine gathering is confined entirely to the South. There are three pines in the South which yield resinous pi'oducts abundantly, the longieaf pine (Pinus palustris), the loblolly [Pinus tcecla), and the Cuban pine (Pinus heterophyUa). The botanical features, their distribution, value as timber trees, etc., may be found in an earlier part of this report. The loblolly and Cuban pine yield a more fluid resin, rich in volatile oil, which when distilled leaves a smaller proportion of the solid rosiu. The resin of these trees runs so rapidly that it is exhausted during the first season, and hence it is not considered profitable to work them, although they are always tapped where they are found intermixed with the longieaf pine. It is, however, possible, nay probable, that with more careful methods, difiering from those now employed, these two species may be made more productive and that the compact forests of the loblolly in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas may still become valuable sources of naval stores as well as the Cuban pine forests of Florida. At present the longieaf pine furnishes the bulk of naval stores, not only for the United States, but for the whole world, the production of France and Austria, the only other producers of naval stores, furnishing hardly one-tenth of the total production. HISTORICAL NOTES AND STATISTICS. The first production of naval stores from longieaf pine took place in North Carolina. The tapping of the trees for their resin and the production of pitch and tar was resorted to by the earliest settlers as a source of income, and during the later colonial times it had risen to a profit- able industry, which furnished the largest part of the exports of the colony. In the three years— 1768 to 1770—88,111 barrels of crude turpentine, 20,640 barrels of pitch, and 88,360 barrels of tar were on the average annually exported to the mother country, representing a value of $215,000 in our present currency. In its infancy the manufacture of naval stores was confined to the district between Tar and Cape Fear rivers, with Wilmington and Newberii for shipping ports. Most of the turpentine or crude resin was shipped to England. Later the distillation of spirits of turpen- tine was carried on to a small extent in Northern cities as well as in North Carolina. Up to the year 1844 fully one-half of the crude product was subjected to distillation in the latter State, the process being etiected in clumsy iron retorts. The introduction of the copper still in 1834 led to a largely increased yield of volatile oil, and this industry received a strong impetus. The number of stills at the ports was increased, and the production grew yet further shortly after- wards, caused by the new demand for spirits of turpentine in the manufacture of india-rubber goods, and turpentine orcharding was rapidly extended to the south and west of its original limit. As early as 1832 rectified spirits of turpentine was used for an illuminator, and for that purpose came into general use in 1842, either alone in the rectified state or mixed with a certain quantity of strong alcohol, under the names of camphene and burning fluid, furnishing the cheapest light until replaced by the products of petroleum. The large consumption of spirits of turpentine in this way caused such an increase iu its production that the residuary product, rosin, 148 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. was largely iu excess of the demand, leading to a great depreciation of this article. The conse- quent reduction of the profits of the business caused the transfer of the still from the place of shipment to the source of the raw material — the forest. Prom that time (1844) dates the great progress made in the expansion of this industry to the virgin forests farther south, and the turpentine stills increased rapidly in number in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and the eastern Gulf States. During the war of secession, when the production in the South was stopped, the turpentine industry of France received an impetus, and that country supplied as best she could the deficiency. Prices went up to five or six times their former range, namely, $25 to $30 per 100 pounds for spirits, and $9 to $10 for pale yellow grades of rosin, $4 to $5 for inferior grades. These prices instigated improvement of methods, such as the Hugues system, described further on, and more careful treatment of the crop. With the close of the war the industry revived in the United States, though the demand for turpentine was not as great as formerly, petroleum products of various kinds having been found to take the place of the product of the pine for many purposes. With the general extension of arts and manufactures, however, both in this country and abroad, and new application of the products, there has been an increasing demand both for spirits of turpentine and resin, the exports of these alone in the year 1891 being $8,135,339 in value. The following table of exports of naval stores has been compiled with great care by Charles Mohr from the reports of the boards of trade, the press reports published in the several ports of export, and partly from private information. The amounts given are not claimed to comprise the total annual production, but will fairly represent the bulk of production in each year for the ten or twelve years included. Table of exports of naval stores from the markets of princi2)al venters of 2>roduetion daring the period 1880 to 1890. Nortli Carolina (Wilmington). South Carolina (Charleston). Georgia (Savannah). Alabama (Mobile). Tear. Spirits turpen- Kesin. tine. Spirits turpen- tine. Eesin. Spirits 1 turpen- 1 Resin, tine. Spirits turpen- tine. Besin. Casks. Bai rels. 125, 585 663, 967 90,000 1 450,000 88,376 1 425,925 87,050 ! 483,432 78,978 1 434,367 Casks. 60, 000 51, 380 69, 027 65.914 64, 207 44,126 40, 375 52, 549 40, 253 43, 127 49, 232 Barrels. 259, 040 231,417 258, 446 285, 446 264, 040 218, 979 170, 066 171, 145 181, 886 149, 348 217, 865 Casks. 1 Barrels. 46,321 ' 221,421 54,703 1 282,386 77, 059 i 309, 834 llfi, 127 : 430,548 129,835 1 559,625 121.028 ! 401,998 100, 925 1 424, 490 146,925 ! 566,932 168, 834 1 654, 286 159,931 1 577,990 181, 542 716, 658 Casks. 25, 209 25, 224 30, 937 43, 870 41, SO* 41,713 38, 733 40, 149 28, 725 23, 927 21,029 Barrels. lo8, 482 170, 616 172, 438 200, 125 210, 512 200, 688 63, 580 71, 912 63, 473 61, 628 70, 289 324, 942 381, 335 246, 516 351, 8:;7 385, 523 175,817 182, 955 132, 055 106, 129 1889 90 93, 906 Exports of tar and crude turpentine from Wilmingt07i, N. C. Tear. Tar. Crude turpen- tine. Tear. Tar. Crude turpen- tine. Barrels. 56, 113 75.544 85, 230 70, 530 69, 195 Barrels. 2,323 3,188 31,966 45, 966 35, 290 1886 87 Barrels. 68,143 63, 163 68, 856 71, 919 Barrels. 24, 662 21, 572 18, 171 19, 082 Adding to the above records the production reported from Mississippi and Louisiana, which is said to have averaged, for the last two years, 75,000 barrels of resin and 15,000 casks of spirits, being marketed in New Orleans, we may estimate the total production at present (1892) as round: 340,000 casks spirits of turpentine, or 17,000,000 gallons, at 35 cents $6, 000, 000 1,490,000 barrels (240 pounds net)' resin of grades W W to C, or 357,600,000 pounds, at $1.80 average price per barrel or per 280 pounds gross 2,682,000 8, 682, 000 ' Lately the weight per barrel has been greatly increased, so that it now varies from 350 to 450 pounds net. NAVAL STORE INDUSTRY. 149 From the same reports we quote the following data regarding the development of the industry iu the different States (no regular returns from any district are obtainable regarding the annual production of naval stores derived from the longleaf pine previous to 1870) : GROWTH OF THE TURPENTINE INDUSTRY IN THE STATES. North Carolina. — This State, the oldest site of production, took the lead in this industry up to the census year 1880. In the census of 1850 the value of these products of that year is stated at $2,476,225, and in the census of 1860 at $996,902. The production in 1870 of 75,990 casks of spirits of turpentine (equal to 37,995,000 gallons) and 456,131,388 barrels of resin valued at $2,337,300, increased in the business year ending 1880 to 125,585 casks of spirits of turpentine and 663,967 barrels of resin of a value of $3,146,388, showing an increase of 65 per cent in spirits of turpentine and of 45 per cent in resin. From that year to the present a gradual decline has taken place, which, in the year 1888-89, amounted to 50 per cent in spirits and 48 per cent in the resin. The exports in that year reached a value of only $1,170,932. This decline is clearly due to the exhaustion of the natural resources. During the period of ten years, from 1879-80, 1889-90, $2,114,483 worth of spirits of turpentine aud resin, on the average, were each year exported. From the returns available it appears that nearly all the tar and crude turpentine shipped to domestic and foreign ports is produced in North Carolina. The export of these stores Irom Wilmington in 1889-90 amounted to 71,949 barrels of tar and 19,082 of crude turpentine, at a value of not less than $253,000. South Carolina. — By the census of 1850, the naval stores produced in that year were valued at $235,836, and in the census of 1860 their value is stated at $205,249.' According to the returns made to the census in 1870, 31,647 casks of spirits of turpentine and 115,945 barrels of resin were produced at a value of $779,077, rising in 1880 to 60,000 casks of spirits and 259,940 barrels of resin, at a value of $1,491,853 — an increase of nearly 100 per cent in spirits of turpentine and 124 per cent in resin. After a slight check in the succeeding year, the production shows for the next four years an increase of 10 per cent on the average annually over the production in 1880. With the year 1885 a decline took place ; the production between that year and the end of 1890 varied between 39,651 casks of spirits of turpentine and 218,902 barrels of resin and 49,430 casks and 217,865 barrels. The value of the products in 1888-89 amounted to $968,761. The average price of resin reached in that year the lowest figure of $1 a barrel. The production of the same year shows a decline of 28 per cent in spirits of turpentine and 40 per cent iu resin compared with the production of 1880. Georgia — In 1850 the naval stores produced reached a value of $55,086, and by the statements of the census of 1870, 3,208 casks of spirits of turpeutine aud 13,840 barrels of resin, valued at $95,970, had been produced in Georgia during that year. In the course of the following ten years the naval store industry made great progress, resulting in 1880 in the export from Savannah of 46,321 casks spirits of turpentine and 221,421 barrels resin, at a value of $1,202,555, followed by a steady increase which, in 1884, exceeded the production of North Carolina during its palmiest days, and has been constantly progressing to the present day. In the year closing 1889, the exports from Savannah reached 159,931 casks spirits of turpeutine and 577,990 barrels of resin, valued at $3,616,680 — an increase of 227 per cent in spirits turpentine and 161 per cent in resin over the production of 1880. To-day this port is the greatest market for these stores in the world. Jlabama. — According to the statements in the census of 1850, the naval stores produced in Alabama represented a value of $17,800, which iu 1860 declined to $13,575, and in 1870, by the production of 8,200 casks spirits of turpentine and 53,175 barrels resin, reached a value of $280,203. In 1873 the receipts in the market of Mobile had increased fully 50 per cent over those of the previous year, amounting to from 15,000 to 20,000 casks spirits turpentine and from 75,000 to 100,000 barrels resin, besides 1,000 barrels tar and pitch, of a value estimated at $750,000. In 1875 the receipts reached a value of $1,200,000, which in the year 1879-80 was reduced to $739,000. In the year 1883 the production had increased again to 43,870 casks spirits thrpentine and 200,125 barrels resin, with but slight fluctuations to the end of 1887, indicating an increase of 59 per cent in spirits turpentine and 21 per cent in resin over the production in 1880. With the beginning of 1888 a decline set in. During that yeaj the receipts at Mobile were reduced to 28,725 casks and 132,055 barrels, valued at $635,643, and still further, in 1888-89, to 23,927 casks and 106,129 barrels, of a value of $5.56,399. The receipts of spirits turpentine fell that year 47 per cent, and of resin nearly 49 per cent, below those of 1883, the year of greatest production, and the returns of the following years show still greater reductions. This decline is to be ascribed to the exhaustion of the forests along the lines of communication by water and by rail, and the consequent reduction in profits caused by the increased expense of transportation of the products from the still to the shipping points, ports, or inland markets. The receipts at Mobile include all of these stores produced in eastern Mississippi. Other States. — In Mississippi and Louisiana this industry has not as yet reached large dimensions, while it is not known that turpentine orcharding is carried on in the magnificent pineries of Texas. The production along the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad is reported to have averaged for the last two years 15,000 casks of spirits of turpentine and 75,000 barrels of resin. PHYSIOLOGY OF RESINS. All coniferous trees, with the exception of those of the genus Taxus, contain in their woody structure passages or pockets, filled with resin, known as resin ducts or resin vesicles. How and ' F. B. Hough's Report on Forestry to the Department of Agriculture, 1878, IXth, Vol. II, 333. 150 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. under what couditions exactly these ducts and vesicles arise, and liow and why the resin forms, are matters still imperfectly understood. Resin passages begin to develop in the young seedling, and even during germinatioa; resin forms in the growing bud, however, only during normal respiration and growth. It is, then, a product of the living plant, formed by and during its life functions in the living parts of the plant; yet, as far as we know, it is a product of decomposition, which, while perhaps not useless in the economy of the plant, seems to find no further use in the nutrition or growth of its organs. Eesin passages arise from the shrinking away from each other of the walls of neighboring rows of cells; an intercellular space is thus formed and gradually filled up with products of decomposition and secretion, which we call resin. The source of these secretions is also still more or less unexplained. In the first place it comes, no doubt, from a decomposition of the cellulose of the surrounding cell wall; then the starchy contents of the cells themselves may change into resin, and by oxidation of terpenes, essential oils, the surrounding cells with their contents are liquefied and resorbed, and in this way the resin duct becomes filled and enlarged from a mere intercellular passage to an irregular smaller or larger pocket or canal. The number, size, and arrangement of the resin ducts and vesicles differ with different species. The Cupressus genus all have isolated cells containing resin; some have also ducts, the contents of which give the wood its peculiar odor, but these do not contain sufficient quantities to permit extraction except by distillation of the wood itself. One of the Thuya tribe {GaUitris quadrivalvis), of Algiers, furnishes the white resin, known as sandarac; and the fruit of the juniper, rich in essential oil, is used in the preparation of gin, the flavor of which is due to the oil. Tine wood of the firs [Abies) does not contain any resin ducts, only isolated resin cells and vesicles, which are found most amply in the bark, containing an oleoresin very rich in volatile oil, and hence very liquid. The wood of the spruces (Picea) contains few, rather narrow, longitudinal ducts, and wider lateral ducts strongly developed. The larch [Larix] contains resin ducts of very large diameter. The largest development of resin passages, however, occurs in the pines (Pinus), admitting extraction on a large commercial scale. In these we find longitudinal resin ducts in greater or less abundance, according to the species, in all parts of the annual rings, more frequently, however, in the summer wood than in the spring wood ; hence, in part, the darker coloration of the former. Those of the ducts which pass near a medullary ray form lateral extensions along the cells of the rays, by means of which the longitudinal ducts are more or less frequently connected. These lateral ducts extend into the bark, where sometimes considerable pockets of resin are formed; the longitudinal ducts are, however, the most important source of resin supply in the pine. As we have seen, the production of resin takes place under the life functions of the tree in the living parts. Whether, and if so how, the resin wanders in the tree is not well known. Small amounts, no doubt, remain at the place where they were formed. Larger masses may change their place, following the law of gravity, although the observation that leaning trees are richest in resin on the under side does not necessarily predicate a wandering. The collection of resin in the hollows of trees (frost pits) of the larch may not be due to a wandering of the resin, but an emptying of brokeTi ducts into the open spaces, in which the counterpressures otherwise existing are relieved. The special investigations undertaken in the Division of Forestry, and recorded in Bulletin 8, and reproduced in a later part of this report, have shown that the quantitative distribution of resin throughout the tree, from top to bottom, follows no law, the larger amounts being as often found in the top or middle portions as in the butt-logs. If the claim that the roots and base parts are richest in resin be a fact, this need not be due to a wandering of the resin, but to more abundant production in those parts. The belief that in trees bled for turpentine a change takes place in the distribution of resin was not sus- tained in the investigations. It was, however, found that the heartwood of old trees contains invariably more oleoresin than the sapwood, the largest amount relatively being found at the line where heart and sapwood join. This would indicate an infiltration of the heartwood with resin from the sapwood. Before, however, accepting such a conclusion, in which we would find it hard to explain mechanical difficulties in the wandering of the resin, it would be desirable to examine trees of different age and note the progress of resiuification, and also to make further analyses on NAVAL STORE INDUSTRY. 151 absolutely fresh wood in which the sap wood is guarded against loss of resinous contents by evap- oration and otherwise. Of practical importance is the demonstration, furnished in these investigations, that the resin of the heartwood has lost its fluidity, being probably infiltrated into the cell wall, and therefore the tai^ping for turpentine does not involve the resin of the heartwood or produce any change in the same. Concerning the conditions which encourage abundant resin production we are also in the dark. Trees standing side by side, and apparently under the same conditions, show widely differ- ent amounts of resin. In general it may be said that light and warmth are prime requisites for abundant resiniflcation, hence this proceeds more rapidly in oi^en groves than close plantations; abundant nourishment and energetic activity of life seem also advantageous to resin production, hence a strong, fresh, warm soil furnishes more resin than a thin and cold soil, trees with full crown and branches more than thiu-foliaged and densely crowded trees with small crowns; warm and dry summers produce a richer flow than wet and cold ones. METHODS OF WORKING TKEHS. The methods of working trees for turpentine differ with the different species, as also in differ- ent countries. According as the resinous contents are found mainly in the bark or in the sapwood or in the heartwood, we may discern various methods. (1) Chipping; this method consists in making a scar or chip on the tree, which is annually enlarged, and gathering the liquid turpentine at the lower end of the chip or scar in recess (box) cut into the tree; or else, as in France, in vessels; or else by allowing the resin to dry and be scraped, as is done with the Norway spruce. (2) Bore-holes are applied in the tapping of larch, where the turpentine is formed or collected in the heart. (3) Opening the resin vesicles of the bark and gathering by hand is applied in the case of the balsam. The yield of resin and turpentine depends upon various circumstances besides the species from which it is gathered, namely: (1) The dimensions of the tree; the larger the tree, of course, ceteris paribus, the larger the yield ; the yield of trees of small diameter, 7 to 10 inches, may be from one- half to one-third of those of larger diameter. (2) The conditions of site ; all elements which further large development of the crown, mainly open and sunny position, south or east exposure, will increase the yield. (3) The weather, and especially the temperature, during the time of gathering; the most favorable weather is changing temperature and humidity; long-continued heat and long- continued cold rains depress the yield, especially a cold spring predicts a poor crop; the flow of turpentine increases from sirring to fall. (4) The duration of the bleeding process; in the first two or three years the yield is or ought to be smaller than in the following years. With the Austrian (black) pine the maximum yield seems to be reached in the trees of smaller diameter between the fourth and sixth years; in the trees with larger diameter, over 10 inches, between the seventh and ninth. Trees of these species on proper sites can be utilized for thirty years, but working becomes less i>rofitable after six or eight years for the smaller and ten or twelve years for the larger sizes; the expense of working growing too costly, the foliage becoming thinner, and the yield smaller. (5) The aptitude and care of the workmen, which tells in the manner of making and enlarging the chips and of dipping and scraping. PRINCIPLES TO BE OBSERVED IN TURPENTINE ORCHARDS. The principles which should be observed in the chipj)ing process, the one practiced on the largest scale, especially on pines, are as follows : Size or age of trees to be tajiped. — There is not sufficient experimental knowledge at hand to determine the most advantageous size of trees for tapping, either as far as greatest annual pro- duction of turpentine or safety to the life of the tree is concerned. The experiments on Austrian pine, recited further on, seem to show that trees above 10 inches in diameter yield much more than smaller trees, almost double the amount of resin, with a higher percentage of spirits of turpentine. It also stands to reason that the safety of the tree, where this is of moment, is better 152 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. assured iu the larger tree. Generally speakiug, the best time for plentiful production is neither near the beginning nor near the end of the life of the tree, but when it is in its most vigorous growth, and probably after it has attained its maximum annual height growth, for then its activity is concentrated upon the development of its interior and diameter development. If the analyses referred to before exhibit the true amounts of resin formed in the part of the tree from which they are taken, and if our proposition be true that ordinarily resins do not wander in the tree but remain where they are formed, then we could, by analyses of cross sections, dividing them into periods and ascertaining the resin contents of each division, approximately determine the period of greatest production. In view of the great variation in resin contents, a very large number of analyses would be required to allow generalization. From those at hand it would appear that the time of greatest production falls for the lougleaf pine between the seventieth and ninetieth years. Since, however, resin production appears to be a result of vigorous life functions, and since wood production depends upon the same conditions, we should rather seek a criterion for resin production in the relation of diameter to age '; that is to say, whenever the largest amount of wood is formed in a given time — whenever ^| reaches its greatest value — then the largest amount of resin is presumably also formed. Investigations in this direction are still wanting. Another consideration is that of the value of the tree after it has been bled. Since the wood which is formed after the bleeding either on or between the scars is of little value for sawmilling, no trees should be bled— unless they are otherwise unfit for lumber— that will not make good saw logs from the heartwood; that is to say, they should be at least 14 inches in diameter, so as to furnish a log of at least 8 inches at the small end. If tlie diameter were allowed to increase to at least 18 or 20 inches, probably the largest value both in resin and lumber might be attained. In practice, various rules have found acceptance. In France 14 inches, which may be attained in thirty years, is considered a necessary diameter iu order to endure continued tapping without injury to life; the lumber value of the maritime pine, being small, enters hardly into consideration. In Austria the tapping is begun with trees as low as 8 inches iu diameter, but a diameter of at least 10 Inches is preferred. With the spruce, 12 inches is considered a minimum size. In the United States, where no regard to consequences for the tree or lumber is had, the diameter at which a tree might be tapped is gauged by the amount of resin obtained in proportion to the labor expended. Until lately small diameters were avoided, but now any tree capable of carrying a bore is tapped and the ruin of the future of the industry prepared by this malpractice. Size and number of scars and progress o/ c/wj«.— Eegard to the life of the tree and the length of time for which it is expected to produce, on one hand, and the rapidity with which the largest amount of resin can be extracted in the shortest time, on the other hand, determine the size and number of scars inflicted simultaneously. Although the resin itself is or seems to be of no particular use to the tree in its vital functions, by laying bare a part of the cambium and young wood a diminution of the flow of water to the crown, and of nutritive material downward, must be induced. As a result the foliage must sufler iu proportion, and with it not only the life of the tree, but also the production of additional resin, which is produced in quantity only in vigorously growing trees with a luxuriant foliage. Hence both the life of the tree and the total yield of resin may be curtailed by too many and too large scarifications. Since there is a relation between the amount of active foliage on each side of the tree and the activity in the cambium on the same side (one-sided crowns produce one-sided annulation), it stands to reason that a larger product can be obtained for a longer time by inflicting a number of smaller scars than by making a large scar on one side of the tree, which is bound to reduce the activity of the foliage on that side, and thereby the production of additional resin; not that the dripping itself increases the production of new resin, as has been sometimes thought, but new resin is formed every year in proportion to the activity of the foliage, and hence by impairing this activity the amount of new I'esiu in the new wood is reduced. As we have shown, the resin which the orchardist takes from the tree, in the longleaf pine, at least, comes alone from the sapwood, the heartwood being impregnated with ncmfluid oleoresin and not contributing toward the flow. The resin tapped is not only that which was deposited in the sapwood in former years, but also that which is formed during the years of tapping by the growth of the tree; hence sufBcie.nt amount of active cambium and young wood should be left untouched to permit a plentiful supply of water from the ground and vigorous function of the NAVAL STORE INDUSTRY. 153 foliage, and the size of tbe oue sear, oi- the sum total of all the scars, if several, should stand in a certain relation to the circumference or diameter of the tree. For the size of the scar three dimensions are to be determined — breadth, depth, and height. Breadth and depth should be determined by the considerations just stated. As far as product is concerned there is nothing gained — at least in our pine — by cutting deeper than the sapwood, since the heart is inoperative. The breadth may be larger or smaller according to whether the tree is expected to yield resiu for a long time or is to be depleted as fast as possible. In the former case the scar .should not be -nider than can conveniently callous over in a few years' rest, so as to permit new scars to be opened after the rest without any diminution, so to say, of conducting cell tissue. In the latter case, i. e., when the largest amount of resiu is to be obtained in the quickest time, without reference to the life of the tree, only enough cambium need be spared to sustain the tree alive during the period which it takes to carry the chip advantageously to the greatest practical height. In this case, to be sure, only the resin already formed in the sapwood is being drained, no new additions coming from the growth during the years of tapping. The greater the breadth of the chip the greater, no doubt, the momentary discharge. The height of the chip, in thei:)ines at least, should be determined by the following considerations : The resin drains from the longi- tudinal resiu ducts which are cut through, by the law of gravity, until by the volatilization of the solvent oil of turpentine the hardened resin stops the flow; hence regard to plentiful production dictates as low a chip to begin with as is possible to collect from. A high chii) at first and rapid chipping afterwards is a useless waste of good material, without any benefit, since the flow depends only uijou the number of resin ducts cut through radially. In practice the French have come nearest a rational size of the scar, not allowing it to be more than 4 to 5 inches wide and scarcely one-half an inch deep, beginning with a height of not more than I inches and progressing afterwards with the greatest care very gradually. With such chips it is possible to bleed the trees without detriment for their whole natural life. In Austria the size is extravagant, namely, widening to two-thirds of the circumference, although the height is at first started with only 2 inches. In the United States a waste of 10 inches is at once incurred by "cornering" the box, and the chi^) is made 12 to 14 inches wide without much reference to the life or size of the tree, and several chips are opened on larger trees. Method of collecting the resin. — The pocket interest of the orchardist makes it desirable to have the largest amount of "dip" — ^that is, liquid resiu — and the smallest amount of "scrape," or hardened resin scraped from the surface of the scar, for the former contains larger amounts of the more valuable oil which has been evaporated from the latter by exposure to the air, as the resin, in a thin layer, runs to the receptacle. It is therefore advantageous to reduce as much as possible the distance between the place at which the resin exudes and the receptacle and also to concentrate as much as possible into one channel the flow of resin. The American practice, it will be seen, is entirely faulty in this respect, and the Austrian not much better, the French alone being rational. Frequent collection from receptacles at the trees also reduces loss from evaporation. Clean- liness — keeping impurities, sand, chips of bark, and wood out of the receptacles — is reflected in the better grades of the iiroduct. Scraping should be done as rarely as possible, since it injures the tree, and after the resin is once hardened the loss of oil by exposure is only insignificant. TURPENTINE ORCnARDING IN AMERICA. The American practice of boxing and chipping is thus described by Dr. Charles Mohr, agent of the Division of Forestry: In the establishment of a tui'pentine orchard and still two points must be considered, namely, (1) proper facili- ties oi transportation to shij)ping points for the product, and (2) a sufficient supply of water for the condenser con- nected with the still. The copper stills generally in use have a capacity of about 800 gallons, or to carry a charge of 20 to 25 barrels of crude turpentine. For such a still to be charged twice in twenty-four hours during the work- ing season not less than 4,000 acres of piue land, with a good average stand of timber, are required. This area is divided into twenty parcels, each of 10,000 "boxes," as the cavities are called, which are cut into the tree to serve as a receptacle of the exuding resiu. Su'^h a parcel is termed a " crop," constituting the allotment to one laborer for the task of chipping. The work in the turpentine orchard, as such a complex is called, is started In the earlier part of the winter, with the cutting of the boxes. Until some years past no trees were boxed of a diameter of less than 12 inches; of late, however, saplings scarcely over 8 inches in diameter are boxed. Trees of full growth 154 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS IT. S. BEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. according to their circumference, receive from two to four boxes; so that the 10,000 boxes can be said to be distributed among 4,000 to 5,000 trees on an area of 200 acres. The boxes are cut (see PI. XXIX ") from 8 to 12 inches above the base of the tree, 7 inches deep {h-f) and slanting from the outside to the interior with an angle of about 35- ; they are 14 inches in greatest diameter {d-e) and 4 inches in greatest width {h-c) at the top, of a capacity of about 3 pints; the cut above this reservoir forms a gash of the same depth and 6 to 7 inches of greatest height {a-h). In the meantime the ground is laid bare around the tree for a distance of 2| or 3 feet, and all combustible material loose on the ground is raked in heaps to be burned in order to protect the boxes against the danger of catching fire during the conflagrations which are so frequently started in the pine forests by design or carelessness. This work of raking around the trees is also done to give the chipper in the performance of his task a firmer foothold on the ground than could be obtained when covered with the slippery pine straw. The employment of fire for the protection of the turpentine orchard against the same destructive agency necessarily involves the total destruction of the smaller tree growth, and, left to spread without control beyond the proper limits, carries ruin to the adjoining forests, in many instances over areas many miles in extent. The tools used are illustrated on PI. XXIX, and are described as follows: Fig. 1, chipper; fig. 2, pusher; fig. 3, open hacker; fig. 4, closed hacker; tig. 5, scraper; fig. 6, puller. With the first days of approaching spring the turpentine begins to flow and "chipping" is begun, as the work of the scarification of the tree is termed, by which its surface above the box is laid bare just beyond the youngest layers of the wood, scarcely to a depth of an inch from the outside of the bark. To eft'ect this first a strip 2 inches wide is removed, extending vertically from the corner of the box to the height of about 10 inches (" cornering"), and then the surface between these strips is laid open. Tlie removal of the bark and outermost layers of the wood, the "chipping" or "hacking," is done with a peculiar tool, the "hacker" (PI. ii, figs. 3 and 4), a strong knife with a curved edge, fastened to the end of an iron handle bearing on its lower end an iron ball about 4 pounds in weight, in order to give increased momentum to the force of the stroke inflicted upon the tree, and thus to lighten the labor of chipping. As soon as the scarified surface ("chip") ceases to discharge turpentine freely, fresh incisions are made with the hacker. The hacking or chipping is repeated every week from March to October or middle of November, extending generally over thirty-two weeks, and the height of the chip is increased about lA to 2 inches every month. The resin accumulated in the boxes is removed to a barrel for transfer to the still by a flat, trowel- shaped dipper ("dipping"). In the first season, on the average, seven dippings are made (from six to eight). The 10,000 boxes yield at each dip about 40 barrels of dip or soft turpentine, or "soft gum," as it is called in Alabama, of 240 pounds net or 280 pounds gross weight. The flow is most copious during the hottest part of the season, July and August, diminishes with the advent of cooler weather, and ceases in October or November. As soon as the exudation is arrested and the crude resin begins to harden, it is carefully scraped from the chip and the boxes with a narrow, keen-edged scrape attached to a wooden handle ("scraping"). The product so obtained, called "scrape," or hard turpentine, or hard gum, is of a dingy white color, more or less mixed with woody p.articles and dust, and contains only half of the quantity of volatile oil obtained from the dip or soft turpentine. In the first season the average yield of the dip amounts to 280 barrels and of the scrape to 70 barrels. The first yields 6i gallons of spirits of turpentine to the barrel of 240 pounds net, and the latter 3 gallons to the barrel, resulting in the production of 2,000 to 2,100 gallons spirits of turpentine and 260 barrels of resin of higher and highest grades. The dippings of the first season are called "virgin dip" when almost without color, and white virgin dip, from which tlie finest and most highly priced quality of resin is obtained perfectly white, transparent, showing but the faintest tint of straw color, which enters the market under the grades of "water white" WW, and "window glass" WG. The next grades of resin obtained by the distillation of the turpentine dipped during the latter part of the same season, the "second virgin dip," are of a decided straw color and designated by the letters N. M. K. (See Distillation.) In the second year from five to six dippings are made, the crop averaging 225 barrels of soft turpentine; the scrape is increased to 120 barrels, making altogether about 2,000 gallons of spirits. The rosin, of which about 200 barrels are produced, is of a lighter or deeper amber color, and perfectly transparent, of mediirm quality, including grades "I," "H," "G." In tlie third and fourth year the number of dippings is reduced to three. With the slow flow over a more extended surface, the turpentine thickens under prolonged exposure to the air and loses some of its volatile oil, partly by evaporation and partly by oxidation. To the same influence, no doubt, the deeper color of the crude turpentine is to be ascribed. In the third season the dip amounts to 120 barrels, the scrape to about 100 bar- rels, yielding about 1,100 gallons of spirits of turpentine and 100 barrels of rosin of a more or less dark-brown color, less transparent, and graded as "F," "E," "D." In the fourth and last year three dippings of somewhat smaller quantity of dip than that obtained the season before and 100 barrels of scrape or hard turpentine are obtained, with a yield scarcely reaching 800 gallons of spirits and 100 barrels of rosin of lowest quality from a deep-brown to almost blaclv color, opaque, and heavier in weight, classed as "C," "B," "A." After the fourth year the turpentine is generally abandoned. Owing to the reduction in the quantity and quality of the raw product, resulting in a smaller yield of spirits and of lowest grades of rosin, it is not considered profitable by the larger operators to work the trees for a longer time. In North Carolina the smaller landowners work their trees for eight to ten successive seasons and more, protect the trees against fire, and, after giving them rest for a series of years, apply new boxes on spaces left between the old chips ("reboxing") with good results. Distillation. — The process of distillation requires experience and care in order to prevent loss in spirits of turpentine, to obtain the largest quantities of rosin of higher grades, and to guard against overheating. After heating the still somewhat beyond the melting point of crude turpentine, a minute stream of tepid water from the top of the condensing tub is conducted into the still and allowed to run until the end of the process; this end is Plate XXIX. COST OF TUEPEI^TINE OECHARDlNG. m indicated by a peculiar uoise of the boiling contents of the still and the diminished quantity of volatile oil m the distillate On 'reaching this point the heating of the still and the influx of water has to be carefully regulated After all the spirits of turpentine has distilled over, the fire is removed, and the contents of the still are drawn off bv a tap at the bottom. " This residuum, the molten rosin, is first allowed to run through a wire cloth and is immediately strained again through coarse cotton cloth, or cotton batting made for the purpose, into a large trough, from which it is ladled into barrels. The legal standard weight of the commercial package is 280 pounds gross, no tare being allowed. , , j, r. ■ i The finest -rades of rosin are largely used in the manufacture of paper, for sizing, oi soaps, and of fine varnishes ; the medium qualities are mostly consumed in the manufacture of yellow soap, sealing wax, in pharmacy and for other minor purposes, and the lower and lowest qualities are used for pitch in ship and boat building, brewers pitch and for the distillation of rosin oil, which larg...ly enters into the manufacture of lubricating agents. A turpentine distillery, on the basis of twenty crops, can be said to produce, during the four seasons the boxes are worked about 2,400 casks, or 120,000 gallons, of spirits of turpentine and from 11,500 to 12,000 barrels of resin, or ■> 800 000 pounds (the lowest grade BA excluded), at a value of about $60,000 at average prices. The prices ot spirits of turpentine vary from 28 cents to 40 cents a gallon, even during the same season, according to supply and demand in the market. The quotations on December 31, 1892, at Wilmington, were 28 cents for spirits and $1.91 for resiu in the average dowu to grade C. The prices for different grades were per barrel: WG, $3.65; N, $3.10; M, $2.85; K, $2.15; I, $1.45; H, $1.15; G, $0.92; F, $0.85; E.D.C, $0.82. , ,. , ^ ^, Cost of estaUMment of plcmt and of worUnrj the cj-oj).— Lands with the privilege of boxing the timber lor the term of four years are rented at the rate of $50 per crop of 10,000 boxes (about 200 acres with 4,000 to 5,000 trees). The establisment of plant for the working of twenty crops requires an investment ot about $5,000, including the still houses, sheds, tools, wagons, and working animals, mostly mules. The following statement, made by an operator of many years' experience, exhibits the actual expenses incurred for the working of one crop during four years ; the work is for the greatest part done by the job : $125. 00 15.00 12.00 40.00 Chopping 10,000 boxes Inspecting and tallying the same Cornering 10,000 boxes Raking around the trees, at $10 per season t-r on Chipping boxes during 111 weeks, at $5 per week qoo' on Dipping crude resin, 650 barrels, and scraping 460 stands, at 30 cents , ooo'on Hauling dippings and scrapings, at 30 cents per barrel Distilling at 20 cents per barrel Spirit barrels, 122, at $2.80 Making and filling 795 barrels resin, at 30 cents Superintendence of the crop Total working expense of crop Rent of land for one crop 222. 00 305. 00 238. 50 80.00 2, 258. 50 50.00 Cost of one crop Total expense of operating a plant of 20 crops during four years : Labor,' rent and materials ^^^'^nnn Interest on capital invested, $5,000, at 6 per cent 1,200.00 Loss by depreciation of plant, 10 per cent per year for four years Taxes and incidentals Total «0'«0«-00 Yield.— It appears that the yield of the crop of 200 acres distributes itself about as follows: 2, 308. 50 2, 000. 00 630. 00 Dip. Scrape. Total crude tur- pentine. Total yield. Scrape. Spirits. Bosin. Pounds. 67, 200 54, 000 28, 800 28, 000 Pounds. 16, 800 28, 000 24, 000 24, 000 Pounds. 84, 000 82, 800 52, 800 52, 000 Per cent. 30.9 30.5 19.5 19.1 Per cent. 20.0 34.8 45.5 46.1 Gallons. Per cent. 2,100 34.4 2, 000 32. 8 1, 100 18. 900 14. 8 Barrels. 260 200 100 100 ^v'.^H ^ 178,000 93, 600 271, 600 100.0 29.0 6,100 1 100.0 669 If we assume that 4,.500 trees produce these amounts iu four years, the yield per tree in crude turpentine is about 60 pounds. The result at the still would indicate that each tree furnishes between li and l.V gallons of spirits and one-ei-hth of a barrel, or 30 pounds, of rosin of better grade, or at best 75 cents' worth of product during the four years, which it has cost 55 cents to produce, leaving 5 ce nts net per tree per year, or from $1 to $1.25 per acre. Oarers are paid $1 to $1.25 per day ; one man chips 10,000 to 12,500 boxes per week by the job. A saving is made now in most localities in the matter of barrels and freight by using kerosene tanks on cars, holding 3,500 gallons, into which the spirits are filled directly from the still. 156 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. From the fact that 4,000 acres of tiiubor land (20 crops of 200 anros each) diirins four years' -working prodnco 120,000 gallous of spirits of turpentine, or li gallons per acre and year, it follows that to produce the 17,000,000 gallons reported as the annual product, not less than 2,250,000 acres must be in orchard; and since the yield of the first year represents 35 per cent of the total annual yield, at least 800,000 acres of virgin forest are newly invaded annually to supply the turpentine stills in operation. INSPECTION LAWS RELATING TO RESINOUS PRODUCTS. In several of the Southern States laws have been passed rej,'alating the inspection of turpen- tine, etc., and dettniug its grades. The principal of these are as follows: Virginia. — Barrels to be full of good, clean, sound, and merchantable tar, pitch, or turpentine, and to hold 3U gallons. North Carolina.— Soft turpentine barrels to weigh 280 pounds gross, and hard turpentine, 240 pounds; pitch, 32 gallons to the barrel. Turpentine, tar, or pitch to be free from fraudulent mixtures. Casks to be of good seasoned staves, three fourths of an inch thick, and not over 5 inches wide; not less than 30 nor over 32 inches long. Heads not less than 1 nor more than U inches thick. To have 12 hoops to a cask, except hard turpentine, which may have 10 hoops. Water is declared not a fraudulent mixture of tar. Tar and turpentine barrels not limited as to weight, but the weight to be marked and certified. Turpentine to be branded " S " or " H " for soft or hard, and to show the initials of the maker's name. The inspector of naval stores at Wilmington is to gauge all spirits of turpentine. South Carolina.— A barrel of crude turpentine to weigh 280 pounds gross. Georgia. — Inspectors of turpentine, etc., may be appointed by cities, and their duties prescribed. Soft turpen- tine to be pnt up in barrels, as in North Carolina, and to be branded "V" for virgin turpentine, "S" for yellow dip, and "H" for hard. Florida. — The governor may appoint inspectors of tar and turpentine. Makers required to brand their initials on the barrels. Inspectors are to mark the products that come under their notice as follows: "V" for pure virgin dip, "D" for pure yellow dip, "S " for pure scrape. If the first two of these be impure or mixed, the "V" or "D" to be inclosed in a circle. If the scrape is not passable, it is marked with an " X" in a circle. Allowances and deductions are to be made on turpentine with reference to the following particulars: (1) When virgin dip is dipped from burnt boxes, or contains burnt cinders or sand. (2) When virgin dip is mixed with chips, bark, or otlier impui-ities. (3) When virgin dip is mixed with yellow dip, or scrape. (4) When yellow dip is mixed, or contains chips, straw, bark, scrape, or sand, or other impurities. (5) When scrape contains more chips than are absolutely necessary to get it off, or dirt, or other impurities. (6) When yellow dip, virgin dip, scrape, or tar contains water, or there is an excess of wood in the barrels containing it, or it is injured by long standing or leakage. (7) When tar or turpentine of any class is contained in insufficient or unmerchantable barrels. The size of barrels is fixed at 30 to 32 inches in length, and the weight 280 pounds gross for turpentine and 320 for tar. Allowance is to be, made for deflciences, and I'ecords are to be kept, but inspection is not obligatory upon the producers of tar and turpentine in this State. Alabama. — Inspectors are to be appointed by the cities, and their duties prescribed by municipal law TURPENTINE ORCHARDING IN EUROPE. Austrian practice. — In Austria it is the black pine {Pinus laricio, var. austriaca) Avhich is tapped for turpentine. The method is very similar to the American. In the spring, just before the sap rises (usually in March), a bos (quandel) is cut into the tree about 1 foot above the ground (quandel). The box has about 3 inches depth and a breadth of from one-fourth to one-third of the circumference of the tree. From the corners of this box two upward diverging channels are notched, from the ends of which continues the scar or chip (sache). This is made with a carved hoe, 2J inches in width, by taking all the bark and the youngest two to four year old wood. The chip is at first made only about 2 inches high and increased very gradually, reaching during the first year 14 to 16 inches in height. In the first year the chip is increased every week ; in later years oftener, every four or five days. If the chipping is delayed longer the yield is smaller, since the resin thickens and incrus- tates the surface. The chipping is continued during eight to twelve seasons, and the chip increases every year at the rate of from 14 to 16 inches. The breadth remains even, and must never be more than two-thirds of the circumference of the tree. The time of chipping is from April to the beginning or the middle of October. In the first year most of the resin is liquid and flows into the box. Later, when it has to run a longer distance, so much of the volatile oils evapo- rates that the exudation thickens and must be scraped off the chip. So far this method does not differ from the American method, except as to the rapidity with which the chip is increased and the length of time the tree is worked. In order, however, to reduce the surface from which the YIELD OF BLED TREES. 157 volatile oils may evaporate, a channel is formed iiear the place where the exudation occurs by making two converging cuts and inserting two pieces of wood, which conduct the resin into a nar- rower channel down to the box. Otherwise there seems to be no difference in the two methods. Yield. In experiments regarding the yield, the following results were obtained on sixteen trees from 90 to 110 years old, under various conditions. During nine years of chipping there was obtained of resin (per tree and year) the amounts given in the statement following: The last figure gives 75 pounds per tree altogether, or 25 per cent more than the average product in American practice. An 80 year-old growth, which was rented for twenty years, fur- nished in the tenth year of orcharding still a net rent of $12 to $18 per acre. The scrape contains less spirits of turpentine, is mixed with chips of wood, and therefore obtains only two-thirds of the price paid for the dip. The amount of scrape depends, in the flist place, on tbe surface of the chip ; also on the temperature during the fall, warm weather producing 2uore dips. During the nine years of experimental chipping there were obtained for each 100 pounds of dip the following amounts of scrape: Minimum. Maximum, Pounds. 57.7 47.3 From the gathering to the distillation of the resin a loss averaging about 3 per cent was experienced by the evaporation of the oil of turpentine. No other resin seems to be so rich in turpentine as that of the black pine, 100 pounds of resin yielding 14 to 20 pounds of spirits and 60 pounds of rosin. During the same experiment, in the course of uine years, the following percentages of loss in the trees by death or windfalls occurred : Small trees below 10 inches. Large trees over 10 inches . . Minimum. Maximum, irage. 1 Trees from 50 to 100 years old are tapped ten or twelve years before they are to be cut. The business is carried on upon a rent system per tree and year, under contract prescribing, the dimensions and gradual extension of the chip and the time for chipping (usually till September 30) and scraping (not later than October 30), with heavy penalties in case of damage or excess of conditions. The total production in 1880— which has probably not materially changed since— was estimated at 13,288,000 pounds of resin, producing 9,260,000 pounds of rosin, 2,125,000 pounds of spirits, with an aggregate money value of about $300,000. French jjcac^Jce.— Turpentine orcharding in France is carried on with more care than in any other country. The first difference between the methods in the United States and in France is that in the latter it is largely practiced in young plantations specially planted and protected for this particular business. The maritime pine (Pinus pinaster L. synou., P. maritima), which has been used in the celebrated plantations on the sand dunes along the coast and in the Landes of Gascony for over 2,000 square miles, furnishes the bulk of naval stores produced in France. The boxing or tapping is begun when the trees are 20 to 25 years old and is continued for a great many years. Trees have been known to have been boxed for more than two hundred years. 158 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. Two methods of boxing are practiced, which are known as gemmage a mort and gemmage a vie, or " bleeding to death " and " bleeding alive." The difference lies in the number of scars inflicted simultaneously. The bleeding to death is applied to trees which are to be cut out in the thinnings of a regular forest management and to those which are at the end of their usefulness. The illus- tration (PI. XXX), here reproduced from Prof. L. Boppe's work ou Forest Technology, represents a pine 200 years old, with more than fifty scars or chips, without apparently any ill effects on the life of the tree. The "bleeding alive" is practiced on those trees which are to grow on, and hence must not be injured too much. They receive, therefore, one chip at a time. When this, after five seasons' workings, has attained a height of about 12 feet, the tree is allowed a rest of several years, and then another chip is opened, 6 or 8 inches from the old one, or else on the opposite side of the tree. In this way in time the whole circumference is chipped in alternating periods of bleeding and of rest until the trees are to be cut for lumber, when 100 to 125 years old or more. Sometimes excep- tionally vigorous trees receive more than one chip at a time, but these are opened at different heights. This successfally continued bleeding can, however, be carried on only by corresponding care in the manipulation. The important difference between French and American practice consists in this, that the former is more careful in the chipijing and proceeds more slowly in enlarging the chip, which is made only 3 to 5 inches wide instead of 12 or 14. Further, in collecting the products with more care, the deep box cut into the tree in American practice is dispensed with and a lip and pot substituted. The chipper begins his work in February or March by removing with a scraper from the whole portion of the tree that is to be chipped during the season, about 2 feet in height byl inches wide, the outer bark nearly to the wood. This is done to obviate the falling of bark chips into the pot, thus securing a cleaner product, and also to save the chipping tool. In the first week of March the chip is opened at the foot of the tree by making a triangular incision 3 to 4 inches wide and about IJ^ inches high, and not deeper than two-fifths of an inch. (Note the small size of the open- ing.) This chip is made with a specially and curiously fashioned hatchet, having a curved blade and a curved handle, difficult to make and use (PI. XXX, fig. 1). The chip is enlarged (chipping piquage) without increasing the width or even decreasing it. The art of the chipper consists in taking off' just as thin a peel of wood as possible, and at each chipping he freshens up the old scar by removing another i^eel, taking care not to go deeper than two-fifths of an inch altogether. This chipping is repeated forty to forty-five times during the season, and during following seasons the chip is carried higher, until it reaches 12 to 13 feet in height, namely, 70 inches the first season, 30 inches each the following three seasons, and 38 inches the last season, when the tree is left to rest, and the wound heals up by the formation of new layers of bark and wood. The cross-sections of trees bled through several periods twenty-four to twenty-seven years, and more (shown on PI. XXXI) exhibit the manner in which the chips are distributed through the various seasons around the tree, and the manner in which the scars heal over. To be sure, the wood formed on the chips is irregular and therefore not serviceable for anything except fuel. An experiment made in Austria on the black pine with the Hagues system (PI. XXXI) produced more dip and less scrape and that purer, and with less work, owing to the greater capacity of the vessel and the smaller surface to be scraped being confined to the chip of the year. Besides, quantity and quality of the spirits and rosin were superior, namely, 78.5 pounds distilled gave — Common method. Pot gathered. Pounds. 14.7 47.3 30.6 1.5 4.4 Per ct. or 18. 78 60.22 13.44 1.96 5.60 Pounds. 17.6 52.9 5.3 Per ct. or 22. 41 67.37 Water 6.72 2.7 3.50 78.5 100 78.5 100 Yield. — In a growth of 45 years of age, each tree produces from C to 10 pounds of resin each season more than we obtain from old trees. The yield per acre varies, of course, according to the FRENCH PKACTICE IN BLEEDING TREES. 159 age and the number of trees bled "to death" and bled "alive," as well as on the nature of the soil — the sand soil of the dunes produces more than the gravel and limestone soil. The weather and the care of the workman also influences the yield, so that the i^roduct per acre varies between 200 jiouuds of resin in younger (30 to 35 years old) growths to 400 pounds in older growths. The yield is said to be greatest in trees about 16 inches in diameter. If bled "to death," 200 to 250 pines, S inches in diameter, will yield about 500 j^ounds each year for three years. M. Bagueris mentions a piue about 50 inches in diameter which had 10 chips working simultaneously and yielded 12 to 14 pounds of resin annually. The men are paid by the cask of 517 pounds from $6 to $7, which allows them to earn about SO cents to $1 per day. The price of the crude turpentine varies considerably from $8 per cask of 517 pounds. It reached the enormous figure of $58 during the American civil war. Orcharding in France is usually carried on on half shares between timber-land owner and orchardist. EXPLANATION OF PLATES. Plate XXX. — Tools used in French practice. Tlie tools employed in the French method of orcharding are : An as (la cognee) for cutting trees and for remov- ing the course for the chip and for opening the lower cuts. An ax with a concave blade and a curved handle (I'abchot) ; this is the principal tool of the orchardist, and it serves exclusively for the opening of the chips. The hlade is razor-like in order to make a sharp and smooth cut through the resin ducts. I'Le irregular form of its handle and of its sharp edge make it au instrument diificult to manufacture and particularly difficult to use, and it is only after a long apprenticeship that it can be used with exactness and dexterity. (Fig. 1.) A scoop (la pelle) is made of iron, with an edge of steel. It is iixed at the end of a wooden handle .about 3 foot in length. This serves to clean the bottom part of the chip and particularly to draw out the resin from the reservoirs. Fig. 2.) The barker (la barrasquite) has a blade, steel-plated, narrow, and curved, and is furnished with a handle 5 feet long. This instrument is used for barking the trees at the highest point where it is impossible to use the ax, and for gathering the resin from such places. (Fig. 4.) Another kind of barker (le rasclet), much edged, having a handle 6 feet long, which is furnished with a step, is used in certain regions to continue the chip above the height of a man. Often the orchardist holds on by the handle of the "rasclet" and works with the hatchet. (Fig. 3.) A third form of scraper (la pousse), having a handle 8 feet long, used for the same purpose, has the blade so bent as to permit the worker to stand at a distance from the tree, thereby avoiding, while working, the falling bark and dripping rosin. (Fig. 5.) A shorter scraper (le palot), witli a handle only 3 feet long, replaces the scoop everywhere where the Hugues system does away with the dirt. It is used for cleaning, and is also used like a dibble at planting time fur i>lanting the acorns. (Fig. 6.) A ladder made by cutting steps into a piue sapling, each stop being held by a nail to prevent breaking, is used to reach the higher points. The products are gathered from the chips or pots to a reservoir established in the forest, in a sort of basket with a capacity of about 20 quarts. It is formed by a cylinder of rough cork surrounded with wood, the bottom being a round slab, made fast with pegs. The handle is of willow. A spatula (I'espatula) is used to remove the resin that adheres to the sides of the pots or transporting vessels. (Fig. 7.) Plate XXXI. — Turpentine gathering— Hugues system. In this plate fig. 1 exhibits the method of gathering turpentine by the Hugues system, and the use of the till and pot. While formerly the resin was allowed to rnn into a hole in the sand at the foot of the tree, since 1860, when the production was stimul.ated by the closing of the American sources of supply, au improvement on the crude method of collecting came into use. It consists iu fixing a bent zinc collar or gutter cut from sheet zinc 8 inches long and 2 inches wide, with teeth (see figure) across the chip, which acts as a lip, and conducts the liquid resin into a glazed earthen pot or a zinc vessel of conical shape suspended below the lip. The pots are 6 inches high, 4} inches at the opening, and 3 inches at the bottom, and hold about 1 quart. At first placed on the ground they are fastened each season above the old chip by means of a nail through a hole or otherwise (see figure). In this way, by shortening the distance over which the resin has to flow, the evaporation of the oil is reduced, and there is less liability of impurities to fall into the receiver. A cover over the pot is also sometimes used. The pots are emptied every fifteen or twenty days with the aid of a spatula (see PI. XXX, fig. 7). The scrape is collected only twice in the season, in June and November. Another improvement which reduces the amount of evaporation and assures cleaner resin consists-in covering the chip with a board. This improvement (Hugues system) is said to yield more and purer resin; the yield is claimed to be about one- third larger, aud the difference in price, on account of purity, 80 to 90 cents a barrel, while the cost per tree per year is figured at aliont 1 cent; besides, the proportion of scrajie is considerably reduced. This (called galipot) is collected by hand, except the hardest impure parts (called barras), of which there is hardly any 160 FORESTRY INVESTKiATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. in this system of collection. Not more than 17.9 per cent of scrape is expected, as against 29 in tUe American practice. F'io'ures 2 3 4 show cross sections of trees bled through several periods of years; also the manner in which chips are distributed, and healed scars. MANAGE5IKNT 01)' TURPENTINE PINERIES. When the yield of turpentine falls below a certain minimum, the time has arrived when the growth must be regenerated. All trees are then bled " to death " and cut as they give out, and the opeuings are seeded with pine seed and the reproduction is completed in four or five years. The young forest grows up uniformly, densely, and quickly, and when 10 or 12 years old it becomes necessary to thin out and to repeat the operation every five or six years, so that at the age of 20 the pines are nearly isolated. Then there are about 250 to 280 trees per acre, and bleeding "to death " is commenced at the rate of, say, 80 or 85 trees, which are to be taken out during the next four or five years. At the age of 25 another 80 are subjected to the operation, and at the age of 30 there may be left 100 to 125 trees per acre. At this age, when the trees are about 1 foot in diameter, bleeding "alive" is commenced on all trees. At the age of 60 to 80 years this number has dwindled down by casualties to 80 or even 65. If well managed these trees may last 120 to 130 years; otherwise, if bled too much, they will succumb in half the time. A rest of a year or more every fifth year is necessary to recuperate the trees. When the circumference of the tree has been all chipped, the old chips may be opened again. In order to produce resin abundantly the trees must stand isolated, their crowns well exposed to the sunlight; but it is only necessary that the crowns should just touch, when the trees are sufliciently isolated. The best producers are the short, stout trees, with -well-developed crown and well set with branches. To endure tapping without injury, they should be at least 14 inches in diameter, with a bole of 20 to 26 feet to the first limb on the dunes and 40 to 50 feet in the landes. There is no definite relatioo between volume and resin production. In fact, there is but little known as to the conditions and physiological processes which give rise to the formation of resin, except that full, active foliage and heat seem to be essential factors. (lATUBRING OF SPRUCE TURPENTINE. The wood of the spruce contains few and rather narrow longitudinal resin ducts, but wider lateral ducts, which are strongly developed in the liber or new wood fibers. It is these that furnish the flow. Hence the methods of extraction used on the pines must be modified. In growths 80 to 100 years old the yield is about 127 pounds of scrape and 40 pounds of dip per acre. Here the scrape is the purer material, and, therefore, more expensive, the dip being more or less impure. The operation is harmful to the trees, as it is apt to induce red rot. The pitch known as Burgundy pitch is derived from the resin of this species. The resin of the spruce has also the property of hardening very quickly on exposure to the air; therefore it does not flow readily enough from the chip to permit the methods used in the l)ines. In May or June two chips are made at the same time, 3 to 3.J feet in height and only half an inch in breadth, on opposite sides of the tree. They are cut with a specially curved sharp knife, and deep into the sapwood. In order to prevent stagnant water from collecting at the bottom, this is made pointed. The sides of the chip soon form callous, which would prevent the flow, and therefore the sides must be renewed every two or three years, or yearly, gradually widening the chip, so that after a series of years only two small strips of bark remain between the two chips. The renewing of the sides is done in summer, so that they may protect themselves before winter sets in by forming new callous. In some localities alternate chips are made every two years, instead of enlarging the original one. The bleeding is continued for ten to fifteen years, and the yield per tree and year averages 1 pound scrape and 1 J- pounds of dip. GATHERING OP LARCH TURPENTINE. The larch contains resin ducts of very large diameter, and the resinous contents are found mainly in the heartwood. The trees very often contain frost splits in the heart, in which the resin collects. The trees are bored into about a foot above the ground in horizontal direction. The EFFECT OF BLEEDING ON TIMBER. 161 borehole, being 1 incli in diameter and reacliing into the center, is closed with a wooden stopper. This hole fills up during the summer and the resin is taken out with a half-cylmdrical iron and then closed up. One tree will furnish ijer year one-fourth to three-eighths of a pound (120 to 180 grams) of resin. If the bore-holes were left open from spring to fall, the yield could be increased to 1 pound, but the resin would be impure, would contain less spirits of turpentine, and the tree would be damaged. One bore-hole sufSces for the whole period of orcharding, which is usually carried on for thirty years. With small amount of work and with a price two to three times that of the black pine turpentine, and no injury to the trees, this industry is quite profitable in spite of the small yield. GATHERING FIR TURPENTINK. The resin of the firs occurring mainly in isolated resin vesicles or cells and most abundantly near the bark (blisters), this is gathered by means of an iron jjot with sharp-pointed till, with which the vesicles are pierced. From the European fir in this way the Strasburg turpentine used to be gathered; now the practice is nearly abandoned. Tiie Canada balsam is gathered similarly from our own fir, Abies balsmnea. EFFECTS OF TURPENTINE ORCHARDING ON TIMBER, TREE, AND FOREST, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT ON AMERICAN PRACTICE. The turpentine industry can be carried on, but usually is not, without detriment to the value of the timber, to the life of the tree, and to the condition of the forest. The present practice, how- ever, in the United States is not only wasteful but highly prejudicial to present and future forestry interests. Effect on the timber. — As far as the timber of bled trees is concerned, it has been shown by the work of the Division of Forestry that the heartwood, the only part of the tree which is used for lumber, is in no way affected directly by the process of tapping. Not only has its strength been shown to be in no wise diminished, but since the resin of the heartwood does not participate in the flow, being nonfluid, the durability of the timber, as far as it depends on the resinous contents, can not be impaired by bleeding. Indirectly, however, by the boxes and large-sized chips, a con- siderable loss of timber in the best part of the tree, the butt log, occurs, which is avoidable. The parts surrounding the scar are furthermore rendered somewhat harder to work by an excess of resin which accumulates on and near the wound, tending to "gnm uj)" tools. Indirectly, also, a considerable proj)ortiou of boxed timber becomes defective if not used at once or, if left on the stocks exposed for a series of years to destructive agencies, such as fires, followed by fungus growth and attack of beetles. The larvae of large Capricorn beetles bore their way through the soft wood formed in the shape of callous surrounding the borders of the chip and through and beyond the sapwood. Through the innumerable fissures which are caused by repeated fires, air and water charged with spores of fungi find entrance into the body of the tree, causing decay, the damage increasing every year, so that from this cause alone the timber from a turpentine orchard abandoned for ten or fifteen years was at the sawmill found damaged to the extent of fully 20 per cent. Another prospective loss in timber is occasioned by the tapping of undersized trees which are not ready for the saw. Even if the ti'ee survived all the changes of the years following the bleeding and healed over the wound, the timber formed after the process, at least in the portion of the tree which carried the chip, is inferior and not fit for sawmill jjurposes on account of malformations and change of grain. The loss of timber by fire is also only an incidental effect of careless management. Effect on trees. — No doubt the normal life of the tree is interfered with by bleeding; not that the resin is of any physiological significance to the life of the tree, but the wound inflicted in the tapping, like any other wound, interferes with and reduces the area of water-conducting tissue. This interference may be so slight as practically to have no effect, or so great as to kill the tree sooner or later if other conditions are unfavorable. The experience in France shows that with care (narrow chips and periods of rest, which i)ermit callousing of the scar) trees may be bled for long periods and attain old age (see p. 158); it also shows how fast a tree may be bled to death, if this is desired. (See PI. XXX.) H. Doc. 181 11 162 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. While the exudation of the resin covering the excoriated surface and the accumulation of resin in the wood near the surface act as an eflicient antiseptic and firm protection against atmospheric influences, access of fungi and of insects to the interior of the tree — superior to any- callous — it also endangers the life of the tree if exposed to fire, since the resin is highly inflammable, and the heat produced by its flame is capable of killing the trees outright. It is, therefore, again, this indirect effect which exposes the trees of the turpentine orchard to extra risk, even though the operation was carried on with due care and consideration for the vitality of the tree. Effect upon the forest. — What has been said regarding the effects upon timber and trees applies naturally to the forest as a whole. With proper methods and i^roper care the turpentine industry need not be detrimental to the full and i^rofltable utilization or the successful regeneration of the forest. In Prance the turpentine orchard is generally as well managed— with exceptions, of course — as any other forest property. Unfortunately, the ignorance and carelessness of our turpentine gatherers, as well as of the entire community regarding forestry matters, lead to most disastrous results. The coarse, irrational manner of cutting boxes into the tree for gathering the dip, while reducdng the yield of the valuable oil, weakens the foot of the tree, and those receiving more than one box or being of small size are generally sooner or later blown down; the broad chips, out of proportion to the size and vitality of the tree, cause many to die before they have yielded what they could ; the same charge af wastefulness may be made against the methods of chipping and of collecting the resin, both of which reduce the yield considerably. But the greatest loss is that occasioned by the fires, carelessly handled by the orchardist himself in trying to protect himself against it, and still more carelessly allowed by the community to rage over large areas one season after another. In the orchard their destructiveness is increased by the broad resinous surfaces at the butt of the trees by the blown-down trees and the debris of the dead trees standing or lying on the ground. Dr. Mohr observes— The trees wliich Lave not been killed outilglit by the fire, or have altogether escaped this danger, are doomed to speedy destruction by bark beetles and pineborers, which iind a breeding place in the living trees blown down during the summer months, the broods of which rapidly infest the standing trees, which invariably succumb to the pest in the same season. Hence, the forests invaded by the turpentine men present, in five or six years after they are abandoned, a picture of ruin and desolation painful to behold; and in view of the destruction of the seedlings and younger growth, and of the vegetable mold, season after season, all hope for the restoration of forest life is excluded. 'SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPKOVEMENT. No radical improvement on existing practice can, of course, be expected until the turpentine orchardists themselves can see that present conditions and methods are detrimental to their business, and can persuade the community that it is to the mutual interest of both community and orchardist to allay the fire nuisance. Forestry — that is, rational use and management for perpetuity of our forest resources — will never succeed in our country until our communities discountenance the habits of the savages in the use of fire and learn that civilization consists in making nature do more than she voluntarily gives; in fact, that it consists in management, not in destruction, of natural resources. It is the duty as well as the self-interest of the community to do all in its power to make rational management for continuity practicable, and the first step is to insure protection of indi- vidual property against loss, be it by depredation or by other preventable causes. Hence, protec- tion against fire is a conditio sine qua non, if we would have rational and systematic management of our forest resources; for so long as forest property is made extra hazardous by lack of proper protection against fire the inducement to rob it of its best parts in the shortest time and then abandon it to its fate is too great. I would refer here to another part of this rej>ort, in which the general legislation for fire protection has been outlined (pp. 183-188). In the States or portions of States in which turijentine orcharding is practiced additional provisions would be necessary. Kegarding the practice in the technical operation of tapping, legislative regulations are prob- ably out of the question, the spirit of our institutions being against interference in the ttse of private property except where such use is directly injurious to other persons. Otherwise it would be desirable, fur the indirect benefit of the community, and especially its future, to pre- scribe lowest size of trees to be tapped and broadest chip permissible. IMPROVEMENT IN TURPENTINE ORCHARDS. 163 The orchardist's own interest, if he owns the forest and proposes to make the most of it, or the owner's interest, if he leases it for tnrpentine orchard, would dictate the following considera- tions, which I have formulated into a set of instructions : (1) Attend to the firing of the brush, when preparing for orcharding, at a season and time when a smoldering fire can be kept up which will not kill young growth and will not consume to ashes the vegetable mold. (2) Abandon the "boxing" system and substitute the movable pot with cover and lip.' (See PI. XXX, fig. 1.) By this the tree is less injured or liable to iujury, and a larger amount of valuable dip and a smaller proportion of scrape is insured. The cost of making and cornering boxes— a wasteful operation— averages about li cents per box, while the cost of pots is very much higher (heavy tin or zinc iron pots might be used more cheaply) ; but if the orchard is worked for longer time, as proposed in the following, the cost per year will be reduced and amply repaid by better yield. (3) Tap only trees large euough to make a good saw log, not less than 12 inches at the butt. Not only will such trees yield in better proportion to the labor expended, but the younger trees when left, after the saw timber fit for the saw has been taken, will assist in the reforestation by shedding their seed, and will in a few years have grown to proper size both for profitable tapping and profitable lumbering. (4) Eeduoe the chip in breadth to not over 3 inches, and rather work more chips at a time on the same tree, if good sized; not more, however, than one for each foot in circumference simul- taneously, so that a tree- 1 foot in diameter would carry, say, three of these narrow chips, evenly distributed. Thus the tree will be kept in full activity and yield more turpentine for a louger time. (5) Before starting the chip remove the rough bark down to a thin (reddish) skin for the breadth of 4 inches and, say, 2 feet in height, or a little wider than the chip is to be, and as high as it is to be worked for the season; this is for the purpose of keeping your pots clean of bark particles. Start the chip with as small an opening and as low down at the foot of the tree as is practicable for attaching the pot, and cut it triangular at the base, so as to allow any water to readily flow off, preventing its collection and consequent fungus growth. (6) Do the chipping as gradually as possible, remembering that the flow depends mainly upon the number of longitudinal ducts cut through transversely and kept open. A rapid increase in height of the chip is a useless waste; the chipping is done simply to remove the clogged-up ends of the ducts; the removal of one- fourth to one-third or at most one-half inch of new wood every five to eight days, according to the weather, will accomplish this end. As to depth, it is useless to cut deeper than the sapwood, since the heart does not yield any resin. Whether the French method of deepening the chip gradually and only to a depth of one-half inch at most or a cut through the entire sapwood at once is, on the the whole, more profitable, comparing labor and yield, remains to be ascertained by trial. Where trees are not to be managed for continuous bleeding, but are to be exhausted prior to their cutting for saw logs, it would appear proper to cut at once through the entire sapwood, using perhaps a sharp chisel for the work of chipping. When we have arrived at a time when the orcharding is done in young plantations managed for the purpose the more careful chipping of the French may be indicated. (7) Do not collect the scrape more than once a year, in August or September, or early enough to give the trees a chance to protect their scars before winter sets in; but reduce the amount of scrape by using pots and lips and keeping these as close as practicable to the top of the chip. In this way the superior yield will pay for the greater care. ' (S) Kemember that it is more profitable to prepare for operating a given area for ten to fifteen years instead of three to four years, since many necessary expenditures remain the same whether the operation is carried on for the shorter or longer period, and hence in the latter case are dis- tributed through a longer term. With the above methods and proper care an orchard may be 1 Since the above was written (in 1892) the pot or cup system has been experimentally tried by J. C. Schuler of West Lake, La., the patentee of a special pot, described in Bulletin 13, Division of Forestry. The patentee admits the extra cost for a crop of 10,000 cups for two seasons as $460 against $190 under the old system, but the increased yield of crude turpentine for the two years is claimed as 195 barrels at $3.50 per barrel or $410 in favor of the cup system. 164 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. worked i>rofitably four or five times as long as vinder present methods, and hence many precau- tions, especially agaiust fire, such as ditches, roads, etc., to arrest the fire, too expensive if the V orchard is soon to be abandoned, may be employed with advantage. \ (9) If present methods must jirevail and i)rotection against fires can not be had, because the community is still too uncivilized or blind to its interests, do not subject your valuable timber to turpentine orcharding unless you can dispose of it to a sawmill immediately after the orchard is abandoned. Otherwise the loss of timber by fire is apt to wipe out all profits made by the orchard. IMPKOVEMENTS IN THE DISTILLATION OF THE CRUDE TURPENTINE BY THE APPLICATION OF STEAM. In the ordinary way, the distillation of the crude turpentine, yielding the largest quantity of spirits of turpentine and finest quality of rosin, can not be carried to the total extraction of the volatile oil without impairing the quality of the residuary x^roduct. The higher grades of rosin are still retaining a considerable amount of spirits. To i^reveut such loss distillation by steam has been resorted to. This innovation seems, however, not to have received the deserved attention. From the latest information it appears that this method has proved completely successful at a turpentine distillery in Xew Orleans; there, by its introduction, an increase of fully 30 per cent is claimed over the yield of spirits of turpentine obtained by distillation with the open fire, the grade of rosin remaining unaffected. PRODUCTS OF THE DESTRUCTIVE DISTILLATION OF THE WOOD OF THE LONGLEAF PINE. The au'dried wood of the longleaf pine in its normal condition has been found to contain from 2 to 2f per cent of volatile oil, taking the specific gravity of spirits of turpentine at 0.87 and the weight of 1 cubic foot of the air-dried wood at 43 pounds. The spirits is obtained by subjecting the wood to the action of superheated steam in the same retorts in which its destructive distilla- tion is carried on, a process with which its production direct from the wood is invariably connected, and of which it forms the first step. The quantity of spirits of turpentine obtained varies largely. As stated by one operator, it differs all the way from 5 to 18 per cent, according to the wood being fresh cut or dry, and to the different i^arts of the tree from which it is taken. From the results of numerous experiments made on a large scale in different parts of the longleaf-pine region, it can be assumed that 1 cord of wood, green and of different degrees of dryness, yields, on the average, about 15 gallons of an impure spirits of turpentine. Owing to the presence of empyreumatic substances of yellow color it becomes darker on exposure to air and of an empyreumatic odor. It is easily freed from its impurities by redistillation ; thus rectified, the i)roduct is perfectly clear, colorless, and almost odorless, save a faint woody smell, answering all the purposes for which the spirits of turpentine obtained from the rosin is used. In 1881 Mr. William Mepan, of Georgia, secured a patent for the utilization of the wood wasted at the sawmills, of the refuse left on the ground in the logging camp and in the turpentine orchard, for the production of spirits of turpen- tine, jjyroligneous acid, tar, and charcoal. By the operation of the apparatus of the patentee, on exhibition at the Atlanta International Exposition (in 1882), 600 pounds of dry, highly resinous wood, so-called lightwood, yielded— Pounds. Spirits of turpeutiue 21J- Pyroligneous acid 95 Heavy oils and tar 150 Charcoal 127 Water and gas 206t Total 600 Amounting to a yield by the cord of 24 gallons of spirits of turpentine, 88 gallons of pyrolig- neous acid, 120 gallons tarry and heavier oily products, and 56 bushels of charcoal.' In several experiments made at the same place slabs taken from the sawmill yielded (to the cord) from 12 to 14 gallons of spirits of turpentine, 200 to 250 gallons of weak pyroligneous acid, from 64 to 108 gallons of tar and heavier oils, and from 50 to 60 bushels of charcoal. The opera- tions subsequently carried on by the same parties in retorts of a capacity of about 6 cords of 1 Report of awards at the Atlanta International Exposition in 1882. DISTILLING WOOD OF PINE. 165 wood showed similar results. lu tlie attempt made at Mobile by Mr. Maas, about iifteen years past, in connection with a sawmill — soon abandoned, however — the results were about the same. From a cord of green slabs 12 gallons of turpentine were distilled and 150 gallons of tarry and oily substances. The rectified spirits of turpentine was found not to differ sensibly from the product of the rosin. At the works of the Yellow Pine Wood Distilling Company at N'ew Orleans, worked under the patent and superintendence of Mr. E. Koch, every kind of mill refuse, pine knots, stumps, branches, etc., are used. The patentee has kindly furnished the following infor- mation about the apparatus employed and the way it is being worked : The material is cut in short pieces, loaded in iron cars, which are run into steel retorts, 20 feet long and 8 feet in diameter, provided with rails, and holding 3 cords of wood; doors are closed tight, superheated steam is let in, and at the same time a moderate fire is started in the furnace. The distillation proper of the spirits begins in about six hours at a temperature of 300°, increasing during the next four hours to 350°, until the distillate ceases to run; at this stage the steam is shut off and the destructive distillation by the open fire is proceeded with; under the gradual increase of the temperature from 350 to 900 degrees the distillation is continued through the following fifteen hours, the whole operation consuming about twenty four hours. The residue in the retort is a charcoal of good quality. The quantity of spirits of turpentine obtained from 1 cord varies from 5 to 18 gallons, of heavier oils and tarry products known as dead oil or creosote from 60 to 100 gallons, and of stronger acid (of a specific gravity 1.02) 60 gallons, or of weaker acids 120 gallons. The gas produced is used for fuel. The capacity of this plant is 6 cords of wood in twenty-four hours. By the increase in the value of dead oil that has taken place during the past five or six years the destructive distillation of the wood of the longleaf pine is placed financially on a more promising basis than ever before. If the enormous amount of raw material be considered, which has hereto- fore gone to waste at the sawmills and in the forest, but by this process may be turned to a profit- able use, this industry is capable of the widest extension, and can not fail to add other resources of income to those already derived from the forests of longleaf pine. AVith the augmenting demand for the mixture of heavier hydrocarbons and chryselic (phenylic) compounds known in the trade as dead oil, creosote, or pine oil for the impregnation of timber for the purpose of preventing its decay and destruction by the teredo, the distillation of the wood of the longleaf pine is at present carried on with the main object of securing the largest yield of dead oil. According to the statements of Mr. Franklin Clark (see Columbia College Quarterly), made in his paper on the subject, for this purpose the most resinous wood is preferred with which the retorts are charged. These retorts, cylindrical in shape, made of wrought-iron or steel plates, and about three times as long as they are wide, are of a capacity to receive little over a cord of the perfectly air-dried wood. The distillation is effected by the open fire and the condensation of the distillate by the ordinary worm condenser. The light oils running over first at a temperature of from 350 to 500 degrees, of a specific gravity of 0.88 to 0.90, are of a dark-red color; as soon as their density has increased to the latter figure they are caught separately. After twelve or fifteen hours, when the temperature has reached 600 degrees and the density of the oil is 0.98, with the formation of the chryselic compounds the aqueous distillate at this stage shows a higher percentage of acetic acid, increasing with the rise of the specific gravity of the oil. The operation is generally finished at a temperature not exceeding 900 degrees. The process is terminated at the end of twenty-four hours. The charge of the retort, averaging 4,575 pounds of resinous, air-dried wood (little^more than a cord), yields — Light oil (of sp. gr. 0.875 to 0.95) gallons.. 13 Heavy pine oil or dead oil (sp.gr. 0.95 to 1.04) do 73+ Pyroligueous acid (sp. gr. 1.02) tlo 185 Or a mean yield of — Pyroligneous acid (sp.gr. 1.02) , 1,527 pounds, or 34.37 per cent. Total of oily products 729 pounds, or 15.94 per cent. Charcoal 1,511 pounds, or 33.04 per cent. Gas 761 pounds, or 16.64 per cent. On settling, the pine oil— that is, the whole of the oily products of the wood— separates from the acid as a black or red oil, with a specific gravity from 0.97 to 1.30. For the purpose of 166 FORESTRY I^^VESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. creosoting it is subjected to a process of partial distillatiou, by whicli the separation of the lighter oil is effected, and the percentage of the phenylic compounds and of the heavy hydro- carbons to which the creosoting process owes its merits is increased. The pyroligneous acid is of a yellowish or reddish color and contains i per cent of hydrated acetic acid. In its crude state it serves for the manufacture of pyroligneate of iron, the so-called black dye, and for the xoreparation of acetate of lime, acetate of lead, and pure acetic acid. The light oil is used for dark paints, fit to cover metals and stone. It does not work well, however, on wood. Development of a Forest Policy, historical. The recognition that attention to satisfactory forest conditions is as necessary as to other economic conditions, has existed among a few wise heads since the beginning of the settlement of the country. Thus William Penn, the founder and first legislator of Pennsylvania, as early as 1682, in his ordinances regarding the disposal of lands, stipulated that to every 5 acres cleared of forest growth 1 acre of trees should be reserved for forest growths by those who took title from him, a provision which was jtrobably soon forgotten. In 1640, only two years after its settlement, the inhabitants of Exeter, N. H., adopted a general order for the regulation of the cutting of oak timber, a precaution which other towns followed. In 1708 the provincial assembly of New Hampshire forbade the cutting of mast trees on ungranted lands, under a ijenalty of £100, and at that early time the province had a surveyor- general of forests, appointed by royal authority, for the purpose of preventing depredations upon timber, A noteworthy effort to inculcate rational treatment of our forest resources, which took at least its incentive in these earlier times, although it came to a result much later, is that made by two noble Frenchmen, botanists, Andre Michaux and his son Andre Francois, who between the years 1785 and 1805 explored and studied the forest flora of the United States, and, besides shorter discussions on the subject, published a magnificent work on the same, the North American Sylva, in three volumes. The latter, Andre Frangois Michaux, translated his love and zeal for this studj' into practical action by leaving two legacies for the study of silviculture in the United States. In his will, dated September 4, 1855, A. F. Michaux made the following provision : Wishing to recognize tbe services and good reception Tvhicli my father and myself, together and separately, have received during our long and often perilous travels in all the extent of the United Ktates, as a mark of my lively gratitude, and also to contribute in that country to the extension and progress of agriculture, and more especially of silviculture in the United States, I give and bequeath to the American Philosophical Society of Philacielphia, of which T have the honor to be a member, the sum of $13,000; I give and bequeath to the Society of Agriculture and Arts in the State of Massachusetts, of which I have the honor to be a member, the sum of $8,000; these two sums making 180,000 francs, or, again, $20,000. I give and bequeath the sole ownership to these two abovesaid societies, and the usufruct to my wife for her life. This bequest did not become available until 1870. The American Philosophical Society at Philadelphia, being the trustee of one of the Michaux legacies, has devoted part of its income from this fund to aid in the beautification of Fairmount Park, especially by the propagation of various species of oaks; another part is devoted to popular lectures on subjects relating to forest botany and forestry. The bequest to the Massachusetts Society for the Promotion of Agriculture is applied to aid the botanical garden at Harvard and the Arnold Arboretum, and to the occasional publication of pamphlets on forestry subjects. This society, founded in 1792, has also occasionally tried to encourage forest culture by paying premiums for successful forest plantations (especially in 1876). As early as 1804 such prizes were ottered. A similar society — the Society for Promotion of Agriculture, Arts, and Manufactures — in New Tork, founded in 1791, also considered it among its functions to foster forest culture by publishing in 1795 a report on the best mode of preserving and increasing growth of timber, an outcome of an inquiry by circular letter issued in 1791. FORESTRY MOVEMENT IN UNITED STATES. 167 The Federal Government recognized the need of action as early as 1799 — to be sure, only with reference to a certain kind of supplies, namely, for naval construction — by an act approved February 25, 1799, appropriating $200,000 for the jjurchase of growing or other timber, or of lands ori which timber is growing suitable for the Navy, and for its preservation for future use. Small purchases were made on the Georgia coast, but nothing of importance beyond this was done until 1817, when, on March 1, another act was passed renewing the act of 1790, directing a reservation of such public lands, having a growth of live-oak or cedar timber suitable for the Navy, as might be selected by the President. Under this act a reservation of 19,000 acres was made on Commissioners, Cypress, and Sis islands, in Louisiana. Another appropriation of $10,000 was made in 1828, and some lands were purchased on Santa Rosa Sound, where during a few years an attempt at cultivation — clearing the ground of roots of other trees, sawing and transplanting and pruning — was made. This was done under the more" general act of March 3, 1827, by which the President was authorized to take proper measures to preserve the live-oak timber growing on the lands of the United States. Provision was furthermore made, by an act apjtroved March 2, 1831, for the punish- ment of persons cutting or destroying any live oak, red cedar, or other trees growing on any lands of the United States, by a fine of not less than thrice the value of the timber cut and imprisonment not exceeding twelve months. Under these acts some 244,000 acres of forest land were reserved in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. (See Report on Forestry, Vol. I.) It will be noted that no general conception of the need of a forest policy underlay these attemijts at securing suilicient material for a special purpose; material of a kind which was not j)lentiful and was then believed a continued necessity for the buildiug of war ships. We can now smile at the concern expressed so early by writers in public i^rints with regard to the threatened exhaustion of forest supplies. The extent of our forest domain was then entirely unknown, and in the absence of railroad communication the location of supplies near the centers of civilization was of more moment. Logging tlien was carried on only along the coast and the Eastern river courses. Small country mills sawed to order for home consumption or sent material to the mouth of the river to be carried by vessel to home and foreign markets. The mills were run in the manner of the country gristmills, often in connection with them. This i^etty method of doing business lasted until the middle of this century, as is evidenced by the census of 1840, which reports 31,560 lumber mills, with a total product valued at $12,943,507, or a little over $400 per mill. By 1870 a change had already become apparent, when the product per mill was $6,500, which in 1890 had become $19,000, or about three times the value for 1870, with only 21,011 mills reported. Besides the concentration of the lumber business into large establishments, which these figures show, there are other interesting changes indicated in the census figures, which we may briefly note here as having a bearing upon the question of the need of a forest ijolicy and the cause for its development. While in 1890 the efScieucy of the mill establishments had increased to three times what it was in 1870 and nearly fifty times that of 1840, the total product had also increased in the twenty years from 1870 to 1890, nearly three times. The capital employed in the lumber industry had increased four and one-third times, showing that, while capital became less efflcient with concentration, the unit product of labor also became less efficient, in spite of the improvement in machinery. While every dollar of capital produced less result, by over 40 per cent in 1890, in the value of the product, every dollar of wages also produced less result, by over 12 per cent, than it did in 1870; but the cost of raw material had increased over 16 per cent. All these are signs of the deterioration and exhaustion of supplies. It would be difflcult to set a date or mark an event from which the change in the methods of the lumber industry, which is now such a stupendous factor in forest decimation, might be reck- oned. It came as gradually or as fast as the railway systems ex]>anded and made accessible the vast fields of supply in the Northwest, while the supplies of the East were being exhausted. ' Especially after the war the settlements of the West grew as if by magic; the railroad mile- age more than doubled in the decade from 1865 to 1875, and with it the lumber industry developed ' See "American lumber," by B. E. Fernow, ia One Hundred Years of American Commerce : D. O. Hayues Co., 1895. 168 FORESTKY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGRICULTUEE. by rapid strides into its modern methods and volume. In 1865 the State of New York still fur- nished more lumber than any other State; now it supplies only insignificant amounts. - In 1868 the golden age of lumbering had arrived in Michigan ; in 1871 rafts filled the Wiscon- sin; in 1875 Eau Claire had 30, Marathou 30, and Fond du Lac 20 sawmills, now all gone; and mills at La Crosse, which were cutting millions of feet annually, are now closed. By 1882 the Saginaw Valley had reached the climax of its production, and the lumber industry of tlie great Northwest, with a cut of 8,000,000,000 feet of white pine alone, was in full blast. Southern devel- opment began much later to assume large proportions, but by the present time the lumber product of the Southern States has grown to proportions equal to those of the Northern States or the Great Lakes States, each of the three sections furnishing about equal shares in the enormous total cut. No wonder that those observing this rapid decimation of our forest supplies and the incredible wastefulness and additional destruction by fire, with no attention to the aftergrowth, began again to sound the note of alarm. Besides the writings in the daily press and other non-ofldcial publica- tionsj we find the reports of the Department of Agriculture more and more frequently calling attention to the subject. In the report issued by the Patent Office as early as 1849, we find the following significant language in a discussion on the influence of forests on water flow and their rapid destruction : The waste of valuable timber in the United States, to say nothing of firewood, will hardly begin to be appre- ciated until our population reaches 50,000,000. Then the folly and shortsightedness of this age will meet with a degree of censure and reproach not pleasant to contemplate. The report for 1860 contains a long article by J. G. Cooper on "The forests and trees of northern America as connected with climate and agriculture." In 1865 the Eev. Frederic Starr discussed fully and forcibly the "American forests, their destruction and preservation," in which, with truly prophetic vision, he says: It is feared it will be long, perhaps a full century, before the results at which we ought to aim as a nation will be realized by our whole country, to wit, that we should raise an adequate supply of wood and timber for all our wants. The eviU.iohich are anticipated viU probahlij increase upon us for thirti/ years to come loith tenfold the rapidiiii with which restoring or ameliorating measures shall he adopted. And again : Like a cloud no bigger than a man's hand just rising from the sea, an awakening interest begins to come in sio-ht on this subject, which as a question of political economy will place the interests of cotton, wool, coal, iron, meat, and even grain beneath its feet. Some of these, according to the demand, can be produced in a few days, others in a few months or in a few years, but timber in not less than one generation. The nation has slept because the gnawing of want has not awakened her. She has had plenty and to spare, but within thirty years she will bo conscious that not only individual want is present, but that it comes to each from permanent national famine of wood. The article is full of interesting detail, and may be said to be the starting basis for the cam- paign for better methods which followed. Another unquestionably most influential oflflcial report was that upon Forests and Forestry of Germany, by Dr. John A. Warder, United States commissioner to the World's Fair at Vienna in 1873. Dr. Warder set forth clearly and correctly the methods employed abroad in the use of forests, and became himself one of the most prominent propagandists for their adoption in his own country. About the same time appeared the classical work of George P. Marsh, our minister to Italy, " The Earth as Modified by Human Action," in which the evil effects on cultural conditions of forest destruction were ably and forcibly pointed out. The census of 1870 also for the first time attempted a canvass of our forest resources under Prof. F. W. Brewer, and the relatively small area of forest became known. All these publica- tions had their influence in educating a larger number to a conception and consideration of the importance of the subject, so that when, in 1873, the committee on forestry of the American Association for the Advancement of Science was formed and presented its memorial to Congress, there existed already an intelligent audience, and, although a considerable amount of lethargy and lack of interest was exhibited, Congress could be persuaded, in 1876, to establish the agency TIMBER CULTURE LAWS. 169 in the United States Department of Agriculture out of which grew the Division of Forestry, as described in the body of the report, a bureau of information on forestry matters. While these were the beginnings of an official recognition of the subject by the Federal Government, private enterprise and the separate States started also about the same time to forward the movement. In 1867 the agricultural and horticultural societies of Wisconsin appointed a committee to report on the disastrous effects of forest destruction. In 1869 the Maine Board of Agriculture appointed a committee to report on a forest policy for the State, leading to the act of 1872 "for the encouragement of the growth of trees," exempting from taxation for twenty years lands planted to trees, which law, as far as we know, remained without result. About the same time a real wave of enthusiasm with regard to planting of timber seems to have pervaded the country, and especially the Western prairie States. In addition to laws regarding the planting of trees on highways, laws for the encouragement of timber planting, either under bounty or exemption from taxation, were passed in Iowa, Kansas, and Wisconsin in 1868, in Nebraska and in New York in 1869, in Missouri in 1870, in Minuesota in 1871, in Iowa in 1872, in Illinois in 1874, in Nevada, Dakota, and Connecticut in 1872, and finally the Federal Gov- ernment joined in this kind of legislation by the so-called timber-culture acts of 1873 and 1874, amended in 1876 and 1877. For the most part these laws remained a dead letter. The encouragement by release from taxes, except in the case of the Federal Government, was not much of an inducement, nor does the bounty provision seem to have had greater success, except in taking money out of the treasuries. Finally these laws were in many cases repealed. The timber-culture act was passed by Congress on March 3, 1873, by which the planting of timber on 40 acres of land, or a proportionate area in the treeless territory, conferred the title to 160 acres or a proportionate amount of the public domain. This law had not been in existence ten years when its repeal was demanded, and this was finally secured in 1891, the reason being that, partly owing to the crude provisions of the law and partly to the lack of proper supervision, it had been abused and had given rise to much fraud in obtaining title to lands under false pretenses. It is difflcut to say how much imijetus the law gave to bona fide forest planting and how much timber-growth has resulted from it. Unfavorable climate, lack of satisfactory plant material, and lack of knowledge as to proper methods led to many failures. In 1889 the Division of Forestry made an analysis of the figures furnished by the General Land Office, which shows that 38,080,506 acres were entered under the timber-culture act up to June 30, 1888. This should rei^resent a planted area of 2,380,030 acres if the law were. complied with and the entries not changed. Allowing ten years for timber-claim planters to jirove up their entries (the law places it at eight years, allowing extensions on account of failures), the' entries of the first six years, 1873 to 1878, alone give us some points of comparison for the estimation of results. During that time 3,821,843 acres had been entered, representing a supposed area of less than 50,000 acres planted to timber. But in 1888, ten years later, the acreage proved up was only 779,582 acres, or about 20 per cent of the land entered, representing perhaps 175,000 acres planted, if the original plantations persisted. From this it would appear that the timber-culture act has been a failure so far as the creating of forests is concerned. It is asserted that a better percentage will be obtained from the entries of later years, because more experience has been gained, and timber-claim planting was done under contract by persons who make a business of it. Yet the consensus of unbiased testimony goes to show that timber- claim planting, as a rule, did not produce the results sought after, and has mostly been used as a means for speculation in Government lands, partly with that design from the beginning, partly as a necessity after failure to obtain the land by timber planting. There is also considerable planting of wind-breaks and groves done on homesteads, which is said to be attended with better results. Altogether, however, the amount of tree planting is infinitesimal, if comj)ared with what is necessary for climatic amelioration ; and it may be admitted, now as well as later, that the reforestation of the plains must be a matter of cooperative if not of national enterprise. 170 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. Original and final entries under timier-cuUure acts until 1SS8. State or Territory. Final entries. Arizona Arkansai ... California... Colorado Dakota Idaho Iowa Kansas Louisiana . . Minnesota -. Montana Nebraska - . . Nevada New Mexico Orecron Utah "W"ashin,orton. "Wyoming . . . Total.. 6,671 23, 650 63, 647 3,257 14, 377 2,555 48, 589 42 1,059 6,128 1,048 7,673 2,401 122, 570 4,416 856, 076 3, 498, 351 11, 500. 026 427, 017 75, 514 8, 738, 944 96, 342 ,030 146, 928 908, 248 128, 188 1, 114, 761 454, 393 1,606 2,278 185, 064 1,711 11,505 206, 146 104, 758 6,796 660 20, 673 Private interest of homesteaders and settlers without these aids has probably been as effective. lu this direction the establishment of arbor days throughout the States has been a stimulating influence. From its inception by Governor J. Sterling Morton and first inauguration by the State board of agriculture of N'ebraska in 1872, it has become a day of observance in nearly every State, until its adoption as a national holiday may be shortly expected. While with the exception of the so-called treeless States, perhaps not much planting of eco- nomic value is done, the observance of the day in schools as one set apart for the discussion of the importance of trees, forests, and forestry, has been productive of an increased interest in the subject. To be sure, arbor days have had also a retarding influence upon the practical forestry move- ment in leading peoiile into the misconception that forestry consists in tree ijlanting, in diverting- attention from the economic question of the proper use of existing forest areas, in bringing into the discussion i)oetry and emotions, which have clouded the hardheaded practical issues and delayed the earnest attention of ijractical business men. The following table exhibits the condition of the Arbor-day movement at the present time: ArTjor-day observance in the United States. States and TeiTitories. JFirst observed. By whose appointment. When legally Legal holiday. Arkansas Califoraia ... Colorado Connecticut . Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois . Indiana. Indian Territory . Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts — Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri . Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire . New Jersey February 22 First Friday afterFeb- ruary 1. For schools . . . I April. For schools . Tes Variable Third Friday In spring January 8 First Friday in Decem- . ber. Last Monday in April . Superintendent of public instraction. October, usually. 1888-89 1887 1889 1886 1876 1876 1892 1887 1872 1887 1886 1884 Superintendent of public instruction. Maj^or of Topeka Legislature State superintendent of schools Legislature Variable April, usually . Option of parish boards . .do. Village Improvement Society. Governor State Forestry Association State board of education Superintendent of schools . April Last Saturdayin April. Legislature Board of agriculture. Legislature First Friday after First Tuesday in April. Third Tuesdayin April April 22 Legislature. Do. Governor. Superintendent of public in- struction. Do. State board of education. Legislature. FORESTRY MOVEMENT IN UNITED STATES. Arhor-day observance in the United States — Continued. 171 states and Territories. New Mexico . New York . . . Oregon Pennsylvania. . . Kliode Island . . . South Carolina . South Dakota... Tennessee Texas Utah VeiTuont Virginia Washington . "West Virgini "Wisconsin . . . "Wyoming First observed. 1893 1884 1882 1392 1892 1892 1883 By whose appointment. Legislature. Superintendent of public instruction. Legislature. Individual action. Governor Normal College. . . Legislature . .do. Governor Village Improvement Society A gricultaral College Superintendent of jiublic instruction . Legislature "When legally estab- 1887 1889 1892 Legal holiday. For schools. - Date of annual observ* Second Friday i March. First Friday afte May 1. Second Friday in April. February 22 B'irst Saturday in April Fall and spring. By whom iixed. Governor. Do. Superintendent of public in- struction. Legislature. Governor. Do. Do. County superin- tendent. Legislature. Superintendent of schools. Governor. Do. Private efforts in tlie East in the way of fostering and carrying on economic timber planting sliould not be forgotten, sucli as the prizes offered by the Society for the Promotion of Agriculture, the planting done by the private landholders at Cape Ood, in Ehode Island, Virginia, and else- where. Altogether, however, these efforts have been sporadic and unsystematic, and not on any scale commensurate with the destruction of virgin forest resources. ASSOCIATED PROPAGANDA. The first forestry association organized for the pur])ose of advancing forestry interests was formed on January 12, 1876, in St. Paul, Minn., largely through the efforts of Leonard B. Hodges, This association was aided by State appropriations, which enabled it to offer premiums for the setting out of plantations, and also to publish and distribute widely a Tree Planters' Manual. Revised editions are issued from time to time, and a distribution of plant material is also occasion- ally attempted, the State aiding to the extent of $1,000 to $2,000 annually. In 1875 Dr. John A. Warder issued a call for a convention in Ohicago to form a national forestry association. This association was completed in 1876 at Philadelphia, but never showed any life or growth. In 1882 a number of patriotic citizens at Cincinnati called together a forestry congress, incited thereto by the visit and representations of Baron von Steuben, a Prussian forest official, when visiting this country on the occasion of the centennial celebration of the surrender of Yorktown. A very enthusiastic and representative gathering, on April 25, was the result, lasting through the week, which led to the formation of the American Forestry Association. This association, holding yearly and intermediate meetings in different parts of the States, has become the center of all private efforts to advance the forestry movement. Twelve volumes of its pro- ceedings contain not only the history of progress in establishing a forest policy, but also much other information of value on forestry subjects. It now publishes a monthly journal, The Forester. It is unaided by government, its efforts being entirely borne by private means and the annual dues of its membership, its officers doing gratuitous work. It has been especially instrumental in bringing about the establishment of the Federal forest reservation policy, which we will note further on in detail. Other local or State forestry associations were formed more or less under the lead of the national association, and exist now in Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakota, Colorado, and Washington, while several other societies, like the Sierra Nevada Club and the Mazamas of 172 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. the Pacific coast, and State horticultural societies in various States, make the subject one to be discussed and to be fostered. The most active of these associations, publishing also, since its formation in 188G, a bimonthly journal, Forest Leaves (at first less frequently), is the Pennsylvania State Forestry Association, •which has succeeded in thoroughly committing its State to a proper forest i^olicy, as far as official recognition is concerned. PORESTRT COMMISSIONS. Usually as a result of this associated private effort various States have appointed forestry commissions or commissioners. These commissions were at first for the most part instituted for inquiry and to make a rejiort, upon which a forest policy for the State might be framed. Others have become permanent parts of the State organization with executive or educational functions. Such commissions of inquiry were appointed at various times in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Colorado, California; while commissioners or commissions with executive duties exist now or did exist for a time in Maine, New Hamjjshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin,' Minnesota, Colorado, and California. Maine has an efficient forest- fire law (chap. 26 of Revised Statutes) based on that of the State of New York, and a forest commissioner (created in 1891, Public Laws, chap. 100) — the State laud agent of the State being ex officio designated as such — to look to its execution. The forest commissioner has in addition annually a small amount of money appropriated to satisfy the requirements of the following two sections of the law : Sec. 15. The forest commissioner sliall take sucli measures as the State superinteudent of public scliools and the president of the State college of agriculture and the mechanic arts may appro\'6 for awakening an interest in behalf of forestry in the public schools, academies, and colleges of the State, and of imparting some degree of elementary instruction upon this subject therein. Skc. 1G. The forest commissioner shall prepare tracts or circulars of information, giving plain and concise advice for the caro of wood lands and for the preservation of forest growth. These publications shall be furnished to any citizen of the State upon application. Two very interesting and instructive reijorts on the growth of the spruce and on allied subjects are the result. New Hampshire had a temporary commission of inquiry, appointed in 1881 and reporting in 1885; and another such commission in 1889, reporting in 189.'], Avhen the permanent forestry commission was created (March 29, 1893) with a paid secretary, who i>ublishes an annual rej^ort. The main function of the commission is one of inquiry and suggestion, besides partial supervision of the forest-fire law. The acquisition of public parks, if iDrivate munificence should be found willing to furnish the necessary funds, is also made a part of the function of the commission. Two small areas have been donated.- In Massachusetts no special public ofScers are charged with the care of forestry interests, and hence the otherwise useful legislation is probably of only partial effect. Its best feature is perhaps that of encouraging communities to become owners of forest tracts (chap. 255, acts of 1882). The city of Boston has made special efforts in this direction, having set aside more than 7,000 acres for forest parks. The State board of agriculture was, in 1890, ordered to inquire "into the consideration of the forests of the State, the need and methods of their iirotection," and report thereon, which order did not j)roduce anything of value. A bill to secure such forest survey, introduced into the legislature in the year 1897, failed of passage. In Vermont a commission of inquiry was instituted in 1882, reporting in 1881 without any practical result, the proposed legislation remaining unconsidered. In New York a law was passed in 1872 naming seven citizens, with Horatio Seymour, chairman, as a State park commission, instructed to make inquiries with the view of reserving or appropriating the wild lands lying northward of the Mohawk or so much thereof as might be deemed expedient, for a State park. The commission, finding that the State then owned only 40,000 acres in that region, and that there was a tendency on the part of the holders of the rest to combine for the enhancement of values should the State want to buy, recommended a law forbidding further sales of State lands and their retention when forfeited for the nonpayment of taxes. FORESTKY COMMISSIONS — ^NEW YORK. 173 It was eleven years later, in 1SS3, that this recommendation was acted upon, when the State through the nonpayment of taxes by the owners had become possessed of 600,000 acres. In 1884 the comptroller was authorized to emi^loy " such experts as he may deem necessary to investigate and report a system of forest preservation." The report of a commission of four members was made in 1885, but the legislation proposed was antagonized by the lumbering interests. The legislature finally passed a compromise bill entitled "An act establishing a forest commission, and to define its powers, and for the preservation of forests." This legislation, afterward amended, is the most comprehensive of that of any State in the Union. The original forest commission, appointed under the act of May 15, 18S5, was superseded in 1895 by the commission of fisheries, game, and forests, under the law of April 25, 1895. This law is a comprehensive measure in which allied interests are brought under the control of a single board. Under this law the commission consists of five members appointed by the governor with consent of the senate, the term of office being five years. The president, who is designated as such by the governor, receives a salary of $5,000 per year and traveling exjjenses, and devotes all his time to the work of his office. The remaining four commissioners each receive 81,000 per year and traveling expenses. The board holds at least four meetings ou designated days each year. It has a secretary at $2,000 f»er year, and necessary clerical force. The duties of the board are to propagate and distribute food, fish, and game; to enforce all laws for the protection of fish and game, and for the jirotection and preservation of the forest reserve. It has full control of the Adirondack Park and forest reserve, and is authorized to make rules for its care and safety. The commission appoints thirty-five " fish and game protectors and foresters" (hereafter called foresters), one of whom is to be known as chief, and two others as his assistants, the chief to have direction and control of the entire force. The foresters give bonds for the proper discharge of their .duty. The chief forester receives $2,000 per year and traveling expenses; the assistant foresters $1,200 each; and the remaining foresters $500 each: all have an extra allowance for traveling expenses and each of them receives one-half of all fines collected in actions brought upon information furnished by them. It is their duty to enforce all laws and regulations of the commission for the protection of fish and game and for the protection and preservation of the forest reserve and all rules and regulations for the care of the Adirondack Park. They have full power to execute all warrants and search warrants and to serve subpojnas. Each forester keeps a record of his official acts and reports a summary of it, with important details, monthly to his chief. The monthly payment of salary is contingent upon the receipt of tliis report. The chief forester reports to the commission all cases of neglect of duty or negligence on the part of the foresters, and he also makes a monthly report of the operations of his department. The commission may, in its discretion, appoint or remove special foresters recommended by any board of supervisors, but such special foresters receive no compensation from the State. All peace officers have the same powers as foresters in the enforcement of the fisheries, game, and forest law. Article XII, chapter 395, Laws of 1895, describes the forest preserve (sec. 270), and defines the powers and duties of the commission (sec. 271), whose duty it is to (1) have the cai-e, custody, control, and superintendence of the forest preserve; (2) maintain, protect, and promote the growth of the forests in the preserve; (3) have charge of the public interests of the State in regard to forestry and tree planting, and especially with reference to forest fires in every part of the State; (4) possess all the powers relating to the preserve which were vested in the commissioners of the land office and in the comptroller ou May 15, 1885; (5) i^rescribe rules and regulations affecting the whole or any i^art of the preserve for its use, care, and administration, and alter or amend the same; but neither such rules or regulations nor anything contained in this article shall prevent or operate to prevent the free use of any road, stream, or water as the same may have been heretofore used, or as may be reasonably required in the prosecution of any lawful business; (C) take measures for the awakening of an interest in forestry in the schools and the imparting of elementary instruction on such subject therein, and issue tracts and circulars for the care of private woodlands, etc.; (7) print and post rules for the prevention and suppression of forest fires. 174 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Section 272 provides that all iucome froin the State forest lands, including receipts for tres- passes, shall be paid into tlie State treasury and constitute a fund for the purchase of lands within the Adirondack Park. The comptroller shall audit the accounts of the board, and an annual report of all its doings shall be made in January of each year. Section 273 provides for the divi- sion of lands within the forest preserve in which the State owns an undivided interest, with indi- viduals. Section 274 provides for the taxation of the forest preserve. All wild or forest land within the forest preserve shall be assessed and taxed at a like valuation and rate as similar lauds of individuals within the counties where situated. The assessors shall file with the commission and the comptroller a copy of the assessment roll of their towns, and shall state (under oath) which and how much of the lands assessed are forest lands and which are lands belonging to the State. The comptroller, after hearings, shall "correct or reduce any assessment of State land which may be, in his judgment, an unfair proportion to the remaining assessment of land within the town," and shall otherwise approve the assessment. No such assessment shall be valid with- out the approval of the comptroller. No tax for the erection of schoolhouses or road opening shall be valid nnless such erection or openiug is first approved by the board. Payment of taxes on State lauds shall be made by the State treasurer crediting the county treasurer with the amount of such taxes due on such lands payable on the State tax of the year. Sections 275-279 and 281 provide for protection against fire, with penalties for violation of same. Section 280 pro- vides for actions for trespasses upon the forest preserve. In addition to authorizing the board to bring suits for trespass on the lands of the forest preserve the same as a citizen may bring for trespass on private lauds, it makes the cutting of trees or removal of any tree, timber, or bark from any portion of the preserve a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of $25 for every tree so cut or removed. The board is empowered to employ attorneys, with the conseut of the attorney- general and comptroller, to prosecute offenders against this act, and such offenders may be arrested without warrant (sec. 282). Article XIII refers to the Adirondack Park; section 290 defines its limits and adds: "Such park shall be forever reserved, maintained, and cared for as ground open to the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure, and as forest lands, necessary to the preservation of the headwaters of the chief rivers of the State, and a future timber supply; and shall remain part of the forest preserve." The park is placed in the control and custody of the board of fisheries, game, and forest, which is emijowered (1) to contract for the purchase of land within the limits of the park; (2) to contract with owners of land situated within the park limits that such lands may become part of the park and subject to the provisions of this article in consideration of the exemiition of such lands fi'om taxation for State and county purposes, provided that the owners or their grantors shall refrain forever from removing any timber except spruce, tamarack, or poplar, 12 inches in diameter at three feet from the ground, or fallen, burned, or blighted timber, and obey such other conditions of occupancy as may be equitable. Owners may also clear land for agricultural or domestic purposes, at the rate of not more than 1 acre within the boundary of each 100 acres covered by such contract; (3) to iirescribe and enforce rules for the licensing or regulation of guides and other persons engaged in business therein; (4) to lay out roads and paths in the park. Contracts mentioned iu this article require the approval of the commissioners of the land office, and every conveyance mentioned in this article shall be certified by the attorney-general to be in conformity with the contract, and approved by him as to form before acceptance or delivery. The law further provides that the board include in its annual report an account of its proceedings with reference to the park. The legislature of 1897 passed the following important act (approved April 8, 1897), which is quoted entire: AN ACT to provide for the acquisition of laud iu the territory embraced iu the Adirondack Park, aud making an ajjproiiriation therefor. The peox^le of tlic State of New York, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows: Section 1. The governor, withm twenty days after this act takes eifect, shall appoint from the commissioners of fisheries, game, and forest, and the commissioners of the land office, hy and with the advice aud conseut of the senate, three persons to constitute a board to be known as "the forest preserve board." The members of such board may be removed by the governor at his pleasure. Vacancies shall be filled In like manner as an original appointment. The members of the hoard shall not receive any compensation for their services under this act, but FORESTRY LEGISLATION IN NEW YORK. 175 shall receive their actual and necessary expenses, to be audited by the comptroller. The board may employ such clerical and other assistants as it may deem necessary. The forest preserve board annually in the month of January shall make a written report to the governor showing in detail all its transactions under this act during the preceding calendar year. Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of the forest preserve board, and it is hereby authorized, to acquire for the State, by purchase or otherwise, land, structures, or waters, or such portion thereof iu the territory embraced in the Adiron- dack Park, as defined and limited by the fisheries, game, and forest law, as it may deem advisable for the interests of the State. Sec. 3. The forest preserve board may enter on and take possession of any land, structures, and waters in the territory embraced in the Adirondack Park, the appropriation of which iu its judgment shall be necessary for the purposes specified iu section two hundred and ninety of the fisheries, game, and forest law, and in section seven of article seven of the constitution. Sec. 4. Upon the request of the forest preserve board an accurate description of such lands so to be appro- priated shall be made by the State engineer and surveyor, or the superintendent of the State land survey, and certified by him to bo correct, and such board or a majority thereof shall indorse on such description a certificate stating that the lands described therein ba^'e been appropriated by the State for the purpose of making them a part of the Adirondack Park; and such description and certificate shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state. The forest preserve board shall thereupon serve on the owner of any real property so appropriated a notice of the filing and the date of filing of such description containing a general description of the real property belonging to such owner which has beau so appropriated; and from the time of such service the entry upon and appropriation by the State of the real property described in such notice for the uses and purposes above specified shall be deemed complete, and thereupon such property shall be deemed and be the projjerty of the State. Such notice shall be conclusive evidence of au entry and appropriation by the State. The forest preserve board may cause duplicates of such notice with an affidavit of due service thereof on such owuer to be recorded iu the books used for recording deeds in the office of the clerk of any county of this State where any of the property described therein may be situated, and the record of such notice and such i^roof of service shall be evidence of the due service thereof. Sec. 5. Claims for the value of the property taken and for damages caused by any such appropriation may be adjusted by the forest preserve board if the amount thereof can be agreed upon with the owners of the land appro- priated. The board may enter into an agreement with the owner of any laud so taken and appropriated for the value thereof and for any damages resulting from such appropriation. Upon making such agreement the board shall deliver to the owner a certificate stating the amount due to him on account of such appropriation of his lands, and a duplicate of such certificate shall also be delivered to the comptroller. The amount so fixed shall be paid by the treasurer upon the warrant of the comptroller. Sec. 6. If the forest preserve board is unable to agree with the owner for the value of the property so taken or appropriated, or on the amount of damages resulting therefrom, such owner, within two years after the service upon him of the notice of appropriation as above specified, may present to the court of claims a claim for the value of such land. and for such damages, and the court of claims shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine such claim and render judgment thereon. Upon filing in the office of the comptroller a certified copy of the final judgment of the court of claims, and a certificate of the attorney-general that no appeal from such judgment has been or will be taken by the State, or, if au appeal has been taken, a certified copy of the final judgment of the appellate conrt, affirming in whole or in part the judgment of the court of claims, the comptroller shall issue his warrant for the payment of the amount due the claimant by such judgment, with interest from the date of the judgment until the thirtieth day after the entry of such final judgment, and such amount shall be paid by the treasurer. Sec. 7. The owner of land to be taken under this act may, at his option, within the limitations hereinafter prescribed, reserve the spruce timber thereon ten inches or more in diameter at a height of three feet above the ground. Such option must be exercised within six months after the service upon him of a notice of the appropriation of such land by the forest i^reserve board, by serving upon such board a written notice that he elects to reserve the spruce timber thereon. If such a notice be not served by the owner within the time above specified, he shall be deemed to have waived his right to such reservation, and such timber shall thereupon become and be the property of the State. In case land is acquired by purchase, the spruce timber and no other may be reserved by agreement between the board and the owner, subject to all the provisions of this act in relation to timber reserved after an appropriation of land by the forest preserve board. The presentation of a claim to the court of claims before the service of a notice of reservation shall be deemed a waiver of the right to such reservation. Sec. 8. The reservation of timber and the manner of exercising and consummating such right are subject to the following restrictions, limitations, and conditions: 1. The reservation docs not include or affect timber within twenty rods of a lake, pond, or river, and such timber can not be reserved. Roads may be cut or built across or through such reserved space of twenty rods, under the supervision of the forest preserve board, for the purpose of removing spruce timber from adjoining land, and the reservation of spruce timber within such space shall be deemed a reservation by the owner, his assignee, or representative, of the right to cut other timber necessary in constructing such road, but such reservation does not confer a right to remove such other timber so cut, or to use it otherwise than in constructing a road. 2. The timber reserved must be removed from the laud within fifteen years after the service of notice of reser- vation, or the making of an agreement subject to regulations to be prescribed by the forest preserve board; but such land shall not be cut over more than once, and the said board may prescribe regulations for the purpose of enforcing this limitation. All timber reserved and not removed from the land within such time shall thereupon 176 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. become and he the property of the State, and all the title or claim thereto hy the original owner, his assigns or representatives, shall thereupon be deemed abandoned. Sec. 9. A person who reserves timber as herein provided is not entitled to any compensation for the value of the land purchased or taken and appropriated by the State, nor for any damages caused thereby, until : 1. The timber so reserved is all removed and the object of the reservation fully consummated; or 2. The time limited for the removal of such timber has fully elapsed, or the right to remove any more timber is waived by a written instrument filed with the forest preserve board; and 3. The forest preserve board is satisfied that no trespass on State lands has been committed by such owner or his assigns or representatives; that no timber or other property of the State not so reserved has been taken, removed, destroyed, or injured by him or them, and that a cause of action in behalf of the State does not exist against him or them for any alleged trespass or other injury to the property or interests of the State ; and 4. That the owner, his assignee, or other representative has fully complied with all rules, regulations, and requirements of the forest preserve board concerning the use of streams or other property of the State for the pur- pose of removing such timber. Sec. 10. A warrant shall not be drawn by the comptroller for the amount of compensation agreed upon between the owner and the forest preserve board, nor for the amount of a judgment rendered by the court of claims, until a further certificate by the board is filed with him to the elfect that the owner has not reserved any timber or that he, his assignee, or other representative, has complied with the provisions of this act, or has otherwise become entitled to receive the amount of the purchase price, award, or judgment. Sec. 11. The forest preserve board may settle and adjust any claims for damages due to the State on account of any trespasses or other injuries to property or interests of the State, or penalties incurred by reason of such tres- passes or otherwise, and the amount of such damages or penalties so adjusted shall be deducted from the original compensation agreed to be paid for the lands, or for damages, or from a judgment rendered by the court of claims on account of the appropriation of such land. A judgment recovered by the State for such a trespass or for a penalty shall likewise be deducted from the amount of such compensation or judgment. Sec. 12. If timber is reserved upon land purchased or appropriated as provided by this act, interest is not payable upon the purchase price or the compensation which may be awarded for the value of such land or for damages caused by such appropriation, except as provided in section six. Sec. 13. Persons entitled to cut and remove timber under this act may use streams or other waters belonging to the State within the forest preserve for the purpose of removing such timber, under such regulations and condi- tions as may be prescribed or imposed by the forest preserve board. The persons using such waters shall be liable for all damages caused by such use. Sec. 14. If timber be reserved, its value at the time of making an agreement between the owner and the forest preserve board for the value of the land so appropriated aud the damages caused thereby, or at the time of the presentation to the court of claims of a claim for such value and damages, shall be taken into' consideration in determining the compensation to be awarded to the owner on account of such appropriation either by such agree- ment or by the judgment rendered upon such a claim. Sec. 15. The forest preserve board may appoint inspectors to examine the lands upon which timber is reserved and ascertain and report to the Ijoard, from time to time, or whenever required, whether such timber is being removed in accordance with the provisions of this act, whether any trespasses or other violations of this act are being committed, and whether the persons entitled to the use of such waters for the purpose of removing timber have complied with the regulations and conditions relating thereto prescribed or imposed by the board. Sec. 16. The forest preserve board shall fix the compensation of all clerks, inspectors, or other assistants employed by it, which compensation shall be i>aid by the treasurer, upon the certificate of the board and the audit and warrant of the comptroller. A person so appointed may be removed at the pleasure of the board. Sec. 17. The forest preserve board shall take such measures as may be necessary or proper to perfect the title to any lands in the forest preserve now held by the State, and for that purpose may pay and discharge any valid lien or incumbrance upon such land, or may acquire any outstanding or apparent right, title, claim, or interest which, in its judgment, constitutes a cloud on such title. The amounts necessary for the purpose of this section shall be paid by the treasurer upon the certificate of the board and the audit and warrant of the comptroller. Sec. 18. If an offer is made by the forest preserve board for the value of land appropriated, or for damages caused by such appropriation, and such offer is not accepted, and the recovery in the court of claims exceeds the ofl'er, the claimant is entitled to costs and disbursements as in an action in the supreme court, which shall be allowed and taxed by the court of claims and included in its judgment. If in such a case the recovery in the court of claims does not exceed the offer, costs, and disbursements to be taxed shall be awarded in favor of the State against the claimant and deducted from the amount awarded to him, or if no amount is awarded judgment shall be entered in favor of the State against the claimant for such costs and disbursements. If an offer is not accepted, it can not be given in evidence on the trial. Sec. 19. When a judgment for damages is rendered for the appropriation of any lands or waters for the pur- poses specified in this act, aud it appears that there is any lien or incumbrance upon the property so appropriated, the amount of such lieu shall be stated in the judgment, and the comptroller may deposit the amount awarded to the claimant in any bank in which moneys belonging to the State may be deposited to the account of such judgment, to be paid aud distributed to the persons entitled to the same as directed by the judgment. Sec. 20. If a person cuts down or carries off any wood, bark, underwood, trees, or timber, or any part thereof, or girdles or otherwise despoils a tree in the forest preserve, without the permission of the forest preserve board, an action may be maintained against him by the board in its name of office and in such an action the board may recover f FORESTRY COMMISSIONS PENNSYLVANIA. 177 treble damages if demanded in the complaint. Every such person also forfeits to the State the suiii of twenty-five dollars for every tree cut down or carried aAvay by him or under Lis direction, to be recovered in a like action by the forest preserve board. All sums recovered in any such action shall be paid by the board to the State treasurer and credited to the general fund. Sec. 21. Service of a notice by the forest preserve board under section four must be personal if the person to be served can be found in the State. The provisions of the code of civil procedure relating to the service of a summons in an action in the supreme court, except as to publication, apply, so far as practicable, to the service of such a notice. If a person to be served can not with due diligence be found in the State, a justice of the supreme court may, by order, direct the manner of such service, and service shall be made accordingly. Sec. 22. The court of claims, if requested by the claimant or the attorney-general, shall examine the real property affected by the claim and take the testimony in relation thereto in the county where such property or part thereof is situated. The actual and necessary expenses of such judge and of each ofiScer of the court in making such examination and in so taking testimony shall be audited by the comptroller and paid from the money appro- priated for the purposes of this act. Sec. 23. The power to appropriate real property, vested in the forest preserve Jjoard by section four, is subject to the following limitations: Such real property must adjoin land already owned or appropriated by the State at the time the description and certificate are filed in the office of the secretary of state, except that timber land not so adjoining State laud may be axjpropriated vrhenever in the judgment of the board timber thereon other than spruce, pine, or hemlock is being cut or removed to the detriment of the forest or the interests of the State. Sec. 2i. The sum of six hundred thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropri- ated for the purposes specified in this act, out of any moneys in the treasury not otherAvise appropriated. In addition to the amount above appropriated, the comptroller, upon the written request of the forest preserve board, is hereby authorized and directed to borrow, from time to time, not exceeding in the aggregate the sum of four hundred thousand dollars for the purposes specified in this act, and to issue bonds or certificates therefor payable within ten years from their date, bearing interest at a rate not exceeding five per centum per annum, and which shall not be sold at less than par. The sums so borrowed are hereby appropriated, p.ayable out of the moneys realized from the sale of such bonds or certificates, to be expended under the direction of the forest preserve board for the purposes of this act, and to be paid by the treasurer on the warrant of the comptroller. Sec. 25. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed. Sec. 26. This act shall take eft'ect immediately. Under this act the State spent last year §1,000,000 in purchasing forest lands to the amount of over 250,000 acres, so that the total holdings comprise now over 1,000,000 acres; and during the present year (1898) another half million dollars is being disbursed for the same purpose. In 2^ew Jersey the appropriations for the State geological survey have since 1894 contained a clause which provides that the State geologist shall malie (1) a survey to ascertain the extent, location, and character of the wild lands or forest lauds of the State, and the advantages of their retention iu forestry; (2) a survey of the more important watersheds or drainage basins and their forested areas, with reference to the protective measures needed to save this forest cover and thereby maintain the purity of the water, as well as promote the more equable flow of the streams; (3) a study of the relations of forests as climatic factors, and particularly to the rainfall; (4) a compilation of the forest legislation in other States and countries in so far as it may be applicable to conditions in Kew Jersey. Two reports have been published discussing forest conditions in various parts of the State, effects of forest fires, relation of forests to stream-flow, etc. In Pennsylvania, through the eftbrts of the State forestry association, a commission of inquiry was first created by the following act on May 23, 1893: AN ACT relative to a forestry comiuissiou. Be it enacted, etc. : Section 1. That the governor be authorized to appoint two persons as a commission, one of whom is to be a competent engineer, one a botanist, practically acquainted with the forest trees of the Commonwealth, whose duty it shall be to examine and report upon the conditions of the slopes and summits of the important watersheds of the State, for the purpose of determining how far the presence or absence of the forest cover may be iufiuential in producing high and low-water stages in the various river 'basins; and to report bow much timber remains standing of such kinds as have special conmiercial value, how much there is of each kind; as well, also, as to indicate the part or parts of the State where each grows naturally, and what measures, if any. are being taken to secure a supply of timber for the future. It shall further be the duty of said commission to suggest such measures in this connection as have been found of practical service elsewhere in maintaining a proper timber supply, and to ascertain, as nearly as practicable, what proportion of the State not now recognized as mineral land is unfit for remunerative agriculture and could with advantage be devoted to the growth of trees. Sec. 2. The said commission shall also ascertain what wild lands, if any, now belong to the Commonwealth, their extent, character, and location, and report the same, together with a statement of what part or parts of such H. Doc. 181 12 178 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. lands -would lie suitable for a State forest reserve; and further, should the lands belonging to the Common-svealtb be insufficient for such purpose, then to ascertain and report what other suitable lauds there may be within the State, their extent, character, and value. The final report of the said commission shall be presented to the legislature not later than March 15, 1895. Sec. 3. The said commission shall have power to appoint one competent person to act as statistician, whose duty- it shall be' to compile the statistics collected by said commission, under their direction and suj)ervision, whose salary shall be one thousand dollars per annum, with necessary expenses, to be paid in the same manner as is hereinafter provided for the payment of the forestry commission. Sec. 4. The commissioners appointed hereunder shall be entitled to receive by quarterly payments a compen- sation as follows: The engineer, twenty-five hundred dollars ($2,500) per annum ; the botanist, twenty-five hundred dollars ($2,500) per annum, with necessary expenses; and the sum of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) is hereby aijpropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be paid by warraut drawn by the auditor-general. Before the report of this commission was published the legislature of 1895 iirovided for an executive department of agriculture, and included in its organization a provision for a division of forestry, the botanist member of the previous commission, Dr. J. T. Rothrock, being appointed commissioner of forestry : The law creating a department of agriculture was approved by the governor March 13, 1895. The chapters referring to forestry are as follows : Be it enacted bi/ the senate and house of representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsi/lvania in general asaemhly met, and it is hereJ>y enacted iy authority of the same: Section 1. That there be, and hereby is, established a department of agriculture, to be organized and admin- istered by an officer who sh.all be known as the secretary of agriculture, who shall be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, for the term of four years, at an annual salary of three thousand five hundred dollars, and who, before entering upon tlie duties of his office, shall take aud subscribe the oath pre- scribed in article seven of the constitution. Said secretary shall be ex officio secretary of the State board of agri- culture, and shall succeed to all the powers and duties now conferred by law upon the secretary of said board. Sec. 2. That it shall be the duty of the secretary of agriculture, in such Av.ays as he may deem fit aud proper to encourage and pi'omote the development of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, and kindred industries, to collect aud publish statistics and other information in regard to the agricultural industries and interests of the State. * * * In the performance of the duties prescribed by this act the secretary of agriculture shall, as far as practicable, * * * enlist the aid of the State geological survey for the purpose of obtaining and publishing useful informatidn respecting the economical relations of geology to agriculture, forestry, and kindred industries. He shall make an annual report to the governor, aud shall publish from time to time such buUetius of information as he may deem useful and advis.able. Said report aud bulletins shall be printed by the State printer in the same manner as other public documents, not exceeding five thousand copies of any one bulletin. Sec. 3. That it shall be the duty of the secretary to obtain and publish information respecting the extent and condition of forest lands in this State, to make and carry out rules aud regulations for the enforcement of all laws designed to protect forests from fires and from all illegal depredations and destruction, and report the same annu- ally to the governor, and, as far as practicable, to give information and advice respecting the best methods of pre- serving woodlands and starting new plantations. He shall also, as far as practicable, procure statistics of the amount of timber cut during each year, the purposes for which it is used, and the amount of timber land thus cleared as compared with the amount of land newly brought under timber cultivation, and shall in general adopt all such measures as, in his judgment, may. be desirable and effective for the preservation and increase of the timber lands of this State, aud shall have direct charge and control of the management of all forest lauds belonging to the Commonwealth, subject to the provision of law relative thereto. ' ' ' Sec. 4. There shall be one deputy secretary, who shall be appointed by the governor for the term of four years, at a salary of three thousand dollars a year, who shall also be director of farmers' institutes. The other officers of the department shall be appointed by the governor for the term of four years, and shall be an economic zoologist, a commissioner of forestry, a dairy and food commissioner, who shall have practical experience in the manufacture of dairy products, and a State veterinarian, who shall be a graduate of some reputable veterinai-y college, who shall receive an annual salary of t-wenty-five hundred dollars each. ♦ * » The governor is hereby authorized to appoint one chief clerli of the department, at an annual salary of sixteen hundred dollars, a stenographer, at a salary of eight hundred dollars a year, and one messenger, at a salary of six hundred dollars a year, and the dairy and food commissioner, the commissioner of forestry, and the economic zoologist shall each have a clerk, who shall be appointed by tlie governor aud who shall serve under the direction of the respective commissioners aforesaid and receive a salary of fifteen hundred dollars a year each. Sec. 6. That the secretary may, at his discretion, employ experts for special examinations or investigations, the expenses of which shall be paid by the State treasurer in the same manner as like expenses are provided by law, but not more than five tliousand dollars shall be so expended in any one year. In this annual report to the governor he may include so much of the reports of other organizations as he shall deem proper, which shall take the place of the present agricultural reports and of which thirty-one thousand sis hundred copies shall be published and distributed as follows: To the senate, nine thousand copies; to the house of representatives, twenty thousand FORESTRY COMMISSIONS — PENNSYLVANIA. 179 copies; to the secretary of agriculture, two thousand copies; to the State librarian, for distribution among public libraries and for reserve work, iive hundred copies; and to the State agricultural experiment station, one hundred copies. Sec. 7. That the secretary of agriculture shall have an offlce at the State capitol, and it is hereby made the duty of the commissioners of public buildings and grounds to provide the necessary rooms, furniture, and apparatus for the use of the department. Sec. 8. That all acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith be, and the same are hereby, rejiealed. The legislature of 1897, iu addition to passing — An act making constables of townships ex officio fire wardens for the extinction of forest tires, and for reporting to the court of CLuarter sessions violations of the laws for the protection of forests from fire, prescribing the duties of such fire wardens and their jiunishment for failure to perform the same, and empowering them to require, under penalty, the assistance of other persons in the extinction of such fires; and An act to amend the first section of an act entitled "Au act to protect timber lands from fire," approved the second day of .June, anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and seventy, providing for a penalty iu case of the failure of county commissioners to comply with the terms of said act, after demand made upon them by the commissioner of forestry, and providing for the Commonwealth bearing part of the expenses incurred under said act ; also, An act to authorize constables and other peace ofiScers, without first procuring a warrant, to arrest persons reasonably suspected by them of ofl'enJing against the laws protecting timber lands — enacted the following laws, thus firmly establishing a forest policy for the State. AN ACX for the preservation of forests and partially relieving forest lands from taxation. Be it enacted, etc. : Section 1. That in consideration of the public benefit to be derived from the retention of forest or timber trees, the owner or owners of land in this Commonwealth having on it forest or timber trees of not less than fifty trees to the acre, and each of said trees to measure at least eight inches in diameter at a height of six feet above the surface of the ground, with no portion of the said land absolutely cleared of the said trees, shall, on making due proof thereof, be entitled to receive annually from the commissioners of their respective counties during the period that the said trees are maintained in sound condition upon the said land a sum equal to eighty per centum of all taxes annually assessed and paid upon the said land, or so much of the said eighty per centum as .shall not exceed the sum of forty-five cents per acre: Provided, however, That no one property owner shall be entitled to receive said sum on more than fifty acres. Sec. 2. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby reijealed. AN ACT autliorizing the purchase by the Commonwealth of unseated lands for the nonpayment of taxes for the xjurpose of creating a State forest reservation. Beit enacted, etc.: Section 1. That from and after the first day of January, anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight, whenever any unseated lands within this Commonwealth shall, under existing laws, become liable to sale by the respective county treasurers or the county commissioners for non-payment of taxes, it shall be the duty of such treasurers and commissioners to publish a notice once a week for six successive weeks in at least two newspapers of general circulation within the county iu which the lauds lie, and if two newspapers be not published in said county, then in one newspaper in or nearest to the same, which notice shall contain the names of the owners when known, the warrant numbers, uames of warrantees when known, the numlier of acres contained in each tract, the township in Avhich the same is located, and the .sums due upon each tract for taxes, and, further, to mail to the secretary of agriculture and the commissioner of forestry each ten copies of such printed advertisement immediately upon the publication thereof. Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of the commissioner of forestry to inquire into and examine the location and character of the lands so advertised, and if in his judgment the same are so located and are of such a character as to make them desirable to the Commonwealth for the purpose of creating and maintaining a forestry reservation, he shall have power, at bis discretion, to purchase any such lauds for and in behalf of the Commonwealth at such tax sales, subject to the right of redemption under existing laws: Provided, hoivevev, Th.at the bid made and the price paid for said lauds shall in no case exceed the amount of taxes for the nonpayment of which the same are being sold, and the costs. For all purchases so made in behalf of the Commonwealth the auditor-general shall draw his warrant upon the State treasurer to the order of the county treasurer, upon certificate filed by the commissioner of forestry with the said auditor-general. Sec. 3. In the event of redemption of said lauds, the redemption money paid shall be remitted to the State treasurer by the county treasurer, with a statement describing the tract of land so redeemed. Sec. 4. The title to all lands so purchased, and not redeemed after the expiration of the time limited for redemption, shall be taken as vested in the Commonwealth to the same extent and with like effect as though such purchase had been made by an individual at such sale, and the county treasurer shall certify to the secretary of agriculture lists of all lauds purchased iu behalf of the Commonwealth and not redeemed within the time limited 180 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. for such redemiJtion, with a description of each tract as required by section one of this act, and thereafter such lands shall not he subject to f'jrther taxation while the same are owned by the Commonwealth. It shall be the duty of the secretary of agriculture to keep a record in a book, to be especially provided for that purpose, of all the lands so acquired by the Commonwealth, with full description of each tract, the character of the same, the date of purchase, the price paid, when the title became absolute, or, if redeemed, the date of redemption. Sec. 5. The lands so acquired b^^ the Commonwealth shall be under the control and management of the department of agriculture, but assigned to the care of the division of forestry, and shall become part of a forestry reservation sy.stem having in view the preservation of the water supply at the sources of the rivers of the State, and for the protection of the people of the Commonwealth and their property from destructive floods. Sec. 6. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. Approved the 30th day of March, A. D. 1897. AN ACT to secure State forestry reservations, and providing for the expenses tliereof. Be it enacted, etc.: Section 1. That a commission, to be composed of the commissioner of forestry, the chairman of the State board of health, the deputy secretary of internal affairs, and two other persons, one of whom shall be a lawyer or conveyancer of at least ten years' professional experience, and the other one a practical surveyor, to be appointed by the governor, he hereby created. Sec. 2. The said commission shall, after examination, locate and report to the governor, or to the legislature if it be in session, the following forestry reservations: (1) One of not less than forty thousand acres upon waters which drain mainly into the Delaware River. (2) One of not less than forty thousand acres upon waters which drain mainly into the Susquehanna River (3) One of not less than forty thousand acres upon waters which drain mainly into the Ohio River. ProHded, That each of these reservations shall he in one continuous area so far as the same is practicable. Sec. 3. That the lands selected shall be of a character better suited to the growth of trees than to mining or agriculture, and that at least fifty per centum of the area of each reservation shall have an average altitude of not less than six hundred feet above the level of the sea. Sec. 4. That the said commission shall have full power to take by right of eminent domain and condemn the lands it has selected for the purposes aforesaid as State reservations for the use and behoof of the Commonwealth, and wherever it shall be necessary to have a recourse to a jury to assess the damages for any property to be taken as aforesaid the said jury shall consist of such number and shall proceed, and their award shall be reviewed and enforced, in the same manner as now provided by law for the taking of land for the opening of roads in the respective counties in which said property is situated. And all the lands acquired by tlie State for public reserva- tions by the action of said commission shall be paid for by the State treasurer, upon a warrant drawn by the auditor- general of the Commonwealth, after approval by the governor. Sec. 5. The commissioners appointed under this act shall serve without compensation, except so far as the officials designated hereby are compensated by the continuance of their salaries as such officials while serving as commissioners; but the necessary expenses of travel and all other necessary expenses incurred under the provisions of this act shall he paid by the State treasurer, on the warrant of the auditor-general, after due certification. Sec. 6. Provided, That nothing herein contained shall authorize the taking, for the purpose of this act, of any land held by any corporation created for the purpose of the preservation of forests. Approved the 25th day of May, A. D. 1897. The forest reservations provided by this law have been in part and will soon be all located. It is already being realized that their area is too small and that increase at once is indicated. In North Carolina a similar provision to that in New Jersey has existed since 1891 in the laws appropriating for the State geological survey, requiring of the same reports on the forest resources. Three bulletins (Nos. 5, 6, and 7) have been published, one on the "Forest, forest lands, and forest products of eastern North Carolina," another on "Forest iires: Their destructive work, causes and prevention," and the third giving a comprehensive survey of the " Timber trees and forests of North Carolina." In the West Virginia legislature a well-considered bill was introduced last year providing for a forest commission and State forest reserves. The State geological survey has functions similar to that of North Carolina. In Ohio a forestry bureau was instituted in 1885, its functions being of an educational and advisory nature. It published four or five annual reports containing information on a variety of subjects, but for a number of years these reports, and probably the bureau, have been discontinued. Michigan had a commission of inquiry, created in June, 1887, by constituting the State board of agriculture a forestry commission for the purpose of formulating the needed legislation. The report of this commission, published in 1888, remained without any active measure as a consequence. FORESTRY COMMISSIONS — WISCONSIN. 181 The latest legislation for a commission of inquiry was enacted in Wisconsin in 1S07: AN ACT to provide for a committee to draw up a plan to protect and iitilize the forest resources of tlie State of Wisconsin. Thepeople of the State of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assevMij, do enact as follows: Section. 1. Tbe governor is hereby authorized to appoint a commiasion consisting' of three members who shall devise and draw np a plan for the organization of a forestry department, which shall have the management of snch State lands as may be suitable for timber culture and forestry. Tbe said commissioners shall embody in their plan provisions for the clasaiBcation of the lauds now owned by the State and the reservation to tbe State of all lands which are better fitted for the growing of timber than for agricultural purposes ; tbe purchase of similar lands which may have been abandoned by their owners, or may have been struck off to counties for unpaid taxes ; the management of the forests existing on such lands according to the principles of scientific forestry; the re]danting of forests on such lands, as far as they have been denuded of their timber ; and such other provisions as may be deemed advisable. They shall aim at devising the best means by which the forest resources of the State can be utilized for the people and preserved for future generations without retarding the development of the agricultural, manufacturing, and mining industries; shall have regard to the influence which the maintaining of forests has upon the climate and water supply of the State; and shall draw up a plan by which the forestry department may be from the first self- supporting and in time become a source of revenue to the State. Tbe report of said commissioners shall be submitted to the legislature of the State at its next regular session, within the first ten days after the beginning thereof, in the form of a bill or bills. Sec, 2. Said bill or bills may be accompanied by a report explaining tbe provisions of such bill or bills and giving the reasons for any of the provisions contained therein. The said bill or bills, together with such report, shall be printed by tbe State printer at tbe expense of the State in not more than five hundred copies, and shall be distributed to such persons as the governor may direct. Sec. 3. The said commissioners shall receive no compensation for their services, but shall be entitled to their actual and necessary expenses, including clerk hire, which expenses and clerk hire shall not, in the aggregate, exceed two hundred and iifty dollars, to be paid by the State treasurer upon warrants drawn by the secretary of state, upon verified statements made by the chairman of such commission. The superintendent of public property shall furnish such commission with the suitable and necessary stationery for the performance of such work. Sec. 4. There is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the treasury not otlierwise appropriated, a sufficient sum to carry out the provisions of this bill. Sec. 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and publication. Approved April 14, 1897. The commission appointed by the governor sought the cooperation of the Division of Forestry of the Department of Agriculture, whose experts, in cooperation with the State geological survey, made a comprehensive forest survey of the forested counties of the State, upon the basis of which the commission is framing its propositions. The State also has an effective forest-fire law, which is in charge of a special commissioner, as will be shown later. In Minnesota, as a consequence of the terrible warning by the fires of 1894, on April IS, 1895, tbe legislature passed "an act to provide for the preservation of forests and for the prevention and suppression of forest fires," under which the State auditor was made ex officio forest com- missioner, with a chief fire warden as executive officer in charge of the organized service to combat forest fires. Beyond these duties the latter officer is only required to add to his report "suggestions relative to the preservation of the forests of the State and to the prevention and extinguishment of forest and prairie fire." Three annual reiiorts have so far appeared and show the wisdom of the legislation. An effort was made during the legislative session of 1897 to secure the enactment of the following bill, which passed the house but failed to reach a vote in the senate. The bill is included here, notwithstanding its failure to become a law, because it embraces a novel and interesting method of securing to the State the benefits of a forest reservation. AN ACX to encourage the growing and preservation of forests, and to cre.ate forest boards and forest reserve areas. (Sections 1 to 8 provide for tlie acquirement of forest reserve areas, the appointment of a forestry board of nine members, who shall serve without pay other than the reimbursement of actual expenses incurred, and who shall have a secretary, and elect a president and vice-president. The State treasurer is made treasurer of the board, and county commissioners and town supervisors are made county and town forestry boards. The duties of the boards are defined, and the remainder of the bill, embracing its unique features, is as follows:) Sec 9. Any person or corporation beinsjthe owner in fee simple of any cutover or denuded, or partially cutover or partially denuded, natural forest lands, which will not probably be utilized for many years for agricultural purposes, or any bare or waste, or partially bare or waste, rough prairie- lands, or any very sandy, very rough, or 182 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. very rocky lands in this State, or any lands deemed absolutely necessary for the preservation of -water courses (all to 1)6 determined Ly said State forestry board) may deed the same to the State of Minaesota for forestry purposes; all lands so deeded to the State for forestry purposes by any person or corporation are hereby forever dedicated for forestry purposes. Before such deed shall be made and delivered a proposition in -writing shall be made by such owner or o-wners to said State forestry board to so deed the same for forestry purposes, under the terms of this act and amendments tliereof, made prior to such offer, and the question of the acceptance thereof shall be referred to the to-wn or county forestry board -n'here the land is situated (or both such town and county forestry boards) for its advice on the question of accepting the same; and said State forestry board, or its executive committee, may hear the person offering so to deed, or his or her representative, and also may hear such town or county forestry board or its repre- sentative, both sides in person, or by written reasons submitted, why such deed should or should not be received, and the decision of the State foresti-y board to receive or reject such offer and deed shall be final. Such deed may be made by quitclaim, where by the advice of the attorney-general, or by the advice of its attorney, if said board have one, said lands are clear of liens except for taxes and tax sales still owned by the State. The board may appoint an executive committee annually, on which it may confer authority to perform any executive act, and to exeioise its judgment in minor details which can not conveniently be acted upon by the board. Sec. 10. At least once in every five (5) years, and as much oftener as the State forestry board may decide, the accumulated income from each tract of land so deeded by persons or corporations for State forestry purposes shall be divided by the State forestry board and disposed of as follows, to wit: 1st. One-third (i) shall belong to the State, to reimburse the State for the care and protection of the forests thereon, and for tlie nonpayment of taxes thereon to the State, county, and town, which third (J) shall be divided between the State, county, and town where the land is situated as follows, to wit: One-half (i) to the State, one- fourth (J) to the county, and oue-iburth (J) to the town. 2d. Two-thirds (|) shall be paid to such public educational institution or system in the State as the grantor may designate in the deed of conveyance, or in a separate instrument executed as deeds of land are required to be executed and recorded in the office of the register of deeds of the county where tlie land is situated, or by will. But in case the grantor fail to so designate sucli institution or system, or if for any reason such institution or system fails to exist, then the same shall paid to the iiroper officer or ofiScers or boards for the benefit of the public school system of the State and the University of Minnesota, the public school system to have three-fourths (|) thereof, and the said university to ha^'e one-fourth d) thereof. Sec. 11. The State, by and through said State forestry board, shall have full power and authority to lease for revenue, or for protection from fire, trespassers, or otherwise, low meadow tracts, or other tracts for pasture, when the same will not interfere with the growth of forest trees, and to sell dead and down timber and mature timber, and to deed said tracts or parcels or parts of the same, where the growth of towns, the building of railroads, water powei'S, or other public improvements may demand alienation by the State, and said State forestry board may cause to be cnt and sold, or sold with the right to cut and haul away, forests or trees when said board may determine that the State's and the beneficiaries' interests will be subserved by so doing, but all proceeds of such sales or leases shall be divided as is the income therefrom as above provided. Sec. 12. This act shall talie effect and be in force from and after its passage. In Nortli Dakota the office of commissioner of irrigation and forestry was created in 1890, seemingly mainly for educational purposes. In Kansas for some time the educational campaign for timber jilanting of the State horticultural society was suiipleiuented by the State in the estab- lishment of two experimental tree stations, under a superintendent, from which plant material is distributed to intending planters. The State of Colorado was the first to recognize in her constitution the exi-stence of a duty on the part of the government with regard to lier forestry interests. Article XVIII of the constitution, adopted in convention March 14, 1876, contains the follow- ing clauses : Sec. 6. The general assembly shall enact laws in order to prevent the destruction of and to keep in good pres- ervation the forests upon the lands of the State or upon lands of the public domain, the control of which shall be conferred by Congress upon the State. Sec. 7. The general assembly may provide that the increase in the value of private lands caused by the plant- ing of hedges, orchards, and forests thereon shall not, for a limited time, to be fixed by law, be taken into account in assessing such lands for taxation. The constitutional convention also presented a memorial to Congress asking for the transfer of the public-timber lands in the then Territory to the care and custody of the State, which remained, however, without attention. The intentions of the constitution to take care of the forestry interests of the State were, however, not carried into effect until 1885, when a law was passed creating the office of a forest commissioner and constituting the county commissioners and road overseers throughout the State, forest officers in their resiiective localities, to act as a police force in preventing depredation FOREST-FIRE LEGISLATION. 183 and fire, and to encourage and promote forest culture. But the provisions to carry out this laudable work were from the start insufficient, and the ofSce of forest commissioner finally remaining without a salary became vacant, the law ineffective. A new departure, however, was made in 1897. In that year a department of forestry, game, and fish was created. The salaried officers provided are a commissioner and three wardens, and the commissioner may appoint deputy wardens without pay. Section 9 of the law provides that- Said commissioner sliall, as mucli as possible, promote the growth and extension of tlio forest areas of tlie State, and enconrage the planting of trees and the preservation of the sources of water snpply, bnt nothmgin this act contained shall authorise the commissioner to interfere with tlie use of timber for domestic mining or agricultural purposes, in accordance with existing laws. He shall have the care of all woodlands and forests winch may at any time be controlled by the State, and shall cause all such lands to be located and recorded m a book to be kept for the purpose. Section 10 prohibits the appointment to any office created by this act of any person directly or indirectly engaged in the manufacture of lumber, railroad ties, telegraph poles or any business reauiring a large use of wood. The law makes it a misdemeanor to cause fires to be set without a guard, or to cut coniferous timber from public or State lands for shipment outside the State. The remainder of the law provides for the protection of fish and game. California began its course for the establishment of a forest policy in the most promising manner in 1885, March 3, by creating a State board of forestry. At first it was mainly a commission of inquiry with educational functions; police powers were conferred upon it in 1887 "for the purpose of making arrests for any violation of any law applying to forest and brush lands within the State, or prohibiting the destruction thereof," with an appropriation of $30,000 for the two years following, but by 1891 political complications and perversion of the moneys appropriated undid the good work of the first board, and the office, as well as the functions, were abolished. Besides three valuable reports on the forest conditions and forest trees of the State, the board left as an inheritance two experiment stations, where exotic trees are being tested, now under charge of the University of California. FOBEST-PIRE LEGISLATION. Besides this legislation regarding forest commissions, by which the interest and duty of the State is recognized with regard to forest conditions, laws recognizing the duty and necessity of protecting forest property more efficiently against fire have been enacted in several States since 1885 when in New York in connection with the establishment of the forest commission, the first comprehensive forest-fire law, drafted by the writer, was enacted. Laws against willful and malicious firing existed then on the statute books of nearly every State, but they were ineiiectiye for lack of responsibility for their execution. The New York law for the first time recognized the need of officers responsible for the execution of the law and of the organization of an army of firewardens throughout the State. The States of Maine, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Minnesota followed, with some modifications, this example of New York. The principles most needful to keep in view when formulating legislation for protection against forest fires are — . (1) No leoislation is effective unless well-organized machinery for its enforcement is provided. The damage done by forest fires being in many cases far-reaching beyond the immediate private personal loss, the State must be prominently represented in such organization. (2^ Eesponsibility for the execution of the law must be clearly defined and ultimately rest upon one person, and every facility for ready prosecution of offenders must be at the command of the responsible officer. (3) None but paid officials can be expected to do efficient service, and financial responsibility in all directions must be recognized as alone productive of care in the performance of duties as well as in the obedience to regulations. In the case of corporations the officer most directly responsible for any damage must be amenable to law in addition to the corporation itself. (4) Kecognition of common interest in the protection of property can also be established only by the creation of financial liability on the part of the community and all its members. 184 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS V. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. The following is the draft of an ideal comprehensive bill which embodies the principal features of the desired legislation and has served as a basis for the existing laws: AN ACT for the protection of forest property. FOREST COMMISSIONER. Section 1 creates a, forest commissioner, wliose office may be either an enlargement of some existing office or, much better, a separate one, with adequate compensation in either case, to be appointed by and reporting directly to the governor. Section 2 prescribes the duties of the forest commissioner, namely, to organize, supervise, and be responsible, under tbe provisions of this act, for the protection of forest property in the State against fire. In addition he is to collect statistics and other information regarding tbe forest areas in the State, and the commerce of wood and allied interests, especially such information as will explain the distribution, condition, value, and ownership of the woodland; this information and the results of the operation of this act, together with suggestions for further legislative action, to be embodied iu annual reports. Section 3 provides for the giving of a bond by the forest commissioner for the faithful performance of his duties, and fixes fines for such neglect in performing the duties of the office as may be proven, and explains the manner of imposing and collecting such fines. ORGANIZATION OF FIRE SERVICE. Section 4 constitutes the selectmen of towns, or the sheriffs, deputies, constables, supervisors, or similar officers as firewardens. If preferred, special fire commissioners may be appointed liy the forest commissioner, with the advice of county commissioners, or both methods of providing firewardens may be employed together. The towns are to be divided iuto fire districts, the number and boundaries to be governed by the exigencies in each case, and each district to be under the charge and oversight of one district firewarden. One of these should be designated as town firewarden, to take command in case of large conflagrations. The town firewarden and at least 50 per cent of the district firewardens should be property owners in the county, unless a sufficient number of such can not be found or residents refuse to serve. A description of each district and the name of its firewarden are to be recorded with the forest commissioner and the town clerk or similar officer. Section 5 provides for employment of special fire patrols in unorganized places in any county and during the dangerous season, especially in lumbering districts, and for co-operation of forest owners. Wherever unorganized places exist in a county or so far distant from settlements as to make discovery of fires and speedy arrival of regular firewardens impossible, or wherever forest owners whose property is specially endangered require, the forest com- missioner may -annually appoint special fire patrols, to be paid at daily rates, the owner paying one-half the expense and the State the other half; such patrols to be under the regulations of this law and to report to the nearest fire- wardens. The manner of appointment and the matter of compensation and duties are to be formulated by the forest commissioner. Section 6 defines the power anddnties of firewardens : To take measures necessary for the control and extinction of fires; to post notices of regulations provided in this law and furnished by the forest commissioner; to ascertain the cause of fires and prepare evidence in case of suits; to report each fire at once to the forest commissioner on blanks furnished, giving area burned over, damage, owner, probable origin, measures adopted, and cost of extinguish- ing; to have authority to call upon any persons iu their district for assistance, such persons to receive compensation as determined by the selectmen or county commissioners at the rate of not to exceed 15 cents per hour and to be paid by the town or county upon certification by the forest commissioner. Persons refusing, when not excused, to assist or to comply with orders, shall forfeit the sum of $10, the same to be recovered in an action for debt in the name and to the use of the town or county, or for the fire-protection fund. Firewardens shall be paid $10 a year as a retainer besides day's wages at the same rates as sheriffs or similar officers for as many days as they are actually on duty, and shall be responsible for prompt extinction of (ires and be amenable to law for neglect of duty. The district firewarden shall call on the town firewarden in case of inability to control fires, and the town firewarden shall have sheriff's power to enlist assistance, as is provided in case of a mob. FIRB-INDEMNITY FUND. Section 7 provides for the creation of a fire-indemnity fund, each county to pay iuto the State treasury $1 for each acre burnt over each year, the special fund so constituted to be applied in the maintenance of the system provided by this act and for the payment of damages to those whose forest property has been burned without neglect on their part or on that of their agents. ^ The burned areas shall be ascertained by the county surveyor and shall be checked from the reports of fire- wardens by the forest commissioner. All fines collected under the provisions of this law shall also accrue to the fire fund. .lURISDICTION AND LEGAL REMEDIES. Section 8 establishes jurisdiction and legal proceedings in each case of prosecution of incendiaries and adjustment of damages, and impo.ses upon every district judge the duty in charging the grand juries of his district to call special attention to the penal provisions of this act and of any similar acts providing for oftenses against forest property. FOREST-FIRE LEGISLATION. 185 Section 9 charges the forest conimisjiioner to issue aud publish, by posters and otherwise, reasonable regulations regarding the use of fires; such regulations to contain special consideration of campers, hunters, lumbermen, settlers, colliers, turpentine men, railroads, etc., and to be approved by the governor. Section 10 makes it a misdemeanor to disobey the posted regulations of the forest commissioner, or to destroy posters, or to originate fires by neglect of the same; provides that the prosecution shall be prepared by the forest commissioner, and imposes iiues and imprisonment in addition to damages. Fines should be double the actual damages, one-half to go to the fire fund, one-half to the damaged person. Section 11 makes it a criminal act, subject to indictment, to willfully set fires, and imposes fine and imprisonment. Section 12 jirovides that any person whoso forest property is damaged by fire not originated by his own neglect, and who is able to prove neglect on the part of the firewarden, may call on the forest commissioner for award of damage, whereupon the forest commissioner, in conjunction with the county authorities, shall investigate the case and refer his findings to the judicial officer of the district, who shall charge the grand jury to indict any ofl^ender against this act and ailjudge any neglectful firewarden or other officer or any person refusing to act upon orders of the firewarden. Any neglect on the part of the forest commissioner to investigate and find in each case within one year from the appeal of the owner shall be followed by dismissal unless reasonable cause for failure be shown. LIABILITY OF RAILROADS. Section 13 charges railroad companies to keep their right of way free from inflammable material by burning, under proper care, before certain dates to be established by the forest commissioner. Failure to do bo upon notification by the commissioner shall be followed by the arrest of the superintendent of the section, who shall be liable prima facie to procedure under section 10. Section 11 provides for the use of spark arresters, failure to comply with tliis provision to be followed by arrest of the superintendent or other officer in charge of the motive power and by procedure under section 10. Section 1.5 provides that fires originating from the tracks of a railroad company shall be prima facie evidence of neglect on the part of the company, and the engineer and firemen shall be liable to arrest and procedure under section 10. Section 16 provides that in all cases where a fire originates through neglect of a railroad company or its agents, both the company and its ofScers shall be liable for damages under the provisions of section 12. Section 17 establishes special liabilities for damage by tires in case of railroads under construction. FIRE INSURANCE AND STOCK LAWS. Section 18 provides for the incorporation of forest fire insurance companies. In States where cattle are allowed to roam, provisions to stop this practice should be enacted. FURTHER DUTIES OF FOREST COMMISSIONERS. Section 19 defines minor duties of forest commissioners, namely, to co-operate with superintendents of schools and other educational institutions in awakening an interest in behalf of forestry and rational forest use. Section 20 provides for salary and other expenses of the office of forest commissioner, which should be liberal in proportion to the responsibility of the office. Section 21 repeals all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with provisions of this act. How near to this ideal we come in practice may appear from the legislation enacted for Minnesota in 1895, which is still only partially effective on account of deficient appropriations and limited functions of the commissioner or chief firewarden. AN ACT to provide for the preservation of forests of this State anil for the prevention and suppression of forest aud prairie fires. Be it enacted Tiy the legislature of the State of Minnesota : Section 1. The State auditor shall be fore.st commissioner of this State, and his orders shall be supreme in all matters relating to the preservation of the forests of this State and to the prevention and suppression of forest and prairie fires as hereinafter provided. The supervisors of towns, mayors of cities, and presidents of village councils are hereby constituted firewardens of their respective towns, cities, and villages in the State, and the chief fire- warden may appoint as firewardens such other persons as he may deem necessary, living in or near to unorganized territory in this State, whose districts, to be known as fire districts, he may determine. Sec. 2. The aforesaid forest commissioner shall appoint a competent deputy to be known as chief firewarden, who, from personal experience, is familiar with the cimditions of the forest and methods by which fires may be controlled. Said chief firewarden shall receive a salary of twelve hundred ($1,200) dollars per year, and shall hold his office during the pleasure of the forest commissioner. He shall represent the authority of the forest commis- sioner, and it shall be his duty to enforce the provisions of this act throughout the State. Sec. 3. The chief firewarden shall have general charge of tlie firewarden force of the State, and shall have authority to mass such firewarden force as may be available at any special point to suppress fires. In case the tire- warden force of any locality is deemed by said chief firewarden inadequate to prevent or suppress forest or prairie 186 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. fires, he may appoint, temporarily, needed firewardens, whose duties and authority shall be the same as herein given to town supervisors actiug as firewardens. He shall properly divide into fire districts all unorganized territory in this State and appoint competent firewardens therein; he shall co-operate with any police or military force of the United States Government which may be detailed to guard the national domain from fire; he shall investi.o'ate the extent of the forests in the State, together with the amounts and varieties of the wood and timber growing therein, the damages done to them from time to time by forest fires and the causes of such fires, the method used, if any, to promote the regrowth of timber, and any other important facts relating to forest interests which may be required by the forest commissioner. The information so gathered, with his siiggestions relative thereto, shall be included in a report to be made by him annually to the forest commissioner. Sec. 4. The forest commissioner shall provide and officially sign an abstract of the penal laws of this act, with such rules and regulations in accord therewith as he may deem necessary, and on or before the first day of April of each year he shall forward as many copies as he considers needful to the chairman of each town board of supervisors and presidents of villages, to the forest firewardens that he has apiiointed, and to all railroad companies and to the chairman of each board of county commissioners in this State, and it shall he the duty of said firewardens to post up such abstract as warning placards in conspicuous places in their respective districts, and it shall be the duty of the county commissioners of each county to cause the said abstract to he published in at least three issues of the official papers in their respective counties during the fire-dangerous season of each year, which shall be reckoned from the 15th of April to the 1st of November. Sec. 5. During a dry and dangerous season, when forest and prairie fires are prevailing or are liable to break out, the chief firewarden shall use such means under his command as he may deem necessary to prevent or suppress such fires, and his expenses shall be paid by the State, which expenditures in one year shall not exceed five thousand dollars, to be paid for out of the general revenue fund, upon the order of the forest commissioner. Sec. 6. It shall lie the duty of each fire warden to take, precautions to prevent the setting of forest or prairie fires, and when his district is suffering or threatened with fire, to go to the place of danger to control such fires, and each forest firewarden shall have authority to call to his assistance in emergencies any able-bodied male person over eighteen years of age, and if such person refuses, without reasonable justification or excuse, to assist, or if any firewarden refuses or neglects to perform the duties assigned him in this act, such officer or person shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall upon conviction thereof be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred ($100) dollars, or imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed three (3) months. Sec. 7. The chief firewarden and the several firewardens created by this act shall have authority to enforce the provisions of this act, and it shall be their duty to co-operate with the firewarden of any adjoining district, and in the absence of such firewardens to direct the work of control and extinguishment of forest or prairie fires in such district, and to arrest, without warrant, every person violating any provisions of this act, and to forthwith take the offender before a magistrate and make complaint against such person. The chairmen of boards of township supervisors, presidents of villages, and firewardens appointed by the chief firewarden shall inquire into the cause of each forest or prairie fire within their districts and shall rejjort the same to the chief firewarden and the methods used to control or extinguish such fires and the amount of property destroyed and the number of lives lost, if any, and report such other facts in regard to said fires as said chief firewarden may require. During the more dangerous season of the year the chief firewarden may require frequent reports from the chairmen of township boards, or in unorganized towns from firewardens appointed by the said chief firewarden, as to condition of forest and prairie fires and as to what is being done to control the same. Sec. 8. Each firewarden shall receive for his actual services rendered nnder this act two ($2) dollars per day, two-thirds of which shall be paid by the county where such service is performed and one-third by the State; and any employee engaged in like service shall receive at the rate of one and fifty one-huudredths ($1.50) dollars per day, and said expense shall also be paid, two-thirds by the county wliere such service is rendered and one-third by the State, as hereinafter provided; but no payment shall be made to any claimant under this act until he shall have presented an itemized account and made oath or affirmation that said account is just and correct, which account shall be approved by the board of township supervisors and shall be audited by the county commissioners, when satisfied of the justice of the claim, and left on file with the county auditor; in case of unorganized townships the board of county commissioners alone shall approve and audit such accounts. The county auditor shall thereupon issue to each claimant his warrant upon the county treasurer for the entire sum to which such claimant is entitled, and the treasurer shall pay the same. Such county auditor shall transmit the original oath and copy of the warrant to the State auditor, who shall audit such claim, and one-third thereof shall be paid out of the State treasury from the general revenue fund by warrant issued by the State auditor upon the State treasury in favor of the county thereof paying the same, and forward the same to the auditor of said county: Provided, That no firewarden shall be paid in any one year for more than ten (10) days' service in extinguishing and preventing forest or prairie fires, nor for more than five (5) days' service in each year in posting notices and making the reports required by this act, nor in the aggregate for more than fifteen (15) days' service, of whatever character, in any one year; nor shall any one person employed by firewardens to assist in extinguishing or preventing forest or prairie fires be paid for more than five (5) days of such service in any one year. No county shall expend more than five hundred ($500) dollars of public money in any one year under this act. Sec. 9. Any person who willfully, negligently, or carelessly sets on fire, or causes to be set on fire, any woods, prairies, or other combustible material, whether or not on his own lands, by means whereof the property of another is injured or endangered, or any person who willfully, negligently, or carelessly suffers any fire set by himself to damage the property of another, is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one hun- dred ($100) dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding three months. Any person who maliciously FOREST-FIRE LEGISLATION. 187 sets on fire, or causes to be set on fire, any woods, prairies, or otlier combustible material whereby the property of another is destroyed and life is sacrificed shall be punished with a fine of not over five hundred ($500) dollars, or be imprisoned in the State prison for a term of not over ten (10) years, or both such fine and imprisonment. Sec 10. Any person who shall kindle a fire on or dangerously near to forest or prairie land and leave it unquenched, or sbaU he a party thereto, and every person who shall use other than incombustible wads tor firearms, or who shall carry a naked torch, firebrand or other exposed light in or dangerously near to forest land, causing risk of accidental fire, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one hundred ($100) dollars, or imprisonment m the county jail not exceeding three (3) months. Sec 11 Every person who shall willfully or heedlessly deface, destroy, or remove any warning placard posted under the requirements of this act shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred ($100) dollars for each such offense, or imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding three (3) months. ^ Sec 12. It shall be the dutv of all railroad companies operating any railroad within this State to use eflicient spark arresters on all their engines and to keep their right of way to the width of fifty (50) feet on each side of the center of the main track cleared of all combustible materials and safely dispose of the same withm said limits of their right of way between the 15th day of April and the 1st day of December. No railroad company shall permit its employees to leave a deposit of fire or live coals, or hot ashes, in the immediate vicinity of woodland, or lands liable to be overrun by fires, and where engineers, conductors, or train men discover that fences or other materials along the right of way or woodland adjacent to the railroad are burning, or in danger from fire, they shall report the same promptly at the next tele-raph station that they may pass. In seasons of drought railroad companies sha give particular instructions to their employees for the prevention and prompt extinguishment of fires, and they shall cause warnino- placards furnished by the forest commissioner to be posted at their stations in the vicinity of forest and prairie grass lands, and where a fire occurs along the line of their road they shall concentrate such help and adopt such measures as shall be available to effectively extinguish it. Any railroad company willfully violating the requirements of this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and be punished by a fine not exceeding one hundred ($100) dollars for each such offense, and railroad employees willfully violating the requirements of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and bo punished by a fine of not less than five ($5) dollars nor more than fifty ($50) dollars. But this section shall not be construed to prohibit or prevent any railroad company from piling or keeping upon the right of way cross-ties or other material necessary in the operation or maintenance of such '''" ""sec 13 It shall be the duty of each and every owner of thrashing or other portable steam engines to have efficient spark arresters on their engines at all times when in use, and no person in charge of any thrashing engine shall deposit live coals or hot ashes from his engine in any place without putting them out or covering them with at least three inehes of earth before leaving them. All persons violating the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine not less than five ($5) dollars nor more than fifty ($50) dollars. Sec 14. Nothing in this act shall be construed as affecting any right of action for damages. Sec. 15. Woodland territory within the terms of this act shall be construed to mean bodies of forest and brush """ 'sec 16. All moneys received as penalties for violating the provisions of this act shall be paid into the county treasnrv of the county wherein the offense occurred, to be known as the county fire fund, and used under the direction of the county board in defraying the expenses of enforcing the provisions of this act withm such county. Sec M. The forest commi,ssioner shall annually, on or before the first day of December, make a written report to the governor of his doings in respect to the duties herein assigned him, together with an itemized account of the expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of this act, which report shall include such statistics and facts as he has obtained from the chief fire warden and from the several fire wardens of the State and from other sources together with his suggestions relative to the preservation of the forests of the State and to the prevention and extinguishment of forest and prairie fires. Sec. 18. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed. Sec. 19. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage. Approved April 18, 1895. The Wiscoiisiu law (chapter 266, Laws of 1895) is similar in general character to the Minnesota law except that the chief clerk of the State land office and his deputy are made State forest warden and deputy forest warden, respectively, without additional salary. Towns are limited to $100 per year expenditure in extinguishing fires. The Maiue law (chapter 100, Public Laws of 1891) makes the State lana agent the forest commissioner. The selectmen of towns are made fire wardens and their duties are to post copies of the law in conspicuous places and to superintend the work of extinguishing fires, ^l^ey are empowered to call upon any person for assistance, and a refusal makes the party liable to $10 fane. The county commissioners in counties where there are unorganized places may appoint not to exceed ten fire wardens. No town shall expend for extinguishing fires more than 2 per cent ol its valuation for purposes of taxation. Anyone who neglects to extinguish a camp fire is liable to a fine not exceeding $100 or imprisonment in the county jail one month, or both. Non-combustiblc wads must be used by hunters. Municipal officers (and county commissioners in unorganized 188 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. places) shall make strict inquiry into tlie causes of fires within wooded lands, and prosecute the offender without delay. Town selectmen shall, where a forest fire of more than one acre has occurred, report to the forest commissioner the extent of fire and the amount of loss, and the measures found eflicient in subduing fire, for whicli purpose blanks shall be furnished by the forest commissioner. Eailroad companies are required to have their employees burn or cut and remove all grass, etc., from their right-of-way once a year; to use spark arresters on their locomotives; to refrain from depositing live coals, flre, or ashes on their track; and to report fires along right-of-way at the next stopping place that is a telegraph station. Eailroad companies are held liable ibr all damage to forest growth by any x)erson in their employ during road construction. During con- struction of such roads through woodland, abstracts of the laws relating to forest fires sliall be posted along the roadway at distances of 200 feet. Anyone so employed who fails to extinguish a fire made by him is liable to a fine not exceeding $500 or imprisonment not exceeding sixty days, or both, and it is made the duty of all i^ersons having charge of men in such railroad construction to see that the provisions of this act are complied with, any negligence subjecting them to the punishment above named. Violations of this act by railroads are punishable by a flue of $100 for each oflense. The forest commissioner shall encourage an interest in forestry in the public schools, and shall prepare circulars of information giving advice for the care of woodlands. He shall have copies of this chapter and all other laws of the State relating to forest fires printed and freely distributed to the selectmen of all the towns of the State, who shall post them up in schoolhouses, sawmills, logging camps, and other places, and to forest owners, who may post them at their own expense. Anyone defacing or destroying such notices is liable to a fine of $5. Eeports of the commissioners all bear testimony to the beneficent effect of the legislation, especially in educating people to consider the value of forest property, although the execution of the laws is still difficult and unsatisfactory. That it is not necessary to have forest fires, or that they can be at least reduced to insignificant dimensions, may be learned from the experiences of other nations, who exercise the first function of the State, namely, the more thorough protection of life and property of its citizens. In a recent report we read that in 1896 "very considerable damage by fire" occurred in the Prussian State forests (some 6,000,000 acres), and then the reporter brings a table showing that altogether less than 2,500 acres were burnt over. One "extensive" fire is reported as destroying 1,000 acres of "hopeful" pine and spruce plantation 20 to 25 years old, the result of incendiarism. In the following year (1897) the entire loss was not over 100 acres. During the ten years 1882 to 1891 there were 156 cases of fire reported: 96 from negligence, 53 from malice, 3 from, lightning, and only 4 from locomotives; and seven years out of the ten are without any record of fire due to this last cause. And this on an area of 6,000,000 acres, of which more than half is on dry sandy soil stocked with pure pine forest, where the pine litter is never burned or removed, and with large bodies of sapling timber and young growth interspersed. Comment is unnecessary as to the possibility of protecting forest property from fire. The Indian forest administration, under circumstances not less difficult, nay, perhaps, more difficult than those prevailing in the United States, still more strongly refutes the assertion that forest fires may not be suppressed. Not only have the people of all timbered i^arts of India practiced the firing of woods for many centuries, both for purposes of agriculture and pasture, but the natural conditions in most of the Indian forests are such as to discourage the most sanguine. In most parts the forest is a mixed growth, of which a considerable portion is valueless and is left to die and litter the ground with dry and decaying timber, furnishing ready fuel. To this is added a mass of creeping and climbing vegetation, a dense undergrowth, largely composed of giant grasses aud bamboos, covering the ground with standing or fallen canes, green and dry. It is a dangerous forest; and yet the forest department fights and prevents fires, and succeeds. The number of fires has been diminished to an astonishing degree, the efficiency has grown with perfection of methods, and the expenses have been constantly reduced, and have never been over $10 per square mile in any year. And this in a country where heat aiul moisture stimulate a rank growth, where a clearing will be covered in one year with grass in which an elephant can hide, and where hot, dry winds make a most dangerous forest-fire combination every year. FORESTRY EDUCATION. 189 There is no insuperable difficulty in stopping the fire nuisance in this country, provided the moral obligation is recognized, the will is there, and the necessary organization is provided. FORESTRY EDUCATION. The New York legislature of 1898 made provision for the establishment of a college of forestry in Cornell University, and provided for the purchase of a school forest of 30,000 acres to be used as an experimental demonstration area for illustrating the principles and practice of scientific forest management. The school was organized in April, 1898, with l)r. B. E. Fernow as director and dean. Its first session opened in September, with the beginning of the collegiate year 1899. This is the first professional school of forestry established in America which offers in its courses the same full complement of studies to be found in European institutions of similar kind. As indicating the scope of the subject and the requiremeiits for a fnlly educated forester of highest degree, the following schedule of studies announced by the college is reproduced. This step firmly establishes the forest policy of the State of New York, eventually to place its large forest property under the management of technically educated foresters issuing from this State college. Schedule of the courses leading to the degree of Bachelor of the Science of Forestry {B. S.F.). [Courses in parentlieses are elective in wliole or in part.] FRESHMAN YEAK. Mathematics Do Physics Do Olioraistry Invertebrate zoology.. Vertebrate zoology Entomology Botany Do Geology Do Forestry SOPHOMORE YEAR Chemistry Entomology Botany Do Geology Do Do Engineering Do Political economy Forestry Designa- tion of courses. JDNIOR YEAR. Chemistry Botany Geology.... Do . Engineering Political economy Pisciculture and venery- Eorestry -'. . SENIOR YEAR. Political economy . . . Law '. Forestry Designa- tion of courses. The resources of the entire university, with its library, laboratories, museums, and collections, are practically at the disposal of the college by the action of the board of trustees, and hence, besides the required courses, any additional courses offered by the various departments which are thought to be of especial value to forestry students may be elected by them whenever they have satisfied the requirements. The courses in fundamental and supplementary branches, which are needful and required for the three or four year forestry courses and for graduation, are selected from those offered in the departments of the university. The courses in forestry are briefly described as follows: 1. Synoptical course iu forestry. Economic nature and political asjiects. Designed especially for students of political economy, agriculture, engineering, and freshmen in the college of forestry, to acquaint the student in .a brief manner with the several subjects comprising the field of forestry'. Lectures only. Two hours, fall or spring. 2. One-year coarse iu forestry, with special reference to silviculture. Designed especially for agriculturists and others who desire a brief study of the technicalities of woodcraft and silviculture. Lectures and demonstrations. Three hours, through the year. 3. Silviculture. Principles of arboriculture, application of dendrology to crop production, methods of 190 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. reproduction, improvement of the crop, nursery practice, and forest planting. Lectures, recitations, and iield demonstrations. Three hours, througli the year. 4. Forest protection. Methods of guarding against trespass, loss from lires, insects, and diseases; measures to prevent erosion, washing, and deterioration of soils. Lectures and recitations. Three hours, spring term. 5. Timber physics and wood technology. Technical properties of wood and its uses. The course is arranged to meet also the needs of students in civil engineering and architecture, and others interested in the properties and uses of wood. Lectures, recitations, and laboratory work. Three hours, fall and winter. 6. Exploitation. Methods and means employed in the harvest of forest products, logging, transportation, mill- in"', and preparation of wood for market. Lectures and recitations. Three hours, winter term. Excursions to actual operations and points of manufacture. 7. Forest mensuration. Methods of ascertaining volume of felled and standing trees, of whole forest growths, timber estimating, determining accretion of trees and stands. Lectures, recitations, and field work. Three hours, winter and spring. 8. Forest regulation. Principles and methods underlying the jireparation of plans of management for contin- uous wood and revenue production. Lectures and recitations. Four hours, fall term. Field work in summer. 9. Forest administration. Organizing a forestry service, manner of employing and supervising labor, business methods as applied to forest management. Lectures and recitations. Two hours, spring term. 10. Forest valuation. Principles and methods of ascertaining the money value of forest growths at different ages for purposes of sales, exchanges, damage suits, etc. 'Lectures. Two hours, spring term. 11. Forestry statics and finance. Application of the principles of finance to forest management; methods of finding the most profitable form of management, determining rotation and expenditures with reference to revenue. Lectures and recitations. Three hours, winter term. 12. Forestry history and politics. Historical development of the economic and technical features of modern forestry; forestry conditions at home and abroad; forests and forestry as factors in the household of the community and nation ; basis and principles underlying forest policies of the State. The course will prove of value and interest to students of political economy. Lectures only. Two hours, winter and spring. The ouly other iustitutions in the country which have given any attention to instruction in forestry heretofore have been the laud-grant colleges of the several States. Of these, twenty-two have offered courses varying in length from a brief series of lectures to two full terms' work. These are the agricultural colleges of Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ehode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia. Nine colleges touch upou forestry incidentally in connection with instruction in other branches, such as botany and horticulture, namely, those of Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Colorado, Oklahoma, Indiana, and Maine. Ten institutions report no reference to the subject whatever. As to the character of the instruction in the courses in forestry, it varies greatly in the several iustitutions. The usual purpose is to give the students a general idea of the influence of forests upon climate and water flow and of forest geography, with more sijeciflc training in identification of trees and in propagation and jjlanting. It is evident that considered as a part of a general course in agriculture it is not feasible or desirable to make forestry the major subject, as is necessary in a technical school; but the brief courses offered in the agricultural colleges have been very successful in promoting public interest in forest protection and silviculture. In 1895 there were introduced into Congress two bills providing for forestry education, one (H. E. 8389) providing an appropriation of $5,000 to each of the agricultural colleges, to be devoted either to instruction or providing object-lessons in the field; the other (H. E. 8390) providing for a post-graduate school — a national school of forestry — in connection with the Department of Agriculture and its Division of Forestry. No action beyond hearings before the Committee on Agriculture, to which the bills were referred, resulted. FEDERAL FOREST POLIOY. The most imiiortant development in establishing a forest policy in the United States has been the change in the disposition of its public timber lauds as a result of the educational campaign of the American Forestry Association. This association in 1888 presented a comprehensive bill, drawn by the chief of the Division of Forestry, jiroviding for the withdrawal from entry or sale of all public, timber lands not fit for agricultural use, and for their proper administration under technical advice (S. 1176 and S. 1779, Fiftieth Congress, first session). Modifications of this bill were introduced from year to year and their enactment urged. In FEDERAL FOREST POLICY. 191 the Fifty-first Congress, through the earnest insistence of Secretary of the Interior John W. Noble, who was fully imbued with the necessity of some action such as was advocated by the association, the following section was added to the act entitled "An act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes," approved March 3, 1891 : Sec. 24. That the President of the United States may, from time to time, set apart and reserve, in any State or Territory having public lands bearing forests, any part of the public lands wholly or in part covered with timber or undergrowth, whether of commercial value or not, as public reservations, and the President shall, by public proclamation, declare the establishment of such reservations and the limit thereof. Actiug upon this authority, Presidents Cleveland and Harrison established seventeen forest reservations, with a total estimated area of 17,500,000 acres previous to 1894. These forest reservations, together with the national parks which were established before, to be sure for quite different purposes, made thus the forest lauds reserved by the ^Government aggregate over 20,000,000 acres as follows : , Forest reservationa. Tellowstone National Park timber-land reserve (Wyo.) . White Elver Plateau tlmber-laiid reserve (Colo.) Pecos Elver forest reserve (N. Mex.) Sierra forest reserve (Cal. ) Pacific forest reserve (Wash.) Pikes Peak timber-land reserve (Colo.) Bull Eun timber-land reserve (Oreg;.) Plum Creek timber-land reserve (Colo.) Soutb Platte forest reserve (Colo.) San Gabriel timber-land reserve (Cal.) Battlement Mesa forest reserve (Colo.) Afognak forest and fish culture reserve ( Alaska) Grand Canyon forest reserve (Ariz.) Trabuco Canyon forest reserve (Cal.) San Bernardino forest reserve (Cal.) Ashland forest reserve /Oreg.) Cascade Kange forest reserve (Oreg.j Total acreage of forest reserves - Sept. 10, 1891 Oct. 16,1891 Jan. 11,1892 Feb. 14,1893 Feb. 20,1893 Mar. 18, 1892 June 17, 1892 June 23, 1892 Dec. 9, 1892 Dec. 29,1892 Dec. 24,1892 .do . Sept. 28, 1893 1, 239, 040 1, 198, 080 311,040 4, 096, 000 967, 680 184, 320 142, 080 179, 200 683, 520 555, 520 858, 240 Unknown. 1, 851, 520 49, 920 737, 280 18, 560 4, 492, 800 17, 564, 800 NATIONAL PAEKS. Yellowstone National Park Yosemite National P.irk Sequoia National Park General Grant National Park . 2, 142, 720 967, 680 161, 280 2,560 a The numbers refer to those used on map, Plate II. The reservations were established usually upon the petition of citizens residing in the respec- tive States and after due examination, the forestry association acting as intermediary. Meanwhile the legislation devised for the administration of the forest reserves, existing or to be established, specially urged by Kepresentative McRae, chairman of Public Lands Committee, failed to be enacted, although in the Fifty-third Congress it was passed by both Houses, but failed in conference. Secretary Hoke Smith, of the Department of the Interior, impressed with the importance of devising some adequate system of protection and management of the forests, both within the reserves and in the public domain, and urged by the committee of the Forestry Association, under date of February 15, 1896, requested the National Academy of Sciences, the legally constituted adviser of the Government in scientific matters, to investigate and report " upon the inauguration of a rational forest policy for the forested lands of the United States." He especially desired an offlcial expression as to the desirability and practicability of preserving the forests from Are and maintaining as forested lands portions of the public domain now bearing wood growth; as to how far the iniiuence of forests on climate, soil, and water conditions warranted a policy of forest conservation in regions where the public domain is principally situated; and what specific legislation should be enacted to remedy existing evils. Under date of February 1, 1897, the academy submitted to Secretary Francis a preliminary report recommeudiug the creation of thirteen additional forest reserves with a total area of 21,379,840 acres. These reserves were proclaimed, as recommended, by the President February 22, 1897. On May 1, 1897, the president of the academy submitted his complete report, embodying 192 FOKESTKY INVESTIGATIONS U. W. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUKE. a comprehensive review of the subject, with recommendations and bills for the establishment of a bureau of forestry in the Department of the Interior. This report has been printed as Senate Document No. 105. The following forest reservations were created, upon the recommendation. of the committee of the National Academy of Sciences, their status'as to linal extent and retention as reserves being still in doubt : Acres. 1. Black Hills Reserve iu South Dakota 967,680 2. Big Horn Reserve in Wyoming 1, 198, 080 3. Teton Forest Reserve in Wyoming 829,440 4. Flathead Forest Reserve in Montana 1,382,400 5. Lewis and Clarke Forest Reserve in Montana 2, 926,080 6. Priest River Forest Reserve in Idaho and Washington 645, 120 7. Bitter Root Forest Reserve in Montana and Idaho 4, 147, 200 8. Washington Forest Reserve in Washington 3, 594, 240 9. Olympic Forest Reserve in Washington 2, 188, 800 10. Monnt Rainier Forest Reserve in Washington 1, 267,200 11. Stanislaus Forest Reserve in California 691, 200 12. San Jacinto Forest Reserve in California 787, 280 13. Utah Forest Reserve 705,120 Total estimated area 21,379,840 The sundry civil appropriation bill passed June 4, 1897 (see Senate Doc. No. 102), set aside the proclamations of February 22, 1897, suspending the reservations, which were made upon the recommendation of the committee of the academy, until March 1, 1S98, presumably to give time for the adjustment of private claims aud to more carefully delimit the reservations, an apj)ropria- tion of $150,000 for the survey of the reservations under the supervision of the Director of the Geological Survey being made. The provisos attached to this appropriation embody the most important forestry legislation thus far enacted by Congress. These provisos had been in the main formulated in a bill known as the McEae bill (H. E. 119), which was passed by the House of Eepreseutatives and the Senate of the Fifty-third Congress — without, however, becoming a law; and again had passed the House in the Fifty-fourth Congress, it being tbe legislation advocated by the American Forestry Association as a first step toward a more elaborate forest administration of the public timber lands. Excluding minor items, the law provides that — All public lands heretofore designated and reserved by the President of the United States under the provisious of the act approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, the orders for which shall be aud remain in force and elfect, unsuspended and unrevoked, and all public lands that may hereafter be set aside and reserved as public forest reserves under said act, shall be as far as practicable controlled and administered in accordance with the following provisions : "No public forest reservation shall be established, except to improve and jirotect the forest within the reserva- tion, or for the purpose of securing favo able conditions of water How, and to furnish a continuous sujiply of timber for the use and uecessities of citizens of the United States ; but it is not the purpose or intent of these provisions or of the act providing for such reservations to authorize the inclusion therein of lands more valuable for the mineral therein or for agricultural purposes than for forest purposes. "For the purpose of preserving the living and growing timber and promoting the younger growth on forest reservations, the Secretary of the Interior, under such rules and regulations as he shall prescribe, may cause to be designated and appraised so much of the dead, matured, or large growth of trees found on such forest reservations as may be compatible with the proper utilization of the forests thereon, and may sell the same for not less th.an the appraised value in such quantities to each purchaser as he shall prescribe, to be used in the State or Territory in which such timber reservation may be situated, respectively, but not for export therefrom. Before such sale shall take place, notice thereof shall be given by the Commissioner of the General Land Office for not less than sixty days, by publication iu a newspaper of general circulation, published in the county in which the timber is situated, if any is therein published, and if not, then iu a newspaper of general circulation published nearest to the reservation, and also in a newspaper of general circulation published at the capital of the State or Territory where such reservation exists; payments for such timber to be made to the receiver of the local land office of the district wherein said timber may be sold, under such rules and reguhitions as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe; and the moneys arising therefrom shall be accounted for by the receiver of such land office to the Commissioner of the General Land Office in a separate account, and sliall be covered into the Treasury. Such timber, before being sold, shall be marked and designated, and shall be cut .and removed under the supervision of some person appointed for that pui'pose by the Secretary of the Interior, not interested iu the purchase or removal of such timber nor iu the employment of the purchaser thereof. Such supervisor shall make a report in writing to the Commissioner of FEDERAL FOREST POLICY. 193 the General Land Office and to the receiver in the land office in which such reservation shall he located of his doings in the premises. "Upon the recommendation of the Secretary of the Interior, with the approval of the President, after sixty days' notice thereof, published iu two papers of general circulation in the State or Territory wherein any forest reservation is situated and near the said reservation, any public lauds embraced within tlie limits of any forest reservation which, after due examination by personal inspection of a competent person appointed for that purpose by the Secretary of the Interior, shall be found better adapted for mining or for agricultural purposes than for forest usage, may be restored to the public domain. And any mineral lands iu any forest reservation which have been or which may be shown to be such, and subject to entry under the existing mining laws of the United States and the rules and regulations applying thereto, shall continue to be subject to such location and entry, notwithstanding any provisions herein contained." The law authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to permit the use of timber and stone by bona fide settlers, miners, etc., for firewood, fencing, buildings, mining, prospecting, and other domestic purjjoses. It protects the rights of actual settlers within the reservations, empowers them to build wagon roads to their holdings, enables them to build schools and churches, and provides for the exchange of such for allotments outside the reservation limits. The State within which a reservation is located maintains its jurisdiction over aU persons within the boundaries of the reserve. Under the above enactment, the Commissioner of the General Land Office has formulated rules and regulations for the forest reservations, and a survey of the reserves last proclaimed is being made by the United States Geological Survey, the appropriations for such a survey having been continued for the year 1898; and tlie date for the segregation of agricultural lands and their return to the public domain open for entry having been deferred. The appointment of forest superintendents, rangers etc., although not with technical knowl- edge, to take charge of the reservations marks the beginning of a settled policy of the United States Government to take care of its long-neglected forest lands. In this connection it will be interesting to show that the agitation for rational treatment of the public-timber domain is by no means of recent date, but may be said to celebrate this very year its silver jubilee. A quarter century ago exactly the first true forestry bill was introduced by Mr. Haldeman in the Forty-second Congress and was lost. It provided that in the disposal of the public domain the condition be inserted into the patents that 10 per cent of the laud shall be kept in timber, or, if not timbered, shall be planted to timber. The subjoined table exhibits the long struggle for some kind of legislation; the failure of the numerous bills introduced, and the inactivity of committees and legislatures. It was originally printed in Bulletin 2 of the Division of Forestry, Department of Agriculture, in 1887, and has been here brought up to date. It will be seen that hardly any kind of legislation which could be suggested has been over- looked, from the creation of forest commissions to investigate the subject to providing for fully organized forest administrations and the establishment of forestry schools. The earliest action of the General Government having regard to the preservation of timber was in 1799, when Congress appropriated $2(10,000 for "the purchase of growing or other timber, or of lands on which timber is growing, suitable for the Navy, aud for its preservation for future use." The special object of this legislation was to secure a supply of live-oak timber, which was considered peculiarly valuable for shipbuilding,, and was in great demand for that purpose, both at home and abroad, while its growth was confined to a limited i^ortion of our territory in the vicinity of the Gulf. Two small islands on the coast of Georgia, containing together about 2,000 acres, were purchased under the act of 1799. Another act (Rev. Stat., sec. 2458), having the same object in view, was passed in 1817, by which the Secretary of the Kavy was directed to cause lands producing live oak or red cedar to be explored, and to have selections made of tracts necessary to furnish for the Navy a sufficient supply of such timbers. Under this act 19,000 acres iu Louisiana, which had recently become ours by purchase from France, were reserved. Additional enactments were made iu 1820 and 1827, by which the selection of lands to be reserved was intrusted to the surveyor of public lands in place of agents appointed by the Secretary of the Kavy, aud the President was authorized to withhold such lauds from sale. In 1822 an act was passed (Rev. Stat., sec. 21G0) authorizing the President to employ the land and naval forces, so far as necessary, effectually to prevent the felling or other destruction H. Doc. No. 181 13 194 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. of timber in Florida, and to take such other measures as might be deemed advisable for the preservation of timber there. (Florida had recently been ceded to the United States by Spain, and was known to abound in live-oak timber.) In 1831 an act was passed (Rev. Stat,, sees. 2461, 2462, and 2463) of wider scope than that of 1822. This made it a felony, with penalty of fine and imprisonment, to cut or remove timber from any of the public lands, whether reserved or not, except for the use of the I^avy, and subjected any vessel transporting such timber without proper authority and for any other purpose than for the use of the Navy, to confiscation, and the master of the vessel to a fine. This act is the one under which, up to the present time, all the protection they have had has been secured to the public forests, the Supreme Court having construed the act (9 How., 351) as authorizing the protection of all timber on the public lands and punishment for trespass upon the same. Under the act of 1831 the Treasury Department undertook a partial oversight and protection of timber on the public lands through its ordinary agents. In 1855 this oversight was transferred to agents of the Land Department, registers and receivers being instructed to act also as timber agents, but without any additional compensation. Where trespass was willfully committed, payment of stumpage was demanded or the timber was seized and sold and the proceeds paid into the Treasury. Where the trespass was committed ignorantly, actual entry of the land only was required, with payment of the usual entry charges. The first appropriation for the payment of agents specially employed for the protection of timber on the public lands was made in 1872, when $5,000 were appropriated. A like sum was appropriated annually thereafter for five years. In 1878, to meet expenses for suppressing depre- dations upon timber on the public lands, $25,000 were appropriated, and subsequently these appropriations were increased until in 1893 they reached the limit of $120,000, then to be reduced to $40,000, $60,000, and $90,000, for 1894, 1895, and 1896 respectively. House in wliich orig nated. Object of I)in. Action taken. 1S71 1871 1871 1872 1874 1874 41st, 3(1 3' do.. 42d, 1st £ 42d, 2d s< 43d, lat sess. H. K. 2930 . H. R. 3005 . H. R. 274 . H. K. 2197 do do 4;jd, 2d sess 44tb, 1st SCS3 H. R. 2497 . H.R.2540. H. R. 4430 . H. R. 323 . . Senate 2 . . For the sale of timber lauds in California and Oregon , To authorize the sale of timber lauds in California, Oregon, and Washington Territory, not exceeding 040 acres to one person ov association, without residence, at $2.50 per acre, -do. To encourage the planting of trees and the preservation of woods on the public domain. (The first real and com- preheusivo forestry bill.) Resolution that the Committee on Agriculture inquire whether a certain percentage of each quarter section of public lands sold must bo planted with trees or a certain percentage of existing forests preserved for the purpose of preventing or remedying drouth. Same as Garlield bill (274) above For the survey and disposal of the timber lands of tbe United States. Miners may buy stumpage, not more than ItiO acres, till that is cut, at $2.50 per acre. Home- steaders may buy 40 acres of timber land near agricul- tural land at same price. For the appointment of a commission for inquiry into the destruction of forests and into the measures necessary for the preservation of timber. For the appointment of a commission to inquire into the destruction of forests and into the measures necessary for the preservation of timber. To regulate the survey and sale of the timber lands of the United States. Commissioner of the Land Office to sur- vey and appraise lands more valuable for their timber than for agricultural use. Such lands not to be entered under homestead or prei?mption laws, but appraised and offered at public sale, and if not sold then to be open to private entry at a price not less than the appraisal. To regulate the survey and sale of the timber lands of the United States. Same bill as the preceding. To repeal section 2303 of the Revised Statutes, thereby opening timber lauds iu Southern States to private entry in unlimited quantities and at the reduced price of $1.25 per acre. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Passed in House. In Senate, referred to Committee on Public Lands. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Referred to Committee on Agriculture. Reported favorably. Failed of pas- sage— 81 yeas, 87 nays. No action. Referred to Committee on Public Lands, June 3, reported back with amendments and recommitted. De- cember, 1874, H. R. bill 4194 reporied by committee as substitute. Passed February 22, 1875. In Senate, Feb- ruary 22, referred to Committee on Public Lands. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Reported with amend- ments. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Reported back with H. R. 2540 as a substitute. Reported by Committee on Public Lanils as a substitute for preceding bill, H.R.2497. Referred to Committee on Public Lauds. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Reported back and passed. In House referred to Committee on Public Lands. Passed House and became a law July 4, 1876, through inaction of the President. FEDERAL FOBESTEY LEGISLATION. 195 Congn House ii which orij Bated. Action taken. 1876 187G 1877 1877 1878 1878 1878 1873 -do 4r)th, 3d soaa ... 4Gth, 1st s 46th, 2d Si 'FoT sale of timber lands in California, Oregon, and the Ter- ritories. Same as previous bills with aimilar title. For the sale of the timber lands in the Territories. Lands valuable for timber, but not for cultivation, to be sold at $2.5U per acre, not more than 40 acres to one person. To regiUate tho survey and sale of the timber lands of the United States. Lauds valuable chierty for timber not to be subject to entry under preemption or homestead laws, but to be appraised and sold at nut less than the ap- praised value. For the appointment of a commisaion, etc. Same as pre- ceding bill (H.K.2540). For the preservation of the forests adjacent to th of navigable rivers and other streams. Such timber lands to DO withdrawn from sale and a commission to de- termine what should be reserved so as to prevent scanty supply of water. For the sale of timber lands in the Territories. Same as bill {H. It. G60) in Forty-fourth Congress. To regulate the survey and sale of timber lands of the United States. Same as bills in the Forty-third and Forty-fourth Congresses. To put into market certain timber lands of the United States. Declaring subject to entry, in any quantity, all public timber lands in Alabama, Louisiana, and Minnesota which have been subject to entry in limited quantities for twenty years, and after entry of such lands to be no prosecution'for trespass or timber cutting. To provide for the entry of unsiu'veyed timber lands. Allowing the owner of a mine to take 160 acres of timber land for every 20 acres of mineral land owned by him, and the owner of agricultural land 40 acres for every quarter section, and for every $20,000 expended on a mill or furnace 640 acres may be taken at $2.50 per acre. Withdrawing lauds chiefly valuable for timber from entry under prel'mption or bomestead laws. Such lands to be surveyed and divided into "timber lands" and "min- eral timber lands." On the latter the timber only to be sold. Timber lands to be appraised and sold by commis- sioners. Such lands as are needed for irrigation pur- poses to be withheld from sale. $25,000 appropriated to suppress depredations on public timber. Allowing sale of timber lands unfit for cultivation in Cali- fornia, Oregon, Nevada, and Wasliington Territory at $2.50 per acre. No one person or association to enter more than 160 acres. Bill similar to next below Senate 760 .. Allowing residents of Colorado, Nevada, and other Terri- tories and all mineral districts to fell and remove, for building and other domestic purposes, trees on mineral lands. To regulate the survey and sale of timber lauds. Same as bill presented December, 1875 (H. K. 323), providing that timber lands more valuable for lumber than for agricul- tural purposes be reserved from entry under homestead or preemption laws, appraised, and sold to highest bidder, but not for less than appraisement. To regulate the survey and sale of timber lands of the United States. Same as last bill above. To prevent depredations upon timber in the Indian Terri- tory. Authorizing citizens of Colorado, Nevada, and the Terri- tories, to fell and remove timber on the public domain, for raining and domestic purposes. Extending the act of June, 1878. To prevent depredations upon timber on Indian reserva- tions. To prevent depredations upon timber on the Indian res- ervations. Same as last bill above. Act condoning trespass on public lands prior to March, 1879. Persons against whom suits were pending prior to that date to enter lands trespassed upon and pay accrued costs, thereupon suits to be discontinued. At same time price to be paid for lands to be reduced from $2.50 to $1.25. For the classification of the public lands in Colora«'o and the sale of timber thereon. The Secretary of the Interior to regulate the sale, and reserve timber on head waters of streams and on mountains. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Passed Senate Februarv, 1876. In House February, 1876, re- ferred to Committeeon Public Lands. March, 1877, House refused to sus- pend rules and pass the bill. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Reported with amendments and recommitted. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. No opportunity was af- forded for regular action on the bill, but, on motion of Mr. Dunnell, the substance of it was added as an amendment to the general appropri- ation bill, and became a law August- 1877.a Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Reported by Committee on Public Lands as a substitute for several bills. Recommitted. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Passed Senate. Reported to and passed House. Approved by President Juno 3. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Amended and jiasaed by Senate. Passed House and signed by President June 3. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Referred to Committee Affairs. Referred to Committee juands. Reported from the Committee on Indian Afl'airs. Referred to Committee on Indian Affairs. Approved by the President June 15, I Ey this enactment the Commissioner of Agriculture was directed to appoint a competent person to make the contemplated inquiries investigations. 196 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. ...do 1883 188;) 188i 188i 1884 1885 1S85 4sth, Ist £ -do... House JE nated. H. K. 6315 . H. K. 6997 - H.R.832... Senate 1258 H.E.4S11.. H. R. 52U6 . . Seuate 15-44 Object of bill. To amend act of 1878, so as to allow any one in Western States and Territories to remove timber from mineral lands for any purpose, under rules and regulations of the Secretary of the Interior and payment of $2.50 per acre for the timber. No timber to be cut by mill owners or lumber manufacturers. For the preservation of woods and forests adjacent to sources of navigable rivers. Same as bill introduced in House, First session, Forty-fourth Congress. For the preservation of wood.s, etc. Same as Senate bill next above. To provide for the classification and disposition of pine- timber lands. Such lands, chiefly valuable for their tim- ber, not to be subject to pr^emptioD or homestead entry, but to be appraised by the Secretary of the Interior, and sold from time to time at public sale, for not less than two-thirds the appraisement. Mineral lands exempt from tlie act. To regulate the sale of the timber lands of the United States. Similar to last bill above, but lands remaining unsold to be subject to private entry at the appraised value. For the protection and preservation of the forests of the United States. One hundred thousand dollars to bo appropriated to Colorado for the establishment of an experiment station under the direction of the Depart- ment of Agriculture, Act to exclude the public lands in Alabama from the oper- ation of laws relating to mineral lands, {In reality an act to sell all mineral lands in Alabama as agricultural lands, at private sale, in unlimited quantities, aud at the reduced rate of $l.i.'5 per acre, to citizens or aliens,) For the classification and disposition of pine-timber lands. Same as above bill presented in Forty-seventh Congress, For the preservation of woods and forests adjacent to sources of navigable rivers, etc. Same as bill in Forty- seventh Congress. 49th, 2d 8683 . Seuate 1824 Senate 2451 H. R. ;i79 . . H. K, 294G . Senate 540 . Senate 596 . For the protection, preservation, and extension of the for- ests of the United States, To establish an experiment station in connection with the Department of Agricul- ture west of the Mississippi Kiver, To propagate and distribute forest trees, investigate qualities, time of growing, profit, etc. One hundred thousand dollars ap- propriated. Act to establish a forest reservation on the head waters of the Missouri and Columbia Kivers, For the protection of forests on the public domain. "With- draws all tinfber land from sale under existing laws. Forest commission to be appointed to examine and class- ify forest lands and determine what should be perma- nently reserved. Timber ou reserved lauds to be sold under direction of the Commissioner of the Land Office, To establish a forest reservation in Montana, Same as bill S. 1824, in Forty-eighth Congress. To repeal act of 1878 for the sale of timber lands in Cali- fornia, Oregon, Nevada, and Washington Territory, For the preservation of woods and forests adjacent to sources of navigable rivers, etc. Same as bill ottered in Forty-eighth Congress. -do. To define and punish the offense of setting fire to woods or forests belonging to the United States. For the protection of foresta in California. To withdraw from sale Government forest lauds in California not suited to agriculture. Such lands not to be alienated from the Government, but to be plated temporarily under the management of the forest commissioners of Califor- nia. Fifty thousand dollars appropriated to carry out the act. To set apart from the public domain in the State of Ore- gon, as a public park for the benefit of the people of the United States, townships 27, 28, 29. 30, aud 31, iji ranges 5 and 6 east of the Willamette meridian, in the State of Oregon. To cancel certain reservations of lands ou account of Uve oak in the southwestern land district of the State of Louisiana. To establish a forest reservation on the headwaters of the Missouri Hiver and the headwaters of Clarks Fork of the Columbia Kiver. For the preservation of the woods aud forests of the national domain adjacent to the sources of the naviga- ble rivers and their affluents in the United States. Action taken. Referred to Committee on Agriculture. Koferred to Committee on Public Lands, Referred to Committee on Agriculture. Do, Do, Referred to Committee on Indian Af- fairs, Passed in Senate April 23; in House of Representatives referred to Committee on Indian Affairs. Referred to Committee on Agricul- ture and Forestry. Passed Senate June, 1884. In House printed. Referred to Committee on Agricul- ture. Reported favorably. Referred to Committee on Agricul- ture. Reported favorably. Massed Senate, In House on calendar. Referred to Committee on Public Lauds. Referred to Committee on Agricultui-e, Bo, Referred to Committee ou Judiciary. Reported at second session, with amendments, and placed on the Cal- endar. Referred to Committee on Public ' Lands. Reported favorably. Reported back adversely and nitcly jiostponed. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Reported back. Passed Sen- ate, Referred to House Committee on Public Lands. Reported back. Amended and passed House, Sen- ate concurs in House amendment. Examined and signed. Approved by President. Referred to Committee on Agriculture aud Forestry. Do. FEDERAL FORESTRY LEGIkSLATION. 197 House in which origi- nated. Object of bill. Action taken. 50th, Ist sesa. Senate U76. Senate 1779. Senatel817. do SenateSSlO do Senate 2377 do H. R. 1225'. do do H. E. 12.56 . H. li. laOO . do H. R. 1353 . do n.R.1982. do H.R.3239. do H. R. 3279. do H. R. 3306. do H.E.3410. do H.E. 6045. do ir.R.6709. do H.R. 7901. H. E. 9055 . . n. E. 11037 . Senate 549.. Senate 1394. Senate3199. Sonate4150. do n. R.705. do H. R. 4593 do H. E. 5382 do H. E. 7026 For the protection and administration of the forests of the public doraaiD. To grant the State of Oregon townships 27, 28, 29, 30, and 31 south, in ranges 5 and (i east of the Willamette merid- ian, in the State of Oregon, for a public park. To establish a public park to be called and known i Koyal Arch Park. To amend act authorizing citizens of Colorado, Nevada, and the Territories to fell and remove timber on the pub- lic domain for mining and domestic purposes. Authorizing citizens of Colorado, Nevada, and the Terri- tories to fell and remove timber on the public domain for mining and domestic purposes. For the protection of forest lands belonging to the United States and California. To establish a public park at Pagosa Springs, Colo To repeal the timber-land act of June 3, 1878 To further amend the public-land laws, and for the preser- vation of natural forests on the public domain, tlie pro- tection of water supply, and for other purposes. To set apart a certain tract of laud situated on the head- waters of the Pecoa Kiver, in New Mexico, as a public park. For the preservation of the woods and forests of the na- tional domain adjacent to the sources of navigable rivers and their affluents in the United States. To define and punish the otfenso of setting fire to and burn- ing woods, grass, or forests on lands belonging to the United States. For the protection and the administration of the forests on the public domain. For the preservation of the woods and forests of the na- tional domain adjacent to the sources of tbe navigable rivers and their affluents in the United States. For the protection and administration of the forests of the public domain. To amend an act entitled "An act authorizing the citizens of Colorado, Nevada, and the Tirritories to fell and re- move timber on the public domain for mining and domes- tic purposes,'' approved June 3, 1878. To secure, to actual settlers the public lands adapted to agricultu?-e, to protect the forests on the public domain, and for other purposes. To amend section 5388 of the Revised Statutes of the United States in relation to timber depredations. To establisli a public park to be called and known aa the Eoyal Arch Park. To set apart a certain tract of land in the Territory of New Mexico as a public reservation. For the protection and administration of the forests on the public domain. Authorizing the citizens of Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Nevada, and the Territories to fell and remove timber on the public domain for mining and domestic purposes. For tlie preservation of the woods and forests of the na- tional domain adjacent to the sources of the navigable rivers and their affluents in the United States. To authorize the entry of the public lands by incorporated towns for cemetery "and park purposes. For the protection of trees and other growth on the public domain from destruction by fire. For the preservation of the woods and forests of the na- tional domain ad,iacent to the sources of the navigable rivers and their affluents in the United States. To amend an act entitled "An act for the sale of timber lands in the States of California, Oregon, and Nevada, and in Washington Territory, " approved June 3, 1878. To dispose of the timber lands of the State of Arkansas at cash entry. For the reservation and preservation of forest lands on the public domain and to establish a conunission to examine into the condition of the said lands, and to report a plan for their permanent management. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Reported back with amend- ments. Amended and passed Sen- ate. -Referred to House Committee on Public Lands. Referred to Committee on Agriculture and Forestry. Debated and refeiTed to the Commit- tee on Agriculture and Forestry. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Reported back with amend- ment. Amended and passed Senate. Referred to House Committee on Public Lands. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Reported back with amend- ments. Amended and passed Senate. Referred to House Committee on Public Lands. Referred to Committee on Public Lauds. Do. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Laid on table. Referred to Committee on Public Referred to Committee on Agriculture. Referred to Committee on Revision of Laws. Reported back. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Laid on table. Referred to Committee on Agriculture. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Laid on table. Referred to Committee on Public Lauds. Reported by Committee on Public Lauds as a substitute for H. R. bill No. 6045 and other bills relating to the public lands. Passed. In Sen- ate referred to Committee on Public Lands. Passed House. Referred to Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Re- ported back. Passed Senate. Ex- amined and signed. Approved by President. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Do. Referred to Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, r.'ferred to Committee on Public Referred to Committee on Agriculture and Forestry. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Introduced by Committee on Agricul- ture and Forestry. Debated, amended, and passed Senate. Re- ferred to House Committee on Pub- lic Lands. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. 198 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. House in wbicli origi- nated. Action taken. 51st, 1st sess- 1890 1891 1891 ....do.. 51st, 2([ £ 1892 1892 ' 1892 1892 1892 1893 1893 1893 1893 1893 . . -do . ...do. 1895 1895 ..do ..do H. R. 8459 - . H. E. 10715 . H.R. 12750. H.K. 13390. Senate 382 . Senate 664 . Senate 2763. H.R. 29.-.. H.R. 102... H.K. 338... H.R. 2647.. H.R. 5979.. H.R. 6656.. H.R. 8259-. H.R. 8445.. H.R. 9709.. Senate 2275 H.R. 9790.. H. R. 9981. - H.R. 10101. H.R. 10207. Senate 74... Senate 612... Senate 2069. H.R. 119.., H. R. 7173 . H. R. 7259 . To authorize entry of the public lands by incorporated cities and towns for cemetery and park purposes. For the protection of watersheds and irrigation systems and for the establishment of a forest administration on the "Western mountains and plains. To provide for the sale of timber and stone lands and the timber thereon. To dispose of the timber lands of the State of Arkansas at cash entry. To amend ' 'An act to set apart certain tracts of land in the State of California as forest reservations, approved Octo- ber 1, 1890." For the protection of trees and other grrowth on the public domain from destruction by fire. For the sale of timber lands in the State of Montana, and to make the same subject to the mineral laws of the TTniteci States after their sale as timber lands. For the protecuon and administration of the public forest reservations. Providing for an experimental forestry tree-culture reserve To provide for the establishment, protection, and adminis- tration of public forest reservations, and for otber pur- poses. To dispose of the timber lands of the State of Arkansas at cash entry. To secure to actual settlers the public lands adapted to agriculture, to protect the forests on the public domain, and for other purposes. For the preservation of the woods and forests of the na- tional domain adjacent to the sources of the navigable rivers and their affluents in the United States. For the protection of trees and other growtli on the public lands and on the public parks and reservations of the United States from destruction by fire. Regulating the manner and limitation of tree culture To provide for the sale of stone and limber lands unfit for cultivation, and for other purposes. To dispose of the timber lands of the State of Arkansas at cash entry. To repeal the act of October 1 , 1890, in relation to forest res- ervations in California, and instrnrting the Secretary of the Interior to issue patents to settlers thereon. To classify timber lands and provide for the sale of the timber thereon. For the relief of purchasers of timber and stone lands under the act of June 3, 1878, -do. Reserving the timber reservation in Oklahoma Territory for the henetit of the Territorial institutions of learning. To protect public forest reservations To provide for the protection and administration of public forest reservations, and for other purposes. To provide for the classification and disposition of the pub- lic lands, the protection and administration of the public forest reservations, and for other purposes. Authorizing citizens of that part of the State of "Washing- ton eastward of the Columbia River to fell and remove timber on the public domain for mining and domestic purposes. To protect public forest reservations To amend the act of June 3, 1878, for the sale of timber and stone lands. To protect public forest reservations For the relief of citizens who have entered lands under an act entitled "An act for the sale of timber lands in Cali- fornia, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington Territory." ap- proved June 3, 1878, and to ainend said act and all acts amendatory thereof. To amend an act entitled "An act for the sale of timber land in the States of California, Oregon, Nevada, and Washington Territory." To provide for the reduction of the limits of Battlement Mesa Forest Reserve, in the State of Colorado. For the relief of certain settlers who have entered lands under the timber and stone act, etc. Referred to Committee o: Lands. Reported back. Public Passed House. Referred to Senate Com- mittee on Public Lands. Reported hack with amendment. Amended and passed Senate. House noucon curs in Senate amendment. Confer- ence appointed. Conference report made and agreed to. Examined and signed. Approved by President. Referred to Committee on Irrigation of Arid Lands in the United States. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Reported back. Bo. Referred to Committee on Agriculture and Forestry. Reported back ad- versely and indefinitely postponed. Referred to Committee on Public Lauds. Referred to Committee on Agriculture and Forestiy. Reported back ad- versely and indefinitely postponed. Do. Referred to Committee on Agriculture and Forestry. Reported back with amendments. RefeiTed to Committee on Public Laid on table, to Committee on Publi* Land; Referred Lands. Referred to Committee on Agriculture. Referred to Committee on Puhlic Lands. Introduced by Committee on Pablic Lands as substitute for H. R. 5142 and H. R. 29. Laid on table. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Referred to Committee on Private Claims. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Passed House. Examined and signed . Referred to Committee Lands. Reported back. Referred to Committee Public Public Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Reported back with amend- ments. Debated. Withdrawn. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Recommitted to Committee on Public Lands. Reported back with amend- ments. Resolution making bill spe- cial order reported, debated, and withdrawn. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. H. R. 7359 reported as sub- stitute. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Reported back. Debated. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Introduced by Committee on Public Lands a.s substitute for H. R. 4726. Passed House. Referred to Senate Commiltee on Public Lands. Re- ported back. FEDERAL FORESTRY LEGISLATION. 199 1895 1895 1895 633, 3a se33-. do 53d, 3d sesa. .do 1890 189G 1890 1806 1896 1896 do ... 54tli, 1st ! 1396 1896 1890 1896 ]896 1896 1896 1896 House in wliicli origi' nated. H.E.7854.. H.E.7918-. Senate 2571 H.E. 119... H. E. 7259 . . . H. E. 7854 . . . H.E. 8323-.. Seniite 914 . , Senate 1214 Senate 1349 Senate 1632 Senate 1803 , Senate 2118 Senate 2946 Senate 2963 H.E. 40.... H.E. 119... H. E. 832 . . H.E. 2280. H.E. 4065.. H. E. 4067 . . H.E. 4336. H. E. 4442 . H.E. 4562. H. E. 4991 . H.E. 8730. H. E. 9123 . Object of bill. To prevent the free use of timber on the public lands and to revoke all penults heretofore granted in certain States, and for other purposes. ^ . . , Authorizing bona fide settlers on public lands to cut timber therefrom, and for other purposes. To create a forestry commission To protect iiuhlic forest reservations Action taken. For the relief of certain settlers, who have entered lands under the timber and stone act, etc. To prevent the free use of timber on the public lands and to revoke all permits heretofore granted in certain States, and for other purposes. Making an additional appropriation to meet the expenses of protecting the timber on the pubUo lands for the fiscal year ending June 80, 1895. To protect public forest reservations To appropriate funds for investigations and tests of Ameri- can timber. , , ,. , i ^ For the relief of applicants to purchase public lands under the timber and stone act. - . . » To permit owners of claims to iron and coal mines on forest reservations of the United States to perfect their titles thereto, and to procure a patent therefor, and for other purposes. To repeal section 8 of an act entitled "An act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes," approved March 3, 1891. To protect public forest reservations To protect and administer the public timber lands To amend sections 18, 19, 20, and 21 of the act entitled "An act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other pur- poses," approved March 3, 1891. For the relief of purchasers of timber and atone lands under the act of June 3, 1878. To prevent the free use of timber on the public lands for commercial use, and for other purposes. To protect public forest reservations To protect the forests on the public domain from deatruc- To open the forest reservations of the State of Colorado for the location of mining claims. To set apart cerfain lands now known as the Pacific For- est Keservation as a public park, to be known as the Washington National Park. For the relief of applicants to purchase public lands under the timber and stone act. , - . . , To amend an act entitled "An act for the sale of timber lands in the States of California, Oregon, Nevada, and in ■Washington Territory," apprr^ved June 3. 1878. ^ To extend the mineral land laws of the United btates to lands embr.aced within reservations created by Presi- dential proclamation, and for other purposes. To amend the act of June 3, 1878, entitled "An act for the sale of timber lands in the States of California, Oregon, Nevada, and in Washington Territory,' as amended by section 2 of the act of iVugust 4, 1892. ^. ^. , To amend an act entitled "An .act for the sale of timber lands in the St.ates of California, Oregon, Nevada, and Washington Territory." , , *, To open forest reservations in the State of Colorado tor the location of mining claims. Eeferred to Committee on Public Lands. Eeported back with amend- ment. Eeferred to Committee on Public Lands. Eeferred to Committee on Forest Ees- ervations. Debated in the House. Amended and passed House. Eeferred to Senate Committee on Public Lands. Eefer- ence changed to Committee on Forest Eeservations. Eeported back with amendment. Amended and passed Senate. Eeferred to House Commit- tee on Public Lands. Conference ■appointed. Eeport made and with- drawn. Passed Senate. E.xamined and signed. Debated, amended, and passed House. Eeferred to Senate Committee on Public Lands. Eeferred to Committee on Ajipropria- tions. Eeferred to Committee on Forest Eeservations. Eeferred to Committee on Agriculture and Forestry. Eeferred to Committee on Public Lands. Eeferred to Committee on Public Lands. Eeported back with amend- ments. Amended and passed Sen- ate. Eeferred to House Committee on Public Lands. Eeported back with amendment. Eeferred to Committee on Public Lands. Eeferred to Committee on Forest Ees- ervations and Protection of Game. Eeported back. Passed over in Senate. Eeferred to Committee on Forest Ees- ervations and Protection of Game. Eeferred to Committee on Public Lands. Eeferred to Committee on Public Lands. Eeported back adversely and laid on table. Eeferred to Committee on Public Lands. Eeferred to Committee on Public Lands. Eeported back with amend- ment. Passed House. Eeferred to Sen.ate Committee on Forest Eeser- vations and Protection of Game. Eeferred to Committee on Public Lands. Eeferred to Committee on Public Lands. H. E. 4991 reported as sub- stitute. Eeferred to Committee on Public Lands. Eeported back with amend- ment. Amended and passed House. Eeferred to Senate Committee on Forest Eeservations and Protection of Game. Eeferred to Committee on Public Lands. Do. To appropri.ate funds for invostigat can timber. To prevent forest fires on the public domain and tests of Ameri- Eeferred to Committee on Indian Af- fairs. Eeferred to Committee on Public Lands. Eeported back. Eeferred to Committee on Public L.ands. Introduced by Committee on Public Lands as substitute for H. E. 2280. Debated and passed House. Ee- ferred to Senate Committee on Pub- lic Lands. Eeported back Passed Senate. Examined and signed. Ap- proved by President. Eeferred to Committee on Agriculture. Eeferred to Committee on Public Lands. Reported liack. Debated and passed House. Eeferred to Sen- ate Committee on Public Lands. 200 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 1896 1896 1897 1897 1897 54th, 1st sess ated. n. R. 9124 . . H. K. 9143 . . Senate 3632 H. K. 9123 . . . H. K. 9923 . . , H. R. 10270 . n. E. 10356 . H. R. 4058 - . Object of biU. To protect the forests on the public domain from destrnc- tion by fire. To protect public forest reservations To permit owners of clnima to iron and coal mines on forest reservations of the United States to perfect their title thereto, and to procure a patent therefor, and for other purposes. To protect public forest reservations To protect the forests of the ]>ublic domain from destruc- tion by fire. To prevent forest fires on the public demain To confirm title to purchasers of certain lands under the timber and stone law. Providing for the selection of lands in lieu of swarap lands included in forest reservations. To restore to tbe public domain the lands embraced within the forest reservations in the State of "Wyoming set up and established by Executive order February 22, 1897. To set apart certain lands, now known as the Pacific Forest Reserve as a public park, to be known as the Wa3hinj;;ton National Park. Action taken. Referred to Committee on Public Lauds. Reported back. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Consideration in House objected to. Reported back and passed Senate Examined ami signed. Approved by President. To give a more complete view of tbe action of tlie Government in its bearings npon forestry, it seems proper to append to the foregoing synopsis tlie following record of legislation, actual as well as only proposed: TIMBER-CULTURE ACTS. House in which ori^ nated. Object of bill. 47th, lstses8. do 49th, lat sess ...do ...do 50th, l8t sess- do ....do 51st, lat sesa . H. R. 452 .. . n.R.380.-. H.R.5210.. H. R.2003.., Senate 66 . . To-encourage the growth of timber on "Western prairies. A person planting 40 acres of timber trees on Govern- ment land to be entitled to 160 acres at the expiration of 10 years. The so-called timber-culture act. To amend the above act. Ooulines privilege of entry to heads of families or persons over 21 years of age and to citizens of tbe United States. Reduces tbe time for perfecting title to eight years. Restricts the amount to be entered by one person to 160 acres. Allows home- steaders to obtain patent by planting one-sixteenth of homestead with trees. To amend act of 1873. Allows extension of time for per- fecting title in case of tbe destruction of trees by grass- hoppers ; also permits seeds and nuts to be planted in- stead of trees. To amend the act of 1873. Reducing the number of acres to be planted to 10 for every quarter section, and in the same proportion for smaller quantities, but requiring closer planting— 2,7U0 trees per acre. Five acres to be broken first year and 5 the second, and planted with trees in the third and fourth years. Repeals the home- stead provision of tbe act of 1874. To amend the act of 1878. Specifying the kinds of trees to be planted. To repeal the act of 187S To repeal all laws for the preemption of public lands and those allowiug entries for timber culture, the sale of desert lands, etc. To repeal all laws for the preemption of public lands and those allowing entries for timber culture. To repeal preemption and timber culture laws. Nearly identical with bill 452. To repeal all laws for the preemption of public lands and for timber-culture entries. To amend the act of 1878 To amend an act entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to encourage the growth of timber on the West- ern prairies.' " To repeal all laws providing for the preemption of the pub- lic lands, tbe laws allowing entries for timber culture, the laws authorizing the sale of desert lands, and for other purposes. To repeal all laws providing for the preemption of the pub- lic lands, the laws allowing entries for timber culture, and for other puri)oses. To repeal the preemption and timber-culture laws, and to amend the desert-land act, and for other purposes. To repeal all laws providing for the preemption of the pub- lic lands, the laws allowing entries for timber culture, and for other purposes. To amend an act entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to encourage the growth of timber on the West- ern praii'ies.' " To repeal all laws providing for the preemption of the pub- lic lands, the law allowing entries for timber eulture and amending other land laws, and for other purposes. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Reporteil favorably and passed. Approved March 3, 1873. Passed and approved March 13, 1874. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Reported favorably. Passed and approved May 20, 1877. Reported with amendments by com- mittee. Passed and approved June 14. 1878. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Reported back adversely and indefinitely postponed. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. Reported back. Passed Senate. Referred to House Com- mittee on Public Lands. Referred to Committee on Public Lands. FEDEEAL FORESTRY LEGISLATION. TIMBEE CULTURE ACTS— Continued. 201 Congress. House in whicli origi- nated. Object of bill. Action taken. 1890 1890 1891 1891 1892 1892 1892 1892 1892 1892 1892 1892 1892 1892 1893 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 51st, Ist sess . ....do ....do. ....do. ....do . ....do. H.K.550... H.K.5404.. H.R.5598.. H.Ii.7254.. Senate 5129 H.R.7254.. Senate 1024 Senate 1179 Senate 1248 Senate 2180 Senate 3281 Senate 3393 H.R.412... n.E.7C91.. H. K. 8702. . H.R. 9003.. Senate 25G4 Senate 113 . Simate 1281 Senate 1696 H.R. 4458.. .do. H.R. 8424-. Senate 103 . Senate 1378 H.R. 2G-44.. H.R. 3543... H.R. 4248-. H. R. 4C94-. To amend an act entitled " An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to encourage the growth, of timber on the "West- ern prairies.' " To provide for the commutation of timber- culture entries. . To repeal the tim ber-culture act To repeal the timber-culture laws, and for other parposes. To amend section 8 of an act approved Mar. 3, 1891, en- titled "An act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes.'' To repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes To amend chapter 561 of the laws of the second session of the 51st Congress entitled " An act to repeal timber-cul- ture laws, and for other purposes." To amend section 1 of an act approved ITar. 3, 1891, en- titled "An act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes." To repeal section 24 of an act entitled "An act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes," approved Mar. 3, 1891. Declaring the construction of an act entitled "An act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes," approved Mar. R. 1891. To amend section 7 of "An act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes," approved Mar. 3, 1891. To amend an act approved March 3, 1891, entitled "An act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes." To amend section 1 of an act entitled "An act to repeal timber-cnlturc laws, and for other purposes." To amend an act entitled "An act to repeal timber culture laws, and for other purposes." To .^mend an act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes. To amend seer cent of the whole forest area. One higher, and several lower schools provide instruction. Some 150,000 acres of waste land were reforested by the State between 1881 and 1890. Even Eussia, although one of the export countries, with $30,000,000 to $35,000,000, and largely in the pioneering stage, has a well-devised forest policy, developed within the last thirty or fifty years, which consists not only in maintaining Government forests to the extent of about 280,000,000 acres under tolerably good management, and 30,000,000 of Grown forests, personal property of the royal family, but in restricting lirivate owners from abuse of their property, where the public welfare demands, while in the prairie country in southern Russia large amounts of money are spent by the Government in planting forests and assisting private enterprise in the same direction. With the Siberian forests and jhose of the Caucasus added, the area of Government forest may reach the large figure of 600,000,000 acres, which, though not yet all placed under manage ment, is sooner or later to come under the existing forest administration. The restrictive policy dates from a very elaborate law passed in 1888, in which the democratic spirit in the constitution of the body controlling the exercise of property rights is interesting. The approval of working plans or of clearings on private property is jilaced in the hands of a specially constituted committee for each county, which includes the governor, justices of the peace, the county council, and several forest owners, and the Government itself must secure the approval of this committee for its operations. By this law, throughout European Eussia,- woodlands may be declared " preserved forests" on the following grounds : That they serve as preventives against the formation of barrens and shifting sands, and the encroachment of dunes along seashores or the banks of navigable rivers, canals, and artificial reservoirs ; that they protect from sand drifts towns, villages, cultivated land, roads, and the like; that they protect the banks of navigable rivers and canals from land- slides, overflows, or injuries by the breaking up or passing of ice; when growing on hills, steep places, or declines, they serve to check land or rock slides, avalanches, and sudden freshets, and all forests that protect the springs and sources of the rivers and their tributaries. In these preserved forests, working plans are made at the expense of the Government, and in the unpreserved forests at the expense of the owners. In each province the Government maintains an inspector-instructor, whose duty is to advise those who apply to him in forest matters, and as far as i^ossible he is to superintend on the spot all forestry work. The Government has established nurseries from which private owners can obtain young trees and seeds at a low price. The owners are allowed to employ as managers of their forests the trained ofQcials of the forest administration, while medals and prizes are given yearly to ijrivate owners for excellency in forest culture and management. Two higher and thirteen lower schools of forestry are also maintained by the Government. The country which has attracted most interest in all matters pertaining to forestry, because the science of forestry is there most developed and most closely applied, is Germany. The policies prevailing and methods employed are fully described in another part of this report. It jnay, however, be interesting to trace somewhat the historical development both of the application of forestry principles and of the existing forest policy. Although as early as Charlemagne's time a conception of the value of a forest as a piece of property was well recognized by that monarch himself, and crude prescriptions as to the projjer use of the same are extant, a general really well-ordered system of forest management hardly existed until the beginning of the eighteenth century. Sporadically, to be sure, systematic care and regular methods of reproduction were employed even in the thirteenth and fourteenth centu- ries. \ To understand the development of the present forest policy in Germany one must study the peculiar conditions and development of property rights that led to it. Germany was originally settled by warriors, who had to keep together in order to resist enemies and conquerors on every 208 FOKESTKY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. side, ready to move and cbauge domicile at any moment. The soil which was conquered, conse- quently, was not divided, but owned as a whole, managed by and for the whole tribe. It is only in the sixth century that signs of private property in woodlands are discernible. Before that time it was res nullius, or, as it is expressed in legal manuscripts, " quia non res possessa seel de ligno agitur.^^ Wood being plentiful and yet needed by everybody, it appeared a crime only to take wood which had been already appropriated or bore unmistakable signs of ownership, such as being cut or shaped. But severe punishments were in earliest times inflicted for incendiarism and for damage to mast trees, since the seed mast for the fattening of swine was one of the most important uses of the forest. There was not much need of iiartition, especially oi the forests. The community, to which all the land of a distinct belonged, and which was managed by and for the aggregate of society, was called the "mark," a communistic institution of most express character, and every "marker" or shareholder was allowed to get the timber needed by him for his own use without control. This early communal ownership of forest land undoubtedly explains the fact that even to-day over 5 per cent of the forest is owned by communities, cities, or villages. Gradually the necessity of regulating the cutting of the wood became apparent, as the best timber in the neighborhood of the villages was removed, and we find quite early mention of oflicials whose duty it was to superintend the felling, removing, and even the use of the timber. By and by even the firewood was designated by oflicials. Manufacturers received their material free of charge, but only as much as was needed to supply the community. Occasionally there were rules that each man had to plant trees in proportion to his consumption. So that by the end of the fourteenth century quite a system of forest management had been developed. Meanwhile the Eoman doctrine of the regal right to the chase had also begun to assert itself by the declaration of certain districts as ban forests or simply forests, in which the King exclu- sively reserved the right to chase. The Kings again invested their trusted followers and nobles with this right to the chase in various districts, thus gradually dividing the control of the same. While at first these reservations did not bring with them restrictions in the use of the timber or pasture or other products of the forest, gradually these uses were construed as exercised only by permission, and the former owners were reduced to holders of " servitudes," i. e., holders of certain rights in the substance of the forests. The fact that the feudal lords frequently became the obermarkers or burgomasters of the mark community lent color of right to these restrictions in the use of the property, besides the assertion that the needs of maintaining the chase required and entitled them to such control. It is interesting to note that through all the changes of centuries, these so-called servitudes have lasted until our own times, much changed, to be sure, in character, and extending by new grants especially to churches, charitable institutions, cities, villages, and colonists. Such rights, to satisfy certain requirements from the substance of an adjoining forest, were then usually attached to the ownership of certain farms, and involved counter service of some sort, usually in hauling Avood or doing other fores.try work. Sometimes when the lordly owners of large properties exercised only certain i^rerogatives to show ownership, these, in the course of time, lapsed into the character of servitudes, the forest itself by occupation becoming the property of the community. With changes in value and other changes in economic conditions, these rights often became disadvantageous and more and more cumbersome to either or both sides. The present century has been occupied with the difficult labor of relieving this state of things and making equitable arrangements by which the forests become unencumbered and the bene- ficiaries properly satisfied by cession of land or a money equivalent. This chapter of the history of forest -policy is especially interesting to us as a tendency, nay the practice exists of granting such rights to the public timber to the settlers in the Western States, which by and by will be just as diflcult to eradicate when rational forest management is to be Inaugurated. Over 5,000,000 marks and several hundred acres of land were required in the little Kingdom of Saxony to get rid of the servitudes in the State forests. The Prussian budget contains still an EUROPEAN FOREST POLICIES. 209 item of 1,000,000 marks annually for this purpose; and althougli over 22,000,000 marks and nearly 20,000 acres of laud have been spent for this purpose in Bavaria, the State forests there are still most heavily burdened with servitudes. The doctrine of the regal right to the chase, as we have seen, led to the gradual assertion of all property rights to the forest itself, or at least to the exclusive control of its use. This right found exj)ression in a legion of forest ordinances iu the lifteenth and sixteenth centuries, which aimed at the conservation and improvement of forest areas, abounding in detailed technical precepts. At first treating the private interest with some consideration, they gradually more and more restrict free management. Prohibition of absolute clearing, or at least only with the permission of the government; the command to reforest cleared and waste places; to foster the young growth; limiting the quality of timber to be felled; preventing devastation by prohibiting the pasturing of cattle in the young growth, of the removal of the forest litter, of pitch gathering, etc., were among these prescriptions, and many others, such as prescribing the manner and time of felling, the division into regular felling lots, determination as to what is to be cut as firewood and what as building timber. Then, with the increasing fear of a reduction in supplies, followed prohibitions against exportation, against sale of woodlands to foreigners, against speculation in timber by providing schedules of prices, and from time to time entire exclusion from sale of some valuable species. Even the consumer was restricted and controlled in the manner of using wood. In mediaeval times, besides private forests of the King and lords, only the communal forest (allmende) was known, and small holdings of farmers were comparatively rare until the end of the Middle Ages. The thirty years' war and the following troublesome times gave rise not only to extended forest devastation, but also to many changes in ownership of woodlands. With the growing instability of communal organization of the " mark," division of the common property took place, and thus iirivate ownership by small farmers came about, reducing the communal holdings. Colonization schemes by holders of large estates also led to dismemberment. A very large amount of the mark forest came into possesssion of the princes and noblemen by force, and later possessions of the princes were increased by the secularization of the property of monasteries and churches. Until the end of the last century these domains belonged to the family of the prince, just as the right to the throne or the governing of the little dukedom, contributing toward the expenses of government. But when, as a consequence of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars and subsequent changes, the conception of the rights of the governing classes changed, and iu some States like Prussia much earlier, a division of domains into those which belonged to the prince's family as private property and those which were State forests was effected, so that now the following classes of forest jjroperty may be distinguished : (1) State forests, which are administered by the government for the benefit of the common- wealth, each State of the Confederation owning and administering its own. (2) Imperial forests, belonging to and administered for the benefit of the Empire, situated in the newly acquired province of Alsace-Lorraine. (3) Crown forests (Eidei-commiss), the ownership of which remains in the reigning family, administered by State government, but the revenues of which are in part applicable to government expenses. (4) Priucely domains, which are the exclusive and private property of the ijrince. (5) Communal forests possessed by and administered by and for the benefit of village and city communities, or even provinces as a whole. (6) Association forests, the owners of the old " mark " forests, possessed by a number of owners, the State sometimes being part owner. (7) Institute and corporation, school or bequest forests, which belong to incorporated institu- tions, like churches, hospitals, and other charitable institutions. (8) Private forests, of larger or smaller extent, the exclusive property of private owners. The proportions of these classes of property which existed in the beginning of the century H. Doc. 181 11 210 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. experienced considerable changes by the sale of State forests, the sales being due partly to financial distress, partly to a mistaken application of Adam Smith's theories, which supposed that free competition would lead to a better management and highest development of the forest industry as well as of other industries. This tendency, however, was checked when the fallacy of the theory became apparent, especially with reference to a property that demands conservative treatment and involves such time element as we have seen. The hopes which were based on the success of individualistic efforts were not realized, and although control of private action had been retained by the State authorities, this could not always be exercised, and the necessity of strengthening the State forest administration became apparent. The present tendency, therefore, is not only to maintain the State forests, but to extend their area by purchase, mostly of devastated or deforested areas and by exchange for agricultural lands from the public domain. Thus, in Prussia, the increase of State forest area has been at the rate of 14,000 acres per year since 1S67. In districts where small farmers own extensive areas of barrens a consolidation is effected, the parcels of remaining forest and the barrens are put together, the State acquires these and pays the owners either in money or other property. In Prussia, during the decade 1882-1891, 30,000 acres were in this way exchanged for 17,000 acres, and in addition some 200,000 acres, waste or jjoorly wooded, purchased at an expense of $3,500,000, round numbers. During the same decade the reforestation of 80,000 acres of waste lands was effected, while nearly 75,000 acres in the State's possession remained to be reforested. The annual budget for these reforestations of waste lauds has been $500,000 for several years. The area of barrens and poor soils, only fit for forest purposes in Prussia, is estimated at over 6,000,000 acres. The present distribution of the property classes for the whole Empire of the 35,000,000 acres of forest is about as follows, varying, to be sure, very considerably in the States of the Confed- eration : Per cent. State and Crown forests (of which the Crown owns less than 2 per cent) 32. 7 Imperial forests 1 Communal forests (5,000,000 acres) 15.2 Association forests 2.5 Institute forests 1.3 Private forests 48. 3 The State and Crown forests are all under well-organized forest administrations, sometimes accredited to the minister of finance, sometimes to the minister of agriculture. These yield an annual net revenue of from $1 to $5 and $6 per acre of forest area, with a constant increase from year to year, which will presently be very greatly advanced when the expenditures for road build- ing and other improvements cease. In the State management the constant care is not to sacrifice the economic significance of the forest to the financial benefits that can be derived, and the amount cut is most conservative. The Imperial forests are of course managed in the same spirit as the several State forests. While the present communities, villages, towns, and cities are only political corporations, they still retain in some cases in part the character of the "mark," which was based upon the holding of property. The suiDervision which the princes exercised in their capacity of Obermarker or as possessor of the right to the chase, remained, although based on other principles, as a function of the State when the "mark" communities collapsed, the principles being that the State was bound to protect the interest of the eternal juristical person of the community against the present trustees, that it had to guard against conflicts between the interest of the individual and that of the community in this property, and secure permanency of a piece of property which insured a continued and increasing revenue. The principle upon which the control of these communal holdings rests is then mainly a fiscal one. The degree of control and restriction varies in different localities. Sale and partition and EUROPEAN FOREST POLICIES. 211 clearing can mostly take i^lace only by permission of the State authorities, and is usually discoun- tenanced except for good reasons (too much woods on agricultural soil). With reference to 5.6 i^er cent of communal forest property, this is the only control which is of a fiscal nature. The rest is more or less closely influenced in the character of its management, either by control of its technicalities or else by direct management and admiuisti'ation on the part of the Government. Technical control makes it necessary that the plans of management be submitted to the Government for sanction, and that proper officers or managers be employed who are inspected by Government foresters. This is the most general system, under which 49.4 per cent of communal forests are managed (as well in Austria and Switzerland), giving greatest latitude and yet securing conservative management. To facilitate the management of smaller areas several properties may be combined under one manager, or else a neighboring government or jirivate forest manager may be employed to look after the technical management. Where direct management by the State exists, the State performs the management by its own agents with only advisory power of the communal authorities, a system under which 45 per cent of the communal forests are managed (also in Austria and France). In Prussia this system exists only in a few localities, but it is since 1S76 provided as penalty for improper management or attempts to avoid the State control. This system curtails, to be sure, communal liberty and possibly financial results to some extent, but it has proved itself the most satisfactory from the standpoint of conservative forest management and iu the interest of present and future welfare of the communities. Its extension is planned both iu Prussia and Bavaria. Sometimes the State contributes toward the cost of the management on the ground that it is carried on iu the interests of tlie whole commonwealth. A voluntary cooperation of the communities with the State in regard to forest protection by the State forest guards is in vogue iu Wurttemberg, and also in France. Institute forests are usually under similar control as the communities. The control of private forests is extremely varying. A direct State control of some kind is exercised over only 29.7 per cent of the private forest, or 14.6 jier cent of the total area, mostly ill southern and middle Germany, while 70.3 per cent of the private jiroperty, or 34.5 per cent of the total forest area, is entirely without control, a condition existing iu Prussia and Saxony. As far as the large land owners are concerned, this has mostly been of no detriment, as they are usually taking advantage of rational management; but the small ijeasant holdings show the bad effects of this liberty quite frequently in the devastated condition of the woods and waste places. As a recent writer puts it: "The freedom of private forest ownership has in Prussia led not only to forest dismemberment and devastation, but often to change of forest into field. On good soils the result is something j)ermanently better; on medium and poor soils the result has been that agriculture, after the fertility stored up by the forest has been exhausted, has become unprofitable. These soils are now utterly ruined and must be reforested as waste lauds. Need, avarice, speculation, and penury were developed into forest destruction when in the beginning of this century the iudividualistic theories led to an abandonment of the control hitherto existing, and it was found out that the principle so salutary in agriculture and other industries was a fateful error in forestry. Where control of private forests exists it takes various forms : (1) Prohibition to clear permanently or at least necessity to ask licrmission exists in Wurttem- berg, Baden, and partially in Bavaria. (Protection of adjoiners.) (2) Enforced reforestation within a given time after removal of the old growth and occasionally oil open ground where public safety requires. (3) Prohibition of devastation or deterioration — a vague and undefinable j^rovision. (4) Definite prescrij)tion as to the manner of cutting (especially on sand dunes, river courses, etc.). (5) Enforced employment of qualified personnel. In addition to all these measures of restriction, control and police, and enforcement, there 212 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. should be ineutioned tlie measures of encouragement, which consist in the opportunity for the education of foresters, dissemination of information, and iiuancial aid. In the latter respect Prussia, in the decade 1882-1892, contributed for reforestation of waste places by private owners $33.5,000, besides large amounts of seeds and plants from its State nurseries. Instruction in forestry to farmers is given at twelve agricultural schools in Prussia. In nearly all States permission is given to Government oflQcers for compensation, to undertake at the request of the owners the regulation or even management of private forest property. For the education of the lower class of foresters there may be some twenty special schools in Germany and Austria, while for the higher classes not only ten special forest academies are available, but three universities and two polytechnic institutes have forestry faculties. Besides, all States have lately inaugurated systems of forest experiment stations; and forestry associations, not of propagandists but of practitioners, abound. As a result of all this activity iu forestry science and practice, not less than twenty forestry journals in the German language exist, besides many official and association reports and a most prolitic book literature. E FOREST CONDITIONS AND METHODS OF FOREST MANAGE- MENT IN GERMANY, WITH A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF FOREST MANAGEMENT IN BRITISH INDIA. FoEEST Area, Extent and Ownership. Germany, as constituted at present, has an area of 133,000,000 acres-about one-fifteenth of oar countrv-a population of about 17,000,000, or less than 3 acres per capita, or only one-tenth ol our per capita average. Its forests cover 34,700,000 acres, or 2G per cent of the entire land surface. A lar-e portion of the forests cover the poorer, chiefly sandy, soils of the North German plains, or occupy the rough, hilly, and steeper mountain lands of the numerous smaller mountain systems, aud a small portion of the northern slopes of the Alps. They are distributed rather evenly over the entire Empire. Prussia, with 06 per cent of the entire land area, possesses 23.o per cent ot forest land, while the rest of the larger States have each over 30 per cent, except small, indus- trious Saxony, which lies intermediate, with 27 per cent of forest cover. Gonsidering the smaller districts of Prussia, Bavaria, and the smaller States, it is found that out of 64 provinces and districts, 18 have less than 20 per cent forest; 18 have from 20 to 29 per cent; 23, including the greater part of the country, have from 30 to 39 per cent, and o of the smaller districts have from 40 to 44 per cent of forest. The districts containing less than .0 per cent of forests are, as might be supposed, n.ostly fertile farming districts in which the plow land forms over 40 per cent of the land, but tbey also include neglected districts like Hanover and Luneburg, where a former shortsighted, selfish, and improvident policy has led to the deforesta- tion of poor, flat lands, which have gradually been transformed into heaths, where an accumulation of boo-iron ore, and other obstacles render the attempts at reforestation difficult, expensive, and unsattsfactory. Left to forests, these same lands, which now are unable to furnish support to farmers or to produce a revenue to their owner, could easily pay the taxes and interest on a capital of $50 to $100 per acre. To reforest them now costs $10 to $50 per acre and requires a lifetime before any returns can be expected. ,, ^ ^ ■ „ i i Since it is one of the common claims in the eastern United States that the land is all needed for agriculture, and since it will be conceded that in hardly any State east of the Mississippi much land necessarily remains untilled, it may be of interest to note that in this densely populated Empire of Germany out of 67 districts and provinces the plow land forms less than _0 per cent in 4 districts, 30 to 39 per cent in 10 districts, 40 to 49 per cent in 26 districts, 50 to 59 per cent in '>0 districts, and 60 to 09 per cent in 7 districts, in spite of the fact that a large part ot the forests are in private hands and would be cleared if the owners saw fit to do so. In our country the total area in farms is only 18 per cent at present. , ^, , „ w- Of the total of 34,700,000 acres of forest land (an area about as large as the State ot Wis- consin) 32.7 per cent belongs to the several States as State property; 19 percent belongs to villages, towns, and other corporations, and 50 per cent to private owners, a considerable part of this being in large estates of the nobility. ^^^ 214 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS V. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. The following figures show these ownership relations for the eight larger States, which involve 96 per cent of the total area of the empire : Population. Total land surface. Forests. state. Total. Per cent. Owned by the — State. Corpora tions. Private. 1 Millions. 47 21 acres. 133, 392 M acres. 34, 750 100 M acres. 11, 360 M acres. 6,710 M acres. 16, 680 29.9 5,6 1.9 3.2 1.6 1.5 .9 88. 000 18, 800 4,800 3,700 3,730 3,600 1,900 3,290 20, 240 6,200 1,470 1,020 1,360 1,100 590 600 58 18 4.2 3 4 3.1 1.7 1.6 6.100 2,160 480 430 237 360 170 255 3,210 890 470 60 667 520 220 85 10, 900 3,150 530 630 447 220 200 220 This same relation, expressed in per cent, becomes: Forest cover of total area. Forests oivncd by — Germany Prussia Bavaria Wurttemberg Saxony Baden Alsace-Lorraine Hesse Meclilenburg-Schwerin The condition of the forests to a great extent depends on the degree of supervision or control exercised by the State authorities. It is best in all cases in the State forests, is equally good in the corporation forests under State control, and is poorest in the private forests, particularly those of small holders. STATE CONTROL. The amount of State influence or control varies in the several States, and varies in some cases even in one and the same State for different districts. Of the State forests, without exception, it can be said that they are nearly in that form which, according to present knowledge and with reasonable effort, is able to produce the greatest quantities of wood material in those dimensions and of such kinds as best to satisfy the demands of the markets and at the same time render the management as profitable as possible. This does not mean that they are not improving, for as forestry knowledge increases and the methods are perfected the results are better. From what follows it also appears that all State forests as a whole pay, and pay handsomely, when the low intrinsic value of the land on which the forest stocks is considered. The control of the corporation forests is perfect only in a few of the smaller States, notably Baden, Hesse, and Alsace-Lorraine ; also in some districts in Prussia where the corporation forests are managed by the State authorities, the wishes of the villagers or corporate owners being, however, always duly considered. In a large portion of Prussia, in Wurttemberg, and in Bavaria the corpora- tion provides its own foresters ; but these must be approved, as well as their plans of operations, by the State authorities, so that here the management is under strict control of the State, and favora- ble forest conditions at least partially assured. In Wurttemberg the corporation is given the choice of supplying its own foresters or else joining their forests to those of the State. This has led to State management of near 70 per cent of all corporation forests. Only the corporation forests of Saxony and those of a small part of Prussia are without any supervision. Of the private forests, those of Prussia and Saxony, involving 69 per cent of all private forests of the Empire, are entirely free from interference. They can be managed as the owner sees fit, and there is no obstacle to their devastation or entire clearing and conversion into field or pasture. The remainder of the private forests are under more or less supervision. In most districts a State permit is required before GERMAN FOREST CONDITIONS. 215 land can be cleared. Devastation is an offense, and in some States, notably Wurttemberg, a badly neglected forest property may be reforested and n^anaged by State authorities. In nearly all States laws exist with regard to so-called " protective forests" i. e., forests needed to prevent floods, sand blowing, land and snow slides, or to insure regularity of water supply, etc. Forests proved to fall under this category are under special control, but as it is not easy in most cases to pi'ove the protective importance of a forest, the laws are difficult to apply and rarely enforced. A partial return to the State supervision of private forests has been attempted in Prussia by the establishment of a law which renders the owner of a forest liable for the damage which the devastation or clearing of his forest property causes to his neighbor. This law, however, like the former, is so difScult to apiily, and puts the plaintiff to great expense, so that so far it has not been enforced to any extent except where the Government itself is the injured party. In the following statement the areas of forest are grouped according to the degree of State supervision and manner of management: Of the entire 34,700,000 acres of forest land, there are approximately — (1) Managed by State authorities as State property, 11,300,000 acres, which is 32.7 per cent. (2) Managed by the State authorities, but the property of corporations, villages, towns, etc., a little over 2,212,000 acres, which is 6.3 per cent. (3) Under strict Government control, the plans of management and the permissible cut having to be approved by State authorities (corporation property), 3,875,000 acres, which is 11.1 per cent. (4) Under supervision of the State, not only as common property but as special property, subject to inspection and, in part, to control of State forest authorities; nearly all private prop- erty and partly belonging to large estates, 4,707,000 acres, which is 13.7 per cent. (5) Without any Government control or supervision beyond tliat of common property. These forests may be divided, sold, cleared, and mismanaged, except under the certain cases before men- tioned. Here belong all private forests of Saxony and Prussia and part of the corijoration forests of Prussia and all those of Saxony, 11,490,000 acres, which is 33 per cent. CHARACTER OF FOREST GROWTH. The greater i^art of the German forests is stocked with conifers, chiefly pine (the Scotch pine, a pine siimilar to our red or Norway pine) and spruce. The pine ])revails on the sandy areas of North Germany, and occui)ies about 60 per cent of the Prussian and 30 per cent of the Bavarian forests. The siiruce is the chief conifer and principal timber tree of Saxony and southern Ger- many. The hard woods, chiefly beech, some oaks, with small amounts of ash, maple, elm, etc., are most abuiulant in the valley of the Rhine, Lorraine, and Wurttemberg, but good beech forests occur in nearly all parts of the Empire. The greater part of all forests of Germany are " timber forests," where the trees are cut at an age of over 80 years (generally 90 to 120 years).' Timber forests form over 90 per cent of the State forests of all larger States, are the prevalent form in t'he forests of corporations, and are common in those of private owners. The other two common forms, the "coppice" and "standard coppice," where the trees are cut at an age of less than 30 years (usually 15 to 25 years, and in the standard coppice a small part only is allowed to reach better age and size), are most abundant in private forests and to a less extent in corporation properties, but form only a very small part of the State woods, where they are steadily diminishing in importance. The coppice is a hard-wood forest, depends on the sprouting capacity of the trees, and furnishes small poles, firewood, and tanbark. Both forms of the coppice and standard coppice require a smaller amount of standing timber, furnish quicker returns, but do not furnish those kinds of products which the market demands in largest quantity. In the timber forest the trees of any particular tract or division are supposed to be of about the same age, differing not over 20 years in the extreme, so that for a rotation of one hundred years, i. e., a management where the crop is harvested at the age of 100 years, one-flfth, or 20 per cent, of all the forests should be 1 to 20 years old; another 20 per cent, 21 to 40 years old, etc. In spite of the great difficulty of attaining this regularity of distribution in the forests of an entire State without disturbing the yearly cut of timber, this regularity is already attained very closely In most of the State forests. Thus in the State forests of Prussia, of the total area of ' For fuller description of the systems of management, see pp. 225 to 259 of this report. 216 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS II. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. timber forest (90 i^er cent of all State forests), tlie age of the timber is as follows: On 13 per cent of the area, over 100 years old ; on 13 per cent, 81 to 100 years old; on 14 per cent, 61 to 80 years old; on 18 per cent, 11 to 60 years old; on 19 per cent, 21 to 40 years old; on 19 per cent, 1 to 20 years old, and about 4 per cent are clearings, where the timber lias been cut lately. In all forests the ground is at once reforested, if cut clean, or else the cut is so arranged that a natural seeding goes on as the harvest progresses, this latter consisting of several fellings, separated by a number of years. EXPLOITATION. The cutting in all State forests is generally done by the cord or by the cubic foot (really by the stere, festmeter, or cubic meter). In rare cases the timber is cut and moved by the purchaser; nearly always it is cut and moved by the forest authorities and sold and delivered at the main roads. The logs are not cut to uniform lengths, but care is had in the forest to cut to best advan- tage. Long, straight timbers are left long, if possible, and sold as long, round, or sometimes hewn pieces; saw timber is cut in even lengths; poles are cut to suit local markets; wagon and coopers' stock, etc., are cut to suit, or left in round timbers, while pulp wood, cord wood, and branches, and sometimes even stumps, are worked np in customary manner, graded, and sold by the cord (really " stere" or "raummeter"). In the conversion of the logs into lumber there are more complications in dimensions than with us. The measui-e is generally the meter and centimeter; edging is not done by even numbers. Lumber is sold by cubic measure, and the handling is thus generally not so sim]3le as in America. As far as practical means and methods in felling and logging operations go we can learn but little from Germany, except that more care in the utilization of the timber would be profitable here as it is abroad. Yet it may be of interest, and not entirely devoid of suggestive value, to brielly recite the practices followed in most Government forests. The location of fellings for the year having been determined with due consideration, the rangers engage and control, under supervision of the district manager, the crew of wood choppers under a foreman, who are mostly men living in the neighborhood of the range or district and accustomed to all kinds of forest work.' A contract, which contains conditions, regulations, and a scale of prices, is made with them, which they sign. The men are paid by the job, the prices per unit differing, of course, in different localities and being graded according to the kinds of timber, size, etc. To cite one example we may take the schedule prices paid at the forest belonging to the city of Goslar, as this will interest us farther on. There are 40 men nearly permanently employed either in wood chopping, planting, or otherwise, and their average earnings during three years have been about SO cents per working day. The prices for cutting spruce, including moving to roads and barking, and the average prices obtained for ten years were as follows: Cost of cuttiog. Saw timber, above 5 inclies in diameter (5 classes), 85 cents per 100 cubic feet. Lontion of money in general, but vastly increased by the improvements in transportation, for which large sums have been exjiended, especially during the last fifty years. The financial results of the various Government forest administrations vary considerably, as is natural, since market conditions vary much. It is believed that all these administrations are less profitable than they might be, being managed with great conservatism, and less for greatest financial result than for desirable economic results. The following table exhibits in a brief manner the results of this kind of management, the figures referring to conditions in 1890 or thereabout. The record for the city of Zurich is added FINANCIAL RESULTS OP GERMAN FORESTS. 223 to show how an intensively managed small forest property under favorable conditions of market compares with the more extensively managed larger forest areas : Forestry statistics of certain German forest administrations, showing average cost of adminislration, gross and net income pel- acre, 1890. Total ex- penditure. Expenditures and revenues per acre of forest. Expenditures. Prussia Bavaria Wurttemberg Saxony Baden City of Zurich Acres. 6, 000, 000 2, 30O, 000 470, 000 416, 000 235. OOO 2,760 $8, 000, 000 3, 160, 000 1, 025, 000 1, 040, 000 404, 000 14, 000 %U, 000, 000 5, 880, 000 2, 260, 000 2, 750, 000 1, 090, 000 26, 000 $6, 000, 000 2, 730, 000 1, 235, 000 1, 710, 500 686, 000 12, 000 1.19 2.63 4.11 2.90 4.40 The latest figures (1897) show a considerable increase in all directions, expenditures, gross, and net income, over those prevailing ten years ago, and, as we will see further on in the discussion of the conditions in the single States, these increases have been steady for a long period. The foUowiug figures represent the income and expense for State forests of the entire Empire and for the principal States as at present : Financial results, 1897. [MilUon dollars.] State forests. G-ermany a, Prussia Bavaria Wurttemberg . . . Saxony Baden Alsace-Lorraine . Mecklenburg-Schwerin . 39, 361 17,445 8.100 3,019 2,865 1,337 1,522 840 20, 528 8,366 4,219 1,795 aThis item is a trille below the truth, as the small priucii>alities are here assumed to have no larger income than the average of the larger States. From this statement it appears that Germany has a yearly gross income of nearly $40,000,000 from its State forests, i. e., from one-third of its total forest area alone, while the value of its forest products from the entire forest area (35,000,000 acres) may be estimated to sum up the handsome total of over $107,000,000, or round $3 gross income for every acre under forest cover. The following table illustrates the results of forest management in the several States. For comparison the figures represent the yearly income and outlay per acre of total forest area, so that for instance the gross income of $3.17 per acre for Germany means that the German State forests yield each year about that sum for every acre of State forest, or $39,300,000 on the whole. Yearly income and expenses per acre of forested area. State forests. Cnt of wood per Gross Expenses. Net Total. As a per cent of gross income. CuUcfeet. 62 64 72 81 90 73 57 75 61 $3.47 2.66 3.71 6,50 6,00 5.82 4.24 4.95 2.52 $1.66 1.38 1.78 2.64 2.36 2.69 2.09 2.37 1.47 48 52 48 40.5 34 46.2 49.4 48 58 $1.81 1.28 1.93 3.86 4.54 3.13 2.12 2.58 1.05 Bavaria Saxon V Baden' verage for 90 per cent of all State forests, and would be little changed if data for the other 10 per 224 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. From these figures it appears that tlic several governments expend on an average about $1.60 per acre per year on their forest property, and that they obtain thereby a gross income of $3.47 per acre and a net revenue of $1.81, or 52 per cent of the gross income per acre per year. Considering the $1.81 as the interest on the value of the forest lands, and using the 3 per cent interest rate as customary for large investments, these figures show that by proper management the German States keep their poorest lands at a capital value of over $60 per acre; in other words, that the German State forests pay $19,000,000 for labor and taxes, and in addition pay interest at 3 per cent on a capital of $60 per acre. A large part of this land if deforested would not support a farmer and would rapidly degenerate into mountain pasture and heath, which at best could not be sold at over $5 per acre, and even then would prove more a detriment than advantage to the community. It also appears from the above figures that the revenue is largely in proportion to the expenses, that the forest which is best cared for also pays the best. The same conclusion is reached by a study of the past. In 1850, when the total expenses per acre in the Prussian forests were only 37 cents, the net income was only 40 cents; to-day it is $1.38 and the net income $1.28, and the same holds for other States. Thus Saxony exjiended 80 cents an acre per year in the beginning of this century and received 95 cents net income; today she spends $2.30 and receives $4.54, or nearly fivefold. That these advances are not merely the expression of higher prices for wood is clear from the fact that the average price of wood for the Prussian cut (300,000,000 cubic feet) has advanced since 1850 from $3.27 per 100 cubic feet to only $4.40, or 37 per cent, while the net income rose from 40 cents to $1.28, or 176 per cent. Since so much has been argued as to the impossibilities and impracticability of employing these better forestry methods elsewhere, and especially since the idea of sowing or planting forests has at all times been ridiculed in the United States, it may be of interest to note just how Germany expends her money in the woods. The following figures iiresent the various large items as per cent of the gross income. Thus the total expenses in the Prussian forest use up 50 per cent of the gross income, the logging alone 14.8 per cent, etc. The expenses represented the following xjroportions of the total income in x^er cent: state forest of- Total ex penses. Atlmiuis- tration and protection (mostly salaries). Ciittingand Dvingtlie timber. Planting, sowing, drainage work, wood roads, etc." Per cent. Fnissia Bavaria Wurttemberg Saxony Baden Al.sace-Lorraine Hesse Mecklenburg Scliwerin 14.6 14.5 17.7 15.2 Per cent. The above figures are doubly interesting, since they show that in Saxony, the very State where the timber is usually cut clean and the land restocked entirely by planting it with nursery stock, the item of planting, etc., uses up the smallest per cent of the total income — 0.4 per cent. From this brief outline it will be apparent that forestry in its modern sense is not a new, untried experiment in Germany; that the accurate official records of several States for the last one hundred years prove conclusively that wherever a systematic, continuous effort has been made, as in the case of all State forests, whether of large or small territories, the enterprise was successful ; that it i)roved of great advantage to the country, furnished a handsome revenue where otherwise no returns could be expected, led to the establishment of permanent woodworking industries, and thus gave opportunity for labor and capital to be active, not spasmodically, not speculative, but continuous and with assurance of success. This rule has, fortunately, not a single exception. To be sure, isolated tracts away from railroad or water, sand dunes, and rocky promontories exist in every State-, and the management of these poor forest areas costs all the tract can bring and often more; but the wood is needed, the dune or waste is a nuisance, and the State has found it profit- able to convert it into forest, even though the direct revenue falls short of the expense. GERMAN FOREST MANAGEMENT — PRUSSIA. 225 FOKEST ADMINISTEATION. The care aucl active legislative consideratiou of the forest wealth dates back fully three cen- turies. The so called "Forstordiiuugeu" (forest ordinances) of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries laid the foundation for the present 'system, and in some States, like Wurttemberg, were never repealed, but merely modified to adapt them to modern views of political economy. The end of the seventeenth century brought much discussion into the subject of forest legislation, as in all other public affairs, and even conservative Germany was led beyond the point of equilibrium, and in most States the State supervision, especially of private forests, was abandoned. This led to the division and parceling of forest properties, and with the diminutive holding came misman- agement and to considerable extent the complete devastation. This condition never affected any of the State forests nor the majority of corporation forests, so that these properties continued on their way to Improvement. The wretched condition of many of the iirivate forests is dex^lored, exposed, discussed, but so far those States which gave the private forest free have been unable to do more than to teach by example and to encourage, both means entirely ineffective when, as is usually the case, the owner is too poor to handle a forest. What remains to be done is being done as fast as means and opportunity offer. The State buys these half wastes, restocks them at great expense, and thus public mouey pays for public folly. To provide for a suitable and efficient forest service Grermany has expended large sums in promoting forestry education. At nine separate colleges men are prepared for this work, and the forest manager ("Oberfoerster," "Eevierfoerster") in any of the State forests is a college-bred man with a general education about equivalent and similar to that leading to a degree of bachelor of science in our better universities. The organization in all German States is similar — a central ofBce at the seat of government, manned by experienced foresters, acts as advisor to the govern- ment, shapes the forest policy of the State, introduces all large measures of reform, etc., and acts as court of appeal in important forest cases. In each province, if the State is large (if not, the central office acts), a i^rovincial forest office sees after the work of the province. This office cooperates with the forest managers in preparing plans for every piece of forest laud, in deter- mining the cut of the year, and it also examines the work as well as the records of every district, and acts as tribunal for the jirovince in forest matters. But the real managers of the forests are the "Oberfoerster" or "Revierfoerster," each of whom has on an average about 10,000 acres of forest land for which he acts as responsible director. He lives in the forest, keeps himself informed as to all details, plans for every piece of ground (his plans must be approved by his superiors), and executes all plans. He determines where and when to cut, to plant, to build roads, and it is he who sells the forest products. In all cases he has a number of assistants and guards who act as i^olice, and at the same time as foremen to the laborers, directing their work and keeping their time, or measuring their cut or work. The district which the Oberfoerster manages forms the unit in all records and transactions. All forest officials of any responsibility are employed for life or good behavior, their requirements, duties and rights, rates of pay, pension, etc., are all clearly set forth in the forest laws of every State. In the following pages the conditions and results of forest management in the leading States are fully set forth, based upon the latest official data available. FoKEST Management of Leading States. The Kingdom of Prussia, with its 30,000,000 people and an area of nearly 90,000,000 acres of land, representing all natural conditions from the low coast plain to the precipitous mountain system, with its busy centers of manufacture and commerce and its distant rural provinces, stands out to-day as the strongest exami^le of the great benefits of scientific forestry. The forests of Prussia cover 8,192,505 hectares (about 20,300,000 acres), or 23.5 per cent of the total area. This proportion of forest varies for different parts of the Kingdom from 16 per cent to 39 per cent ; it is below the average of 23 per cent in seven provinces, of which only Schleswig- Holstein falls below 16 per cent, and is above the average in six provinces, some of which, like Brandenburg, belong to the densely populated portions of the Kingdom. The area relations H. Doc. 181 15 226 FOEESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. liave remained practically constant for about thirty years, there being then as now in forest 20,000,000 acres; cultivated 42,000,000 acres, or about twice as much cultivated land as forest. Of the forest area, 8 per .cent belongs to the crown, 30 to the state, 12.5 to villages or municipalities, 1 to Stiftungen (Fonds), 3.7 to corporations, and 52,9 to private owners. This ownership relation has changed a trifle during the last twenty years, the state and municipal forests having gained a little over 1 per cent at the expense of the private and corporation forests. Situated between latitude 49° to 55° N. and longitude 23° to 40° E. and occupying portions of the extensive coast plain along Baltic and ISTorth seas, as well as covering parts of nine separate mountain chains, the forests of Prussia naturally display considerable variety. Of the total 20,000,000 acres, about half falls to the plain, one-fourth to the hilly, and one-fourth to the regular mountain districts. The climate is moderately cold; the mean or average temperature for summer is about 60° to 65^ F., varying but little for the different parts of the Kingdom, and being quite uniform for all three summer months. Spring and fall, the latter a trifle warmer and more even .than the former, have a mean temperature of about 45° F., while that of the winter months is generally near the freezing point, the coldest weather for any one place and month being rarely below 25° F. ' Prussia is a moderately humid country. The records from thirty to seventy years indicate an even distribution of precipitation, varying generally between 22 and 28 inches, reaching a height of over 32 inches, and only 3 out of about 40 stations. With regard to the manner of management, the kind of timber raised, and the financial results of the work, the State forests, for which alone exact statistics exist, may serve-as examples, though the results are somewhat better in these than in the forests of municipalities and private owners. The total area of State forest in 1893 was 2,464,757 hectares, or about 6,750,000 acres. This total area has remained almost unchanged for over thirty years. During this time many large and small tracts have been sold or exchanged to round off the State holdings and to satisfy Ijrivate rights, many of which had become extremely troublesome and proven a great hindrance in the proper management of the woods. These sales and exchanges were fully balanced by purchases, especially of poor, unproductive i^rivate forests and heath lauds, for which purpose of late the State appropriates annually the large sum of 1,000,000 marks ($250,000), the policy of increasing the State holdings having been steadily pursued for more than fifty years. About two- thirds of the State forests are situated in the North German plain, though some occur in every province of the Kingdom. Of these State forests 97 per cent are regular timber forest, mostly pine and spruce, where the final crop is intended to furnish saw timber, and every particular parcel is supposed to be stocked with trees of nearly the same age. Only one-half of 1 per cent is managed as "Plenter- wald" with the method of selection where trees of all sizes and age mingle together on the same parcel and the logging merely involves the selection of suitable sizes. One-half of 1 per cent is standard coppice, where the bulk of the trees, commonly hard woods, are cut off while still small, 15 to 30 years old, while a small portion is left over to grow into larger sizes; and 1.7 per cent is managed as coppice, largely oak coppice for tanbark, where the trees (only the sprouting hard woods) are cut down every ten to twenty-five years, the wood being utilized chiefly as poles and fael. Of the timber forests, 62 per cent is stocked with pine, almost entirely Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris), furnishing hard pine similar to our red or Norway pine, 16 per cent is beech, 12 per cent spruce, and nearly 6 per cent oak forest. Thus about 75 per cent of all Prussian State forests are coniferous woods and only about 25 per cent stocked with hard woods, principally oak and beech. In general the trees of the timber forests are cut at an age of about 100 years (a 100-year rotation). At present 13 per cent of the area is stocked with trees over 100 years old; 13 per cent, 81 to 100 years old; 14 per cent, 61 to 80 years old; 18 per cent, 41 to 60 years old; 19 per cent, 21 to 40 years old; 19 per cent, 1 to 20 years old, and about 4 per cent are cut clean (recent fellings) to be reforested at once. SAXONY. If Prussia may be regarded the best example of the success of rational forestry in a large country, and Wurttemberg can be cited as proving the great value of a very conservative, almost paternal, attitude of the State with regard to its forests, surely Saxony deserves the credit of leading all other countries in the intensity of its forest management. GERMAN FOREST MANAGEMENT — SAXONY. 227 The total area of the State is 3,700,000 acres, and its population 3,182,000, and its total forest area about 1,020,000 acres, or 27 per cent. Of this forest area, 173,889 hectares, or nearly 430,000 acres, equal to about 43 per cent of all forests of the country, belong to the State. The accurate records for these State forests have been kept for more than eighty years, and fully illustrate the development and growth of forestry in the Kingdom. The bulk of the forests are mountain forest; 91 per cent in conifers, mostly spruce, and only 9 per cent in,hard woods, most of which is beech; while only about 4 per cent is nonproductive rock and water area. As early as 1764 the State of Saxony began the imiDrovement of the then rather dilapidated forest properties. The real systematic work of forest survey and management, however, did not begin until Heinrich Ootta (often called the father of modern forestry) began his noteworthy efforts in 1811. Though the Government never appropriated special funds for the" increase of its forest holdings, the money which accrued from the sales of other State lands, as well as roadways, building sites, etc., sufliced to increase the area during the past eighty years by fully 16 per cent, the growth being a slow, steady one, fully illustrating the policy of the Government. Thus the growth was: 1836 to 1846, 5,000 acres; 1846 to 1853, 5,000 acres; 1853 to 1863, 5,000 acres; 1863 to 1873, 17,200 acres; 1873 to 1883, 17,200 acres; 1883 to 1893, 12,500 acres. As in all German States, nearly every piece of State forest was burdened by rights of private persons and corporations, for which Saxony has paid, almost entirely in cash, the handsome price of $1,300,000. During the last sixty years the area stocked with conifers has steadily grown from about 310,000 to over 385,000 acres, and the area of beech and other hard woods except oak has been projiortionately diminished, the hard woods all told covering at present only about 14,000 acres, or a little over 3 per cent of the forest area. The condition of the forests, though, of course, very good at the start, if comijared to ordinary wild woods, has steadily improved since 1817, in spite of the fact that each decade a larger amount of wood was cut. The following figures serve to illustrate this important fact and at the same time show that there has not only been a steady increase in the total amount of wood standing and the amount cut, but that the larger sizes form to-day a much greater per cent than formerly : Years. Total amount of "wood cut each year (average for each decade). Per acre of forested area. Amount cut. Amount standing per acre on total area. Total. Wood over 3 inches thick (cord ■wood and timber). Timber (not cord wood). M. cub. ft. 21, 400 21, 800 20, 400 23, 500 26, 000 31,600 36, 600 37,400 Citbicfeet. 60 61 66 64 70 82 90 90 Oubicfeet. 40 39 36 44 48 60 66 68 Cuiic/eet. 7 10 11 14 23 37 47 54 Oubicfeet.- 2,120 2,280 2,480 2,650 2,620 From these figures it aijpears that the cut on the whole has increased from 21,000,000 cubic feet to 37,000,000, or by fully 57 per cent, and the cut per acre and year of total forest area from 60 cubic feet to 90 cubic feet, or exactly 50 per cent. Moreover, of the 90 cubic feet per acre in 1893 there were 68 cubic feet, or 75 per cent, wood over 3 inches (excluding stump wood), while from 1817 to 1826 only 66 per cent was over 3-inch stuff. But what indicates even more strongly the efiect of better management is the fact that more than half of the cut of 1893 was sold, not as cord wood, but as timber (saw timber, etc.), while even as late as 1865 only a fourth could thus be utilized, though the manner of selection (inspection) has changed but little since that time. That with all this intense utilization of the forest the standing timber should increase instead of becoming exhausted is perhaps the strongest example of the success of scientific forestry and one which in this country would scarcely be believed possible by most of the lumbermen and woodsmen. Practically, all State forests are timber forests and the prevalent method of treatment has for a long time been the " kahlschlag " method of cutting, where all trees are cut at the harvest and the bare area is at once planted with nursery stock. The exijenses for cultural work all told. 228 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. includiug maintenance of nurseries, seed and plant purchases, as well as planting, amount to only 12 cents an acre per year, or 1.8 per cent of the gross income, while for the last twenty years more than twice this sum has been expended for construction and improvement of roads, the great value of which are nowhere more fully recognized than in busy Saxony. The iinancial results are exhibited in the following table: General financial results in the Slate forests of Saxony. 1817-1820 1827-1836 1837-1846 1847-185;! 1854-18113 1864-1873 1874-1S83 1884-1893 $649, 000 692, 000 761, 000 976. 000 1, 368, 000 1, 986, 000 2, 024, 000 2, 890, 000 Annual expeuae. 443. 000 663, 000 875, 01)0 996, UOO Annual net in- come. 419, 000 58S, 000 925, 000 1,423,000 1,749,000 1, 894, 000 Per acre and year of total forest lgZ7. ^''P'^"^"- ^ome" 3.53 4.91 6.23 6.66 3.52 4.15 4.37 The extraordinary results indicated in the above table can not entirely be credited to the increase of wood prices and the general depreciation of money during this century; they are primarily the monetary expression of the improvements indicated in the previous tables; they mean increased sales, and sales of older, larger, and better material. When it is considered that Saxony has taken in about $190,000,000 during the last fifty years from a small area of rough lands (left waste iu many countries, even in Europe), a tract of land half the size of a good county iu Wisconsin, the great advantage of a careful treatment of forest areas must become clear to everyone. Considering the net income as the interest of the value of the forest lands at the prevailing 3 per cent rate, the table shows that scientific care has increased the value of these poor mountain lands from $100 to $150, whereas their deforestation would quickly convert them into poor alpine pastures which would bankrupt their owners at $10 an acre. The table also shows clearly that it is not accident, not merely a general improvement of the country, but that it is careful, systematic work which has led to these improvements. When Saxony spent only $1 on each acre of forest land she received only $1.54 net income; when she spent $2.39, her net income was more than doubled, reaching during the ten years ending 1893 $1.37. The following figures illustrate the nature and relative importance of the expenses per acre as compared with the income, as well as the prices obtained for the material : Decade ending— Price per cubic foot of wood over 3 inches. Wood cut. Gross Total. For ad- min istra- tiou and protec- tion - Felling and moving timber, etc. Planting and other cultural work. Eoads. Cents. 4.2 4.7 5.6 6.0 7.4 8.1 9.4 9.9 CuUcfeet. 60 61 56 64 70 82 90 00 $1.75 1.86 2.02 2.56 3.53 4.91 6.23 6.66 $0.80 86 90 1.02 1.14 1.39 2.08 2.29 Cents. 38 40 44 47 49 54 77 93 Cents. 3D 31 . 31 37 45 62 92 95 Cents. 8 8 10 11 13 10 13 14 Cents. 2 5 4 5 6 11 24 26 1853 1873 From the above it appears that the prices of wood have doubled since 1817, but that during the last twenty-five years they have remained practically constant. Part of this advauce is due to the general advance of prices, but part also to the improvement of the material sold. The advauce in the expenditure for administration since 1846 is due both to the advance in wages and salaries generally (seen also iu the advauce of cutting expenses), but is also due to the greater competence of the administration. Saxony, unlike Michigan and other States of this Unoin, prefers to spend the money in protecting its forest rather than saving the expense and losing the ])roperty. Of special interest is also the fact that even in this intensive management, where almost every acre is reforested by planting with nursery stock, the cultural operations, including drainage and kindred expenses have varied only within a few cents per acre, involving during GERMAN FOREST MANAGEMENT — BAVARTA. 229 tlie last tliirty years generally less than 2 per cent of the gross income. To many in this land of forest flres it may perhaps be remarkable that this general enemy and its destructions have not been of sufficient consequence to deserve compilation for this general statement. These mountain forests of spruce and pine are simply not allowed to burn up. The management of the forests of Saxony is similar to those of Prussia. While those of the State are under conservative and most efdcient care, those of private persons and corporations are practically free; the only thing the State authorities do is to give good example, assist private individuals, etc., by furnishing cheap plant material from the forest nurseries and to prepare i^lans for the management of forests if such plans are asked and paid for. The kingdom of Bavaria has a total area of about 18.8 million acres, or little more than half that of the State of Wisconsin, supporting a population of about 5,589,000 people. It comprised about 10,500,000 acres, or 56 per cent, of fields and gardens ; 750,000 acres, or 4 per cent, of pasture lands; 0,350,000 acres, or 34 per cent, of forest; 1,200,000 acres, or 6 per cent, of iinproductive land, largely mountains, roads, and water surfaces. On the whole, this relation of areas has not changed materially in over thirty-five years, so that in 1893 the total area of forest lands is given at about 6,200,000 acres, or at 35.1 per cent of the entire land surface. ■ Of these 6,200,000 acres there are: State forests, 2,160,000 acres, or 34.8 per cent; corpora- tion forests, 780,000 acres, or 12.6 per cent; pond forests, 110,000 acres, or 1.7 per cent; private forests, 3,150,000 acres, or 50.9 per cent. The forest hiws and forest organization resemble those of Baden and Wurttemberg. The private forests are under State supervision, clearing of forest lands requires a permit, the mis- management or devastation of a forest property is forbidden, and devastated forest areas are to be reforested by the State and the expense charged to the forest. All corporation and Fonds forests are under direct control of or are managed under conti-ol of the State forest authorities, so that fully one-half the forest area of Bavaria is und(;r careful treatment. As with all German States, Bavaria constantly endeavors to increase the State holdings, and deteriorated and other forest properties are bought up as opportunity offers. During the fifty years ending 1894, the State purchased about 144,000 acres, at a cost of $5,577,000, or about §38 per acre. Besides this increase of territory, the State has, during this same period, expended about $3,800,000 in the purchase of easements or servitude, involving 10,716 separate cases of privileges to timber and firewood. Nevertheless, there are still many of these privileges or servitudes, which require an annual outlay of over $400,000 and thus represent a capital value of over $10,000,000. The distribution of the forests over the kingdom is rather an even one. Six of the eight provinces have over 30 per cent, the lowest 22 Y>er cent of forest area, while the highest 38 jier cent. Of the entire forests area about 90 per cent is covered by timber forest, where the timber is cut usually at about 100 to 120 j'ears, and only 9.4 per cent as coppice and standard coppice. Forty years ago the same was stocked as follows : / Coppice Timber i .ind forests, j standard coppice. Selection timber forests. 1 Per cent. Per cent Per cent. 3 ,^ 1 Corporation forests 02 : 35 The principal forest trees are the conifers, chiefly spruce. Of the total, about 46.2 per cent is spruce and fir, 30 per cent pine, 9.7 per cent beech, 4 per cent oak (two-thirds oak-bark coppice), 2.3 per cent other hard wood timber, 6.S pei' cent other hard-wood coppice. Thus, conifers represent about 77 per cent, the hard woods 23 per cent. The conifers are primarily the trees of the mountains, the hard woods, beech particularly, being most abundant in 230 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULUURE. the valley of the Ehine, the Palatinate, and Lower Franconia, where the beech forests cover as high as SO per cent of the forest area. In 1860 the total cut for the kingdom was 275 million cubic feet of stem wood, 35 million cubic feet of branch wood, 30 million cubic feet of stump wood, making a total of 340 million cubic feet, aud was divided as follows : Per cent of total cut. Yield per 39 14 40.5 Cubic ft. 68 46 ,47 Total 100 51 For the State forests alone the cut in 1894 of wood over 3 inches, excluding branch and stump wood, was 55 cubic feet per acre, and included saw and other timber, 55 million cubic feet; cord wood (exclusive of branches and stumps), 64 million cubic feet. The financial results for the 2.16 million acres of State iorests were, in 1894: Total income, $8,100,000, or $3.71 per acre; total expense, $3,881,000, or $1.78 per acre; net income, $4,219,000, or $1.93 per acre. Compared to other small States of Germany, particularly Saxony and Wurttemberg, the net revenue per acre of forest is decidedly low; but it must not be forgotten that a considerable part of these State forests is situated in the high Alps, where the difficulties of removing the timber have so far been very great, and the value of timber consequently very small. Thus, fine timber trees, worth $50 to $100 on the markets of the lower Rhine, are worth little over $1 apiece in these Alpine districts. As might be expected, the permanent improvements of the forests, particularly the construc- tion of highways and roads, still reqirire large sums every year. Thus, in 1894, Bavaria spent over 1,000,000 marks ($250,000) on road construction. The management of the forests is quite similar to that of the other German States. The Eevierforster, corresponding to the Prussian Oberforster, is the responsible manager of each district. The districts are quite large; they include usually about 5,000 acres of State forest, so that one Eevierforster is usually 6 to 10 miles from his neighbor. For all State and corporation forests, an area of a little over 3 million acres, there are 009 Eevierforster or managers, 1,589 guards and assistants, besides 175 accountants and 107 superior officials. The manager or Eevierforster makes and executes the plans and keeps the records for the woods of his district. As in Wurttemberg, rational measures for the proper use and treatment of forests of Bavaria date back to the beginning of the seventeenth century. As early as 1616 a forest law was passed which embodied all that seemed at that time desirable. This law was modified, some complications arising from the change of size and form of the kingdom, and also through the radical views promulgated during the second half of the eighteenth century. On the whole, however, Bavaria remained conservative, which in view of its large mountain forests must be regarded as particularly fortunate. The establishment of the forest school at Munich took place about 1789, when a general reorganization occurred, and the functions of the forester changed from those of a hunter to those of a producer of timber. W URTTEMBEKG. This little State, with an area of about 4,820,000 acres, or about one-seventh that of Wisconsin, and a population of little over 2,000,000 people, ranks among the most conservative as well as the most successful among the commonwealths of Europe. In matters of forestry this State began proper measures as early as 1614, when laws were inaugurated for the proper treatment of forest properties, which remain fundamental to this day. These early laws, which made the proper care of forests obligatory to all and forbade both forest devastation and clearing (the latter possible only on permit), were properly enforced and maintained even through the GERMAN FOREST MANAGEMENT — WDRTTEMBERG 231 troublesome times of the end of the eighteenth century. They were remodeled and perfected to suit modern conditions in 1875 and 1870 the law of the former date dealing with the forests of public corxjorations, the latter with State and private forests in general. The " forest police law" of 1879 requires : («.) Clearing of forest requires a State permit; illegal clearing is punished with a fine. (b) A neglected piece of forest shall not become waste land; the State authority sees to its reforestation, with or without help of owner, the expenses to be charged to the forest. (c) If the forester is convinced that a private owner cuts too much wood or otherwise mismanages his forest, he is to warn the owner, and if this warning is not heeded the forest authority may take in hand and manage the particular tract, {(l) Owners of small tracts of forest can combine into associations and can place their properties with municipal or even State forests for protection and management. In the latter case they share the advantages of part of the municipal or communal forests which are managed by State authorities. The law of 1875 relating to the management and supervision of forests belonging to villages, towns, and other public corporations places the forests under this category all under direct State supervision ; there being a special division of corporation or municipal forests in connection with the State forest bureau. The law demands that all corporation forests be managed in accordance with the principles of a continued supply, the same as the State forests. The corporation may employ its own foresters, but these must be approved by the forest bureau and are responsible for the proper execution of the plans of management. These plans are prepared by the foresters and must be approved by the State forest authorities. If preferred, the corporation may leave the management of its forests entirely to the State authorities. This is always done if a corporation neglects to fill the iiosition of its forester within a certain period after it becomes vacant. Where the State forest authorities manage either corporation or private forest, the forest is charged with 8 cents per acre and year for this administration. This fee is generally less than it costs, so that the State really has been making a sacrifice so far in providing a satisfactory management for these forests. As in all other German States, nearly every piece of forest land was formerly encumbered with certain rights which entitled the holders to certain fixed amounts of firewood, timber, to pasture live stock, etc. The law of 1848 obliges the holders of these rights to part with them if the proprietor pays the value of the rights, the manner of ascertaining the value being set forth in the law itself. Thus, for the right of cutting his supply of firewood in a forest the holder of the right is paid a sum which if placed at 4 per cent interest will purchase as much wood as the holder of the right used per year, the average of twelve seasons being the criterion. Of the different rights or iwivileges, those concerning pasturage and the cutting of hay in the forests are practically settled, and the State paid between 1873 and ISSO about 2,445,000 marks, or $611,000, for these rights. For privileges of cutting wood and timber the State has expended large sums. Even prior to 1848, between 1825 and 1850, forest land valued in the aggregate at about $3,000,000, and between 1850 and 1880 over $.500,000 more have been paid out to rid the woods of these pestiferous rights, and yet as late as 1873 these rights were worth $32,000 per year, or a capital (at 4 jjer cent interest) of $800,000. In matters of taxation all forests are assessed according to the net revenue which they produce. Of the total area of the land, about 42 per cent is plow land, 18 per cent meadows and pastures, 31 per cent forest, 3 per cent gardens and vineyards, and 2 per cent roads. In its distribution over the State the forest forms 27 per cent of the area of the Nekar Kreis, 39 per cent of the area of the Schwarzwald Kreis, 31 per cent of the area of the Jaxt Kreis, and 25 per cent of the area of the Donau Kreis. Of the total of about 1,470,000 acres of forest, 480,000, or 32 per cent, belong to the State; 470,000, or .32 per cent, to corporations, and 530,000, or 36 per cent, to individuals. Of the corporation forests, nearly 360,000 acres are managed by State foresters; of the private forests, 200,000 acres are held by the nobility, including the royal family. Accurate statistics have been prepared so far only for the State forests and of late also for the corporation forest, so that a more detailed description of these classes must serve as illustration for the whole. 232 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Tbe State forests of 480,000 acres occupy parts of all four proviuces of the couutry. About 92 per cent lie between 900 and 2,400 feet altitude; 42 per cent are stocked on level ground, 29 per cent on gentle slopes, and about tbe same amount on steep declines. Over 40 per cent of these forests are situated on sandy soils, and the rest are largely on the poor limestone soils of the Jura, and only a small part on the drift formation skirting the north side of tbe Alps. Of the State forest area there is covered by a pine growth of spruce, 28 per cent; beech, 20 per cent; fir, 9 per cent; pine, 7 per cent; mixed growth of conifers, 14 per cent; conifers and hardwoods, 9 per cent; mixed hardwoods with oak, 7 per cent; mixed bardwoods without oak, 2 per cent. Thus about 60 per cent is coniferous growth and only 30 per cent hardwoods, with about 9 per cent mixed timber. Fully 97 per cent of the State forests are managed by the timber forest system. Tbe rotation is for timber forest, 100 years for 74 per cent of the area ; 80 years for 24 per cent of the area, and 120 years for 2 per cent of the area. At tbe present (1894) the areas containing timber over 100 years old cover 11 per cent of tbe area; 81 to 100 years old cover 15 per cent of the area; 61 to 80 years old, 15 per cent; 41 to 60 years old, 17 per cent; 21 to 40 years old, 19 per cent; 1 to 20 years old, 23 per cent; so that a fairly regular distribution for a lOOyear rotation exists. These timber forests yield about 56 ' cubic feet per acre of timber from the main cut or harvest and 11 cubic feet per acre from thinnings, making in all 67 cubic feet per acre and year for the entire area^ The 3 per cent managed in coppice and standard coppice cut only about 14 cubic feet per acre and year. The total cut for 1894 was, for wood over 3 inches thick: Oak, 1,200,000 cubic feet, or 3.9 per cent; beech and some other hard woods, 7,900,000 cubic feet, or 26 per cent; conifers, 21,500,000 cubic feet, or 70 per cent. This cut was composed of — A. — Timber generally over G inches at the top end. Amount. Per cent. Cubic feet, 560, 000 420, 000 13, 800, 000 3.8 2.8 94 14, 780, 000 100 B. — Poles 2-6 inches, S feet from butt end. Amount. Per cent. Oak Cubic feet. 1,500 6,400 685, 000 0.2 .9 99 Beech and other liard woods 092, 900 100 C. — Cordwood. For wooden ware. For firewood. Oak Guhicfeet. 46, 000 78, 000 295, 000 Cubic feet. 590, 000 7, 400, 000 6, 450, 000 Beech and other hard woods The above figures, especially those for the yield in saw and other timber, clearly point out the great advantage of the conifers over the bard woods. Tbe same is also clearly illustrated by the fact that the material sold as firewood forms only 40 per cent in conifers, but 94 per cent in 'This means that if the timber is 100 years old, as most of it is, each acre of forest cuts 5,600 cubic feet of wood at time of harvest. GERMAN FOKEST MANAGEMENT WUETTEMBERG. 233 beech and other hard woods, leaviug out the oak. Moreover, the yields have been much greater for conifers than beech. Thus the yield for material over 3 inches thick in the hard woods was only 5L cubic feet per acre and conifers 74 cubic feet per acre, while the average value of the two is about as 5 for beech and other hard woods, leaviug out oak, to 8 for coniferous wood, so that the yield in money per acre for the two was more nearly 2.4 times as great for conifers as for hard woods. The ijrices obtained for wood, generally delivered at the main roads, was : Timber, oak (white oak), 25 cents per cubic foot; conifers, il.7 cents per cubic foot. Cord wood, beech, 4.9 cents per cubic foot, or $6.30 per cord; conifers, 3.6 cents per cubic foot, or $4.60 per cord. The money results were for 1894 as follows : Gross income $3, 019, 000, or 100 per cent Total expense 1,224,000, or 40 per cent Net income 1, 795, 000, or 60 per cent or per acre of forest area : Gross income $3. 20 Expenses 2. i51 Net income 3.69 this latter forming 59 jier cent of the gross revenue. Among the expenses were conspicuous: Felling- of timber $397,000 Administration and protection 339, 000 Roads, new, and repair 163, 000 Taxes ' 103,000 Planting, sowing, etc 91, 000 The following figures illustrate the progress of the last eighty years, and at the same time indicate how steadily this small area of otherwise almost valueless land has been made to furnish an ample supijly of timber and a handsome revenue: Hesulfs of forest management in the State forests of Wiirttemherg. Year. Forest area. Wood over 3 inches thick cut eacli year. Price per cuhiclbot Per acre and year.o Net income. Cut wood overs inches. M acres. Mcuhicfeet. Cents. $0.30 .42 .52 .64 .85 1.78 1.93 1.11 1.42 3.22 3.54 2.62 4.21 Cubicfeet. 1819 1823 . . 472 15, 200 17, 200 17, 700 25, 000 25, 400 23, 800 26, 600 28, 400 25, 300 26, 600 28, 800 28, 700 29,400 30. 200 30. 600 33 37 39 55 55 52 58 61 64 57 61 169 445 447 453 452 455 457 460 465 467 471 474 476 480 1855 4.3 7.5 9.7 7.5 10.7 8.0 8.1 8.7 9.3 1860 1870 1875 2. 66 60 2. 90 61 3. 33 63 3. 69 63 1885 1890 . 1894 1 aEefers to entire forest area — swamp, water, surfaces, and all. Most of the logging is done by the cubic foot or cord, and the prices are about 60 to 65 cents per 100 cubic feet of coniferous and 80 cents per 100 for hard- wood timber, while cord wood is generally worked up for about $1 per cord, including piling at roadway. All cut-over land is at once reforested. During 1894, 275 acres were thus recovered by seeding and about 6,000 acres by planting, the latter being thus generally the rale, especially in the coniferous districts. The total expenses of cultural work were $88,000, or less than 3 per cent of the gross income. The thinnings of the dense sapling timber involved during the year about 20,000 acres and furnished about 240 cubic feet of wood per acre. Most of this material in the hard-wood district has to be cut into inferior firewood, but the sjiruce, fir, and pine can usually be sold as poles and pulp stuff, etc. 234 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Thougli largely stocked on sandy soils and composed of pine and other conifers, there are no forest fires reported for the year. The administration of forests is iu the hands of " Eevierfoerster," correspondiug to the Prussian " Oberfoerster," who prepare the plans and execute them, being assisted by a body of subalterns. The district of a Eevierfoerster covers about 10,000 acres of forest while the range or "hut" of the forest guard is generally about one-tenth of this. These o-uards also serve as foremen in all cultural and felling operations, but the Eevierfoerster is supposed to keep fully informed on all details and preserve accurate record. Besides their duties as State forest officers, it is expected that these men also keep themselves informed as to the condition of private and other forests. BADEN. In this intensively cultivated little State, with a total area of only about 3,720,000 acres, supporting a population of 1,G5G,000, the forests occupy over 37 per cent of the entire land surface. The forest area has increased between 1880 and 1895 by over 50,000 acres, being iu the latter year 650,891 hectares, or about 1,300,000 acres. These forests were owned as follows: state Yillnges and towns other corporationa Private persons: Nobility Others Acres, 237, 000 620, 000 47, 000 232, 000 610, 000 33, 000 The forest policy of Baden has been conservative and there is no State in Germany where the general conditions of the forests are better. Since all municipal aiid corporatiou forests are under direct State control, being managed by the State forest authorities, about 910,000 acres, or over 60 per cent of all forests, enjoy a careful, conservative treatment, which insures to them the largest possible return in wood and money. But even the private forests are under the supervision of the State authorities, and though the private owner may use his forest very much as he pleases he can in no way devastate or seriously injure it. Clearing requires a permit, also a complete clear- ing cut, which latter is permitted only if the owner guarantees the reforestation of the denuded area within a given time. Bare and neglected spots in forests must be restocked, and failure of private owners to comply with the forest rules and laws leads to temporary management of the forest by the State authorities, such management never to continue less than ten years. Of the State forests there are about 93 per cent timber forest with a rotation of eighty to one hundred and twenty years and only 7 per cent coppice and standard coppice intended to produce tanbark and firewood. Of the corporation forests about 83 per cent are timber forest, so that of all tlie forests under State management about 85 per cent are timber forest managed on long rotations and furnishing large returns. Of the State forests, 21 per cent are hardwoods, with little or no conifers; 30 per cent are mixed forests, hardwoods, and conifers in about equal parts; 49 per cent are coniferous forests, the bulk being stocked with spruce and fir, while only about 4 per cent of the total is stocked with pine alone. iFull and accurate statistics existing only for the State forests, and, as far as the annual cut is concerned, for corporation forests, the following figures apply only to about 60 per cent of the forests of the country. The cut for 1894 was in— A. From timber forests : Main crop Thinnings Stumps li. From coppice and standard coppice: Main crop State forests. Corporat Cathie feet. 11, 100, GOO 4, 500, 000 150, 000 Cubic feet. 29. 100, 000 0, 800, 000 330, 000 7, 600, 000 120, 000 50, 000 GERMAN FOREST MANAGEMENT — BADEN. 235 This same cut per acre of total forest area Is — Timljcr forest : Cnbic feet. State 74 Corporation 71 Coppice and standard coppice : State 53 Corporation 66 This enormous yield of nearly 64 million cubic feet of wood Baden has obtained from this small area for many years without in the least decreasing the amount of standing timber or wood capital. In the State forest the cut per acre since 1867 has never been less than 57 cubic feet per year, or since 1885 has never fallen below 71 cubic feet, while twice since 1870 it has been over. 85 cubic feet per acre and year. Of the total of nearly 64 million cubic feet, 19,200,000 cubic feet are timber and other wood not sold as fire or cord wood, and 29,100,000 cubic feet are cord wood over 3 inches. The forests of Baden are generally well located, and the State has long realized the great importance of good highways, so that the prices for timber are generally good and the income from the woods correspondingly high. The following prices in the woods were obtained in 1894: For round timber long lengths and saw logs (per cubic foot) : Oak $0.16 to $0.39 Beech .15 Ash and maple .24 Birch .08 Alder Other hardwoods Conifers, long stems 07 to Conifers, saw logs 11 to Conifers, rail way ties For cord wood (per cord) : Beech , 6. 50 to Oali 5. 80 to 10. 80 Other hardwoods 6. 30 to 7.80 Conifers 4. 00 to 4.80 The financial results in the State forests were as follows : For the year 1894— Total income , Total expenses Net income Or per acre of forest-stocked area — Gross income $5. 82, or 100 per cent Expenses 2. 69, or 46. 2 per cent Net income : 3. 13, or 53. 8 per cent How steadily this handsome revenue has been received may be inferred from the fact that during the twenty-eight years ending 1894 the gross income has never been below $4.24 jier acre; that for thirteen out of the twenty-eight years it varied between $4.24 and $5 ; that twelve years it was between $5 and $6, and three years above $6 per acre. The following figures show this relation for the period 1881 to 1894 : Production and cost per acre afforested area. .23 .16 .13 .14 8.40 $1, 337, 000 618, 000 719,000 Year. Cut. Annual income (gross). Annual expense. ■ Annual net The ex- pense is of the Cuhicfeet. 59 62 67 07 71 74 85 75 76 80 74 73 72 73 $4.08 4.41 4.80 4.87 5.15 5.23 .5.33 5.16 6.48 5.85 5.65 5.73 6.07 5.82 $2.13 2.17 2.24 2.30 2.34 2.47 2.60 2. .50 2.59 2.60 2.58 2.65 2.64 2.69 $1.94 2.24 2.55 2.57 2.80 2.76 2.73 2.65 2.88 3.25 3.06 3.08 3.42 3.13 Per cent. 52 49 47 47 45 47 49 49 47 44 46 46 43 46 1883 1SS6 1887 1889 1890... 18S2 1893 1891 236 FORESTRY mVESTIGATIONS V. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Considering the fact that these forests, in the aggregate only about as large as ten townships, are scattered over considerable area, and thus their protection and management is rendered much more costly than if in more compact form, these results are certainly most remarkable. Of the expenses, those of special interest are: Logging (generally) $221,000 Administration 132,000 Protection 54,000 Eoada, new and repair 77, 000 Sowing, planting, etc 42, 000 As stated before, wherever the forest is cut, reforestation is at once begun. As in other States, part of this is carried on by the process of natural regeneration, where the old trees are never entirely removed until they have been made to seed the ground, but iiart is also done by artificial sowing and planting. In 1894 about 125 acres were seeded anew; G5 acres were seeded to correct failures of former years; 7G0 acres were planted for the first time, and about 850 acres of former failures were corrected. The work of seeding costs $11.95 per acre, the planting $11,43 per acre, which shows that it is not by a penny-wise and pound-foolish system of retrenchment that the most extraordinary results of the Baden forest management are attained. ALSACE AND LOERATNB. These two small provinces, formerly under French rule, have an area of about 3,600,000 acres and a population of about 1,500,000, and are under the Imperial Government. The existing forest laws of these provinces were left in force on their transfer to Germany, so that now, as in former times, the French "code forestier" of 1827 and some subsequent dates decide in all affairs concerning the forests. The laws in the main are like those of Baden; they restrict the right of the private owner to a proper use of the forest and forbid all devastation ; any clearing requires a State permit, and with regard to protection against flre, insects, etc., they are subject to the ordinary forest police regulations. As in Baden, the forests of corporations are managed by State authorities, so that a well-planned forestry system applies to all forests except those of iirivate owners, and even these are under rigid supervision and partial control. The total area covered by forest is 444,466 hectares, or about 1,100,000 acres, forming about 30 per cent of the entire land surface. Of this forest area there belong to the State 340,000 acres, or 31 i>er cent; villages and towns, 490,000 acres, or 45 per cent; private owners, 220,000 acres, or 20 per cent. Besides these there are about 40,000 acres of land belonging jointly to the State and villages and 6,000 acres belonging to corporations other than municiiialities. Since all forests, except those of private owners, are under the management of the State forest authorities, fully 80 per cent of the forests of these provinces are in most excellent condition. Though the exact proportion has not been ascertained, it may be said that about 60 per cent of the forests are hardwoods, largely beech and oak, and only 40 per cent conifers. The total cut for 1891 was — Cable feet. For State forests 21,400,000 For corporation 33,000,000 Total 54,400,000 of which about 17,500,000 cubic feet was nutzholz, or timber not sold as cord wood or firewood. Of the 21,000,000 cubic feet of wood cut in the State forests there were in 1891: Kind of wood. Timber (nutzholz). Corel and otber firewood. Total of wood. Per cent of total cut. Oak CuMcfeet. i.euo, 000 800, 000 5, 500, 000 Cubic feet, 2, 100, 000 8, 300, 000 2, 700, 000 Cubic feet. 3, 700, 000 9, 100, 000 8, 200, 000 18 43 39 Conifers GERMAN FOREST MANAGEMENT — ALSACE-LORRAINE. 237 Tlie aveiage price per cubic foot was : For timber or work wood — Cents. Oat : , 17 Beech 11 Conifers , 8. 5 For firewood- Oak 5.5 Beech 6.7 Conifers 4.2 Oil the whole the State received 7.2 cents per cubic foot for all its timber and firewood. Among the improvements made during the year the items of roadmaking and reforestation are most conspicuous. In the State forests alone about 1,500 acres were seeded, generally at a cost of $2 to $3 per acre, the lowest being GO cents; while in few cases the cost exceeded $4 i^er acre. About 3,200 acres were planted, 1,280 acres for the first time, the rest being corrections of former failures. Planting largely with hardwoods cost on an average about $5.50 jier acre. Eoadmakiug is vigorously pursued, as much of the laud is quite rough, and wellplanued, permanent, macadamized roads have proven to be among the best investments. In some of the districts forest railways have also been constructed. The final results during 1891 were as follows: Income from wood $1,523,000 Other iiroducts 22,000 Chase 15,000 Total 1,560,000 Of this $54,000 is figured for wood, which was given to persons holding servitude rights. The expenses were : Running expenses — Central forest bureau $26,000 Obeifoersters 97,000 Guards ...'. 116,000 Logging 231,000 Roadmaking , 47, 000 P4anting, sowing, drainage, etc 47, 000 Other running expenses 128, 000 Permanent expenses 60,000 Total expenses 752,000 Real gross income 1, 522, 000 Net income 770,000 The following figures present the course of these relations for the decade ending 1891: Financial results for the State forests in Alsace-Lorraine. Tear. Gross in- Cut per acre and year. Per acre of total area. Price of wood per cubic foot. Wood over 3 inches. Total. Gross in- come. Ex- penses. Net in- $1. 337, 000 1.370,000 1.429,000 ],:i(l 1.000 1,284,000 1, 308, 000 1,335,000 1,371,000 1.477,000 1, 522, 000 Cubicfeet. 43 42 45 45 45 48 45 40 49 46 Cubicfeet. 55 55 01 59 59 03 57 58 01 50 $3.7" 3.86 4.03 3 67 3.02 3.07 3.74 3.84 4.12 4.24 $2.20 2.04 2.04 2.05 2.01 2.06 1.98 2.08 2.00 2.09 $1.55 1.81 1.97 1.61 1.59 1.59 1.74 1.74 2.04 2.12 Cents. 6.1 6.5 6.2 5.8 5.7 5.5 e.o 0.2 6.5 7.1 1885 1888 . . ... 1891 238 FORESTKY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. The net income, in spite of large yields in wood material and a fairly good market, is com- paratively small, thougli sliglitly improving. In 1886, when this income was still lower, a special investigation was undertaken, to set forth the reasons of this small net revenue and to suggest improvement. All oberfoersters of note contributed their opinions, and on the whole good results seem to have come from their suggestions for improvement. The chief trouble evidently lies in the great proportion of hardwoods, which leads to a large production of firewood and a small proportion of timber or work wood. Thus 66 per cent of all oak, 91 jjer cent of all beech, and 83 per cent of all other hardwoods had to be sold as cord and fire wood, briugiug generally about 5 cents per cubic foot solid, or about $5 per cord, while for the coniferous woods only 36 per cent has to be sacrificed as cord wood, the rest being sold as timber for just twice the amount obtained for firewood. This condition of affairs is materially aggravated by the general use of coal as fuel and the rejection of beech as tie timber on railways, etc. This condition of affairs iu Alsace-Lorraine is of great interest in considering the forest conditions of the United States. It shows evidently that it is the coniferous timbers which must be looked to as the important ones, and that even large supplies of hardwoods can not be expected to replace such stai^les as white pine or si^ruce. Methods of German Forest Management. The following brief description of the methods of German forest management, by which the results described have been attained, was originally prepared in connection with an exhibit at the World's Fair, which the chief of the Division of Forestry collected and installed upon the invita- tion and at the expense of the German Government, and is mainly reprinted with additions from his annual report for 1893. The description having been based upon the objects exhibited no attempt has been made to alter the form. MAP WORK AND FOREST DISTRICTING. The first requirement in the management of any property is that all its conditions should be known and recorded; hence a topographic survey of the forest district to be placed under man- agement is the first requisite. Such survey refers not only to the boundaries and tojiographical features of the district itself, but also to the surroundings, especially Avith reference to connections with markets. Finally, for government forests, the geographical position of the forest areas in general should be grouxjed according to ownership. Maps of the latter description were exhibited from the Governments of Bavaria and of Wurttemberg. These show in three different colors the forest areas belonging to the Government, to commu- nities and institutions, and to private owners. From these it could be seen not only that the three classes of projirietors share about equally in the ownership of the forest area, but that the Government owns mainly the forests on the mountains, where forest management must be carried on not for profit, but for indirect benefits in the preservation of favorable soil and water conditions, which therefore makes the jjermanent, well-organized management "by and for the people" necessary. Contrary to the notion to which currency is so often given in the United States, the various governments of Germany do not own more than 35 per cent, exercising partial control (so as to prevent destruction and waste) over only 15 per cent in the hands of communities and institutions, and leaving the balance of 50 per cent of the forest area in private hands almost entirely without restriction. Sometimes the contours of the country are also indicated on the maps, which serve the useful economic purpose of permitting ready reference of the forest areas to the topography. As an instance of such work there was shown a relief map of Hesse. On this the forest areas were indicated iu green color. For the sake of orderly administration, the whole country is separated into forest divisions or inspections (sometimes both), each of which forms a separate unit of administration. It is to be understood that we are now speaking only of the Government forests, which are under a uniform general administration. The administration of the Government forests is usually assigned either to the finance GERMAN FOREST MANAGEMENT — SURVEY. 239 department (as iu Bavaria) or to the department of agriculture and forestry (as in Prussia), -with one director and council directly in charge under the supervision of the minister or secretary. The position of the director (Oberlandforstmeister) corresponds somewhat to that of our Com- missioner of the General Land Oflice, except that, an extensive technical knowledge being needed in the position, the incumbent is promoted through all positions from the lower grades. Again, each forest division is placed under a separate administrative body consisting of an administrator (Oberforstmeister) with a council of forest inspectors (Forstmeister), each of whom has supervision of a number of the final units of administration, the forest districts (Oberfoersterei, Forstamt). The district officer (Oberfoerster, Eevierfoerster, etc.), with a number of assistants, rangers (Foerster), and guards (Schutzbeamte), is then the manager and executive officer in the forest itself, while the higher supervising and inspecting officials are located at the seats of government. SURATEY OP THE FOREST DISTRICT. The survey of each forest district is carried out to the utmost minutiae. In Prussia the maps of the districts are made on the scale of 1 : 5,000 iu portfolio sheets, repre- senting a careful survey by theodolite of the boundaries of the district, the i)ermanent differences of soil and occupancy (roads, waters, fields, meadows, moors, etc.), and the division of the district into smaller units of management. This kind of map, of which only three copies are made, is then, for purj)oses of use iu daily routine, reduced to a scale of 1 : 25,000 on one sheet, and ininted. The first matter of interest that strikes us on these blank or base majis is the division lines by which the district is divided into parcels or compartments. In the plain these lines divide the district into regular oblong compartments (Jagen) of about CO to 75 acres each, with sides of 100 and 200 yards, respectively, separated by openings or avenues which we may call "rides" (Gestell, Schneisse), so that the whole makes the appearance very much like tlie map of an American city regularly divided into blocks. The rides (from 8 to 40 rods wide) running east and west and north, and south are lettered, the former, broader ones (main avenues) with capital letters, the latter (side avenues) with small letters, while the compartments are numbered. In the forest itself at each corner a monument of wood or stone indicates the letters of the rides and numbers of the comj)artments, rendering it easy to find one's way or direct any laborer to any i^lace in the forest. The rides are often used as roads and serve also the purpose of checking fires, etc. In the hill and mountain districts this regular division becomes impracticable and the lines of compartments conform to the contour, while the opening of the avenues is restricted to those which can be readily transformed into roads; roads, indeed, determining the division lines wherever practicable. In hill or mountain districts topographic or contour maps become necessary, especially for the purpose of rational road construction, a matter on which in modern times great stress is laid and to whicli we shall refer later on more in detail. Such contour maps are sometimes executed in papier-mache or gypsum models for readier reference. PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT. The fundamental principles upon which the German Government forests and most of the communal and private forests are managed is briefly expressed in the idea that the forest growth is to be treated as a crop to be reproduced as soon as harvested, involving continuity of crops. To carry this principle into effect most advantageously the management must take care to husband the natural forces and conditions upon which thrifty forest growth relies, which leads to the second principle, that of highest efficiency of crops, or the two leading principles combined, to produce the largest amounts of material (or revenue) in the shortest time without impairing the condition and capacity for reproduction of the forest, perpetuating valuable forest growth wher- ever this is the best crop or where soil conditions make a forest cover desirable. In government forests in addition the financial principle prevails of treating the forest as a permanently invested capital, from which only the interest is to be used, making the amount harvested or the revenue derived to be as nearly alike from year to year or from period to period, and as nearly correspond- ing to the annual accretion, as it is possible to make them. 240 FOEESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. The present Oberlaudforstmeister, or director, of the Prussian forest department uses the following language in laying down the principles upon which the Government manages its forests: The Prussian State forest admiuistratiou does not accede to the iiriuciples of a coutinuons highest soil reut based upon compound interest calculations, hut helieves, in contradistinction to private forest management, that it can not avoid the ohligation in the management of the State forests of keei)ing in view the welfare of the whole community of citizens, and therein tating into consideration the need for continued supply of wood and other forest products as well as the other objects to which in so many directions the forest is subservient. The administration does not consider itself entitled to pursue a one-sided financial policy, least of all to submit the Government forests to a pure money- mating management strictly based on capital and interest calculations, hut considers it its duty to so manao-e the forests as a patrimony belonging to the whole nation that the present generation may be benelited by the highest possible usufruct in satisfying its wants and deriving the protection which the forest renders, and that to future generations may be secured at least as large usufruct of the same kind. To carry out these principles the intimate knowledge of the conditions of the property, referred to above, is necessary and is obtained by a careful forest survey as a basis for a systematic administration and forest regulation. These data of this forest survey are not only recorded in writing but such as can be readily noted are finally placed upon the blank maps described above, together with the results of the forest regulation described further on, so that the manager can readily overlook the details of his district and the propositions for its management.' This information — after further subdivision of the compartments where needed on account of differences in soil conditions or growth— is given by means of different colors, difference in shade, numbers, figures, marks, and signs. These maps, which are prepared after a most painstaking forest survey, and which we may call "manager's map" (Plate XXXII), show at a glance not only the nature of soil conditions and what the prin- cipal kind of timber and its admixtures are in each compartment or subdivision, but also how old the growth; whether it is to be treated as a coppice, standard coppice, or timber forest; at what period in the rotation it is to be cut, and such notes as the manager himself may add from year to year, as, for instance, the yearly fellings, plantings, movable nurseries, new road projects, etc. One of the most instructive exhibits in this direction was that showing the changes in Timlitz forest. Saxony. The map of the district In 1822 presented about the condition of one of our mismanaged Michigan forests of pine and hard woods mixed, from which all the good timber had been culled, leaving it to inferior kinds with few groups of straggling pines and more valuable hard woods, without symmetry or system in the distribution of kinds or age classes. At the same time a map was constructed showing ideally how the forest was to look after eighty years' well- planned management. We can then follow in the maps made every ten or twenty years the changes in appearance under the hand of the forester. During the management new information and experience have dictated modifications of the original working plan, giving rise to a new manager's map, the approach to which appearing in the timber map for 1SS5 leaves no doubt that at the end of the period of regulation we will have a well-grown pine forest, with deciduous trees mixed in or confined to the more suitable situations, so disposed over the area that annually or periodically the same amount, or nearly so, of valuable material can be harvested. The painstaking methods of surveying, describing, measuring, calculating, x^lanning, book- keeping, and repeated revising of all the work from decade to decade were shown in the regulation work of the district of Hinternah, Prussia, contained in six large folio volumes of manuscript, continued from the year 1822 to the last revision in 1890. We can only briefly indicate what this work involves, which was briefly summarized in the following exhibit : FoKEST Regulation. PROGRESS OF WORK REQUIRED TO BRING FOREST AREAS UNDER RATIONAL FOREST MANAGEMENT. I. Geodetic and topographic surrey and mapping. II. Forest survey in connection with I, noting all areas distinguished by quality of soil, composition, and age of timber; general description of forest conditions, bf climatic conditions, of surrounding conditions, of possible dangers, of market conditions, means of transportation, etc. ' Each State government pursues somewhat different methods of mapping. Sometimes two sets of maps are made, one to show the conditions, which might then be called a timber map, the other to show the working plan; but these are now mostlv combined into one. GERMAN FOREST MANAGEMENT — FOREST REGULATION. 241 III. Forest diHHcling. Division of forest into parcels or lots and aggregation of lots into blocks and ranges. In the plain, rectangular lots, divided by cleared lines called rides (Gestell), are customary ; in hilly and mountainous country division lines follow the coutiguration of soil. Differences of soil or character of growth within lots give rise to formation of sublets. IV. Forest yield valuation (assessment). Ascertaining amounts of timber standing, rate of growth on various sites, determining capability of production and future yield in material and money. V. Determining plan of management (working plans). General plan for all time; special plans for period of ten to twenty years. Determining length of rotation ; amounts annually to be cut, designating lots to be cut, with a view to obtaining favorable distribution of age classes; thinnings to be made; methods to-be used in felling and cultures. METHODS OF FOREST REGULATION. Ill Prussia it was Fredericli the Great who first ordered a regulated admiuistratiou of the Government forests soon after the beginuiug of his reign. The first simple prescriptions of dividing the forests into equal areas and cutting every year a proportionate area were followed up with more elaborate ordinances, having in view a closer equalization of the amounts of material harvested and revenues obtained, besides other considerations of management for continuity, until finally the basis for present methods of regulation was reached in the ordinance of 1836, since modified in its details, under which " the preservation, revision, and perfection of the work of forest valuation and regulation " is carried on. The modus operandi, similar in principle in all Government forest administrations, is about as follows : Let us assume that the Government has purchased ' a new forest district, comprising, say, 10,000 acres, the average size of the existing districts. The necessary surveys and blank maps, as explained, have been made and the boundaries carefully established in the field, the division into compartments or parcels, larger or smaller according to the need of a more or less intensive management, have been noted on the maps and marked on the ground (the avenues perhaps partially opened), and for the sake of satisfactory administration a number of the parcels have been combined into subdistricts, "blocks," or ranges; and thus the first — purely geometrical — basis for a rational administration has been established. Now the arithmetical basis is to be ascertained. For this, in the first place, a general description of the district in its present condition is desirable, parts of which, however, can be furnished only after the more thorough measurements described later. Such a description recites all needful knowledge regarding the extent, the manner of division, the boundaries, and the legal rights. Next follows a description in general terms of topography, climate, and soil conditions, and of the forest growth, being a condensation of the special description by parcels. The manner of treatment hitherto, the market conditions, current market prices, and usual wages are noted. Then, after recital of the processes and methods by which the information in the following detail work has been obtained, the principles adopted for the management and its motivation are stated, forming a general guide for the manager for all time. These principles are formulated by a commission after suflicient general knowledge of the condition of the district is obtained. In this important part of the general description not only the territorial partition of the district into compartments and blocks or ranges is determined, and reasons given for it, but also the system of management for each block or parts of blocks, whether ' Prices for forest soil vary, of course, according to their location and condition, just as in our countrv. In 1849 Bavaria sold 27,000 acres of her State forests at $68 per acre. In Prussia the Government has lately (1881-1887) paid prices ranging from $.5 to $60 per acre, and for a round 70,000 acres the price per acre was $21 average. These were mostly devastated waste lands in the northern plain. In Thuringia, where prices for wood and land are higher the price for forest land is from $20 to $60 and as high as $80. These prices do not, of course, include any timber "rowth the value of which, if present, is calculated according to well-known careful methods of dcteruiining "expectation values." According to a calculation by Dr. J. Lehr, based on the not income as representing interest at a 3 per cent rate, and assuming a ninety-year rotation of the forest growth for the entire German Empire, the forest land was worth $25 per acre and the wood ou it $156 per acre. H. Doc. 181 10 242 FOEESTEY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. coppice, standard coppice, timber forest, etc.,' and the lengtli of rotation — i. e., the time within which a block is to be cut over and reproduced; furthermore, the principles according to which the fellings are to progress, reproduction is to be secured, thinnings are to be made, the annual yield to be expected, and the time within which the forest is to be brought into a regular system- atic order of management — in short, all the general framework of the management as far as determining a set jiolicy into which the special working i^lans should lit. Before this report can be made final, however, the work of the valuator or examiner must have proceeded to some extent. VALUATION WORK. The valuator or estimator, upon whose work as a basis the general and special working plans depend, begins by examining and describing briefly the conditions of the soil, its productive capacity, and the kind and appearance of the growth in each compartment (or subparcel, if con- ditions of growth or soil make such subdivision desirable). In the description the dominating kind of timber, or, if mixed in equal proportions, that upon which the management is to be promi- ' Note.— Timber forest (Hochwald, high forest) is a forest in wliich trees are allowed to grow to maturity, and reproduction is effected either by natural seeding from the old tfiowth in various ways, or by planting or sowing after removal of the old growth ; it is usually managed in rotations of 70 to 120 years. Coppice (Niederwald, low forest) is a forest iu which -reproduction is expected by sprouts from the stumps; this is usually managed in rotations of 10 to 40 years. Standard coppice (Mittelwald, middle forest) is a combination of the two former, the standards being allowed to grow to maturity .and reproduction being secured both by seed and sprouting. Determining the rotation. — Our friends who are attempting to bring about a more rational treatment of our forests have often a mistaken notion as to when timber should be cut, when it is ready for the harvest. This can not be determined by any set period, as iu the ripening of fruit iu agriculture, or by any more or less defined age, much less by any diameter measure. The determination of the " felling age" (Haubarkeitsaltcr) or of the length of "rotation" (Umtrieb) depends on the use to which the crop is to be put, the manner iu which it is to be reproduced, and the amount of material that can be produced, or the amount of jirofit that can be derived from it. This determination is one of the most difficult, requiring both careful iinancial calculation and knowledge of forest technique. The " silvicultural rotation" is that which considers mainly tlie forest technique, being the time when perfect natural reproduction is most surely attainable — i. e., fullest seed production iu timber forest, highest sprouting capacity in coppice forest; or when preservation of the productive capacity of the soil, avoidance of damage from windfalls, diseases, etc., are uppermost considerations. These considerations of course also influence in part the determination of any of the following rotations, which we may call " economic rotations." The "rotation of greatest material production" is that which allows the forest to grow as long as the average annual accretion is at a maximum. This differs of course with species, climate, soil, etc. If for the mass of material we substitute its money value and strive to so arrange that the time of rotation coincides with the largest money returns, we have a "financial rotation." Various points of view lead to different kinds of financial rotations: "Rotation of the highest harvest value," or "technical rotation," which attempts to produce certain desired sizes and qualities iu largest quantity with a view of obtaining thereby the largest money return for the croji under the circumstances (mauageraent for telegraph poles, fence posts, osier holts, t.an-o.ak coppice). "Rotation of the highest forest revenue," when the growth is to be harvested at the time of its maximum average annual net money value; this time is iufluenced both by the amount of material aud the price paid for better sizes and quality of wood. In this rotation no regard is paid to the original capital invested in the soil ; when this latter factor is introduced into the calculation we arrive at the true "financial rotation" or "rotation of the highest soil (or ground) rent," iu which the forest is to be cut at a time when the capital invested in soil, stock, and management furnishes the highest interest rate. This capital, as far as the soil is concerned, may be represented by its actual cost or by its market value, or else by its capacity for production (Bodenorwartungswerth; soil-expectation value), which is found by adding the values of expected returns at harvest discounted to the present time and deducting the expenses incurred up to the time of harvest, similarly discounted. To determine this value experience tables must give the data. Local conditions and prices and the rate of interest applied of course influence the length of the financial rotation. It is shortest for a firewood management (in Germany, say 60 to 70 years), for spruce and pine at an interest rate of 2 to 3 per cent a rotation of 70 to 90 years, with oak 120 years, appear as profitable rotations; where small sizes, mining timber, posts, poles, etc., are bringing good prices, the most profitable financial rotation may be shorter. It stands to reason that the length of this rotation, as well as of all others, can be only approximately calculated. The forestry literature of Germany is most prolific just now with regard to determining financial rotations, and the highest mathematical skill is employed -in the discussion. Growth (Bestand, stand) is here aud further on used iu the collective sense of the word to denote an aggregate of trees, for which also the word "stand" may be employed. GERMAN FOREST MANAGEMENT — REGULATING A FOREST. 243 nently based, is named first, aud the average age of the growth with special reference to the dominating timber is ascertained for the purpose of ranging the parcel into an "age class," which comprises usually twenty years, so that the growth of 1 to 20, 21 to 40, 41 to 60 years, etc., form each an age class or period. The density of the growth aud larger openings devoid of tree growth are specially noted. The valuator at the same time is expected to form, from general appearances, au opinion as to the best treatment of each parcel in the near future, aud note it, and especially whether the growth is to be cut during an earlier or later xJeriod than its age would warrant, considering the likelihood of its thrifty or its unsatisfactory growth. He also estimates the amounts to be takeu out in thinnings for the next twenty years. With this information established a table may be constructed, in which the area of each parcel is entered, according to its average age or "age class," modified by considerations of ijroductive capacity, and from this a "timber map" is made, showing the present conditions of the forest, the kind of dominating timber in each parcel being denoted by a color, intermixed timbers by signs, and the age by the shade of the color in 4, 5, or 6 gradations, according to the number of age classes, as shown in the accompanying ideal map. ARRANGEMENT OF AGE CLASSES. Now follows the determination of the future arrangement of age classes, the object of which is to have, when the forest is regulated, in each period of the rotation an ap])roximately equal or equally producing area to be cut. It therefore becomes necessary to shift the distribution of age classes, in order to attain the equality of the sum of areas in each period. lu addition to the mere equalization of areas, there are several other considerations guiding the valuator in arranging the age classes. The oldest timber, as well as that which for some reason has ceased to make satisfactory growth, is of course to be cut first; hence the conditions of these areas are more sijecially examined regarding health, density of cover, soil, vigor, etc. In coniferous growths, especially in the plain, the danger from windfalls, if one parcel is cut and thereby the other exposed to the prevailing storms, necessitates such an arrangement in the location of the fellings (or age classes) that the removal of an old growth will leave behind it a young growth which is less liable to be thrown. This local distribution of the age classes by which, in the direction of the ijrevailing winds, no two neighboring growths are assigned to the same period is also desirable from other considerations. By avoiding a series of extensive fellings side by side the danger from fires is lessened aud liability to spread of diseases aud insect attacks, danger from frost, and drought to young growths is confined or reduced. Hence an arrangement of the age classes as near as possible after the following scheme has been generally adopted, in which the Eoman figures denote the age classes, I standing for the oldest growth, containing, if the rotation has been set at 100 years, timber of 80 to 100 years, to be felled within the first twenty years; II for that to be felled within twenty-one to forty years from the i^resent, and so on; V to be felled in from eighty to one hundred years. V III I IV IV II V III m I IT II II V III I Flu. 23 Dial ngement of age classes. In mountainous districts, where the topography influences the expense of transportation, fellings are ofteu more concentrated and the higher parcels used and reproduced before the lower, in order to avoid injury to the young growth by a reversed condition when the material from above would have to pass through the young growth below. Various minor points may also dictate exceptional arrangement. In coppice growth, needed protection of the stocks against cold north 244 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. winds makes it desirable to have the fellings progress from the south and west toward north and east. Altogether it will have become apparent that the distribution of successive fellings is an important matter, not only from the standpoint of regulated administration, but also of successful culture. In the accompanying map (PI. XXXII) we have attempted to give an idea of the matter on which a "manager's map" is constructed, and how ideally in a forest of the plain the arrangement of age classes would appear when the forest regulation is perfected. YIELD CALCULATIONS. When the distribution of areas has been effected in accordance with the considerations set forth, the yield calculations are made. These are computed after careful measurements and by various methods of calculation, which have been developed after much experience during more than one hundred years. Sihce the different compartments are cut at difl'erent times, not only the present " stock on HUNDRED CUBIC FT. .Snriinp y 1 ir. 'ine. leech . F P ^ I / H I- A/ [/ V, / / >^- • % ^1 / .--: ..;>-'•• ,.•••••' / .. ..»'•*" \i4 ^:^ $, ?S^ r^ / • y ^ ^ .h^ •/' / .roper precautions are provided. During the years 1882-1891 there had occurred 156 larger conflagrations — 96 from negligence, 53 from ill will, 3 from lightning, and only 4 from locomotives. Seven years out of ten are without any record of fire due to this last cause. Prom 1884 to 1887 fires occurred in Prussia on 3,100 acres, but only 1,450 were wholly destroyed, i. e., 380 acres per year, or 0.005 per cent of the total area of Government forests. In Bavaria during the years 1877-1881 only 0.007 per cent of the forest area was damaged by fire, and the loss represented only 0.02 per cent of the forest revenues. During the unusually hot and dry summer of 1892 only 49 fires, damaging more or less 5,000 acres, occurred. Besides the thorough ijolice organization and the compartment system, which permits not only ready iiatrolling but also ready control of any fire, the system of safety strips, described in the report of this division for 1892, where a fuller discussion of this subject may be found, prevents the spread of fire from locomotives. A much more fruitful cause of damage to the cultivated forests of Germany is found in insect ravages. The annual expenditures in fighting and preventing these in the Prussian Government forests in ordinary times amouut to about $50,000. Caterpillars and beetles eat the leaves, and thereby reduce the amount of wood produced and the vitality of the tree; bark beetles follow and kill it; borers of all kinds injure the timber. Hence entomology, the study of life habits of the injurious insects and the methods of checking their increase, forms part of the forester's work. Fungus growth and decay kill the standing tree and injure the cut timber. The study and methods of counteracting this injury form, therefore, part of the work of the forester. FOREST CROP PRODUCTION OR SILVICULTURE. While we liave so far considered mainly the administrative and managerial features of German forestry practice, we come now to the most important and truly technical branch of the art, namely, the forest crop production or forest culture. This part we may call forestry proper, for while the methods of forest regulation, forest utilization, and forest protection, which may be GERMAN FOREST MANAGEMENT — SILVICULTURE. 247 comprised in tlie one name, "forest economic^," are incidental, and may differ even in principle in various countries and conditions, tlie methods of crop production or forest culture, being based on tlie natural laws of tlie interrelations of plants to soil and climate, must, at least in principle, be alike all over the world. Here pure forestry science finds its application and development. These princiiiles have been elucidated more fully in the next chapter. We will, therefore, here only briefly restate the more imjiortant ones with some of their applications in German practice. PLANTING. Seemingly the simplest and easiest way of reproducing the crop is that practiced in agricul- ture, namely, removing the entire mature crop aud sowing or planting a new crop. But this method, wliich has been so largely iiracticed in Europe and admired by our countrymen and writers on forestry, has its great drawbacks, which have of late become more aud more apparent, and the tendency now is to return more and more to the " natural reproduction." While the simplicity of the method of clearing and i)lanting recommends itself for a routine or stereotype management, it has not always proved as successful as would be expected. The large clearings which the young planted seedlings are unable to iirotect from the drying influences of sun and Fig. 25.— Iron dibble used in setting out small pine seedlings. wind bring about a desiccation aud deterioration of the forest soil and an enormous increase of insect pests, while other dangers in later life from wind and disease have been largely the result of these uniform growths. And when it is understood that to secure a desirable stand the plantings must be gone over and fail iilaces replanted five, six, and more times, it becomes apparent that the method is extremely expensive, and hence the proper treatment of the natural crop with a view to its reproduction by natural seeding is the most important part of forest culture. Yet under certain conditions, and where no natural crop to manage is found, planting or sowing becomes a necessity, aud various methods and tools have been developed to meet various conditions. It would exceed the limits of this report to describe these various methods; we can refer to only one of the simplest and cheapest with which every year many millions of small 1 or 2 year old pine seedlings are set out in soils which do not need or do not admit of preparation by plow or spade. The instrument used is an iron dibble (fig. 25); the shoe, with one rounded and one flat side, in shape like a half cone, 8 inches long with Si-inch base; the handle, a flve-eighths-inch rod, 3^ feet long, is screwed into the base of the shoe aud carries a wooden crossbar, by which the instrument is handled. The modus operandi is to thrust this iron dibble into the ground; then by moving it lightly back and forth to somewhat enlarge the hole and withdraw it; a boy or girl 248 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. puts the plantlet in the hole to the flat side; the dibble is thrust again into the ground 1 to IJ inches back of the first hole somewhat slantingly toward the bottom, and pressed forward to fasten the j)lant in its stand ; then by irregular thrusts the last-made hole is obliterated. Two planters with a boy, carrying the plants in a mixture of loam and water to keep the roots moist and also heavy for better dropping, may set 5,000 plants in a day. INTRODUCTION OP EXOTICS — WHITE PINE YIELDS. The valuable species of trees indigenous to Germany which are subject to special consideration in forest management are but few. The most important forest-forming ones fire 1 pine, 1 spruce, 1 iir, 1 larch, 1 oak, 1 beech, 1 alder. In addition we find of broad-leaved trees a blue beech, 1 ash, 3 kinds each of elm, maple, and j)oplar, in some parts a chestnut, and 2 kinds of birch and linden, and several willows, together with some 8 or 10 kinds of minor importance, while of conifers in certain regions 4 other species of pines are found. Some years ago the attention of European foresters was forcibly turned to the richness of the American forest flora, and a movement set in to introduce exotic tree species which might be more productive or show better qualities than the native. Our white pine, a good-sized section of which was exhibited, had been quite extensively planted in the beginning, of this century, and these plantations, some 80 or 90 years old, are now coming into use. The quality of the wood, however, has not as yet found much favor, but the quantity per acre exceeds that of any of the native species. Eecords are extant which show, at 70 years of age, a yield of 14,000 cubic feet of wood containing about 70,000 feet of lumber B. M. per acre. On moderately good forest soil in Saxony a stand 78 years old contained over 400 trees per acre, of which three-fourths were white pine, the rest spruce, larch, beech, and oak. Only 5 white pine trees were under 70 feet high, the majority over SO. Notwithstanding the crowded position, only 45 trees were under 8 inches diameter, the majority over 12 inches, the best 28 inches. The total yield was 12,880 cubic feet of wood jier acre, besides the proceeds of previous thinnings. The rate of annual accretion in cubic feet of wood for white pine in the last years amounted to 2.5 per cent of the total contents of the trees, or about 0.4 cubic foot per tree. Of the trunk wood at least 90 per cent could be utilized for lumber, since the shape of these trunks was so nearly cylindrical as to be equal in contents to one-half a perfect cylinder of the height and diameter of the trees taken breast high. A stand 82 years old on poor land produced 12,500 cubic feet of wood, indicating an average yield for the eighty-two years of 212 cubic feet of wood per annum, of which about 700 feet of lumber B. M. could be calculated. On very poor soil and planted very thick without admixture of hard woods it produced trees 24 feet high and 5 inches thick in twenty years; and on fairly good soil trees 54 feet high, llj inches thick, in thirty to thirty-five years, excelling in either case the native spruce (P. excelsa) both in height and thickness. It is also of interest to mention in this connection that a plantation of about 7 acres in the city forest of Frankfort-on-the-Main during the eighteen years ending 1881 brought $115 rent per year for the privilege of seed collecting alone; failing to produce seed only three out of the eighteen years and yielding a maximum of $500 rent during one of the eighteen years; much of the seed finding a market in the United States. Besides the white pine, the black locust has also for quite a long time found a home in the plantations of Europe, but the species which are now propagated in large quantities, having after trial shown superior advantages in behavior and growth, are our Pacific coast conifers, the Sitka spruce, the Douglas spruce, the Lawsons cypress, and the Port Orford cedar, sections and photo- graphs of which, grown in Germany, were exhibited, as well as of black walnut and hickory. The.se trees are now used to plant into fail places or openings, in groups or single individuals, and are especially prized for their soil-improving qualities and their rapid growth. The methods of management for natural reproduction are generally divided into three classes, namely, the coppice, when reproduction is expected from the stumps; the standard coppice, when part of the growth consists of sprouts from the stump and another part of seedling trees; and the timber or high forest, when trees are grown to maturity and, unless harvested and replanted, reproduction is effected entirely by natural sowing. GERMAN FOKEST MANAGEMENT kSILVICULTURE. ' 249 COPPICE MANAGEMENT. This practice is employed foi- the production of fu-ewood, tanbark, charcoal, and wood of small dimeusions, and is mostly applicable only to deciduous trees. The capacity of reproduction from the stump is possessed by different species in diflferent degrees, aud depends also on climate and soil; shallow soil produces weaker but more numerous shoots thau a deep, rich soil, and a mild climate is most favorable to a continuance of the reproductive power. With most trees this capacity decreases after the period of greatest height-growth; they should therefore be cut before the thirtieth year, in order not to exhaust the stock too much. The oak coppices for tan bark are managed in a rotation of from ten to twenty years. Regard to the preservation of reproductivity makes it necessary to avoid cutting during heavy frost, to make a smooth cut without severing the bark from the stem, and to make it as low as possible, thus reducing liability to injuries of the stump and inducing the formation of independent roots by the sprouts. It will be found often that on poor and shallow soil trees will cease to thrive, their tops dying. In such cases it is a wise policy to cut them down, thus getting new, thrifty shoots, for which the larger root system of the old tree can more readily provide. This practice may also be resorted to in order to get a quick, straight growth, as sprouts grow more rapidly than seedlings, the increased proportion of root to the part above ground giving more favorable conditions of food supply. It must not be forgotten, however, that this advantage has to be compensated somewhere else by a disadvantage; sprouts, though growing fast in their youth, cease to grow in height at a compara- tively early period, and for the production of long timber such practice would be detrimental. Eegard to the preservation of favorable soil conditions, which suffer by oft-repeated clearing, requires the planting of new stocks where old ones have failed. Mixed growth, as everywhere, gives the best result. Oaks, walnut, hickory, chestnut, elm, maples, birch, cherry, linden, catalpa, and the locust also, with its root-sprouting habit, can be used for such purpose. If when cutting off the sprouts^ at the age of from 10 to 20 years, some trees are left to grow to larger size, thus combining the coppice with timber forest, a management results which the Germans call " Mittelwald," and which we may call standard coppice management. STANDARD COPPICE. This is the method of management which in our country deserves most attention by farmers, especially in the Western prairie States, where the production of firewood and timber of small dimensions is of first importance, while the timber forest, for the production of larger and stronger timbers, can alone satisfy the lumber market. The advantages of this method of management, combining those of the coppice and of the timber forest, are: (1) A larger yield of wood per acre iu a short time. (2) A better quality of wood. (3) A production of wood of valuable and various dimensions in tlie shortest time witli hardly any additional cost. (4) The po.s.sibility of giving closer attention to the growth and requirements of single individuals and of each species. (5) A ready and certain reproduction. (6) The possibility of collecting or using for reforestation, in addition to the coppice stoclvs, the seeds of the standards. The objections to this mode of treatment are the productioii of branches on the standards when freed from surrounding growth, and the fact that the standards act more or less injuriously on the underwood which they overtop. The first objection can be overcome to a certain extent by pruning, and the second by proper selection and adjustment of coppice wood and standards. The selection of standards — which preferably should be seedlings, as coppice shoots are more likely to deteriorate in later life — must be not only from such species as by isolation will grow into more useful timber, but if possible from those which have thin foliage, thus causing the least injury by their cover to the underwood. The latter should, of course, be taken from those kinds that will best endure shade. Oaks, ashes, maples, locust, honey locust, larch, bald cypress, a few birches, and perhaps an occasional aspen, answer well for the standards; the selection for such should naturally be from the best-grown 250 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. straight trees. The number of standards to be held over for timber depends upon the species and upon the amount of undergrowth which the forester desires to secure. The shadier and the more numerous the standards the more will the growth of the coppice be suppressed. From a first plantation one would naturally be inclined to reserve and hold over all tho well-grown valuable saplings. The coppice is, of course, treated as described above. As before mentioned, on account of the free enjoyment of light which the standards have they not only develop larger diameters, but also furnish quicker-grown wood (which in deciduous trees is usually the best) and bear seed earlier, by which the reproduction of the forest from the stump is supplemented and assisted. Any failing plantation of mixed growth, consisting of trees capable of reproduction by coppice, may be recuperated by cutting the larger part back to the stump and reserving only the most promising trees for standards. If equally well-grown coppice and standards are desired, a regular distribution of the standards, mostly of the light-needing, thin-foliaged kinds, should be made. If prominence is given to the production of useful sizes, the standards may be held over in groups and in regularly distributed specimens, in which case those of the shade-enduring kinds are best in grouijs. THE TIMBBK FOREST. In the timber-forest management we may note various methods: The method of selection (Plenterwald), in accordance with which only trees of certain size are cut throughout the whole forest, and the openings are expected to fill up with an after-growth sown by the remaining trees. This method prevailed in former ages, but was finally almost everywhere abandoned because of the difflculty of organized administration and control of such an irregular forest containing trees of all ages, and because the after growth is apt to progress but slowly with fore-grown trees sur- rounding and overshadowing it, or may consist of worthless kinds. Of late a revival of this method with various modifications designed to meet the objections is noticeable; the advantage of keeping the soil constantly shaded and thereby preserving the soil moisture also recommending this method. More uniform growths, more regular distribution of age classes, and a more regu- lated administration was possible by various "regeneration methods," by which a certain area — a comj)artment — would be taken iu hand and the cutting so systematically directed that not only a uniform young growth would spring up through the whole comiiartment, but by the gradual 'removal of the mother trees light would be given to the young growth as needed for its best development. This method (Feinelsehlag) is practiced almost exclusively in the extensive beech forests, somewhat in the following manner: REGENERATION METHODS. In the first place it is necessary to know the period at which a full seed j^ear may be expected. This differs according to locality and kind. One or more years before such a seed year is expected the hitherto dense crown cover is broken by a preparatory cutting of the interior timber, enough being taken out to let in some light, or rather warm sunshine, which favors a fuller development of seed, the increased circulatiou of air and light at the same time hastening the decomijosition of the leaf-mold and thus forming an acceptable seed bed. As soon as the seed has dropped to the soil, and i>erhaps, in the case of acorns and nuts, been covered by allowing pigs to run where it has fallen, a second cutting takes place uniformly over the area to be regenerated, in order that the seeds may have the best chance for germination — air, moisture, and heat to some degree being necessary — and that the seedlings may have a proper enjoyment of light for their best development and yet not be exposed too much to the hot rays of the sun, which, by producing too rapid evaporation and drying up the needful soil moisture, would endanger the tender seedlings. This cutting requires the nicest adjustment, according to the state of the soil, climatic conditions, and the requirements of seedlings of different kinds. While the beech requires the darkest shade, the pine tribe and the oaks demand more light, and should, by the successive cuttings, be early freed from the shade of the mother trees. Beech seedlings are more tender, and only by the gradual removal (often protracted through many years) of the shelter of the parent trees can they be accustomed to shift for themselves without GERMAN FOREST MANAGEMENT — SILVICULTURE. 251 liability of being killed by frost. The final cutting of the former generation of trees leaves many thousand little seedlings closely covering the soil with a dense shade. That the method of management must differ according to species and local conditions is evident; and in a mixed forest especially are the best skill and judgment of the forester required to insure favorable conditions for each kind to be reproduced. It is to be expected that such seedlings are rarely satisfactory over the whole area, and that bare places of too large extent must be artificially sown or planted. Another method is the "management in echelons" (Coulissen, Saumschlag), which consists in making the clearings in strips, and awaiting the seeding of the clearing from the neighboring growth. It is applicable to species with light seeds, which tlie wind can carry over tbe area to be seeded, such as larches, firs, spruces, most pines, etc. The cuttings are made as much as possible in an oblong shape, with the longest side at right angles to the direction of the prevailing winds. The breadth of the clearing, on which occasional reserves of not too spreading crowns may be left, depends of course on the distance to which the wind can easily carry the seed which is to cover the cleared area. Observation and experience will determine the distance. In Germany, for spruce and pine, this has been found to be twice the heigbt of the tree; for larch, five or six times the height; for fir, not more than one shaft's length. From 200 to 360 feet is perhaps the range over whicb seeding may be thus expected. One year rarely suffices to cover the cleared area with young growth, and it takes longer in proportion to the breadth of the cutting. This method is very mucli less certain in its forestal results than the next named, and more often requires the helping liand of the planter to fill out bare places left uncovered by the natural seeding. But it is the one that seems to interfere least with our present habits of lumbering, and with it eventually the first elements of forestry may be introduced into lumbering operations. To be sure, it requires from three to eight times the area usually brought under operation, but instead of going over the whole area every year it may be operated in a number of small camps systematically placed along a central road connecting the different camps or cuttings with the mill. As a rule the pine forests in Germany are reproduced by artificial plantations, tlie spruce forests by either natural or artificial regeneration, or both combined, while the beech forests are entirely reproduced as described above, oaks and other hard woods being usually planted, although a return to a more extended use of natural reproduction is noticeable. IMPROVEMENT CUTTINGS — THINNINGS. The principles which underlie the practice of thinning out young growths in order to accel- erate their development have been theoretically well developed, but the practice in Germany remains behind the theory. The difficulty of disposing of the material taken out in the thinnings discourages the practitioner, and the financial value of the operation in the acceleration of the remaining crop is not fully appreciated. A few results of German practice in thinning may serve to give an indication of its value. A natural growth of pine (Scotch) which was thinned when six years old showed an increased rate of accretion three times as great as that of the part not thinned, which was also deficient in height growth. A 50-year-old spruce (Norway) growth, having been twice thinned, showed an average accretion 22 ijer cent greater than the part not thinned. A growth of spruce (natural sowing), slightly mixed with maple, aspen, willow, and ironwood, when 15 years old was opened to the poor population to take out firewood; thus one-half of the growth for a few years was thinned out irregularly. The part thus thinned eighteen years later contained four and one-half times more wood than the undisturbed part; the former contained trees of from 1 to 9 inches in diameter and 15 to 65 feet in height; the latter did not produce any above 5 inches in diameter and 48 feet in height. Another experiment, made upon a pine growth 50 years old, showed that by interlucation the rate of growth within eleven years stood three to one and three- fourths in favor of the thinned part. Another writer planted Scotch pine 6 feet apart; two years later he planted the same ground 252 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. to bring the stand to 3 feet apart; he thiuued when fifteen years old, and carefully measured contents when twenty years old. Although the plantation was stocked on poor soil, yet the average annual accretion was found to be 2.43 cords (Austrian) per acre, a yield "which is unexcelled." The writer adds that "if in such growths the number of trees is reduced in the fifteenth to twentieth years to 280 trees per acre, the yield in sixty years might equal that obtained in one hundred or one hundred and fifty years in the old manner." A plantation of j^orway spruce, made with seed, was when thirty-three years old still so dense that it was impenetrable; hardly any increase was noticeable and the trees were covered with lichens. When thirty-five years old it was thinned, and again, when forty-two years old the condition of the growth was such as to make a thinning appear desirable; between the two thinnings, within seven years, the accretion had increased by 160 per cent, or 27 per cent yearly in the average, and the appearance of the trees had changed for the better. A coppice of tanbark oak was thinned when fifteen years old on half the area; when twenty years old both parts were cut, and it was found that the thinned part yielded more wood and more and better bark than the unthiuned part, and yielded in money 14.5 per cent more, although no higher price was asked for the better bark. An area of 12 acres was planted, one-half with 2-year-old pine seedlings from the forest, the other half with seed. Three thinnings were made with the following yield of round firewood (cut to billet length and over 2f inches in diameter) and brushwood (less than 2a inches in diameter). The planted part yielded at the thinnings: 10 ye.lrs old I') years old IS years (tld Total The sowing was first thinned when 8 years old, yielding: When— rirewood. Brush. Cords. Cords. 2.8 1 3.6 1.4 10 veara old 20 vears old 3.2 Total 3.2 7.8 In twenty-four years the total yield, inclusive of thinning, was: Planted part 3,495 Sowed part 1, 998 la favor of planted part 1, 497 Thinnings are usually made for the following purposes: (1) Improvement cuttings, to improve the composition of the forest and give advantage to the better kinds. (2) Interlucations, to improve the form and hasten development of young timber. (3) Eegeueration cuttings, to produce favorable conditions for seed formation and reproduc- tion of the forest. (4) Accretion cuttings, to improve rate of diameter growth in older timber. Thinnings are to open the crown-cover, giving access to light and air, their object being to accelerate decomposition of the litter and turn it into available plant food; to improve the form and hasten the development of the remaining growth. The degree of thinning depends on soil, species, and age, and is best determined as a i)roportion between the present growth and that which is to remain with reference either to crown-cover, mass. Of diameter. GERMAN FOREST MANAGEMENT— SILVICULTURE. 253 Since it is observed that in the struggle i^r existence among tl;eiudivHlu^ trees there are qnite early some trees getting the advantage and becoming dominant, it is infeued that thinnings are most effective in the earlier period of the crop. .in^iti^'ition of the trees In discussing the degree to which the tl^i""-g;^to be made^^a c a ihc.U on^ according to the character of their development is made by German foresters as tollows . r Class 1 -Predominant trees with highly developed crowns. Class -.-Codominaut trees with tolerably well developed crowns Dominant or superior growth, p,^^^ 3._Subdominant trees with normal crowns, but poorly developed and crowdea above. , j , , » n CUs^ i.-Dominated trees with crowus poorly developed and crowded laterally, (a) Crowns wedged in laterally, yet not overtoiiped. (6) Crowns compressed, partly overtopped. Class .5.— Suppressed trees, entirely overtopped. (a) Crowns still having vitality (shade enduring species). (6) Crowns dying or dead. The following illustration of the appearance of these tree classes will be found serviceable in understanding these relations. Dominated or inferior growth. riG 26.-Trco claSBc: Classification accoraiug to crown doveloi.mcnt. ScUematic^ Class ia.™lomi"-"^^ ^s! 2 (codominant): Nos.S, 13.18; class 3 (subdomiuant) : Nos.0,U,17, class 4 (opprossed) : Nos.o,7,l-. class (surpres 5 (suppressed, h) : Nos. 4, 10, 15. The degrees of thinning usually resorted to are the following: (1) Slight thinning takes out trees of class 5. (2) Moderate thinning takes out trees of class 5 and ^h. (■3) Severe thinning takes out trees of class 5, 4, and sometimes 6. . ^ , , , .,„,^.i,.,:tv Se thne when the'hrst thinning should take place is generally 'If -"ff^f^^^J^f^te "^'on'^oodiriXi mild exposures interlucation may take place earliest, because here the growth if Ikest and a difference in the development of the different stems is soonest noticeable. 254 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Light-neediug and quicker-growing kinds show similar conditions to those grown on good soil, and here, therefore, early thinniijgs are desirable. In these cases the thinnings have also to be repeated oftenest, especially during the period of prevalent height accretion. Absolute rules as to the time for iuterlucations and their periodical repetition evidently can not be given. The peculiar conditions of each individual case alone can determine this. The golden rule, however, is early, often, moderately. The right time for the beginning of these regular and periodical iuterlucations is generally considered to have arrived when the natural thinning out before mentioned commences and shows the need of the operation. This occurs generally when the crop has attained the size of hop poles. At this stage the well marked difference in size of the suppressed trees will point them out as having to fall, and there will not be much risk of making any gross mistakes. Until the trees have attained their full height the thinning should remain moderate. From this time forward it will prove expedient to open out the stock more* freely without ever going so far as to thin severely. Within the last few years new and revolutionary ideas regarding principles and methods to prevail in thinnings are gaining ground, which we have not space here to discuss. UNDER-PLANTING. All these manipulations experience modifications according to circumstances, diflerent species and soil conditions requiring diflerent treatment. One of the most interesting modifications, the results of which in a given district were fully exhibited, is the v. Seebach management in beech forests. Such a management, which contemplates the production of heavier timber in the shortest time, tries to take advantage of the increase in accretion due to an increase of light which is secured by severe thinning, and in order to prevent the drying out of the soil by such severe thinning a cover of some shady kind is established by sowing or planting. This cover gradually dies oft' under the shade of the old timber, the crowns closing again after a number of years. The rate of growth in a stand of 70 to 80 years was thereby increased from, 51 cubic feet per acre and year to 77 cubic feet per acre and year, while a neighboring stand, otherwise the same but not so treated, increased by only 60 cubic feet, distributed over a larger number of trees. The same method is ajjplied to the production of heavy oak timber. In tliis case the oak growth is thinned out when about 60 years old and "underijlanted" with beech. It may also be applied to older growths with advantage, as appears from the following results: A stand of oaks 150 to 160 years old in 1846 was thinned to 90 trees per acre, averaging 37 cubic feet of wood per tree, the cleared space being "underplanted" with beech and spruce. In 1887 the oaks, now 190 to 200 years old, of which 59 trees only were left, contained 56 cubic feet in the average, thus growing during the last forty years more than one-half as much as during the one hundred and fifty to one hundred and sixty years previous to the operation, i. e., doubling the rate of growth. In this case, under the lighcfoliaged oaks, some of the beech and spruce developed sufBciently to furnish marketable material. With Scotch pine it has been found in one case that while the average accretion of a stand 120 years old under ordinary condition was about 59 cubic feet per acre and year — the yield by thinning included — a stand underplanted with beech showed an accretion of 100 cubic feet per acre and year, besides much better log sizes and earlier supply of saw timber. Translated into money an examjile from Bavaria may be cited as follows: On 1 acre of pine 80 years old, underplanted at a cost of $2.85 i)er acre with beech now 40 years old, there were found — Average Yield of anuuS wood. accretion per acre. Gubicft. Cubicft. 322 40 1 156 39 1 478 79 Supposing this stand to he left forty years longer, it may be figured that the pine would bring $650 and the beech $120; total per acre, $770, of which $49 was yielded in thinnings. White pine without undergrowings is expected to produce only $520 per acre when 120 years old. GERMAN FOREST MANAGEMENT — ADMINISTRATION. 255 FORESTERS, FORESTRY EDUCATION, AND FORESTRY LITERATURE. To be sure, the highly ehiborate system of forest admiuistratiou and forest management here outlined could not be developed or maintained without a special high-grade education of those who direct the work. This education is provided for in the most ample manner, and consists not only in theoretical studies at schools, academies, and universities, but also in practical studies in the forest itself under the guidance of competent and experienced forest managers. The course which applicants for positions in the higher administrative forestry service are expected to follow, with more or less modification in the different states, may be briefly outlined here: After ijromotion from college the student goes into the woods for a short period (one-half to one year) to acquaint himself, under the guidance of a district manager, with the general features of the business he proposes to engage in, and thereby tests his probable fitness for it. He then visits for two and one-half or three years a forestry school (called academy when by itself, when at a university it is connected with the "faculty" for national economy), where theoretical studies with demonstrations in the forest are pursued. After examination and promotion the applicant is bound at his own expense to occui)y himself for two years at least in studying the practice in various districts, changing from place to place. If occupation can be found for him he is employed at small daily wages on some scientific or administrative work, always keeping an official diary of his doings and observations, certified to by the district manager with whom he stays, and which forms part of his final examination. For nine months during this time he must continuously perform all the duties of a lower oflicial — a ranger — for a whole or jiart of a range, and sometimes also for a given time certain functions of a district manager. Then, after two years of law studies at a university, he enters into a close and difficult examination for a position as district manager, lasting eight to ten days. By passing this he is placed on the list of eligibles, and has thereby secured a right, enforcible in the courts if need be, to a position when a vacancy arises and his name is reached in the order of the list. This, in i'russia, may now be within eight or ten years after listing. During the interval he may be, and mostly is, employed on daily wages in various sorts of scientific and administrative work, such as revising and making new valuations, laying out roads, acting as tutor at the academies or as assistant to district managers, or else taking the place of a manager temporarily, etc. The higher administrative offices are filled by selections from the managers, length of service counting only when special fitness for the kind of work required accompanies it; so that, as in the army, the highest officer has been through all the grades below, and is conversant with every detail of the service. The pay is small, graded in each kind of position according to length of service and somewhat according to the cost of living in diflerent places. The honor of the position, to which usually other honors are added, its permanency, and the assurance of a pension, graded according to length of service, in case of disability or age, make up for small salaries. The salaries, subject to change from time to time, without adding the value of perquisites like houses, farm lands, etc., range about as follows in Prussia: 1 director (Oberlaudtbrstmeister) $3, 600 4 forest councilors (Liindforstmeister) $1, 800 to 2, 400 33 chief inspectors (01)erforstmei8ter) (witli additions for house and traveling np to $1,100) 1,050 1,500 89 inspectors (Forstmeister) (with additions for house and traveling up to $1,100) 900 1,500 679 district managers (Oberfoerster) (with additions up to $825 and house and field) 500 900 3, 390 rangers (Foerster) (with house and additions up to $110) 260 360 349 guards (Waldwaerter) 100 200 The rangers (Foerster) follow different courses of instruction, part of which they receive in subordinate positions under district managers; while serving in the army in special battalions (chasseurs) they receive also theoretical instruction, which is supplemented in special schools. When finally promoted to the responsible position of rangers, in which much discretion and latitude are given them, their pay amounts to from $260 to $360, with a house and field, with the assurance of pension on withdrawal. 256 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. The following schools are provided for the higher grades of foresters: Higher forestry schools in (rermanii for the cfhication of forest managers, [Austria and Switzerland iuchided.] Naiiif of place. State. Wlieu lounded. LengtI. of course (years). Instructors of forestry branches proper. Total number of iustructors. Average attendance of forestry students. At universities: 1825 1818 1878 1832 1855 1875 1807 1811 1830 1831 1868 3 ib) 3 3 2i 3 3 8 2 3 C 3 5 (a) (a) (lis 19 c20 43 9 10 8 14 13 40 50 Wurttemberg Bavaria 50-00 Munich At polytecbnicum : c 90-100 15-30 y. • 1 l.'i-30 Vifiiini 130-140 Separate academies: 90-100 Th -tiTiflt ^ 100-135 ■p- , 65^75 Prussia do 140-150 40-60 a The entire corps of professors of the university. In Munich 18 professors are engaged in lecturing on subjects which concern for- estrj' students ; in Ziirich, 20 professors. In Munich all studies can he followed in any year, as the students may select, 'liie attendance varies, of course. wiiJely in different years, having heen as high as 216 in Eberswalde and 120 in Miinden. The above figures are for 18S5-8G. & Not prescribed. c During the winter of 1898 there were 14.0 students at Munich out of 527 forestry students at all forestry schools. The following tabic Avill serve to give au idea of what iustructioii is to be had at these institutions : Flan of studies at Forest Academy Ehei'swalde. Subjects of instruction. FDNDAMENTAL SCIENCEB. Natural sciences. General and theoretic chemistry Special inorganic and organic chemistry applied Physics and meteorology Mineralogy and geognosy Definition of minerals and rocks Kevie ws for organic natural sciences Jiotany in general aud forest botany in particular Anatomy of plants, vegetable physiology and pathology . Microscopy Botanical reviews Botanical excarsions, each 2J hours . General zoology Vertebrates Invertebrates, with special reference to forest insects Zoological preparations Zoological reviews r Zoological excursions, each 3 hours Total natural sciences Mathematics. Geodesy Interest and rent account Wood-measuring Mathematical reviews and exercises Surveying and leveling exercises, each 4 ho Plan-drawing exercises, 2i hours Total mathematics Economic sciences. Public economy and linances Total sum of hours for fiiudanicntal "Whole number of hours. Subjects of instruction. ntlNCIPAL SCIENCES. Cultivation of forests Forest iuiplemcuts Geographical forest botany Protection of forests Porest usufruct and technology : Forest surveying Appraising forests Calculation of the value of forests and forest statistics . Administration of forest and hunting Eedemption of rights of usage Forest history Forest statistics , Review of various forest matters Examinations Forest excursions, each 4 hours , Total. SECUNDAllY SCIEN'CES. Jurii2>rudc7ice. Whole number of hours. Civil law Criminal law , Civil and criminal lawsuits and constitutional rights . Jurisprudence Total Construction of roads Hunting ' Shooting exercises, 2 hours each Total sum of ho Grand total i for secondary Fundamental sciences . Principal sciences Secondary sciences Average per instruction week (21 weeks er, 17 during summer; 2 winter - =:28.5 hours, or per day, 4.0 la \i summer coiuscb) : SYSTEM OF FORESTRY KNOWLEDGE. 257 If we were to codify into a system the science of forestry as developed in Germany we might come to the following scheme, which exhibits the various branches in which a well-educated forester must be versed : System oif Forestry Knowledge. I. FOREST POLICY — ECONOMIC BASIS OF FORESTRY (THE CONDITION). Aspects. 1. Forestry statistics. (Areas, forest conditions; products. By-products: Trade; supply and demand; prices; substitutes.) 2. Forestry economics. (a. Study of relation of forests on climate, soil, water, health, ethics, etc. b. Study of commercial peculiarities and position of forests, and forestry in political economy.) 3. History of forestry. Application. 4. Forestry politics. (Formulation of rights and duties of the State and of its methods in developing forestry; legis- lation, State forest administration, educatiou.) II. FOREST PRODUCTION — TECHNICAL BASIS OF FORESTRY (THE CROP). Aspects. 5. Forest botany.. (Systematic botany of arborescent flora; forest geography; plant and climate; biology of trees in their individual and aggregate life; forest weeds. 6. Soil 2>hysics and soil cliemistry with special reference to forest growth, 7. Tiniber physics. (Anatomy of woods ; chemical physiology and physical properties of woods. Influences deter- mining same; diseases and faults.) 8. Technology. (Application of wood in the arts ; requirements and behavior; mechanical and working properties; durability; special needs of consumers; use of by-products, waste materials, minor forest products.) Application. 9. Silvicnltiire. (Methods of growing the crop.) a. Natural reforestation ; cutting for reproduction. b. Artificial afforestation ; jirocurement of jilant material ; nursery practice, choice of plant material, methods of soil preparation, of forest planting. • c. Improving and accelerating the crop. Cultivation, tilling, thinning, pruning, undergrowiug. d. Systems of management. Timber forest, standard copjjice, coppice, etc. 10. Forest protection. (Against insects, climatic injuries, fire, cattle, etc.) 11. Forest improvement and enijineering. (Treatment of denuded mountain slopes, shifting sands, barrens, swamp and moors, road buildiug, etc.) 12. Forest utilization. (Methods of harvesting, transporting, preparation for market.) III. FOREST ORGANIZATION — AD.MINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL BASIS (THE REVENUE). Aspects. 13. Forest suroey. Ascertaining area and condition of the forest; ascertaining rate of accretiou, yield. 14. Forest valuation and statics. Ascertaining money value of forest soil and forest growth as capital of the manage- ment and comparing financial results of various kinds of management. A2>2'Uvation. 15. Forest rei/ulalioii. Kstablishing units of management and administration; determining working plans, distri- buting yearly or periodical cut, etc. 16. Forest administration. Routine methods, Ijusiness practice, personnel, organization of service and mechanical operations. LITERATURE. In addition to the live teachings, which an able corps of professors impart at these institutions and that which competent managers are ready to impart to the young students in the forest itself, a large number of weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual journals and publications are keeping the foresters and forestry students au courant with the progress of forestry science and forestry technique. Adding the publications of this nature which appear in Austria and Switzerland in the German language, and which have their constituency in Germany as well, we can make the H. Doc. 181 17 258 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. following respectable list, not couuting the journals of the lumber trade and other related publications. Those marked with an asterisk (*) are to be found in the library of the Division of Forestry; those marked (t) are considered the best or are most comprehensive; those marked (?) have been discontinued. German forestry periodicals. Name of publication. Published at — AUgemeine Forst-u. JagdzeitUDg * t Au3 dera Waldo --- Aus dem Walde Deutsche Forst-u. Jagdzeitung Forstlicbe Blaetter Forstlich-naturwissenscbaftliclie Zeitschrift * I Forstwissenschaftlicbea Centralblatt * t Jabresbericbt des scblesiachen Forstvereins Jahresbericbt der preussiscben F. u. J. Geaetzbegung Laud-u. Forstwirthschaftlicbe Zeitschrift Muendener forstlicbe Hefte * Oesterreichiscbe Forst zeitiing* Der praktische Forstwirt fuer die Schweiz Scbweizer Zeitsclirift fuer Forst wesen Tharandter forstlicbes Jabrbucb * Verbandlungeu der Forstvereilie Bericht ueber die Versammlung deutscber F^orstmaenuer . Zeitschrift fuer Forst-u. Jagd-\veseu*t Zentralblatt fuer das gesammte F'orstwesen * t Zeitschrift der deutschen Forstbeamten Frankfort on the Main - 1 Hanover Frankfort ou the Maiu . .do. Berlin ... Munich. - Berlin ... Breslau . . Berlin ... Vienna . . Berlin ... Vienn.T, - - Davos . . . Ziiricli... Dresden . Various . Monthly Irregularly . .. Weekly Semimonthly . Monthly Aiiuually . .do. Quarterly — Irregularly . . Weekly (?) Quarterly Annually .do . Monthly. Should the reader wish to collect a library of the most modern thought on any or all subjects pertaining to forestry in Germany the list of books contained in the library of the Department of Agriculture, a catalogue of which has been published, with over 1,200 numbers and probably 2,000 volumes, would give him a good selection. FORESTRY ASSOCIATIONS, Forestry associations thrive better in Germany than in the United States and are of a different character; they are associations of foresters, who practice what they preach. There is no more need of a propaganda for forestry than there would be here for agriculture, and the discussions, therefore, are moving in technical, scientific, and economic directions. Besides some thirty or forty larger and smaller local associations, there is held every year a forestry congress, at which the leading foresters discuss important questions of the day. FOREST EXPERIMENT STATIONS. In addition to all these means of education and of advancement of forestry science, and in addition to the demonstration forests connected with the various schools of forestry, there has been developed in the last twenty years a new and most important factor in the shape of forest experiment stations, which are also mostly connected with the forestry schools. If forestry had a strong and well-supported constituency before, this additional force has imparted new impulses in every direction. The first Incentive for the establishment of these stations came from the recognition that the study of forest influences upon climate could be carried on only with the aid of long-continued observations at certain stations. Accordingly, during the years 1862 to 1867, forest meteorological stations were instituted in Bavaria, which, under the efficient direction of the well-known and eminent Dr. Ebermayer, for the first time attempted to solve these and other climatic questions on a scientific basis. The results of these and other observations have been fully discussed in Bulletin 7 of the Forestry Division and are briefly recorded in this report. While these stations were continued and others added in all parts of the country, an enlarge ment of the programme was soon discussed with great vigor, leading (between the years 1S70-1S7G) to the institution of fully organized experiment stations in Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Thuriugia, Wurtemberg, Baden, Switzerland and Austria following in the same direction; all of these finally combining into an "association of German forest experiment stations," similar to the association of agricultural experiment stations in our country. Thus the science of forestry, which hitherto had been developed empirically, has been placed upon the basis of exact scientific investigation, the fruit of which is just beginning to ripen in many branches. FOKEST MANAGEMENT IN BRITISH INDIA. 259 We in the United States are fortunate, in that we can learn from the experience and profit from the assiduons work of these careful investigators. While we may never adopt the admirable administrative methods that tit the economic, social, and political conditions ot Germany, we shal ever follow them where the recognition and utilization of natural laws lead to the practical acknowledgment of general principles and to desired economic results m forest culture. Forest Management in British India. In order to show how the transfer of German methods may work advantageously, eyeu in a country entirely dilierently conditioned, the results obtained by the forest management in British India are here briefly stated. India, with a total area of nearly 1,500,000 square miles or 930,000,000 acres (an area about one-half that of the United States without Alaska), has a population of about 2^0,000,000, or four times as great as that of the United States. ^ .^. . , +, „ Of the entire area about 950,000 s^iuare miles, or 63 per cent, are under British rule, the remaining 550,000 square miles, with a population of about 53,000,000, being divided among a large number of more or less independent native States. , • . t, *. Of the entire population about 70 per cent are farmers and farm laborers, who cultivate about 300 000 000 acres of land, 30,000,000 of which is irrigated. The greater part of the mam peninsula is a high plateau with steep descents to tlie ocean, both on the western and eastern coast To the north of this plateau is a broad, fertile, river plain extending from the upper Bramah- putra to the mouth of the Indus, a distance of nearly 2,000 miles, without rising more than 900 feet above sea level. North of this large and densely settled Indo-Gangetic plain, and torming the barrier between India and Thibet, is the great Himalaya Mountain system, drained by the three great river systems of northern India. . , ,, ^i +, -nt „ More than half of India lies within the Troyncs and over 90 per cent is farther south than New Orleans, the latitude of which is 30o. From this it is apparent that the climate is generally hot, but, owing to diversity of elevation and peculiarities of the distribution of rainfall, it is by no """TheraL^of India depend on extraordinary sea winds, or "monsoons," and their distribution is regulated by the topography of land and the relative position of any districts with regard to the mountains and the vapor-laden air currents. Thus excessive rainfall characterizes the coast line along tbe Arabian Sea to about latitude 20° N., and still more the coast of Lower Burmah, and to a lesser extent also the delta of the Gauges and the southern slope of tbe Himalayas. A mod- erately humid climate, if gauged by annual rainfall, prevails over the plateau occupying the large peninsula and the Lower Ganges Valley, while a rainfall of less than 15 inches occurs oyer the arid regions of the Lower Indus. In keeping with this great diversity of climate, both as to temperature and humidity, there is great variation in the character and development ot the forest cover The natural diiferences in this forest cover are emphasized by the action of man, who lor many centuries has waged war against the forest, clearing it permanently or temporarily for agricul- tural purposes or else merely burning it over to improve grazing facilities or for purposes of the chase Thus only about 25 per cent of the entire area of India is covered by woods, not over 20 per cent being under cultivation, leaving about 55 per cent either natural desert, waste, or grazing lands. The great forests of India are in Burmah; extensive woods clothe tbe foothdls of the Himalayas and are scattered in smaller bodies throughout the more humid portions of the country, whde the dry northwestern territories are practically treeless wastes. In this way large areas of densely settled districts are so completely void of forest that millions of people regularly burn cow dung as fuel, while equally large districts are still impenetrable, wild woods, where, for want of market, it hardly pays to cut even the best of timbers. . -^ \ i vi, u. The great mass of forests of India are stocked with* hardw.K.ds (.. e., not conifers), which m these tropical countries are largely evergreens, or nearly so, and only a small portion of the forest area is covered by conifers, both pine and cedar, these pine forests being generally restricted to higher altitudes. The hardwoods, most of which in India truly deserve this name, belong to a great variety of plant famiUes, some of tbe most important being tbe Leguminosa-, Verbenacea^ Dipterocarpeaj, Combretacea^, Rubiace*, Ebenaceie, Euphorbiaceie, Myrtace*, and others, and 260 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. but a relatively small portion of them represent the Cupuliferae aud other important hardwood timber fomilies so characteristic of our woods. In the greater i^art of India the hardwood forest consists not of a few species, as with us, but is made up of a great variety of trees unlike iu their habit, their growth, aud their product, and if our hardwoods offer on this account considerable difllculties to profitable exi)loitatiou, the case is far more comi^licated iu India. Iu addition to the large variety of timber trees there is a multitude of shrubs, twining aud climbing plants, and iu most forest districts also a dense under- growth of giant grasses (bamboos), attaining a height of 30 to 120 feet. These bamboos, valuable as they are in many ways, prevent often for years the growth of any seedling tree, and thus form a serious obstacle to the regeneration of valuable timber. The growth of timber is generally quite rapid; the bamboos make large, useful stems in a single season. Teak grows into large-size saw timber in fifty to sixty years. But iu spite of their rapid growth and the large areas now in forest capable of reforestation, India is not likely to — at least within reasonable time — raise more timber than it needs. In most parts of India the use of ordinary soft woods, such as pine, seems very restricted, for only durable woods, those resisting both fungi and insects (of which the white ants are specially destructive), can be employed in the more permanent structures, and are there- fore acceptable in all Indian markets. At present teak is the most important hardwood timber, while the deodar (a true cedar) is the most extensively used conifer. Teak occurs in all moist regions of India except the mountain countries, never makes forests by itself (pure forests), grows mixed with other kinds, single, or in clumps, is girdled two to three years before felling, is generally logged in a primitive way, com- monly hewn in the woods aud shipped — usually floated — as timber, round or hewn, and rarely sawn to size. Teak is as heavy and strong as good hickory, has little sapwood, stands well after seasoning, and is remarkably proof against decay aud the still more dreaded white ants, and is really the only Important export timber of India, about $2,500,000 worth having been shipped in 189Jr-95, bringing about $1 per cubic foot, or more than four times as much as good j)ine timber in the market. As will be seen from the following figures timber forms only about 20 per cent of the export of forest products, which consist chiefly of lac, the basis of shellac (really the product of an insect) aud of tanning materials : Exports of forest products from India, 1S04~95. Lao (basis of shellac) $7,000,000 Teak 2,800,000 Myrobalans 2,300,000 Cntcli and gambler 1,450,000 Caoutcboiic 550, 000 Fancy woods — saudal, ebony, rosewood 290, 000 Cardamoms UO, 000 Total 14,530,000 The imports of timber into India have so far been very insignificant. Attempts at introducing American coniferous timber (pine, spruce, larch, and hemlock) from the Pacific coast have not been successful, though it would seem that some wood goods, such as boxes, sash aud door, and cheap furniture, should find a favorable and extensive market if once the trade is established. Perhaps a treatment of these materials with some of the new flreprooflng substances could be made to render them at the same time more resistant to white ants and other insect borers, and thus procure for them several important advantages at once. In the past the people of India, as far as known, never realized the importance of their forests. They were cleared, destroyed,,mutilated at all times aud in all places, and the use of wood never seems to have formed an important factor in Hindoo civilization. With tlie advent of foreign commerce the exploitation of the forests for the more valuable exx:)ort timbers received a new stimulus aud the forests were culled regardless of the future, either of forest or people. This matter was aggravated by the construction of railways, which, in themselves large consumers, also offered a premium on all that contributed to increased traffic. When, finally, it was noticed that the demands of timber for iiublic w^orks in some localities could INDIAN FOREST MANAGEMENT. 261 no longer be sui^plied without costly transportation, tlie matter at last received public attention. In 1856, Dr. D. Brandis was appointed superintendent of forests for Pegu ; in 1SC2 be was charged with the duty of organizing a foi'est department for all India, and in 1864 he was appointed the first inspector-general for the forests of India. During the thirty-four years of its existence this department has steadily and rapidly grown in the area managed, the number of men employed, and the revenue derived for the State. In 1894-95 this forestry department had control of about 112,900 square miles of forest, nearly half of all the forests, and about 12 per cent of the entire area of India. Of these State forests, 74,0t)0 square miles are " reserve" or permanent State forests, Avhile the rest are held as "protected" and "unclassed," a large portion of which will become reserve or permanent forests as fast as the necessary surveys and settlement can be made. With tlie irregular distribution of forests, the peculiarities of Indian affairs, and the unsurveyed wild, and dififlcult conditions of the forests themselves, it is but natural that the work thus far has been chiefly one of organization, survey, and in-otection, and to a far less degree an attempt at improvement both by judicious cutting and reforestation. Over 33,000 square miles have been surveyed for forest purposes since 1874, and over 4,000 square miles were added during the year 1894-95, at a cost of over $200,000. Work of establishing and maintaining boundary lines, which is often a very difficult and costly matter in the dense tropical jungles, involved during the same year an expeuse of over $40,000, and there are at present about 60,000 miles of such boundary lines maintained. Besides this survey work proper, there is a large force constantly at work to ascertain tlie amount and condition of timber supplies and to prepai'e suitable plans for their ex])loitation and improvement, so that about 12 per cent of the entire forest area, or over 570,000 acres, is by this time managed with definite working plans as to amount of timber to be cut, what areas to be thinned, reforested, etc. The work of protection is chiefly one of preventing and fighting fires. This protection with present means can not be carried on over the entire forest areas, of which large tracts are not even crossed by a footpath, and in a land where the regular firing of the woods has become the custom of centuries, and where, in addition, intensely hot and dry weather, together with a inost luxuriant growth of giant grasse-s, render these jungle fires practically unmanageable. In all forests near settlements the forest must be isolated by broad "fire traces" or otherwise. In the jungle forests these traces must be broad; the grass, often taller than an elephant, must be cut and burned before the grass on either side is dry enough to burn. Similarly, the traces in the long-leaf pine forests must be very wide and first converted into grass strips, cut or kept clean by burning. In spite of the unusual difticulties there were in 1894-95 over 33,000 square miles protected against fire, and on only 8 per cent of this area did the element succeed in doing any damage. In this work, too, great progress has been made during the last twenty years; the efficiency has steadily increased, and the expense, about $10 per square mile in 1883, has been reduced to less than half. In the protection against unlawful felling or timber stealing and grazing, the Government of India has shown itself fully equal to the occasion by a liberal policy of sui)plying villagers in proximity to the forests with fuel, etc., at reduced prices or gratis. Over $2,000,000 worth was thus disposed of in 1894-95, the incentive to timber stealing being thereby materially reduced. A reasonable and just permit system of grazing, where again the needs of the neighboring villagers are most carefully considered, not only brings the Government a yearly revenue of nearly $800,000, but enables the people to graze about 3,000,000 head of animals in the State forests without doing any material damage to tree growth. Though the forests of India are now, and will continue for some time to be, little more than wild woods, with some protection and a reasonable system of exploitation, in ])lace of a mere robbing or culling system, yet the work of actually improving the forests steadily increases in amount and perfection. In the large teak forests of Burma, as well as other provinces, care is had in helping this valuable timber to propagate itself; the useless kinds of trees are girdled, huge climbers are cut olf, and a steady war is waged against all species detrimental to teak regeneration. Where the teak has entirely disappeared, even planting is resorted to. Thus in Burma over 35,000 acres have been restocked with teak by means of taungyas, or plantations, where the native is allowed to burn dowii a piece of woods, use it for a few years as field (though it is never really cleared) on condition of planting it with teak, being paid a certain sum for every hundred trees in a thrifty 262 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. condition at the time of giving up his land. Similarly, the department has expended large sums in establishing forests in parts of the arid regions of Beluchistan, and on the whole has expended about $150,000 during 1894-95 on cultural operations, which up to that time involved about 76,000 acres of regular plantations and 36,000 acres taungyas (mostly teak), makiTig a total of 112,000 acres, besides numerous large areas where the work consisted merely in aiding natural reproduction. In disposing of its timber the Government of India employs various methods. In some of the forest districts the people merely pay a small tax and get out of the woods what and as much as they need. In other cases the logger merely pays for what he removes, tbe amount he fells being neither limited in quantity nor quality. The prevalent systems, however, are the permit system, where a permit is issued indicating the amount to be cut and the price to be paid for the same, and the contract system, where the work is more or less under control of government officers and the material remains government property until paid for. To a limited extent the State carries on its own timber exploitation, as appears from the following figures, where the cut for 1894-95 for the entire country is given : KiD(] and quantity of prodnot. Timber (1,000 ouliic feet) Fnel (1,000 cubic feet) ... Eaniboos (1,000 pieces) .. Minor prcciacts ($1,000) . . state. Purchaser. a, 700 28, OOO 1, 600 39, 900 69, 000 132, 200 1,300 In spite of the many difficulties, a poor market (no market at all for a large number of woods), wild, unsurveyed, and practically unknown woodlands, requiring unusual and costly methods of organization and protection, the forestry department has succeeded, without curtailing the timber output of India, in so regulating forest exploitation as to insure not only a permanence in the output, but also to improve the woodlands by favoring the valuable species, and thus prepare for an increase of output for the future, and at the same time has yielded the Government a steadily growing revenue, which bids fair to rank before long among the imj)ortant sources of income. The growth of both gross and net revenue is illustrated by the following figures: Yearly income during the period — Gross in- Expenses. Proportion of expense $2, 810, 000 3, 330, 000 4, 408, 000 5, 834, 000 7, 974, 000 Percent. .$1, 960, 000 1 70 2,288,000 : 69 2, 806. 000 1 64 3, 713, 000 1 04 4, 206, 000 ; .'■)4 1890 1894 . ... 1 Prom this it is clear that in India as in Europe not only the gross but also the net income has become greater in proportion as a better organization is i^ermitted lo expend more money on the care of the forests. During the year 1894-95 the income from State forests was distributed as follows: Wood $6,170,000 Minor products 670, 000 Grazing 780,000 Other incomes 750,000 Total income 8,370,000 The expenditures for the same year were : For administration (pay of officers, fores.ters, etc.) $2, 200, 000 For cutting timber and removing it 1, 350, 000 Other work 760,000 Forest school 46,000 Total recurring expenses 4, 356, 000 For survey and other extraordinary work 300, 000 Total expenditure 4,656,000 leaving a net revenue of $3,714,000, or 44 per cent of the gross income. INDIAN FOREST MANAGEMENT. 263 It is of special interest to note that the expense of fire protection amounted, under these most extraordinary circumstances, only to $130,000, or 1.6 per cent of the gross income, and that for cultural work, the horror of the American anti-forest proclaimer, only $150,000, or 1.8 per cent of the gross income, was paid. The forest laws of India were like those of most countries, a matter of growth and adaptation, with the important difference, however, that the well-defined object of preserving to this great and peculiar people a continuous supply of the all-essential timber was steadily kept in mind. The principal acts are those of 1S65, 1860, and especially the "Indian forest act" of 1878, with secondary legislation applying to particular localities, such as the act of 1881 for Burma, and 1882 for Madras and otLers. In general these forest laws provide for the establishment of permanent or "reserved" State forests, to be managed according to modern forestry principles. They provide for a suitable force of men; give the forest officers certain police powers; prohibit unwarranted removal of forest products, the setting of fires, or otherwise injuring the forest property. The laws also regulate grazing and the chase by permit systems, and prescribe rules by which the work of the depart- ment is carried on, as well as the manner in which officers are engaged, promoted, etc. Since the peculiar circumstances required men specially fitted and trained, schools were established to furnish the recruits for this steadily growing service. The one at Coopers Hill, England, where a thorough course is intended to prepare men for the superior staff positions, and the Imperial school at Dehra Dun, which is to supply the great number of the executive stafl', the young men starting in usually as guards or rangers at a pay of about $25 per month, working their way up to places worth $70 per month, and if well suited, eligible for further promotion. In the Delira Dun school and the executive staff the native element is fast making itself felt, and there is little doubt that the men of India will soon be able to manage the forests of their own native land. R PRINCIPLES OF SILVICULTURE. How Trees Grow. Trees, like most other plants, originate from seed, build np a body of cell tissues, form foliage, iiower, and fruit, aud take up food material from tbe soil and air, which they convert into cellulose and other compouuds, from which all their parts are formed. They rely, like other plants, upon moisture, heat, and light as the means of performing the functions of growth. Yet there are some peculiarities in their behavior, their life and growth, which require special attention on tbe part of a tree grower or forest planter. POOD MATERIALS AND CONDITIONS OF GROWTH. Trees derive their food and solid substance iu part from the air and in part from the soil. The solid part of their bodies is made up of cellulose, which consists largely of carbon (44 per cent of its weight), with hydrogen and oxygen added in almost the same proportions as in water. The carbon is derived from the carbonic acid of the air, which enters into the leaves, and under the influence of light, air, and water is there decomposed; the oxygen is exhaled; the carbon is retained aud combined with elements derived from the water, forming compouuds, such as starch, sugar, etc., which are used as food materials, passing down the tree through its outer layers to the very tips of the roots, making new wood all along the branches, trunk, aud roots. This process of food preparation, called " assimilation," can be carried on only in the green parts, and iu these only when exposed to light and air; hence foliage, air, and light at the top are essential prerequisites for tree growth, and hence, other conditions being favorable, the more foliage aud the better developed it is and the more light this foliage has at its disposal for its work, the more vigorously will the tree grow. In general, therefore, pruning, since it reduces the amount of foliage, reduces also for the time the amount of wood formed; and just so shading, reducing the activity of foliage, reduces the growth of wood. SOIL CONDITIONS. Prom the soil trees take mainly water, which enters through the roots aud is carried through the younger jiart of the tree to the leaves, to be used in part on its passage for food and wood formation aud in part to be given up to the air by transpiration.. In a vigorously growing tree the solid wood substance itself will contain half its weight in the form of water chemically combined, and the tree, in addition, will contain from 40 to 65 per cent and more of its dry weight in water mechanically or hygroscopically held. This last, when the tree is cut, very largely evaporates; yet well-seasoned wood still contains 10 to 12 per cent of such water. The weight of a green tree — a pine, for instance — is made up in round numbers of about 30 per cent of carbou and 70 per cent of water, either chemically or hygroscop- ically held, while a birch contains a still larger percentage of water. The largest part of the water which passes through the tree is transpired — i. e., given off to the air in vapoi*. The amounts thus transpired during the season vary greatly with the species of tree, its age, the amount of foliage at work, the amount of light at its disposal, the climatic conditions (rain, temperature, winds, relative humidity), and the season. These amounts are, however, very large when compared with the quantity retained ; so that while an acre of forest 264 FOREST GROWTH AND SOIL. 265 may store in its trees, say, 1,000 pounds of carbon, 15 to 20 pounds of mineral substances, and 5,000 pounds of water in a year, it will have transpired— taken up from the soil and returned to the air— from 500,000 to 1,500,000 pounds of water (one-quarter to one-half as much as agricul- tural crops). Mineral substances are taken up only in very small quantities, and these are mostly the commoner sorts, such as lime, potash, magnesia, and nitrogen. These are carried in solution to the leaves, where they are used (as also on their passage through the tree), with a part of the water, in food preparation. The main part of the mineral substances taken up remains, however, as the water transpires, in the leaves and young twigs, and is returned to the soil when the leaves are shed or when the tre^ is cut and the brush left to decompose and make humus. The mineral constituents of the tree remain as ashes when wood is burned, the remaining elements passing into the atmosphere in the form of gas. Hence the improvement of the fertility of the soil by wood crops is explained, the minerals being returned in more soluble form to the soil; as also tlie fact that wood crops do not exhaust the soil of its minerals, provided the leaves and litter are allowed to remain on the ground. For this reason there is no necessity of alternating wood crops, as far as their mineral needs are concerned; the same kind of trees can be grown on the same soil continuously, provided the soil is not allowed to deteriorate from other causes. As the foliage can perform its work of food assimilation only when sufficient water is at its disposal, the amount of growth is also dependent not only on the presence of sufiQcient sources of supply, but also ou the opportuuity had by the roots to iitilize the supply, and this opportunity is dependent upon the condition of the soil. If the soil is compact, so that the rain water can not penetrate readily and runs off superficially, or if it is of coarse grain and so deep that the water rapidly sinks out of reach of the roots and can not be drawn up by capillary action, the water supply is of no avail to the plants; but if the soil is porous and moderately deep (depth being the distance from the surface to the impenetrable subsoil, rock, or ground water), the water not only can penetrate, but also can readily be reached and taken up by the roots. The moisture of the soil being the most important element in it for tree growth, the greatest attention must be given to its conservation and most advantageous distribution through the soil. No trees grow to the best advantage in very dry or very wet soil, although some can live and almost thrive in such unfavorable situations. A moderately but evenly moist soil, porous and deep enough or fissured enough to be well drained, and yet of such a structure that the water supplies from the depths can readilybe drawn up and become available to the roots— that is the soil on which all trees grow most thriftily. The agriculturist procures this condition of the soil as far as possible by plowing, drainage, and irrigation, and he tries by cultivating to keep the soil from compacting again, as it does under the influence of the beating rain and of the drying out of the upper layers by sun and wind. The forest grower can not rely upon such methods, because they are either too expensive or entirely impracticable. He may, indeed, plow for his first planting, and cultivate the young trees; but in a few years this last operation will become impossible and the effects of the first operation will be lost. He must, therefore, attain liis object in another manner, namely, by shading and mulching the soil. The shading is done at first by planting very closely, so that the ground may be protected as soon as possible from sun and wind, and by maintaining the shade well throughout the period of growth. This shade is maintained, if necessary, by more planting, and in case the main crop in later life thins out inordinately in the crowns or tops, or by the accidental death of trees, it may even become desirable to introduce an underbrush. The mulching is done by allowing the fallen leaves and twigs to remain and decay, and form a cover of rich mold or humus. This protective cover permits the rain and snow waters to pene- trate without at the same time compacting the soil, keeping it granular and in best condition for conducting water, and at the same time preventing evaporation at the surface. The soil moisture, therefore, is best maintained by proper soil cover, which, however, is needful only in naturally dry soils. Wet soils, although supporting tree growth, do not, if constantly wet, produce satisfactory wood crops, the growth beiug very slow. Hence they must be drained and their water level sunk below the depth of the root system. 266 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Irrigatiou is generally too expensive to be a^jplied to wood crops, excejjt perhaps in the arid regions, where the benefit of the shelter belt may warrant the expense. Attention to favorable moisture conditions in the soil requires the selection of such kinds of trees as shade well for a long time, to jdant closely, to protect the woody undergrowth (but not weeds), and to leave the litter on the ground as a mulch. Different species, to be sure, adapt themselves to different degrees of soil moisture, and the crop should therefore be selected with reference to its adaptation to available iroisture supplies. While, as stated, all trees thrive best with a moderate and even supply of moisture, some can get along with very little, like the conifers, especially pines; others can exist even with au excessive supply, as the bald cypress, honey locust, some oaks, etc. The climate, however, must also be considered in this connection, for a tree species, although succeeding well enough on a dry soil iu an atmosi)here which does not require much transpiration, may not do so in a drier climate on the same soil. In the selection of different kinds of trees for different soils, the water conditions of the soil should therefore determine the choice. LIGHT CONDITIONS. To insure the largest amount of growth, full enjoyment of sunlight is needed. But as light is alinost always accompanied by heat aud relative dryness of air, which demands water from the plant, and may increase transpii-atiou from the leaves inordinately, making them pump too hard, as it were, young seedlings of tree species whose foliage is not built for such strains require partial shading for the first year or two. The conifers belong to this class. The great extent of our country, involving as it does wide ranges of climatic and soil condi- tions, makes it impossible to give complete lists of trees adapted to various soil conditions in all parts of the United States. The safest rule for the planter to follow is to be guided iu his selection of species by the character of the growth iu similar sites near the land to be planted. Speaking generally, the following lists may be useful : Trees that endure wet soils, — South of the Ohio River and central Missouri: Bald cypress, white cedar, red cedar, black gum, holly, water oak,. red birch, cottonwood. North of the Ohio and Missouri rivers: White cedar, arbor vitte, larch, black spruce, cottonwood, white willow, sycamore. Dry soils. — South of the Ohio Eiver and central Missouri: Mesquite (Texas and southwest), black oak, hackberry, shortleaf pine. North of Ohio and Missouri rivers: Bull i)ine, jack pine, scrub pine, white oak, post oak, jack oak. The remaining species, north and south, require moist or fresh soils for their development, conditions under which all species succeed best. In later life the light couditioiis exert a threefold influence on the development of the tree, namely, with reference to soil conditions, with reference to form development, and with reference to amount of growth. The art of the forester consists in regulating the light conditions so as to secure the full benefit of the stimulating effect of light on growth without its deteriorating influences on the soil and on form development. As we have seen, shade is desirable in order to preserve soil moisture. Now, while young trees of all kinds, during the "brush" stage of development, have a rather dense foliage, as they grow older they vary in habit, especially when growing iu the forest. Some, like the beech, the sugar maple, the hemlock, and the spruce, keep uj) a dense crowu; others, like the chestnut, the oaks, the walnut, the tulix) tree, and the white pine, thiu out more and more, and when fully grown have a much less dense foliage; finally, tliere are some which do not keep up a dense shade for any length of time, like the black and honey locust, with their small, thin leaves; the catalpa, with its large but few leaves at the end of the branchlets only, and the larch, with its sliort, scattered bunches of needles. So we can establish a comparative scale of trees with reference to the amount of shade which they can give continuously, as densely foliaged and thinly foliaged, in various gradations. If we planted all beech or sugar maple, the desirable shading of the soil would never be lacking, while if we iilanted all locust or catalpa the sun would soon reach the soil and dry it out, or permit a growth of grass or weeds, which is worse, because these transpire still larger SHADE AND LIGHT EEQUIREMENTS. 267 quantities of -nater than the bare ground evaporates or an undergrowth of woody plants would transpire. Of course, a densely foliaged tree has many more leaves to shed than a thinly foliaged one, and therefore makes more litter, which increases the favorable mulch cover of the soil. Another reason for keeping the ground well shaded is that the litter then decomposes slowly, but into a desirable humus, which acts favorably upon the soil, while if the litter is exposed to light, an undesirable, partly decomposed "raw" humus is apt to be formed. Favorable soil conditions, then, require shade, while wood growth is increased by full eujoy- ment of light; to satisfy both requirements, mixed planting, with proper selection of shade- enduring and light-needing species, is resorted to. As the diiferent species afford shade in differeut degrees, so they require for their development different degrees of light. The dense foliage of the beech, with a large number of leaves in the interior of the crown, proves that the leaves can exist and perform their work with a small amount of light; the beech is a shade enduring tree. The scanty foliage of poplars and pines shows that these are light-needing trees; hence they are never found under the dense shade of the former, while the shade-enduring can develop satisfactorily under the light shade of the thin-foliaged kinds. Very favorable soil conditions increase the shade endurance of the latter, and climatic conditions also modify their relative position in the scale. All trees ultimately thrive best — i. e., grow most vigorously — in the full enjoyment of light, but their energy then goes into branching. Crowded together, with the side light cut oft', the lower lateral branches soon die and fall, while the main energy of growth is put into the shaft and the height growth is stimulated. The denser shade of the shade enduring kinds, if placed as neigh- bors to light-needing ones, is most effective in producing this result, provided that the light is not cut off at the top; and thus, in practice, advantage is taken of the relative requirements for light of the various species,' The forester finds in close planting and in mixed growth a means of securing tall, clear trunks, free from knots, and he is able, by proper regulation of light conditions, to influence the form development, and also the quality of his crop, since slow growth and rapid growth produce wood of different character. There are some species which, although light-foliaged and giving comparatively little shade, are yet shade-enduring — i. e., can subsist, although not develop favorably, under shade; the oaks are examples of this kind. Others, like the black cherry, bear a dense crown for the first twenty years, perhaps, seemingly indicating great shade endurance; but the fact that the species named soon clears itself of its branches and finally has a thin crown indicates that it is light needing, though a good shader for the iirst period of its life. Others, again, like the catalpa, which is shady and shade enduring, as the difficulty with which it clears itself indicates, leaf out so late and lose their foliage so early that their shading value is thereby impaired. Black locust and honey locust, on the other hand, leave no doubt either as to their light-needing or their inferior shading quality. Tliat soil conditions and climatic conditions also modify crown development and shade endurance has been well recognized abroad, but in our country this iufluence is of much more importance on account of the great variation in those conditions. Thus the box elder, an excel lent shader in certain portions of the West, is a failure as soil cover in others where it nevertheless will gTOW. We see, then, that; in determining the shading value as well as the shade endurance of one species in comparison with another, with reference to forestry purposes, not only soil and climate but also the character of foliage and its length of season must be considered. As to shade endurance the more valuable species of the United States, including exotics, may be classed as follows : Light-demanding from seedling stage: Aspen, cottonwood, black walnut, black locust, honey 'This relation of the diifereut species to varying light conditions, their compar.ative shading value and shade endurance, is one of the most important facts to be observed and utilized by the forester. European foresters have done this, but since they had to deal with only a few species and over a limited territory, they could quite readily classify their trees with reference to their shade endurance, and take it for granted that shade endurance and density of foliage or shading value were more or less identical. With our great wealth of useful species it will be necessary and profitable to be more exact in the classification. 268 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS V. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. locust, white ash, green ash, red pine, bull pine, sycamore, larch, black birch, mesquite, the hickories. Light-demanding when mature, but enduring moderate shade in youth : The oaks, white pine, black cherry, catalpa, silver maple, red maple, the elms, tulip, yellow birch. Shade-enduring: Beech, sugar maple, box elder, mulberry, hackberry, hemlock, red cedar, Douglas spruce, white fir, white spruce, arbor vita;, and white cedar. PHYSIOLOGY OF TREE GROWTH. As we have seen, root 'and foliage are the main life organs of the tree. The trunk and branches serve to carry the crown upward and expose it to the light, which is necessary in order to prepare the food and increase the volume of the tree, and also as conductors of food materials up and down between root and foliage. A large part of the roots, too, aside from giving stability to the tree, serve only as conductors of water and food material; only the youngest parts, the fibrous roots, beset with innumerable fine hairs, serve to take up the water and minerals from tl^e soil. These fine roots, root hairs, and young parts are therefore the essential portion of the root system. A tree may have a fine, vigorous-looking root system, yet if the young parts and fibrous roots are cut off or allowed to dry out, which they readily do — some kinds more so than others — thereby losing their powers to take ixp water, such a tree is apt to die. Under very favorable moisture and temperature conditions, however, the old roots may throw out new sprouts and replace the fibrous roots. Some species, like the willows, poplars, locusts, and others, are especially capable of doing so. All trees that " transplant easily" probably possess this capacity of renewing the fibrous roots readily, or else are less subject to drying out. But it may be stated as a probable fact that most transplanted trees which die soon after the planting do so because the fibrous roots have been curtailed too much in taking up, or else have been allowed to dry out on the way from the nursery or forest to the place of planting; they were really dead before being set. Conifers — pines, spruces, etc. — are especially sensitive; maples, oaks, catalpas, and apples will, in this respect, stand a good deal of abuse. Hence, in transplanting, the first and foremost care of the forest grower, besides taking the seedling up with least injury, is the proper protection of its root fibers against drying out. The water, witli the minerals in solution, is taken up by the roots when the soil is warm enough, but to enable the roots to act they must be closely packed with the soil. It is conveyed mostly through the outer, which are the younger, layers of the wood of root, trunk, and branches to the leaves. Here, as we have seen, under the influence of light and heat it is in large jjort transpired and in part combined with the carbon into organic compounds, sugar, etc., which serve as food materials. These travel from the leaf into the brancblet, and down through the outer layers of the trunk to the very tips of the root, forming new wood all the way, new buds, which lengthen into shoots, leaves, and flowers, and also new rootlets. To live and grow, therefore, the roots need the food elaborated in the leaves, just as the leaves need the water sent up from the roots. Hence the interdependence of root system and crown, which must be kept in proportion when transplanting. At least, the root system must be sufficient to supply the needs of the crown. "SAP UP AND SAP DOWN." The growing tree, in all its parts, is more or less saturated with water, and as the leaves, under the influence of sun and wind and atmospheric conditions generally transpire, new supplies are taken in through the roots and conveyed to the crown. This movement takes place even in winter, in a slight degree, to supply the loss of water by evaporation from the branches. In the growing season it is so active as to become noticeable: hence the saying that the sap is "up," or "rising," and when, toward the end of the season, the movement becomes less, the sap is said to be "down." But this movement of water is always upward; hence the notion that there is a stream upward at one season and in one part of the tree and a stream downward at another season and perhaps in another part of the tree is erroneous. The downward movement is of food materials, and the two movements of water upward and food downward take place simultaneously and depend, in part at least, one upon the other, the food being carried to the young parts, wherever required, by a process of dittusiou from cell to cell known as "osmosis." FOOD AND WATEK MOVEMENT. 269 These food materials are, by the life processes of the active cells, changed in chemical composition as need be, from sugar, which is soluble, into starch, which is insoluble, and back into sugar, and combined with nitrogenous substances to make the cell-forming material, proto- plasm (flg. 27). In the fall, when the leaves cease to elaborate food, both the upward and the downward movement, more or less simultaneously, come to rest (the surplus of food materials, as starch, and sometimes as sugar, being stored for the winter in certain cell tissues), to begin again simultane- ously when in spring the temperature is high enough to reawaken activity, when the stored food of last year is dissolved and started on its voyage. The exact manner in which this movement of water uijward „ ^ and food materials downward takes place, and the forces at work, are not yet fully understood, nor is there absolute certainty as to the parts of the tree in which the movement takes place. It appears, how- ever, that while all the so-called "sapwood" is capable of conducting water (the heartwood is probably not), the most active movement of both water and food materials takes place in the cambium (the growing cells immediately beneath the bark) and youngest Ijarts of the bark. The deductions from these ])rocesses important to the planter are: That injury to the living bark or bast means injury to girowth, if not destruction to life; that during the period of vegetation transplanting can be done only with great caution; that the best time to move trees is in the fall, when the leaves have dropped and the movement of water and food materials has mostly ceased, or in spring, before the movement be- gins again, the winter being objectionable only because of the diiBculty of working the soil and of keeping the roots protected against frost. All things considered, spring planting, before activity in the tree has begun, is the best, although it is not impossible to plant at other times. la the making of protoplasm and the plant tissues resulting from its growth, many chemical changes occur within the plant, as a result of which not only woody tissue, which may be considered the permanent essential product of growth, but also many by-products are formed. It not infrequently happens that what has here been termed the by-product is of greater com- mercial importance than the wood itself Thus among familiar woody species the India rubber tree is only valued for its sap, the logwood of Central America for dyeing, the cinchona trees for their alkaloid (quinine i^roducts), etc. Again, some of our most important timber trees yield also useful by-products. The maple yields millions of pounds of excellent sugar, the longleaf pine is the principal source of the resin and turpentine supply of the world, and the bark of hemlock and of certain oaks furriish most of the tannin used iu American tanneries. Fig. 27. — Pbysiological importance of different parts of the tree; pathways of water and food materials. (Schematic.) PKOGRESS OF DEVELOPMENT. Like wheat or corn, the tree seeds require as conditions for sprouting sufficient moisture, warmth, and air. The seeds, however, differ from grain in that most of the kinds lose their power of germination easily; with few exceptions (locust, pine, spruce), they can not be kept for any length of time. The first leaves formed often differ essentially in shape from those of the mature tree, which may cause their being confounded with other plants, weeds, etc. 270 FOEESTKY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUEE. Fig. 28. — Bud development of beecb. B, as it would be if all formed buds were to live; A, as it is, many buda failing to develop. The little seedlings of many, especially the conifers, are quite delicate, and rem ain very small the first season ; they need, therefore, the protecting shade of mother trees, or artificial shading, and also protection against weeds. The amount of light or shade given requires careful regulation for some of them; too much light and heat will kill them, and so will too much shade. This accounts for the failure of many seedlings that spring uj) in the virgin forest. The planter, then, is required to know the nature and the needs of the various kinds of seeds and seedlings, so as to provide favorable conditions, when he will avoid sow- ing in the open field such as require the care which it is impractical to give outside of the nursery. GROWTH IN LENGTH AND RAMIFICATION. While the stalk of wheat or corn grows for one sea- son, exhausts itself in seed production, and then dies, the tree continues to grow from season to season, in length as well as in thickness. The growth in length of shaft and branches proceeds from buds, made up of cell tis- sues, which can subdivide and lengthen into shoots, as well as make leaves. These buds are formed during summer, and when winter begins contain embryo leaves, more or less developed, under the protecting cover of scales (fig. 29). When spring stimulates the young plant to new activity) the buds swell, shed their scales, distend their cells, increasing their number by subdivision, and thus the leaves expand, and the bud lengthens into a shoot and twig. During the season new buds are formed, and the whole process repeats itself from year to year, giving rise to the ramification and height growth of the tree. The end buds being mostly stronger and better developed, the main axis of tree or branch increases more rapidly than the rest. All these buds originate from the youngest, central part of the shoot, the pith, and hence when the tree grows in thickness, enveloping the base of the limbs, their connection with the pith can always be traced. This is the usual manner of bud formation ; in addition, so-called "adventitious " buds may be formed from the young living wood in later life, which are not connected with the pith. Such buds are those which develop into sprouts from the stump when the tree is cut; also those which give rise to what are known as "water sifrouts." Many buds, although formed, are, however, not developed at once, and perhaps not at all, especially as the tree grows older; these either die or remain "dormant," often for a hundred years, to spring into life when necessary (fig. 29). The fact that each ordinary limb starts as a bud from the pith is an important one to the timber grower; it explains knotty timber and gives him the hint that in order to obtain cleair timber the branches first formed must be soon removed, either by the knife or by proper shading, which kills the branches and thus " clears " the shaft. The planter has it also in his power to influence the form develoi^ment of the tree by removing Via. 29.— Buda of maple. A, longitudi- nal section through tip of a maple twig; f?, end bud; s, lateral buda; I, sears of leaves of lastsoa.son. B, cross section through end bud, showing folded leaves in center and scales sur- rounding them. HOW TREES GROW. 271 'ii3#sif('iiifii&; m Fig. 30. — Dormant bud K, on a 12-year-old branch of beech. The bud is still capable of development and is connected with the jnth, 7717/1, of the stem by a fine trace of pith, S. some of the buds, giving thereby better chauce to the remaining ones. This pruning of buds is, ■where practicable, often better practice than the pruning of limbs. Since the tree does not grow iu length except by its buds, it is evident that a limb which started to grow at the height of G feet has its base always 6 feet from the ground, and if allowed to grow to size, must be surrounded by the wood which accumulates on the main stem or trunk. If a liuib is killed and broken off early, only a slender stub composed entirely of rajiidly decaying sapwood is left, occasioning, therefore, only a small defect in the lieart of the tree; but if left to grow to considerable age, the base of the limb is incased by the wood of the stem, which, when the tree is cut into lumber, appears as a knot. The longer the limb has been allowed to grow the farther out is the timber knotty and the thicker is the knot. If the limb remained alive, the knot is " sound," closely grown together with the fibers of the tree. If the limb died off", the remain- ing stub may behave in different ways. In pines it will be largely com- posed of heartwood, very resinous and durable; separated from the fibers of the overgrowing wood, it forms a " loose" knot, which is ai)t to fall out of aboard, leaving a hole. In broad-leaved trees, where no resin assists in the process of healing, the stub is apt to decay, and this decay, caused by the growth of fungi, is apt to penetrate into the tree (fig. 3-!). In parks and orchards pruning is resorted to, and the cuts are painted or tarred to avoid the decay. Iu well-managed forests and dense woods in general the light is cut off, the limb is killed when young and breaks away, the shaft " clears it- self," and the sound trunk furnishes a good grade of material. The difference in development of the branch system, whether in full enjoyment of light, in open stand, or with the side light cut off, in dense position, is show'u in the accompanying illustration (fig. 33). Both trees start alike; the one retains its branches, the other loses them gradually, the stubs being iu time over- grown; finally, the second has a clear shaft, with a crown concentrated at the toj). while the first is beset with branches and branch stubs for its whole length (fig. 34). When ripped open lengthwise, the interior exhibits the condition shown in fig. 3G, the dead parts of the knot being indicated in heavier shading. Since the branches grow in more or less regular whorls, several knots, stumps, or limbs are met every (5 to 24 inches through the entire stem. Hence, in forest planting, trees are placed and kept for some time close together, in order to decrease the branching in the lower part of the tree and thus j)roduce a clean bole and clear lumber. Fio. 31 Section throngh a 12.year-old stem of beech, showing manner of bud and limb formation, a, dormant buds; 6, their trace of ])ith extending to the pith of the stem; c, a limb "which started two years ago from a dormant bud; d, normal litnb; e, a limb dead for four years ; /. adventitiona buds. F[Q. 32 Section through a partly decayed knot in oak wood, a, "wood of the knot; b and c, wood cal- lus of thesfem covering the wound ; shaded portion, decayed wood ; black part, a cavity remaining. 272 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. GROWTH IN THICKNESS. The young seedling and the young slioot of the older tree much resemble in interior structure that of any herbaceous i3lant, being composed of a large amount of pith, loose squarish cells, and a few bundles of long fibers symmetrically distributed about the center, the whole covered with a thin skin or epidermis. Bach strand or bundle of fibers, called fibro-vascular (fiber-vessel) bundles, consists of two kinds, namely, wood fibers on the inner side and bast fibers of different structure on the outer side. Between these two sets of fibers, the bast and the wood, there is a row of cells which form the really active, growing part of the plantlet, the cambium. Tlie cambium cells are actively subdividing and expanding, giving off wood cells to the interior and bast cells to the exterior, and extending at the same time sidewise, until at the end of the season not only are the Avood and bast portions increased in lines radiating from the center, but the cambium layer, the wood cells, and the bast cells of all the bundles (scattered at the beginning) join at the sides to form a complete ring, or rather cylinder, around the central pith. Only here and there the pith cells remain, interrupting the wood cylinder and giving rise to the system of cells known as medullary rays. The cross section now shows a comparatively small amount of pith and bast or bark and a larger body of strong wood fibers. The new shoot at the end, to be sure, has the same appearance and arrangement as the young plantlet had, the pith preponderating, and the continuous cylinder of cambium, bast, and wood being separated into strands or bundles. During the season, through the activity of the cambial part of the bundles, the same changes take place in the new shoot as did the previous year in the young seedling, while at the same time the cambium in the yearling part also actively subdivides, forming new wood and bast cells, and thus a second ring, or rather cylinder, is formed. The cambium of the young shoot is always a continuation of that of the ring or cylinder formed the year before, and this cambium cylinder always keeps moving outward, so that at the end of the season, when activity ceases, it is always the last minute layer of cells on the outside of the wood, between wood proper and bark. It is here, there- fore, that the life of the tree lies, and any injury to the cambium must interfere with the growth and life of the tree. The first wood cells which the cambium forms in the spring are usually or always of a more open structure, thin-walled, and with a large opening or "lumen" com- l)arable to a blown-up paper bag; so large, in fact, sometimes, is the "lumen" that the width of the cells can be seen on a cross section with the naked t ye, as, for instance, in oak, ash, elm, the so-called "pores" are this open wood formed in spring. The cells which are formed later in summer have mostly thick wall's, are closely crowded and compressed, and show a very small opening or "lumen," being comparable, perhaps, to a very thick, wooden box. They appear in the cross section not only denser but of a deeper color, on account of their crowded, compressed condition and thicker walls. Since at the beginning of the next season again thin-walled cells with wide openings or lumina are formed, this difference in the appearance of "spring wood" and "summer wood" enables us to distinguish the layer of wood formed each year. This "annual ring" is more consi>icuous in some kinds than in others. In the so-called "ring-porous" woods, like oak, ash, elm, the rings are easily distinguished by the open spring wood ; in the conifers. Fio. 33.— Dovelopiuent in and out of the forest young tree alike iu both cases ; B and C, stages of tree grown in tlie open ; B' and C, corre- sponding stages of the tree grown in the forest. !N umbers refer to annual growth in height. HOW TREES GROW. 273 especially pines, by the dark colored summer wo^id; while in maple, birch, tulip, etc., only a thin liue of flattened, hence darker and regularly aligned, summer cells, often hardly recognizable, distinguishes the rings from each other. Gutting through a tree, therefore, Ave can not only ascertain its age by counting its annual layers in the cross section, but also determine how much wood is formed each year (fig. 36). We can, in fact, retrace the history of its growth, the vicissi- tudes through which it has passed, by the record preserved in its ring growth. To ascertain the age of a tree correctly, however, we must cut so near to the ground- as to include the growth of the first year's little plantlet. Any section higher up shows as many years too few as it took the tree to reach that height. This annual-ring formation is the rule iu all countries which have distinct seasons of summer and winter and temporary cessation of growth. Only exceptionally a tree may fail to make its growth throughout the whole length, on account of loss of foliage and other causes, and occasion- ally, when its growth has been disturbed during the season, a "secondary" ring, resembling the annual ring, and distinguishable only by the ex- pert, may appear and mar the record. To the forest planter this chapter on ring growth is of great importance, because not only does this feature of tree life afford the means of watching the progress of his crop, calculating the amount of wood formed, and therefrom deter- mining when it is most profitable for him to har- vest (namely, when the annual or periodic wood growth falls below a certain amount), but since the proportion of summer wood and spring wood determines largely the quality of the timber, and since he has it in his j)ower to influence the pre- ponderance of the one or other by adaptation of species to soils and by their management, ring growth furnishes an index for regulating the quality of his crop. FORM DEVELOPMENT. If a tree is allowed to grow in the open, it has a tendency to branch, and makes a low and spreading crown. In order M lengthen its shaft and to reduce the number of branches it is necessary to narrow its growing space, to shade its sides so that the lower branches and their foliage do not receive light enough to j)erform their functions. When the side shade is dense enough these branches die and finally break off under the influence of winds and fungous growth; wood then forms over tlie scars and we get a clean shaft which carries a crown high up beyond the reach of shade from neighbors. The branches being prevented from spreading out, the shaft is forced to grow upward, and hence, when crowded by others, trees become taller and more cylindrical in form, while in the open, where they can spread, they remain lower and more conical in form (figs. 37 and 38). There are, to be sure, different natural types of development, some, like the walnuts, oaks, beeches, and the broad leafed trees generally, having greater tendency to spread than others, like spruces, iirs, and conifers in general, which lengthen their shaft iu preference to spreading, even in the open. This tendency to spreading is also influenced by soil conditions and climate, as well as by the age of the tree. When the trees cease to grow in height their crowns broaden, and this takes place sooner in shallow soils than in deep, moist ones; but tlie tendency can be checked and all can be made to develop the shaft at the expense of the branches by proper shading from the sides. H. Doc. 181 18 in ami out of the forest, D, tree grown in the open ; D', tree grown iu the forest. 274 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. It follows that the forest planter, who desires to produce long and clean shafts and best working quality of timber, must secure and maintain side shade by a close stand, while the landscape gardener, who desires characteristic form, must maintain an open stand and full enjoyment of light for his trees. ZSTow, as we have seen, different species afford different amounts of shade, and in proportion to the shade which they afford can they endure shade. The beech or sugar maple or spruce, which maintain a large amount of foliage under the dense shade of their own crown, show that their leaves can live and functionate with a small amount of light. They are shade-enduring trees. On the other hand, the black walnut, the locust, the catalpa, the poplars, and the larch show by the manner in which their crowns thin out, the foliage being con- fined to the ends of the branches, that their leaves require more light — they are light- needing trees; so that the scale which ar- ranges the trees ac- cording to the amount of shade they exert serves also to measure their shade endurance. In making, there- fore, mixed planta- tions the different kinds must be so grouped and managed that the shady trees will not outgrow and overtop the light need- ing. The latter must either have the start of the former or must be quicker growers. RATE OF GROWTH. Not only do different siDecies grow more or less rapidly in height and girth, but there is in each species a difference in the rate of growth during different periods of life and a difference in the per- sistence of growth. It stands to reason that trees grow differently in different soils and situations, and hence we can not comjjare different species with respect to their rate of growth except as they grow under the same conditions. Thus the black walnut may grow as fast as or faster than the ash on a rich, deep, moist, warm soil, but will soon fall to the rear in a wetter, colder, and shallower soil. Given the same conditions, some species will start on a rapid upward growth at once, like the poplars, aspen, locust, and silver maple, making rapid progress (the most rapid from their tenth to their fifteenth year), but decreasing soon in rate and reaching their maximum height early. Others, like the spruce, beech, and sugar maple, will begin slowly, often occupying several, Fig. 35. — Sections of logs .sbowing the relative development of Icuota. E, from tree grown m the open ; E' , from tree grown in a dense forest; a and c, whorls of knots; &, dead limb; .9fc " sound knot ; " dk, *■ dead knot." Fig. 36 Scheme to illustrate the ar- rangementof annual growth. 1, 2, 3, etc., represent the parts of the stem grown during the first, second, third, etc., twenty years of the life of the tree, fc, knots; the shaded part of each is the "dead knot" of lumljer. RATE OF GROWTH. 275 Fir- 3"— Oil tree . sometimes as many as 10 to 15, years before they appear to grow at all, their energy all going into root growth. Then comes a period of more and more accelerated growth, which reaches its maximum rate at 25 or 30 years; and when the Cottonwood or aspen has reached the end of its growth in height the spruce or pine is still at its best rate, and continues to grow for a long time at that rate. In later life the rate decreases, yet height growth sometimes does not cease altogether for centuries. As a rule, the light-needing species are the ones which show the rapid height growth at the start, while the shade enduring are slow at the start, but persistent growers. This fact is important in explaining the alternations of forest growth in nature; the i^ersistent shade-enduring species crowd out the light-needing, and the latter rapidly take possession of any openings that fire or storm has made. It is also important with reference to the manage- ment of wood crops and starting of mixed i^lantations ; the light- needing species must be mixed only with such shade-euduriug species as are slower growers than themselves. The diameter growth shows also periodic changes in its rate, and is, of course, influenced in the same way by soil, climate, and light conditions as the height growth. In the juvenile or brush stage, lasting 6 to 10 years in light- needing and 20 to 40 years in shade enduring species, the diame- ter grows comx)aratively little, all energy being directed to height growth and root growth. When the crown has been definitely formed more food material is available for wood formation, and the increase in foliage is accompanied by a more rapid increase of trunk diameter; in favorable situations the highest rate occurs between the fortieth and sixtieth years; in the poorer situations, between the fiftieth and eightieth years, which rate continues for some time. Then comes a i)eriod of slower rate, which finally in old age dwindles down almost to zero. But neither the diameter growth nor the width of the annual rings alone tells us directly what amount of wood is forming. The outer rings, being laid over a lai'ger circumference, although narrower than the preceding rings, may yet have greater cubic contents. The statements of diameter growth are, therefore, misleading if we ai-e interested in knowing how much wood is forming. Accordingly the growth in volume must be considered separately, as determined by the enlargement of the cross- section area and the height. The growth in volume or mass accretion is quite small in young trees, so that when wood is cut young the smallest amount of crop per year is harvested, while, if it is allowed to grow, an increase more than proportionate to the number of years may be obtained. Only when the tree has a fully developed crown does it begin to make much wood. Its volume growth progresses theu at compound interest, and continues to do so for decades, and sometimes for a century or more. On poorer sites the rate is slower, but remains longer on the increase, while on good sites the maximum rate is soou reached. Of course in a forest, where light conditions are not most favorable, because form development and soil conditions require shade, the total wood formation is less than in an isolated tree favorably placed. Just so the domi- nant trees in a forest — i. e., those which have their crowns above all others — show, of course, the advantage they have over the inferior trees which are suffering from the shade of their neighbors. Finally, if we would take into consideration an entire forest growth, and determine, for instance, how much wood an acre of such forest produces at different periods, we must not over- look the fact that the number of trees per acre changes as the trees grow older. Some of them are overshaded and crowded out by the others, so that a young growth of spruce might start with 100,000 little seedlings to the acre, of which in the twentieth year only 10,000 would be alive, Fk, s-M pi 276 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. while in the fortieth year the uumber would be reduced to 1,200, aud in the hundredth year to 280. Hence the rate of growth of any single tree gives no idea of what the acre of forest will do. Thus, while a single good white pine might grow the fastest in volume when about one hun- dred years old, then making wood at the rate of, say, 1.5 cubic feet per year, an acre of pine on good soil, containing about 1,600 trees, may make the most wood in the thirtieth year, then growing at the rate of 170 cubic feet per acre, while in the hundredth year the rate would not exceed 70 cubic feet; and an acre of pine in a poorer location, with about 1,400 trees, may make the most wood in the fortieth year, at the rate of 100 cubic feet per acre. From the consideration of the relation of light conditions to soil conditions, to form develop- ment, and to rate of growth, we may make the following deductions of interest to the forest planter: In order to secure the best results in wood production, in quantity and quality, at the same time preserving favorable soil conditions, the forest should be composed of various species, a mixture of ligUt-needing and shade enduring kinds. The light-needing ones should be of quicker growth; the shady ones, in larger numbers, should be slower growers. For the first fifteen to twenty-five years the plantation should be kept as dense as possible, to secure clear shafts and good growth in height; then it should be thinned, to increase crown development and diameter growth; the thinning, however, is not to be so severe that the crowns can not close up again in two or three years; the thinning is to be repeated again and again, always favoring the best developed trees. RATE OF GROWTH. ■ The more commonly cultivated trees may be classified with reference to their rate of growth, as follows : liapid growers to maturity: Cottonwood, aspen, tulip, loblolly pine, white pine, white elm, box elder, silver maple, jack pine. Rapid growing in youth, but much slower in age: Black cherry, long-leaf pine, short-leaf pine, catalpa, black walnut, black locust, honey locust, the birches. Slow but persistent growers: White ash, sugar maple, the oaks, the hickories, the spruces, and hemlock. REPRODUCTION. All trees reproduce themselves naturally from seed. Man can secure their reproduction also from cuttings or layers; and some kinds can reproduce themselves by shoots from the stump when the parent tree has been cut. This latter capacity is possessed in a varying degree by different species; chestnuts, oal;s, elms, maples, poplars, and willows are most excellent sprouters; most conifers do not sprout at all, and the shoots of those that do sprout soon die (Sequoia or California redwood seems to be an exception). Sprouts of broad-leafed trees develop differently from seedlings, growing very rapidly at first, but soon lessening in the rate of growth aud never attaining the height and perhaps not the diameter of trees grown from the seed; they are also shorter lived. With age the stumps lose their capacity for sprouting. To secure best results, tlie parent tree should be cut close to the ground in early spring, avoiding severe frost, aud a sharp cut should be made which will not sever the bark from the trunk. Not all trees bear seed every year, and plentiful seed production, especially in a forest, occurs, as a rule, periodically. The periods differ with species, climate, and season. Not all seeds can germinate, and in some species the number of seeds that can germinate is very small, and they loose their power of germination when kept a few hours, like the willows. Others, if kept till they have become dry, will "lie over" in the soil a year or more before germi- nating. The same thing will occur if they are covered too deep in the soil, provided they germinate at all under such conditions. In order to germinate, seeds must have warmth, air, and moisture. The preparation of a seed bed is, therefore, necessary in order to supply these conditions in most favorable combination. In the natural forest millions of seeds rot or dry without sprouting, and millions of seedlings sprout, but soon perish under the too dense shade of the mother trees. Man, desiring to reproduce a valuable wood crop, can not afford to be as lavish as nature, and must therefore improve upon nature's methods, making more careful preparation for the production FOREST PLANTING. 277 of his crop, either by growing the seedliugs in nurseries and' transplanting them, or else by cutting away the old growth in such a manner as to secure to the young self-grown crop better chances for life and development. How TO Plant a Forest. Forest planting and tree planting are two different things. The orchardist, who plants for fruit; tlie landscape gardener, who jilants for form; the roadside planter, who plants for shade, all have objects in view different from that of the forest i)lanter, and therefore select and use their plant material differently. They deal with single individual trees, each one by itself destined for a definite purpose. The forester, on the other hand, plants a crop like the farmer; he deals not with the single seed or plant, but with masses of trees; the individual tree has value to him only as a part of the whole. It may come to harvest for its timber, or it may not come to harvest, and yet have answered its purpose as a part of the whole in shading tbe ground or acting as nurse or "forwarder" as long as it was necessary. His object is not to grow trees, but to produce wood, the largest amount of the best quality per acre, whether it be stored in one tree or in many, and his methods must be directed to that end. As far as the manner of setting out plants or sowing seeds is concerned, the same general princiiiles and the same care in manipulation are applicable as in any other planting, except as the cost of ojierating on so large a scale may necessitate less careful methods than the gardener or nurseryman can afford to apply; the nearer, however, the performance of planting can be brought to the careful manner of the gardener, the surer the success. The principles underlying- such methods have been discussed in the chapter "How trees grow;" in the present chapter it is proposed to point out briefly the special considerations which should guide the forest planter in particular. WHAT TREES TO PLANT. Adaptability to climate is the first requisite in the species to be planted. It is best to choose from the native growth of the region which is known to be adapted to it. With regard to species not native, tbe reliance must be placed upon the experience of neighboring planters and upon experiment (at first on a small scale), after study of the requirements of tbe kinds proposed for trial. Adaptation must be studied, not only with reference to temperature ranges and rainfall, but especially with reference to atmospheric humidity and requirements of transpiration. Many species have a wide range of natural distribution, and hence of climatic adaptation. If such are to be used, it is important to secure seeds from that part of the range of natural distribution where the plants must be hardiest, i. e., the coldest and driest region in which it occurs, which insures hardy qualities in the offspring. For instance, the Douglas spruce from tbe humid and evenly tempered Pacific slope will not be as hardy as that grown from seed collected on the dry and frigid slopes of the Rockies. Lack of attention to this requisite accounts for many failures. It must also be kept in mind that while a species may be able to grow in another than its native climate, its wood may not there have the same valuable qualities which it develops in its native habitat. Adaptability to soil must be studied less with reference to mineral constituents than to phys- ical condition. Depth and moisture conditions, and the structure of the soil, which influences the movement of water in it, are tbe most important elements. While all trees thrive best in a moist to "fresh" soil of moderate depth (from 3 to 4 feet) and granular structure, some can adapt themselves to drier or wetter, shallow, and compact soils. Fissures in rocks into which the roots can penetrate often stand for depth of soil, and usually aid in maintaining favorable moisture con- ditions. In soils of great depth (i. e., from the surface to the impenetrable subsoil) and of coarse structure water may drain away so fast as not to be available to the roots. Soil moisture must always be studied in conjunction with atmospheric moisture, for while a species may thrive in an arid soil, when the demands of transpiration are not great, it may not do so when aridity of atmosphere is added. Trees of tbe swamp are apt to be indifferent to soil moisture and to thrive quite well, if not better, in drier soils. Adaptahility to site. — While a sijecies may be well adapted to the general climatic conditions of a region, and in general to the soil, there still remaius to be considered its adaptability to the 278 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. particular " site," under which term we may comprise the total effect of general climate, local climate, and soil. The general climatic conditions are locally influenced, especially by the slope, exposure, or aspect, and the surroundings. Thus we know that eastern exposures are more liable to frost, western exposures more liable to damage from winds, southern more apt to be hot and to dry out, and northern to be cooler and damper, having in consequence a shorter period of vegeta- tion. Hollows and lowlands are more exposed to frosts and more subject to variations in soil moisture, etc. Hence for these various situations it is advisable to select vSi^ecies which can best withstand such local dangers. The use value, or utility, of the species is next to be considered. This must be done with reference to the commercial and domestic demand, and the length of time it takes the species to attain its value. The greater variety of purposes a wood may serve — i. e., the greater its general utility — and the sooner it attains its use value, the better. White pine for the northeastern States as a wood is like the apple among fruits, making an all-round useful material in large quantities per acre in short time. Tulip poplar, applicable to a wider climatic range, is almost as valuable, while oak, ash, and hickory are standard woods in the market. Other woods are of limited application. Thus the black locust, which grows most quickly into useful posts, has only a limited market, much more limited than it should have; hickory soon furnishes valuable hoop poles from the thinnings, and later the best wagon material, not, however, large quantities in a short time; while black walnut of good quality is very high in price, the market is also limited, and the dark color of the heartwood, for which it is prized, is attained only by old trees. The black cherry, used for similar purposes, attains its value much sooner. By planting various species together, variety of usefulness may be secured and the certainty of a market increased. The forest value of the species is only in part expressed by its use value. As has been shown in another place, the composition of the crop must be such as to insure maintenance of favorable soil conditions as well as satisfactory develoi^ment of the crop itself. Some species, although of high use value, like ash, oak, etc., are poor preservers of soil conditions, allowing grass and weeds te enter the plantation and to deteriorate the soil under their thin foliage. Others, like beech, sugar maple, box elder, etc., although of less use value, being dense foliaged and preserving a shady crown for a long time, are of great forest value as soil improvers. Again, as the value of logs dejiends largely on their freedom from knots, straightness, and length, it is of importance to secure these qualities. Some valuable species, if grown by themselves, make crooked truuks, do not clean their shafts of branches, and are apt to spread rather than lengthen. If planted in close companionship with others, they are forced by these "nurses" or "forwarders'' to make better growths and clean their shafts of branches. Furthermore, from iinancial considerations, it is well to know that some species develop more rapidly and produce larger quantities of useful material per acre than others; thus the white pine is a "big cropper," and combining with this a tolerably good shading quality, and being in addition capable of easy reproduction, it is of highest "forest value." Hence, as the object of forestry is to make money from continued wood crops, use value and forest value must both be considered in the selection of materials for forest planting. Mutual relationship of different species, with reference especially to their relative height growth and their relative light requirements, must be considered in starting a mixed plantation. Mixed forest plantations (made of several kinds) have so many advantages over pure planta- tions (made of one kind) that they should be pi-eferred, except for very particular reasons. Mixed plantations are capable of producing larger quantities of better and more varied material, preserve soil conditions better, are less liable to damage from winds, fires, and insects, and can be more readily reproduced. The following general rules should guide in making up the comijositiou of a mixed plantation : a. Shade-enduring kinds should form the hulk (five-eighths to seven-eighths) of the plantation, except on specially favored soils, where no deterioration is to be feared from planting only light-needing kinds, and in which case these may even be planted by themselves. T). The light-needing trees should be surrounded by shade-enduring of slower growth, so th.it the former may not be overtopped, bxit have the necessary light and be forced by side shade to straight growth, 279 FOREST PLANTING. ■n n,lmiKt«re with each other wheu their rate of height growth is c. Shade-enduring species maybe grown m ^^-l^^^t^'^^^j;;^ l„^,^^, ,^, quicker-growing (for instance, hy Sri:jrl -X;So^:^=;~-^^ .„ ..po.ed iudi.idna.y and l^^^::::^::^:^^::^^^^^----^ - .ttercan he tinned out ^r. without ^'^^t:i::::Me. .. ..... .asons p.event^ ^^^ 1:^^ t^rS^: ^1^ needing- rapui growing species may be usec^^^^^^^^^^ plantation, provided the remaining trees ai e d-P^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I, tkis case the rapid-growing Z^Z:^^^:^^.:':^^^:^^^-^ - permanent trees and to protect be greatly improved by ^^jf/Pf^^^^^^^i^^;^" J^^^ee the growth of the plantation. each other and to the soil are the most jortante^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^ Aimilahility of the species also still needs .*^o"^"™ ^i^^^^lt to obtain material species may be very well adapted to the purpose inland l^^^J^^^ T^tL best species for for planting in quantity or f JXteVreSngTc^n n t be htll as yet in quantity. Western shade endurance, and hence foi soil ^-^J^l^^'^^'^^ ,^^tiug, are at present too high priced for conifers, although promising good °^^^*^"^i,J°^f !"'* ^ their seed or seedlings-from the general ^^^X::^^:^^^^^^-^ '^ ^^^^^ '^ ''' ''''■ . f native woods; otheis must oe ^io« u depends upon a number of Wkemer to procure .seeds or pU^^^ rfurnsh tie better 'timber, had best be planted ::^rr:s^grr;=r^r:?ir^«^^ woodsor grown in seedbeds,^ or dse cuttingly ^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ In some localities-for instance, the ^^"^'^'^ J;" ^ jj^,^^ r o,. two so precarious ..M i. ,0 .".C"t™. and *^.e » J'- >-»"f J^rX"' l' .uct L»«o,» c,,ef,.I selection r :;:::::.' o»i; ;ri:;i«Hra»»o,,,i,,. .. *!,. ha„,s.ips ,.,«. it „„,.. enc„u„te, »« alone insure success. f„„„i«ii tl,P best material. The planting of larged-sized r:;:;s":e"r;::tgrsiLr.'r:e1s^t..,»seagreate.propo,.io„o,..svo.tsint,a„sp..,..n.. IMBTHODS OF PLANTINa. .• •; ■<, f^,. ih^ nnrnose of securing a favorable start for the young crop; its PreparaUon o -»';^„/^; .f^^^^ f ^^ fan! that is to be devoted to forest planting does effects are lost after the first tew > ears, xuosi w nnr ;= it necessarv where the climate not admit of as careful preparation as tor -^^^'l^f'^'fjl'^''^^^^^^^ itself. r::r;err.":i:2cSt «.Vor;::,es„'i« to, o. .. ro„o.s „e t.^™ .,p .o^ special methods are required. The best methods for i^an ng in the l^^^^J^^ ^,,^ tl West have not yet been developed. Thorough f *-^ °"' J ,^^^f ; ™ eon ist iu subsequent culture, is successful, but expensive. A plan which might be triea wo . 280 FORESTEY INVESTIGATIONS V. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. breaking the raw prairie in Jnne and turning over a sliallow sod, sowing a crop of oats or alfalfa, harvesting it with a high stubble, then opening furrows for planting and leaving the ground between furrows undisturbed, so as to secure the largest amount of drainage into the furrows and a mulch between the rows. The time for planting depends on climatic and soil conditions and the convenience of the planter. Spring planting is preferable except in southern latitudes, especially in the West, where the winters are severe and the fall apt to be dry, the soil therefore not in favorable condition for planting. The time for fall planting is after the leaves have fallen; for spring planting, before or just when life begins anew. In order to be ready in time for spring ijlanting, it is a good practice to take up the plants in the fall and "heel them in "over winter (covering them, closely packed, in a dry trench of soil). Conifers can be planted later in spring and earlier in fall than broad-leafed trees. , The density of the trees is a matter in which most planters fail. The advantages of close planting lie in the quicker shading of the soil, hence the better i^reservation of its moisture and improved growth and form development of the crop. These advantages must be balanced against the increased cost of close planting. The closer the j)lanting the sooner will the jjlantation be self-sustaining and the surer the success. If planted in squares, or, better still, in quincunx order (the trees in every other row alter- nating at equal distances), which is most desirable on account of the more systematic work possible and the more complete cover which it makes, the distance should not be more than 4 feet, unless for special reasons and conditions, while 2 feet apart is not too close, and still closer planting is done by natui'e with the best success. The following numbers of trees per acre are required when i)lanting at distances as indicated: l+by lifeet 19,360 U by 2 feet 14,520 2 by 2 feet 10,890 2 by 3 feet 7, 260 2 by 4 feet 5,445 3 by 3 feet 4, 840 3 by 4 feet 3,630 4 by 4 feet 2,722 To decrease expense, the bulk of the plantation may be made of the cheapest kinds of trees that may serve as soil cover and secondary or nurse crop, the main crop of from 300 to COO trees to consist of better kinds and with better planting material, mainly of light-needing species. These should be evenly disposed through the plantation, each closely surrounded by the nurse croj). It is of course understood that not all trees grow up; a constant change in numbers by the death (or else timely removal) of the overshaded takes place, so that the final crop shows at 100 years a close cover, with hardly 300 trees to the acre. After-culture is not entirely avoidable, especially under unfavorable climatic conditions and if the planting was not close enough. Shallow cultivation between the rows is needed to prevent weed growth and to keep the soil open until it is shaded by the young trees, which may take a year with close planting and two or three years with rows 4 by 4 feet ajiart, the time varying also with the species. It is rare that a plantation succeeds in all its parts; gaps or fail places occur, as a rule, and must be filled in by additional planting as soon as possible if of larger extent than can be closed up in a few years by the neighboring growth. When the soil is protected by a complete leaf canopy, the forest crop may be considered as established, and the after-treatment will consist of judicious thinning. The diagrams following present planting schemes illustrative of the rules given above, the species being adapted to planting on the Western plains. 281 FOREST PLANTING. Rules 1 and 2.— One acre planted 3 iy 3 feet requires 4,S40 trees. B M B M B M B M B M B M 15 M B M B M M M Ch M D M L M D M Cli M D M E M O B M B M B M B M B M B M B JI B M B M M L M D M C M D M L M U INI C 51 D M L B M B M B M B M B M B MB M B M B M M D M L M V M Ch M U M L M P M Ch M D B M B M B M B M B M B M B M B M B M M C M D M E M D M C M D M L M V> M C B M B M B M B M B M B M B M B M B M M P M Ch M D M C M P M Ch M D M L M P B M B M B M B M B M B M B M B M ]5 M M L M D M C M D M L M I) M C M D M L B M B M B M B M B M B M B M B M B M M D M E M P M Ch M B JI L M P M L M D B M B M B M B M B M B M B M B M B M M C M D M L M D M C M D M L M D M C B M B M B M B M B M B M B M B M B M M O M Ch M D M L M P M Ch M B M S M Shade enduring. Trees. 1 210 B-Box elder. '.v "':":/.::.'.':::. 2, i2o M— Russian mulberry ' D— Douglas spruce Ch— Black cherry C — Catalpa -. Light demanding. L— Black locust P — Bull pine " O — Bur oak ,„ , , -- 4,840 Total Ill tbis mixture the boxelder and Eussian mulberry trees are the nurse trees, aud it may be necessary to cut them all out within from teu to tweuty years. They will not have attained more than stake or small fuel size in that time, but by shading the remaining trees on the sides they will have prevented their formation of side branches, and thus forced them to straight single stems. J. ^■ ^ T r After the removal of the nurse trees there will remain 1,210 trees to the acre, standing b by b feet apart Of these the pine, oak, and locust, numbering 454, are more light demanding than the •spruce, cherry, and catalpa, which number 75G. It will be observed that each of these hght- demauding trees is neighbored by more shade-enduring kinds. The next trees to be removed will be the locusts and catalpas, which sliould be tit for fence posts by the time the plantation becomes sufficiently crowded to make their removal necessary. The cutting of these, when between 15 and 30 years old, will leave 756 trees per acre, of which oaks, pines, and cherry (which demands more light with age), making two-fifths of the whole number, will be light demanding, and the spruce shade enduring. The thinning from now on will depend entirely upon the requirements of the standing trees, the purpose of getting the greatest possible amount of timber of the highest quality as the final crops being kept constantly iu view. 282 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. This discussion of the plan is based upon the impossible supposition that all the tiees will live until cut out. Much thinning, in point of fact, will result from the dying of trees, so that the ideal perfect stand is never reached in practice. The scheme indicated, it is perhaps needless to add, is given merely to illustrate the practice, and can be adapted to any suitable species which the i^lanter may be able to secure. One acre planted 3 bij 3 feet requires i,S40 trees. a a a a a a a a a a asac:asacas aaaaaaaaaa APAPAPASAP AAAAAAAAAA A SAC A SAGAS AAAAAAAAAA APASAPASAP AAAAAAAAAA A S A c: A S A C A S Trees. A— Aspen 3,630 S— White spruce 605 C— Red cedar i 302 P— White pine 303 Total ■. 4,840 This plan illustrates the use of a rapid-growing light demanding species (aspen) as a protection for several conifers which are dififlcult to establish in the open, esiiecially in the plains. It will be noticed that two of the conifers, the spruce and cedar, are shade-enduring sijecies, and that the light-demanding pines will be surrounded by the shaders when the aspen has been cut out. This use of the aspen as a soil cover was suggested by an examination of cut-over pine land in northern Minnesota, where the aspen (juickly takes the ground when the pine is removed, and the pine seedlings appear thickly under its protection. It will be observed that, taking out the aspen, the plan is based on the same principles of light influence as is the plan above. PLANTING IN AVASTE PLACES. Aside from the fence rows, which are usually the worst weed beds of the fai'm, there are many small areas in the average ftirm which from a variety of causes are unprofitable for cropping. These may well be planted to trees. In the most favored region the farm "of which every foot is arable" is seldom seen. Even on the richest of i^rairie farms the crests of the rolling surface are apt to become impoverished after years of tillage in spite of the best efforts of the farmer, and when the crops fail to pay for the labor expended on them the land is as surely "waste" as though it were undrained swamp or rocky hillside. In the less densely populated parts of the country, where land is cheap, the fields are abandoned when this stage is reached. In the East and South, where the entire country was once covered with forest, natural reforestation soon takes place, and in a few years the old fields are clothed with pines, spruces, and deciduous trees, the varieties being dependent upon the adjacent growth. Within this area the farmer can always conti'ol the character of the forest growths on the waste lands of his farm, either by planting or by use of the ax, or both, and there is oftentimes great need of good judgment in cutting out inferior trees or undesirable varieties. Pew farmers seem to have realized the great value of a close-planted, dense-foliaged grove as a conservator of moisture. The snows accumulating in such groves are shaded from the sun, and long after the adjacent fields are bare the snow is slowly melting and the water trickling down over the plowed fields, which are thus thoroughly saturated. The summer rains are also saved to the farm by the same means. Following the deej)-descending roots of the trees, they ay^ PLANTING WASTE PLACES. 283 retained in the lower strata of the soil auil then pass to the adjoining lauds and are brought within reach of the growing plants. It is not to be supposed that limited plantations, confined to the waste places of the farm, would have an appreciable ett'ect on the general climate of a region, for the influences must be great that can afiect atmospheric conditions over a wide area. Locally, however, the planting of hilltops and the consequent heightening of elevations will often result in the creation of air currents that will prevent cold air from settling in the lowlands between, thus obviating late spring and early autumn frosts, and this protection can be made more efficient if the coniiguratiou of the neighboring lands be studied with a view to creating the strongest possible draft. In regions where tender vegetables and fruits are largely cultivated such j)rotection may be of primary importance, and the clearing of adjoining hill crests and slopes will often result in serious disturbance of the local climate. In general, the climatic conditions of the forested area of the country are less extreme than those of the plains, but with the record of the three recent drought years the need of moisture conservation is apparent alike in the East and West. While in the West the thin-soiled ridges are best devoted to tree growth for wind-breaks and snow catches, throughout the Eastern and Southern States such localities should be kept in trees for the prevention of erosion or gullying, one of the most troublesome results of tillage. The general action of the elements in uneven or rolling surfaces invariably tends to carry the more fertile toj) mold of the higher ground, or at least the decaying vegetation on the surface, to the lower levels, which thus relatively increase in fertility at the expense of the elevations above them. In addition to this general tendency there have been deposited throughout the North- western States, by glacial and water action, drift soils containing a great quantity of bowlders, which are especially thick on the high ridges, making their cultivation very expensive. In many localities throughout the Mississippi Valley the trend of the underlying strata of rocks is uj^ward, often coming so close to the surface in the ridge lands as to render them worthless for cultivation. Along many river and creek valleys the hills which confine the lowlands rise so abruptly as to make cultivation impracticable. These and many other special cases which might be mentioned constitute the waste highlands of farms, all of which should be devoted to forest-tree culture. Trees, as has been seen, can exist and make a profitable growth on lands too poor to support farm crops, if the leaves, twigs, and fruit be permitted to lie on the ground and decay. When planted in the thin soil of a limestone hill crest, they may make very slow growth during the first few years; but as the soil becomes shaded by the tree toiJS the growth becomes more rapid, and when the trees have attained a strong foothold, their roots penetrating the crevices of the rocks to the water below, they grow with additional vigor. Yet, it is not to be expected that as vigorous growth can be secured in these high waste places as in the lower, moist, and deep soils. One has only to recall the general character of the waste places of the farm to realize how little can be gained from cropping them. Tlie ridge soils are too thin to support a growth of cereal crops; the swamp soils are too wet for tillage; the cultivation of irregular plats of small extent becomes too expensive, by reason of the difficulties of plowing, seeding, and harvesting. Once in trees, these difficulties are reduced to a minimum. The thin soils of the ridges are protected from the weather by the tree crowns, and their decaying foliage gradually increases the fertility of the soil. The odd corners and fence rows of American farms represent in the aggregate a great quantity of unproductive land, which might be planted to trees. Such limited areas, often composed of but a few square rods or very narrow strips, can not be treated as forests, but trees must be grown on them for special purposes, in which timber production will hardly be considered. The highways throughout the farming districts of the United States may be bordered witli trees, which, while giving shade, may be used as living fence posts, or may become valuable nut orchards, but in any event will afford protection, in winter and summer alike, to tlie traveler and to the adjacent fields. In Minnesota, Wyoming, and other Western States the highways are at least 66 feet wide, and often a hundred. These tracts, separated only by wire fences from the cultivated fields, are not merely waste lands, but for the most part veritable j)ropigating beds for noxious weeds, which cause much loss to the farmer. Try as he may, he can not protect his lands from Russian thistle, mustard, and the numerous other weed pests so long as these broad highways exist as a seeding ground for them. If they were j)lanted to trees, with a vigorous 284 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U.- S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. uudergiowtb to protect the surface of the soil, they would not only make any weed growth impossible, but would also be a poteut means of preventing the dissemination of weeds from one section to another, by arresting them when carried by the winds. In many of the Western States the farmer is permitted by law thus to plant a portion of the highway with trees. Yet another form of waste land is to be considered, and here the farmer living within the forest area is much more concerned than the prairie dweller. Had the adaptability of soils to tillage been made the basis of clearing lands in the early days, there would be less talk of "thin" soils now, for on many farms lands were cleared which should never have been stripped of their iirst cover. Steep hillsides, rocky slopes, highlands with hardly a foot of soil between the surface and the underlying rock, have been denuded of their forest cover, and their subsequent tillage has been all but profitless to the farmer. With constant cropping they have become so impover- ished that their cultivation has been abandoned. Yet they have still enough fertility to support a vigorous tree growth. On many New England farms such thin lands have been planted to white pine with the most encouraging results. In many rocky, drift, eroded, and exhausted hill farms there is a depth of soil sufficient for the requirements of all varieties of trees, and the farmer within the forest area has thus a wide range of choice in the selection of trees. He may grow timber for railroad ties, for posts, for telegraph poles, for lumber, and for many other purxjoses, using the species that is best adapted to his need and to his locality. In the Southern States the loblolly and short-leaf pines can be quite as readily grown as the white pine at the North. The loblolly seems to consider the abandoned fields its heritage, for throughout the lower Atlantic and Gulf States it quickly covers the old fields with its seedlings, which grow rapidly. THE FARM NURSERY. When such species as catalpa, box elder, black locust, green ash, white elm, and silver maple can be bought for less than $2 per thousand for strong 1-year-old plants, it would seem cheaper to purchase than to grow from seed. But with land, tools, and teams at hand, a forest-tree nursery can be cultivated at very little expense, and the farmer, by gathering seed of the native trees, and purchasing desirable seeds not to be had at home, can grow on a fraction of an acre seedlings enough for an extensive plantation. Of the broad-leafed trees, the silver maples, elms, poplars, cottonwood, aspen, and willows ripen their seeds before midsummer. These should be planted as soon as ripe, care being taken not to cover the small seeds too deep. They will germinate in a few days, and by autumn will be of a size suitable for transplanting. Of the species whose seeds ripen in autumn, those of the tulip, catalpa, honey locust, black locust, and Kentucky coffee tree should be thrashed from their pods when gathered and kept over winter in a cool place where they will neither dry out nor mold. Birch seeds soon lose their vitality if permitted to dry, and they should be stored in close boxes or jars and kept over winter in a cool cellar. When the soil is moist in the fall, birch may be sown before the ground freezes, but in the dry soil of the plains the seeds should be kept over winter. They must be sown in beds shaded as for conifers, and covered very lightly. The seed usually ripens in August in the Northern woods, and should be gathered at once, separated, and stored until iDlauting time. The sprouting of the seeds of other broad-leafed trees of the Northern forest flora is hastened by subjecting them to the action of frost. This is accomplished either by fall planting or by mixing the seeds with sand and placing them in boxes on the north side of an outbuilding or other protection from the sun, whence they should be planted as soon as possible in the spring, or even, when the ground is sntticiently thawed out, in late winter. The nuts and acorns may be simply spread on a well-drained surface and protected from drying by a few inches of leaves held down by boards; but they are more subject to the depredations of rodents when thus disposed of. The seeds of fruit trees, such as cherry, mulberry, osage orange, wild crab apple, and hawthorn, should be separated from the jjulp by maceration and washing before storing. Cherry and mulberry seeds ripen during the summer, and as the fruit is much relished by birds, watchfulness is necessary to get them. They may be slightly dried after washing, and then mixed with sand. Some seeds, notably those of the hawthorns, are apt to lie over two or more years. Germination of such refractory seeds is hastened by soaking in water continuously for a week or more before planting. THE FARM NURSERY. 285 Wlieu the soil is moist iu the fall, the seeds of all trees which ripen after midsunimer may be l^lanted, aud thus the labor of storing is saved. But spring planting is usually more satisfactory, because uniform conditions can be better maintained where the seeds have been properly stored. The soil is also usually in the best condition for receiving the seeds in the spring, and lighter covering is possible. It must be remembered that the seed of the oaks, nuts, and cherries must not be permitted to become thoroughly dry. Chestnut, beech, and the oaks are especially delicate in this respect, so that with these species it is always safest to plant as soon as the seed is ripe. The forest-tree nursery should be placed in deep, moist, well-drained loam, and should be thoroughly cultivated. It should be so arranged as to reduce hand work to a minimum. All the tree seeds except birch and the conifers, which must be grown under screens, can be sown in drills, 3 or i feet apart, thus making horse cultivation possible. Hand weeding is important, for the tiny seedlings of many trees are very delicate, and the more vigorous grasses will quickly choke them out if left unprotected. Where a large nursery is made, frequent use of the harrow-toothed cultivator is most desirable, for it keeps a dust blanket on the surface of the soil which prevents excessive evaporation and insures the most perfect soil conditions obtainable through culture. Prompt attention is a requisite of successful nursery management. Seedlings of box elder, silver maple, red maple, catalpa, black locust, and cottonwood are rampant growers the first season, and their growth may be checked, to make transplanting less difficult, by sowing the seed thick in broad drills. Black wild cherry, the elm, the 'ash, honey locust, black walnut, tulip, crab apple, hackberry, linden, and coffee tree are of moderate growth and easily attain transplanting size the first year. The oaks and the nut trees generally, hard maple, beech, and hawthorn will usually be benefited by remaining two or three years iu the nursery. The birches should be transplanted from the seed bed to the nursery row the sec(md year, and set in permanent forest the third. While the cone beariug trees are more difiticult to manage than the broad-leafed species, it will be found advantageous to the farmer to grow his own conifers. Not only are coniferous trees (pines, spruces, cedars, larches, etc.) more diflicult to transplant, but they are disastrously affected by the drying of their roots; and in the operations of commercial nurseries — digging, storing, and packing — as well as in transit, tliere is more or less danger from this cause. It will frequentlj^ happen, too, that plants thus injured, unless the injury be very severe indeed, will appear in good condition when received, so that the purchaser accepting them will be disappointed in his stand, whatever care he takes in planting the stock. Even should the cost of growing the cone-bearing trees be more than it would cost to purchase them, as will often be the case if the time of the grower be considered, the trees will prove cheaper in the end, because favorable weather can be chosen for transplanting them; they can be dug as needed, and absolutely protected from drying out during the brief interval between digging and planting. Farmers living adjacent to the pineries can easily secure seed by gathering the cones just before they burst open and spreading them in a thin layer until sufliciently dry to open, when the seed will fall out. The same method is used in securing all seeds save the red cedar, the fruit of which is a gummy berry. The berries of the cedar should be soaked for several days in water, then rubbed together to remove as much of the gum as possible, when tliey may be planted or mixed in sand and kept frozen during winter. A bath in weak lye will hasteu the cleaning process. The seeds of the remaining conifers are kept dry over winter. They can be purchased of leading seedsmen throughout the country, and, as a rule, come true to name, though difiiiculty regarding the Eocky Mountain species is sometimes experienced. As seeds lose their vitality to a consider- able degree the second year, and to a much greater degree thereafter, it is important to secure them fresh. A well-drained, preferably sandy, loam should be chosen and the seed bed prepared as is usual for cold frames, so that as soon as the seed is planted the bed can be shaded. It should be open to the air on all sides, and the seed may be sown broadcast in the bed, or in drills a few inches apart. The seed should be covered but little, if any, more than its own depth. Pine, spruce, and Douglas spruce seed usually germinates in eighteen to twenty days, red cedar in two to six months, and 286 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. larch in twenty to thirty days. Shortly after the trees are up, or at any time dnriug the tirst sum- mer, a disease called "damping off" is liable to attack them. This is a fungous growth, and results in the decay of the tiny seedlings at the ground. It is often very destructive. The only remedy is to sow clean dry sand among the seedlings and withhold water for a few days. This is not always effective, but it will usnally check the disease. The shade for the seed bed is variously made. In the large nurseries it is usually a shed, roofed and sided with laths, but this would be too expensive for a farm nursery. Useful shades are made by laying brush across supports or by bunches of rushes or swamp grass similarly jjlaced, but of course these are more difficult to keep in order. Where i^roper attention is paid to ventil- ation, an inexpensive shade can be made by tacking cheap sheeting to a frame to rest upon supports running along the side of the bed. It may be advisable sometimes to purchase one or two year old seedlings from reliable growers. They should be planted, in shaded beds, about 3 inches apart, in rows to 12 inches apart. It will be necessary to keep them shaded one to three years, according to their rate of growth. The oftener the cone-bearing trees are transplanted before being set permanently the better, as by this process the growth of fibrous roots close to the collar is encouraged. Especial care must be taken in handling conifers to prevent their roots from drying in the least, as whenever the roots dry it is almost impossible to make the trees live. The seedlings should be packed in damp moss at the nursery, and as soon as received the roots should be puddled in liquid mud and heeled in in a shaded place. The heeling in should be carefully done, the line soil pressing close upon the roots, but not covering the tops. In a shaded place the trees may be left thus iTutil the roots begin growth. In planting it is best to carry the trees in a bucket, with just enough water to cover the roots. They should be planted firmly and be well trampled, and a little loose soil dusted over the trampled surface to prevent baking. JSTo tree should be set much deeper than it stood before, and this is specially important in transplanting conifers. Conifers are ready for setting in plantations when from two to six years old. Larches can usually be set when two or three years old, the pines and cedars when from three to five years old, and the spruces when from four to six years. How TO Treat the Wood Lot. In the northeastern States it is the custom to have connected with the farm a piece of virgin woodland, commonly called the wood lot. Its object jDrimarily is to supply the farmer with the firewood, fence material, and such dimension timbers as he may need from time to time for repairs on buildings, wagons, etc. As a rule, the wood lot occupies, as it ought to, the poorer part of the farm, the rocky or stony, the dry or the wet portions, which are not well fitted for agricultural crops. As a nrle, it is treated as it ought not to be, if the intention is to have it serve its purpose continuously; it is cut and culled without regard to its reproduction. As far as firewood supplies go, the careful farmer will first use the dead and dying trees, broken limbs, and leavings, which is quite proper. The careless man avoids the extra labor which such material requires, and takes whatever splits best, no matter whether the material could be used for better j)urposes or not. When it comes to the cutting of other material, fence rails, posts, or dimension timber, the general rule is to go into the lot and select the best trees of the best kind for the purpose. This looks at first sight like the natural, most practical way of doing. It is the method which the lumberman pursues when he "culls" the forest, and is, from his point of view perhaps, justifiable, for he only desires to secure at once what is most profitable in the forest. But for the farmer who i)r-oposes to use his wood lot continuously for supplies of this kind, it is a method detrimental to his object, and in time it leaves him with a lot of poor, useless timber which encumbers the ground and prevents the growth of a better crop. Our woods are mostly composed of many species of trees; they are mixed woods. Some of the species are valuable for some si:)ecial purposes, others are applicable to a variety of purposes, and again others furnish but poor material for anything but firewood, and even for that use they may not be of the best. IMPROVING THE CROP. 287 Among the most valuable in the northeastern woods we should mention the white pine— king of all— the white ash, white and chestnut oak, hickories, tulip tree, black walnut, and black cherry, the last three being now nearly exhausted; next, spruce and hemlock, red pine, sugar maple, chestnut, various oaks of the black or red oak tribe, several species of ash and birch, black locust; lastly, elms and soft maples, basswood, poplars, and sycamore. Now, by the common practice of culling the best it is evident that gradually all the best trees of the best kinds are taken out, leaving only inferior trees or inferior kinds— the weeds among trees, if one may call them such— and thus the wood lot becomes well-nigh useless. It does not supply that for which it was intended ; the soil, which was of little use for anything but a timber crop before, is still further deteriorated under this treatment, and being compacted by the constant running of cattle, the starting of a crop of seedlings is made neariy impossible. It would not pay to turn it into tillage ground or pasture; the farm has by so much lost in value. In other words, instead of using the interest on his capital, interest and capital have been used up together; the goose that laid the golden egg has been killed. This is not necessary if only a little system is brought into the management of the wood lot and the smallest care is taken to avoid deterioration and secure reproduction. IMPKOA'EMENT CtlTTIKGS. The first care should be to improve the crop in its composition. Instead of culling it of its best material, it should be culled of its weeds, the poor kinds, which we do not care to reproduce, and which, like all other weeds, propagate themselves only too readily. This weeding must not, however, be done all at once, as it could be in a field crop, for in a full-grown piece of woodland each tree has a value, even the weed trees, as soil cover. The great secret of success in all crop production lies in the regulating of water supplies; the manuring in part and the cultivating entirely, as well as drainage and irrigation, are means to this end. In forestry these means are usually not practicable, and hence other means are resorted to. The principal of these is to keep the soil as much as possible under cover, either by the shade which the foliage of the tall trees furnishes, or by that from the underbrush, or by the litter which accumulates and in decaying forms a humus cover, a most excellent mulch. A combination of these three conditions, viz, a dense crown cover, woody underbrush where the crown cover is interrupted, and a heavy layer of well-decomposed humus, gives the best result. Under such conditions, first of all, the rain, being intercepted by the foliage and litter, reaches the ground only gradually, and therefore does not compact the soil as it does in the open field, but leaves it granular and open, so that the water can readily penetrate and move in the soil. Secondly, the surface evaporation is considerably reduced by the shade and lack of air circulation in the dense woods, so that more moisture remains for the use of the trees. When the shade of the crowns overhead (the so-called "crown cover," or "canopy,") is perfect but little undergrowth will be seen; but where the crown cover is interrupted or imperfect an undergrowth will appear. If this is composed of young trees, or even shrubs, it is an advantage, but if of weeds, and especially grass, it is a misfortune, because these transpire a great deal more water than the woody plants and allow the soil to deteriorate in structure and therefore in water capacity. Some weeds anil grasses, to be sure, are capable of existing where but little light reaches the soil. When they appear it is a sign to the forester that he must be careful not to thin out the crown cover any more. When the more light-needing weeds and grasses appear it is a sign that too much light reaches the ground, and that the soil is already deteriorated. If this state continues, the heavy drain which the transpiration of these weeds makes upon the soil moisture, without any appreciable conservative action by their shade, will injure the soil still further. The overhead shade or crown cover maybe imperfect because there are not enough trees on the ground to close up the interspaces witJi their crowns, or else because the kinds of trees which make up the forest do not yield much shade; thus it can easily be observed that a beech, a sugar maple, a hemlock is so densely foliaged that but little light reaches the soil through its crown canopy, while an ash, an oak, a larch, when full grown, in the forest, allows a good deal of light to penetrate. Hence, in our weeding process for the improvement of the wood crop, we must be careful not to interrupt the crown cover too much, and thereby deteriorate the soil conditions. And for the 288 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. same reiisou, in the selection of the kinds that are to be left or to be taken out, we sUall not only consider tbeir use value, but also their shading value, trying to bring about such a mixture of shady and less shady kinds as will insure a continuously satisfactory crown cover, the shade- enduring kinds to ocfupy the lower stratum in the crown canopy, and to be more numerous than the light-needing. The forester, therefore, watches first the conditions of his soil cover, and his next care is for the condition of the overhead shade, the "crown cover;" for a change in the (condition of the latter brings change into his soil conditions, and, inversely, from the changes in the i)lant cover of the soil be judges whether he mayor may not change the light conditions. The changes of the soil cover teach him more often when "to let alone" than when to go on with his operations of thinning out; that is to say, he can rarely stop short of that condition which is most favorable. Hence the improvement cuttings must be made with caution and only very gradually, so that no deterioration of the soil conditions be invited. We have repeated this injunction again and again, because all success in the management of future wood crops depends upon the care bestowed upon the maintenance of favorable soil conditions. As the object of this weeding is not only to remove the undesirable kinds from the present crop, but to prevent as much as possible their reappearance in subsequent crops, it may be advisable to cut such kinds as sprout readily from the stump in summer time — June or July — when the stumyis are likely to die without sprouting. It may take several years' cutting to bring the composition of the main crop into such a condition as to satisfy us. METHODS OF REPRODUCING THE WOOD CROP. Then comes the period of utilizing the main crop. As we propose to keep the wood lot as such, and desire to reproduce a satisfactory wood croji in place of the old one, this latter must be cut always with a view to that reproduction. There are various methods pursued for this purpose in large forestry operations which are not practicable on small areas, especially when these are expected to yield only small amounts of timber, and these little by little as required. It is possible, to be sure, to cut the entire crop and replant a new one, or else to use the ax skillfully and bring about a natural reproduction in a few years ; but we want in the iiresent case to lengthen out the period during which the old crop is cut, and hence must resort to other methods. There are three methods practicable. We may clear narrow strips or bands entirely, expecting the neighboring growth to furnish the seed for covering the strip with a new crop — "the strip method;" or we can take out single trees here and there, relying again on an aftergrowth from seed shed by the surrounding trees — the "selection method;'' or, finally, instead of single trees, we may cut entire groups of trees here and there in the same manner, the gaps to be tilled, as in the other cases, with a young crop from the seed of the surrounding trees, and this we may call the " group method." In the strip method, in order to secure sufficient seeding of the cleared strip, the latter must not be so broad that the seed from the neighboring growth can not be carried over it by the wind. In order to get the best results from the carrying power of the wind (as well as to avoid windfalls when the old growth is suddenly opened on the windward side) the strips should be located on the side opposite the prevailing winds. Oaks, beech, hickory, and nut trees in general with heavy seeds will not seed over any considerable breadth of strip, while with maple and ash the breadth may be made twice as great as the height of the timber, and the mother trees with lighter seeds, like spruce and pine, or birch and elm, may be able to cover strips of a breadth of three or four and even eight times their height. But such broad strips are hazardous, since wnth insufficient seed fall, or fail years in the seed, the strip may remain exposed to sun and wind for several years without a good cover and deteriorate. It is safer, therefore, to make the strips no broader than just the height of the neighboring timber, in which case not only has the seed better chance of covering the ground, but the soil and seeflliugs have more protection from the mother crop. In hilly country the strips must not be made in the direction of the slope, for the water would wash out soil and seed. Every year, then, or from time to time, a new strip is to be cleared and "regenerated." But REPRODUCING THE WOOD LOT. 289 if the first strip failed to cover itself satisfactorily the operation is stopped, for it would be unwise to remove the seed trees further by an additional clearing. Accordingly, this method should be used only where the kinds composing the mother crop are frequent and abundant seeders and give assurance of reseeding the strips quickly and successfully. The other two methods have greater chances of success in that they preserve the soil conditions more surely, and there is more assurance of seeding from the neighboring trees on all ^'^^%ie selection method, by which single trees are taken out all over the forest, is the same as has been practiced by the farmer and lumberman hitherto, only they have forgotten to look after the young crop. Millions of seed may fall to the ground and germinate, but perish from the excessive shade of the mother trees. If we wish to be successful in establishing a new crop it will be necessary to be ready with the ax all the time and give light as needed by the young crop. The openings madeby taking out single trees are so small that there is great danger of the young crop being lost, or at least impeded in its development, because it is im- practicable to come in time to its relief with the ax. The best method, therefore, in all respects, is the (jroiqj method, which not only secures continuous soil cover, chances for full seeding, and more satisfactory light condi- tions, but requires less careful at- tention, or at least permits more freedom of movement and adapta- tion to local conditions (fig. 39). It is especially adapted to mixed woods, as it permits securing for each species the most desirable light conditions by making the openings larger or smaller, accord- ing as the species we wish to favor in a particular group demand more or less shade. Further, when dif- ferent species are ripe for regener- ation at different times, this plan makes it possible to take them in hand as needed. Again, we can begin with one group or we can take in hand several groups simultaneously, as may be desirable and practicable. We start our groups of new crop either where a young growth is already on the ground, enlarging around it, or where old timber has reached its highest usefulness and should be cut in ordei that we may not lose the larger growth which young trees would make; or else we cb cose a place which is but poorly stocked, where, if it is not regenerated, the soil is likely to deteriorate further The choice is attected further by the consideration that dry situations should be taken in hand earlier than those in which the soil and site are more fevorable, and that some species reach maturity and highest use value earlier than others and should therefore be reproduced earlier. In short, we begin the regeneration when and where the necessity for it exists or where the young crop has the best chance to start most satisfactorily with the least artificial aid. Ot course advantage should be taken of the occurrence of seed years, which come at diflerent inter- vals with different species. H. Doc. 181 19 Fio 39 -Showing plan of group system in regenerating a forest crop. 1,2, 3, 4, suc- cessive groups of young timber, 1 being the oldest, i the youngest, 5 old Umber; a, wind mantle, specially managed to secure protection. 290 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. If we begiu with a group of youug growth already on the ground, our plan is to remove gradually the old trees standing over them when no longer required for shade, and then to cut away the adjoining old growth and enlarge the opening in successive narrow bands around the young growth. When the first baud has seeded itself satisfactorily, and the young growth has come to require more light (which may take several years), we remove another baud around it, and thus the regeneration progresses. Where no young growth already exists, of course the first opening is made to afford a start, and afterwards the enlargement follows as occasion requires. SIZE OF OPENINGS. The si7>e of the openings and the rapidity with which they should be enlarged vary, of course, with local conditions and the species which is to be favored, the light-needing species requiring larger openings and quicker light additions than the shade-enduring. It is diflScult to give any Fig. 40. — Appearance of ttin(j. :eiieratiou by group method. rules, since the modifications due to local conditions • are so manifold, requiring observation and judgment. Caution in not opening too much at a time and too quickly may avoid failure in securing good stands. In general, the first ojienings may contain from one-fourth to one-half an acre or more, and the gradual enlarging may progress by clearing bands of a breadth not to exceed the height of the surrounding timber. The time of the year when the cutting is to be done is naturally in winter, when the farmer has the most leisure, and when the wood seasons best after felling and is also most readily moved. Since it is expected that the seed fallen in the autumn will sprout in the spring, all wood should, of course, be removed from the seed ground. The first opening, as well as the enlargement of the groups, should not be made at once, but by gradual thinning out, if the soil is not in good condition to receive and germinate the seed and it is impracticable to put it in such condition by artificial means — hoeing or plowing. It is, of course, quite practicable — nay, sometimes very desirable — to prepare the soil for the reception and germination of the seed. Where undesirable undergrowth has started it should be EEPKODUCIKG THE WOOD LOT. 291 cut out, and where tlie soil is deteriorated with weed growth or compacted by the trampiug of cattle it should be hoed or otherwise scarified, so that the seed may flud favorable conditions. To let pigs do the plowing and the covering of acorns is not an uncommon practice abroad. It is also quite proper, if the reproduction from the seed of the surrounding mother trees does not progress satisfactorily, to assist, when an opportunity is afforded, by planting such desirable species as were or were not in the comj)Osition of the original crop. It may require ten, twenty, or forty years or more to secure the reproduction of a wood lot in this way. A new growth, denser and better than the old, with timber of varying age, will be the result. The progress of the I'egeneration in groups is shown on the accom]Danyiug plan, the different shadings showing the successive additions of young crop, the darkest denoting the oldest parts, first regenerated. If we should make a section through any one of the groups, this, ideally represented, would be like fig. 40, the old growth on the outside, the youngest new crop adjoining it, and tiers of older growths of varying height toward the center of the group. .VIND MANTLE. On the plan there will be noted a strip specially shaded surrounding the entire plat (fig. 39, a), representing a strip of timber which should surround the farmer's wood lot, and which he should keep as dense as possible, especially favoring undergrowth. This part, if practicable, should be kept reproduced as coppice or by the method of selection, i. e., by taking out trees here and there. When gaps are made, they should be filled, if possible, by introducing shade-enduring kinds, which, like the spruces and firs and beech, retain their branches down to the foot for a long time. This mantle is intended to protect the interior against the drying influence of winds, which are bound to enter the small wood lot and deteriorate the soil. The smaller the lot the more necessary aud desirable it is to maintain such a protective cover or windbreak. Besides reproducing a wood crop from the seed of mother trees or by planting, there is another reproduction possible by sprouts from the stuunj. This, to be sure, can be done only with broad- leafed species, since conifers, with but few exceptions, do not sprout from the stump. When a wood lot is cut over and over again, the reproduction taking place by such sprouts we call " coppice." Most wooded areas in the Eastern States have been so cut that reproduction from seed could not take place, and hence we have large areas of coppice, with very few seedling trees interspersed. As we have seen in the chapter on "How trees grow," the sprouts do not develop into as good trees as the seedlings. They grow faster, to be sure, in the beginning, but do not grow as tall and are apt to be shorter lived. For the production of firewood, fence, aud post material, coppice management may suffice, but nod for dimension timber. And even to keep the coppice in good reproductive condition care should be taken to secure a certain proportion of seedling trees, since the old stumps, after repeated cutting, fail to sprout and die out. Soil and climate influence the success of the coppice; shallow soils produce weaker but more numerous sprouts, and are more readily deteriorated by the repeated laying bare of the soil; a mild climate is most favorable to a continuance of the reproductive power of the stump. Some species sprout more readily than others; hence the composition of the crop will change unless attention is paid to it. In the coppice, as in any other management of a natural wood crop, a desirable composition must first be secured, which is done by timely improvement cuttings, as described in a previous section. The best trees for coppice in the Northeastern States are the chestnut, various oaks, hickory, ash, elm, maples, basswood, and black locust, which are all good sprouters. When cutting is done for reproduction the time and manner are the main care. The best results are probably obtained, both financially and with regard to satisfactory reproduction, when the coppice is cut between the twentieth and thirtieth year. All cutting must be done in early spring or in winter, avoiding, however, days of severe frost, which is apt to sever the bark from the trunk and to kill the cambium. Cutting in summer kills the stump, as a rule. The cut should 292 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. be made slanting downw^ard, aad as smooth as possible, to prevent collection of moisture on tbe stump and the resulting decay, and as close as possible to the ground, where the stump is less exposed to injuries, aud the new siirouts, starting close to the ground, may strike independent roots. Fail places or gaps should be filled by ])laDting. This can be readily done by bending to the ground some of the neighboring sprouts, when 2 to 3 years old, notching, fastening them down with a wooden hook or a stone, aud covering them with soil a short distance {i to (> inches) from the end. The sprout will then strike root, and after a year or so may be severed from the mother stock by a sharp cut (fig. 41). For the recuperation of the crop, it is desirable to maintain a supjily of seedling trees, which may be secured either by the natural seeding of a few mother trees of the old crop which are left, or by planting. This kind of management, copi^ice with seedling or standard trees intermixed, if the latter are left regularly and well distributed over the wood lot, leads to a management called "standard coppice." In this it is attempted to avoid the drawbacks of the coppice, viz, failure to produce dimension material and ruuiung out of the stocks. The former object is, however, ouly partially accomplished, as the trees grown without sufficient side shading are apt to produce branchy boles and heuce knotty timber, besides in- juringthe coppiceby their shade. PLAN OF MANAGEMENT. In order to harmon- ize the requirements of the wood lot from a sylvi- cultural point of view and the needs of the farmer for wood supplies, the cut- ting must follow some sys- tematic plan. The imijrovement cut- tings need not, in point of time, have been made all over the lot before be- ginning the cuttings for regeneration, provided they have been made in those parts which are to be regenerated. Both the cuttings may go on simultaneously, and this enables the farmer to gauge the amount of cutting to his consumption. According to the amount of wood needed, one or more groups may be started at the same time. It is, however, desirable, for the sake of renewing the crop systematically, to arrange the groups in a regular order over the lot. Fic 41 — Method ot layer u"- to pro 1 ice new stocks lu coppice w od How TO Cultivate the AVood Crop. Where only firewood is desired — i. e., wood Avithout special form, size, or quality — no attention to the crop is necessary, except to insure that it covers the ground completely. Nevertheless, even in such a crop, which is usually managed as a coppice, some of the operations described in this chapter may prove advantageous. Where, however, not only quantity but useful quality of the crop is also to be secured, the development of the wood crop may be advantageously influenced by controlling the supply of light available to the individual trees. It may be proper to repeat here briefly what has been explained in previous pages regarding the influence of light on tree development. EFFECT of light ON WOOD PKODUCTION. Dense shade preserves soil moisture, the most essential element for wood production; a close stand of suitable kinds of trees secures this shading and prevents the surface evaporation of soil moisture, making it available for wood production. But a close stand also cuts off side light and IMPROVING THE CROP. 293 confines the lateral growing space, and hence i)revents the development of side branches and forces the growth energy of the soil to exj)eiid itself in height growth; the crown is carried tip, and long, cylindrical shafts, clear of branches, are developed. A close stand thus secures desir- able form and quality. Yet, since the quality of wood production or accretion (other things being equal) is in direct proportion to the amount of foliage and the available light, and since an open position promotes the development of a larger crown and of more foliage, an open stand tends to secure a larger amount of wood accretion on each tree. On the other hand, a tree grown in the open, besides producing more branches, deposits a larger proportion of wood at the base, so that the shape of the bole becomes more conical, a form which in sawing proves unprofitable; whereas a tree grown in the dense forest both lengthens its shaft at the expense of branch growth and makes a more even deposit of wood over the whole trunk, thus attaining a more cylindrical form. While, then, the total amount of wood i)roduction per acre may be as large in a close stand of trees as in an open one (within limits), the distribution of this amount among a larger or smaller number of individual trees produces different results in the quality of the crop. And since the size of a tree or log is important in determining its usefulness and value, the sooner the individual trees reach useful size, without suffering in other points of quality, the more profitable the whole crop. NUMBER OF TREES PER ACRE. The care of the forester, then, should be to maintain the smallest number of individuals on the ground which will secure the greatest amount of wood growth in the most desirable form of which the soil and climate are capable, without deteriorating the soil conditions. He tries to secure the most advantageous individual development of single trees without suffering the disad- vantages resulting from too open stand. The solution of this problem requires the greatest skill and judgment, and rules can hardly be formulated with precision, since for every sjjecies or combi- nation of species and conditions these rules must be modified. In a well-established young crop the number of seedlings per acre varies greatly, from 3,000 to 100,000, according to soil, species, and the manner in which it originated, whether j)lanted, sown, or seeded naturally.' Left to themselves, the seedlings, as they develop, begin to crowd each other. At first this crowding results only in increasing the height growth and in preventing the spread and full development of side branches; by and by the lower branches failing to receive sufficient light finally die and break oft' — the shaft "clears itself." Then a distinct development of definite crowns takes place, and after some years a difference of height growth in different indi- viduals becomes marked. Not a few trees fail to reach the general upper crown surface, and being more or less overtopped, we can readily classify them according to height and development of crown, the superior or "dominating" ones growing more and more vigorously, the inferior or "dominated" trees falling more and more behind, and finally dying for lack of light, and thus a natural reduction in numbers, or thinning, takes place. This natural thiuuing goes on with vary- ing rates at different ages, continuing through the entire life of the crop; so that, while only 4,000 trees per acre may be requiied in the tenth year to make a dense crown cover or normally close stand, untouched by man, in the fortieth year 1,200 would suffice to make the same dense cover, in the eightieth year 35(i would be a full stand, and in the one hundredth not more than 250, accord- ing to soil and species, more or less. As we can discern three stages in the development of a single tree — the juvenile, adolescent, and mature — so, in the development of a forest growth, we may distinguish three corresponding stages, namely, the "thicket" or brushwood, the "pole-wood" or sapling, and the "timber" stage. During the thicket stage, in which the trees have a bushy appearance, allowing hardly any distinction of stem and crown, the height growth is most rapid. This period may last, according to conditions and species, from five or ten to thirty aud even forty years — longer on poor soils aud with shade-enduring species, shorter with light-needing species on good soils — and, while it lasts, it is in the interest of the wood grower to maintain the close stand, which produces the long shaft, clear of branches, on which at a later period the wood that makes valuable clear timber may accumulate. Form development is now most inqjortant. The lower branches are to die and break oft' before they become too large. With light-needing species and 'If the cioi) does not, at 3 to 5 years of age, sliade the ground well, ■with a comiilete crown cover or canopy, it can not be said to be well established and should be filled out by planting. 294 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. witli deciduous trees generally this dying off is accomplished more easily than with conifers. The spruces and even the white pine require very dense shading to "clear" the shaft. During this period it is only necessary to weed out the undesirable kinds, such as trees infested by insect and fungus, shrubs, sickly, stunted, or bushy trees which are apt to overtop and prevent the develop- ment of their better neighbors. In short, our attention is now devoted mainly to impi-oving the composition of the croj). WEEDING AND CLEANING THE CROP. This weeding or cleaning is easily done with shears when the crop is from 3 to 5 years old. Later, mere cutting back of the undesirable trees with a knife or hatchet may be practiced. In well-made artificial plantations this weeding is rarely needed until about the eighth or tenth year. But in natural growths the young crop is sometimes so dense as to inordinately interfere with the development of the individual trees. The stems then remain so slender that there is danger of their being bent or broken by storm or snow when the growth is thinned out later. In such cases timely thinning is indicated to stimulate 'more rapid develoi^ment of the rest of the crop. This can be done most cheaply by cutting swaths or lanes 1 yard wide and as far apart through the crop, leaving sti-ips standing. The outer trees of the strip, at least, will then shoot ahead and become the main crop. These weeding or improvement cuttings, which must be made gradually and be reijeated every two or three years, are best performed during the summer months, or in August and September, when it is easy to judge what should be taken out. METHODS OF THINNING. During the "thicket" stage, then, which may last from 10 to 25 and more years, the crop is gradually brought into proiier composition and condition. When the "pole-wood" stage is reached, most of the saplings being now from 3 to G inches in diameter and from 15 to 25 feet in height, the variation in sizes and in appearance becomes more and more marked. Some of the taller trees begin to show a long, clear shaft and a definite crown. The trees can be more or less readily classified into height and size classes. The rate at which the height growth has progressed begins to fall off and diameter growth increases. Now comes the time when attention must be given to increasing this diameter growth by reducing the number of individuals, and thus having all the wood which the soil can ijroduce deposited on fewer individuals. This is done by judicious and often repeated thinning, taking out some of the trees, and thereby giving more light and increasing the foliage of those remaining; and as the crowns expand, so do the trunks increase their diameter in direct proportion. These thinnings must, however, be made cautiously lest at the same time the soil is exposed too much, or the branch growth of those trees which are to become timber wood is too much stimulated. So varying are the conditions to be considered, according to soil, site, species, and development of the crop, that it is well-nigh impossible, without a long and detailed discussion, to lay down rules for the proper procedure. In addition the opinions of authorities differ largely both as to manner and degree of thinning, the old school advising moderate and the new school severer thinnings. For the farmer, who can give iDersonal attention to detail and whose object is to grow a variety of sizes and kinds of wood, the following general method may perhaps be most useful. First determine which trees are to be treated as the main crop or "final-harvest" crop. For this, 300 to 500 trees per acre of the best grown and most useful kinds may be selected, which should be distributed as uniformly as possible over the acre. These, then — or as many as may live till the final harvest — are destined to grow into timber and are to form the special favorites as much as possible. They may at first be marked to insure recognition; later on they will be readily distinguished by their superior development. The rest, which we will call the " subordinate " crop, is then to serve merely as filler, nurse, and soil cover. WHAT TREES TO EEMOVE. It is now necessary, by careful observation of the surroundings of each of the "final-harvest" crop trees, or "superiors," as we may call them, to determine what trees of the "subordinate" crop trees, or " inferiors," must be removed. All nurse trees that threaten to overtop the superiors THINNING THE WOOD CROP. 295 must either be cut out or cut back and topped, if that is practicable, so that the crown of the superiors can develop freely. Those that are only narrowing in the superiors from the side, with- out preventing their free top development, need not be interfered with, especially while they are still useful in jireventing the lormation and spreading of side branches on the superiors. As soon as the latter have fully cleared their shafts, these crowding inferiors must be removed. Gare must be taken, however, not to remove too many at a time, thus opening the crown cover too severely and thereby exi^osiug the soil to the drying influence of the sun. Gradually, as the crowns of inferiors standing farther away begin to interfere with those of the superiors, the inferiors are removed, and thus the full effect of the light is secured iu the accretion of the main harvest crop; at the same time the branch growth has been jirevented and the soil has been kept shaded. Meanwhile thinnings may also be made in the subordinate croj), in order to secure also the most material from this part of the crop. This is done by cutting out all trees that threaten to be killed by their neighbors. In this way many a irseful stick is saved and the dead material, only good for firewood, lessened. It is evident that trees which in the struggle for existence have fallen behind, so as to be overtopped by their neighbors, can not, either by their iireseuce or by their removal, influence the remaining growth. They are removed only in order to utilize their wood before it decays. It may be well to remark again that an undergrowth of woody plants interferes in no way with the devolopment of the main crop; on the contrary, aids by its shade iu iireserving favorable moisture conditions. Its existence, however, shows in most cases that the crown cover is not as dense as it sliould be, and hence that thinning is not required. Grass and weed growth, ou the other hand, is emphatically disadvantageous and shows that the crown cover is dangerously open. The answer to the three questions, when to begin the thinnings, how severely to thin, and how often to repeat the operation, must always depend uj^on the varying appearance of the growth and the necessities in each case. The first necessity for interference may arise with light-needing species as early as the twelfth or fifteenth year; with shade-enduring, not before the twentieth or twenty-fifth year. The ]iecessary severity of the thinning and the repetition are somewhat inter- dependent. It is better to thin carefully aiJd repeat the operation oftener than to open up so severely at once as to jeopardize the soil conditions. Especially in younger growths and on poorer soil, it is best never to open a continuous crown cover so that it could not close up again within three to five years; rather repeat the oiierafion oftener. Later, when the trees have attained heights of 50 to GO feet and clear boles (which may be in forty to fifty years, according to soil .and kind) the thinning may be more severe, so as to require repetition only every six to ten years. The condition of the crown cover, then, is the criterion which directs the ax. As soon as the crowns again touch or interlace the time has arrived to thin again. In mixed growths it must not be overlooked that light-needing species must be specially protected against shadier neighbors. Shade-enduring trees, such as the spruces, beech, sugar maple, and hickories, bear overtopping for a time and will then grow vigorously when more light is given, while light-needing species, like the pines, larch, oaks, and ash, when once suppressed, may never be able to recover. Particular attention is called to the necessity of leaving a rather denser "wind mantle" all around small groves. In this part of tlie grove the thinning nmst be less severe, unless coniferous trees on the outside can be encouraged by severe thinning to hold their branches low down, thus increasing their value as windbreaks. The thinnings, then, while giving to the "final-harvest" crop all the advantage of light for promoting its rapid development into serviceable timber size, furnish also better material from the subordinate crop. At GO to 70 years of age the latter may have been entirely removed and only the originally selected "superiors" remain on the ground, or as many of them as have not died and been removed; 250 to 400 of these per acre will make a perfect stand of most valuable form and size, ready for the final harvest, which should be made as indicated in the preceding chapter. The Relation of Forests to Farms. That all things in nature are related to each other and interdependent is a common saying, a fact doubted by nobody, yet often forgotten or neglected in practical life. The reason is partly indifference and partly ignorance as to the actual nature of the relation shii); hence we sufl'er, deservedly or not. 296 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. " The farmer's business, more than any other perhaps, depends for its success upon a true estimate of and careful regard for this interrelation. He adapts his crop to the nature of the soil, the manner of its cultivation to the changes of the seasons, and altogether he shapes conditions and places them in their proper relations to each other and adapts himself to them. Soil, moisture, and heat are the three factors which, if properly related and utilized, combine to produce his crops. In some directions he can control these factors more or less readily ; in others they are witlidrawn from his immediate influence, and he is seemingly lielpless. He can maintain the fertility of the soil by manuring, by proper rotation of crops, and by deej) culture; he can remove surplus moisture by ditching and draining; he can, by irrigation systems, bring water to his crops, and by timely cultivation prevent excessive evaporation, thereby rendering more water available to the crop; but he can not control the rainfell nor the temperature changes of the sea- sons. Eecent attempts to control the rainfall by direct means exhibit one of the greatest follies and misconceptions of natural forces we have witnessed during this age. Nevertheless, by indirect means the farmer has it in his power to exercise much greater control over these forces than he has attempted hitherto. He can prevent or reduce the unfavorable effects of temperature changes ; he can increase the available water supplies, and prevent the evil effects of excessive rainfall; he can so manage the waters which fall as to get the most benefit from them and avoid the harm which they are able to inflict. Before attempting to control the rainfall itself by artifice, we shoulrl study how to secure the best use of that which falls as it comes within reach of human agencies and becomes available by natural causes. How poorly we understand the use of these water supplies is evidenced yearly by destructive freshets and floods, with the accompanying washing of soil, followed by droughts, low waters, and deterioration of agricultural lands. It is claimed that annually in the United States about 200 square miles of fertile soil are washed into brooks and rivers, a loss of soil capital whicli can not be repaired for centuries. At the same time millions of dollars are appropriated yearly in the river and harbor bills to dig out the lost farms from the rivers, and many thousands of dollars' worth of crops and other property are destroyed by floods aifd overflows; not to count the large loss from droughts which this country suffers yearly in one part or the other, and which, undoubtedly, could be largely avoided, if we knew how to manage the available water supplies. The regulation, proper distribution, and utilization of the rain waters iu humid as well as in arid regions— water management — is to be the great problem of successful agriculture in the future. One of the most powerful means for such water management lies in the proper distribution and maintenance of forest areas. Nay, we can say that the most successful water management is not possible without forest management. THE FOREST WATERS THE FARM. Whether forests increase the amount of precipitation within or near their limits is still an open question, although there are indications that under certain conditions large, dense forest areas may have such an effect. At any rate, the water transpired by the foliage is certain, in some degree, to increase the relative humidity near the forest, and thereby increase directly or indirectly the water supplies iu its neighborhood. This much we can assert, also, that while extended plains and fields, heated by the sun, and hence giving rise to warm currents of air, have the tendency to prevent condensation of the passing moisture-bearing currents, forest areas, with their cooler, moister air strata, do not have such a tendency, and local showers may therefore become more frequent in their neighborhood. But, though no increase in the amount of rainfall may be secured by forest areas, the availability of whatever falls is increased for the locality by a well- kept and properly located forest growth. The foliage, twigs, and branches break the fall of the raindrops, and so does the litter of the forest floor; hence the soil under this cover is not com- pacted as in the open field, but kept loose and granular, so that the water can readily penetrate and percolate. The water thus reaches the ground more slowly, dripping gradually from the leaves, branches, and trunks, and allowing more time for it to sink into the soil. This percolation is also made easier by the channels along the many roots. Similarly, on account of the open structure of the soil and the slower melting of the snow under a forest cover in spring, where it FARM AND FOREST. 297 lies a fortnigM to a month longer than in exposed positions and melts with less waste from evaporation, the snow waters more fully penetrate the gronnd. Agam, more snow is caught and preserved under the forest cover than on the wind-swept fields and prairies. ill these conditions operate together, with the result that larger amounts of the water sink iuto the forest soil and to greater depths than in open fields. This ™«'f "^ 'V-f^^^f^^f;^;, of the reduced evaporation in the cool and still forest a.r, being protected from t^ie two great moisture-dissipating agents, snn and wind. By these conditions alone the water -;P^- -^.^f ^ in the soil are increased from 50 to 60 per cent over those available on tbe open field. Owing to these two causes, then-increased percolation and decreased evaporation-larger amounts o moisture become available to feed the springs and subsoil waters, and these become finally available to the farm, if the forest is located at a higher elevation than the field The great importance of the subsoil water especially and the intiuence of forest areas upon it has so far received too little attention and appreciation. It is the subsoil water that is capable of supplying the needed moisture in times of drought. THE FOREST TEMPERS THE FARM. Another method by which a forest belt becomes a conservator of moisture lies in its wind- breaking capacity, by which both velocity and temperature of winds are modified a.id evaporation from the fields to the leeward is reduced. , ^ , 4. On the prairie, wind swept every day and every hour, the farmer has learned to plant a wind-break around his buildings and orchards, often only a single row of trees and finds even that a desirable shelter, tempering both the hot winds of summer and the cold blasts of muter The fields he usually leaves unprotected; yet a wind-break around his crops to the windwanl would bring him increased yield, and a timber belt would act still more effectively. Says a farmer from Illinois : My experieBce is that no^ in coUl and stormy ^-inters fields protected by timber belts yield full "7>P«-^1"'« fields not protected yield only one-third of a crop. Twenty-five or thirty years ago we never had any wh«at k.Ued Jy winter frost, and every year we had a fall crop of peaches, which is now very rare. At that t.me we had plenty of timber around our fields and orchards, now cleared away. Not only is the temperature of the winds modified by passing over and through the shaded and cooler spaces of protecting timber belts disposed toward the windward and alternating with the fields but their velocity is broken and n>oderated, and since with reduced velocity the evaporative power of the winds is very greatly reduced, so more water is left avadable for crops. Every foot in height of a forest growth will protect 1 rod in distance, and several belts in succession would probably greatly increase the effective distance. By preventing deep freezing of the soil the winter cold is not so much prolonged, and the frequent fogs and mists that hover near forest areas prevent many frosts. That stock will thrive better where it can find protection from the cold blasts of winter and from the heat of the sun in summer is a well-established tact. THE FOREST PROTECTS THE FARM. On the sandy plains, where the winds are apt to blow the sand, shifting it hither and thither, a forest belt to the windward is the only means to keep the farm protected. In the mountain and hill country the farms are apt to suffer from heavy rams washing away the soil Where the tops and slopes are bared of their forest cover, the litter of the forest floor burnt up the soil trampled and compacted by cattle and by the patter of the raindrops, tbe water can not penetrate the soil readily, but is carried off superficially, especially when the sod is of clay and naturally compact. As a result the waters, rushing over the surface down the hill, run together in rivulets and streams and acquire such a force as to be able to move loose particles and even stones; the ground becomes furrowed with gullies and runs; the fertile soil is washed awav the fields below are covered with silt; the roads are damaged; the water courses tear then- banks, and later run dry, because the waters that should feed them by subterranean channels have been carried away in the flood. The forest cover on the hilltops and steep hillsides which are not fit for cultivation prevents this erosive action of the waters by the same influence by which it increases available water supplies. The important effects of a forest cover, then, are retention of larger quantities of water 298 PORESTKY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. and carrying them off under ground and giving them up gradually, thus extending the time of their usefulness and preventing their destructive action. In order to be thoroughly effective, the forest growth must be dense, and, especially, the forest floor must not be robbed of its accumulations of foliage, surface mulch, and litter, or its under- brush by fire, nor must it be compacted by the tramjiling of cattle. On the gentler slopes, which are devoted to cultivation, methods of underdraining, such as horizontal ditches partly filled with stones and covered with soil, terracing, and contour plowing, deep cultivation, sodding, and proper rotation of crops must be emi^loyed to prevent damage from surface waters. THE FOREST SUPPLIES THE FARM WITH USEFUL MATERIAL. All the benefits derived froni the favorable influence of forest belts u])on water conditions can be had without losing any of the useful material that the forest produces. The forest grows to be cat and to be utilized; it is a crop to be harvested. It is a crop which, if properly managed, does not need to be replanted ; it reproduces itself. When once established, the ax, if properly guided by skillful hands, is the only tool necessary to cultivate it and to reproduce it. There is no necessity of planting unless the wood lot has been mismanaged. The wood lot, then, if properly managed, is not only the guardian of the farm, but it is the savings bank fi-om which fair interest can be annually drawn, utilizing for the purpose the poorest part of the farm. Nor does the wood lot require much attention; it is to the farm what the workbasket is to the good housewife — a means with which to improve the odds and ends of time, especially during the winter, when other farm business is at a standstill. It may be added that the material which the farmer can secure from the wood lot, besides the other advantages recited above, is of far greater importance and value than is generally admitted. On a well-regulated farm of 160 acres, with its 4 miles and more of fencing and with its wood fires in range and stove, at least 25 cords of wood are required annually, besides material for repair of buildings, or altogether the annual jHoduct of probably 40 to 50 acres of well-stocked forest is needed. The product may represent, according to location, an actual stumpage value of from $1 to $3 per acre, a sure crop coming every year without regard to weather, without trouble and work, and raised on the poorest part of the farm. It is questionable whether such net results could be secured with the same steadiness from any other crop. Nor must it be overlooked that the work in harvesting this croj) falls into a time when little else could be done. Wire fences and coal fires are, no doubt, good substitutes, but they require ready cash, and often the distance of haulage makes them rather expensive. Presently, too, when the vfrgin woods have been still further culled of their valuable stores, the farmer who has preserved a sufQciently large and well-tended wood lot will be able to derive a comfortable money revenue from it by supplying the market with wood of various kinds and sizes. Tbe German State forests, with their complicated administrations, which eat up 4 per cent of the gross income, yield, with prices of wood about the same as in our country, an annual net revenue of from $1 to $4 and more per acre. Why should not the farmer, who does not pay salaries to managers, overseers, and forest guards, make at least as much money out of this crop when he is within reach of a market? With varying conditions the methods would of course vary. In a general way, if he happens to have a virgin growth of mixed woods, the first care would be to improve the composition of the wood lot by cutting out the less desirable kinds, the weeds of tree growth, and the poorly grown trees which impede the development of more deserving neighbors. The wood thus cut he will use as firewood or in any other way, and even if he could not use it at all and had to burn it up the operation would pay indirectly by leaving him a better crop. Then he may use the rest of the crop, gradually cutting the trees as needed, but he must take care that the openings are not made too large, so that they can readily fill out with young growth from the seed of the remaining trees, and he must also pay attention to the young aftergrowth, giving it light as needed. Thus without ever resorting to planting he may harvest the old timber and have a new crop taking its place and perpetuate the wood lot without in any way curtailing his use of the same. G. PRINCIPLES OF FOREST ECONOMY It is possible to carry on forest production, to grow and market forest products, without making a special business of it. The farmer can manage his wood lot so as to produce and reproduce a valuable wood crop, ai^plying all the art of silviculture without any special bookkeeping or other business organization. If he performs his own labor and counts it nothing, and if he use his own wood crop in his buildings, fences, or in his stove, or can sell it to his neighbors, and if he keep his wood lot on the rocky part of his farm or where it serves as protection against damage from winds or waters, he can make forest growing at least indirectly profitable without much effort. The case is different when we go into forest growing as a business for the market and for revenue, for profit on an invested capital, and on expenditures. Then it becomes necessary to adopt more systematic procedures, to organize, as in a large mercantile establishment, the business in detail, to adopt proper methods of bookkeeping, to keep control of income and outgo, so as to insure the profitable running of the business; and, as in all jjroperly conducted business enter- prises, the adequacy of the capital employed and of the margin realized must enter into consideration. Besides the purely technical care of the productive forces to secure the best quantitative and qualitative production of material — the highest "gross" yield — there must be exercised a managerial care to secure the most favorable relations of expenditure and income, the highest "net" yield, a surijlus of money results without which the industry would appear purposeless, at least from the standpoint of private enterprise and investment. Carried on by government activity for reasons of general cultural advantages, the "net yield" or money i:)rofits may be considered secondary, jjerhaps be dispensed with, and it may even appear rational to carry on this industry like any other form of i^ublic works, at a loss, Nevertheless, even in that case, it would be desirable to organize and systematically carry on the business, to keep account, compare, and bring into relation the results with the efforts; to measure the cost. The manner in which such systematic business organization and accounting is done must vary according to the conditions and peculiarities of the industry, and hence it differs widely in the different industries. Thus, although agriculture and forestry, both having to do with productions of the soil, would appear of similar nature, yet the conditions of production vary so widely that their methods and problems of management and of accounting must also differ considerably. In both these industries there is required a fixed and a working capital; but while the agriculturist has this outside of land and houses, in movable condition, or can in a short time — at the end of each season — make most of it movable, the forest manager has his working capital mostly bound up, immovable, represented in the growing timber, the accumulation of many years' growth, which may or may not be ready for harvest. The length of time with which forestry has to calculate in the creation of its products is an element which introduces problems into the calculation of future yields, both gross and net, unknown to most other industries and difficult to solve. A further diflSculty, also peculiar to the industry, is the fact that it can not be readily determined what part of the forest ought to be left as working capital and what part should be harvested; there is no definite time, naturally determined, when the harvest is ready, and the question as to which part of the growing timber should be left standing for further accumulation of products to be harvested involves compli- cated technical as well as financial and managerial considerations. Furthermore, there are difficulties arising from the manner in which forest growth develops, in estimating or determining the accretions in quantity and value of the crop, and difficulties in 299 300 FOEESTEY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. determining the value of forest soil and in predicting the market value of the products at future times when they will be ready for harvest. All these difflculties, which are peculiar to the forestry business, at least to a much greater degree than to any other business, require much more careful planning and systematic procedure than is usually necessary with other industries in which the product is sold or expected to be turned to account within a short time from its production and in which the cost of production and the price of products can be more readily ascertained, the methods of carrying on the business more readily changed or adapted to changing market conditions, and the fixed capital more readily liquidated. This branch of the forestry business, therefore, in countries where the industry is developed, has experienced very elaborate treatment, the purely economic or managerial problems — forest economy or forest management — being sharply distinguished from the problems of technical forest production, forestry technique. While this latter branch deals with the questions of silviculture, forest protection, and forest utilization — how to grow, protect, and iise to best advantage the forest products — the former, forest economy, deals with the questions of forest valuation, forestal statics, and forest regulation, how to determine the quantity of production, how to compare expenditure and result, how to dispose of the forces of production, regulate orderly, and systematically manage the forest property so as to produce continuously the most satisfactory money results. We speak now, it must not be forgotten, not of the business of chopping down and turning inio cash virgin forest growth, a mere crude exploitation of the natural forest resources in which the present lumber industry is concerned, but we propose to outline the considerations which are needful when we desire to engage in the business of producing the supplies for the lumber industry after virgin supplies are exhausted, an industry which so far has remained undeveloped in the United States. In the lumber industry of to-day the business methods, as far as the accounting of forest supplies are concerned, are of tbe crudest. It consists in ascertaining roughly the amount of timber ' which could at once be readily utilized with profit, and no account is made of any future values, or rarely so. The forest is treated like a quarry or mine from which the pay oie is removed, then to be abandoned. If tbere should be anything of value left or developed later, this is worked out in the same way, like working over the dumj) of an abandoned mine. In other woids, the lumber industry is not a productive but a transformative industry, preparing the product for market; it st nds in relation to the forestry industry as that of tlie cattle breeder to that of the butcher, and wood production is not a part of it. The lumbering industry, concerned in the utilization of forest products, is only the tail end of the forestry industry, which latter begins with the systematic management of the forest resources for reproduction and continued revenue. In the forestry business we consider the forest somewhat like an orchard from which we only reap the fruit annually, or like a herd of cattle kept for breeding purposes when we may slaughter the old but look for a constant supply of young cattle, growing and maintaining a due proportion of calves and heifers. Thus the forester proposes to use annually or ])ei'indically only as much as has annually or periodically grown. If, for instance, he had found tliat on his 1,000 acres the average annual wood production was 50 cubic feet per acre he would be entitled to cut 60 X 1,000 = 50,000 cubic feet yearly. In order to produce this amount continuously and in such form and size as to be useful, and to permit a harvesting every year, there would have to be a certain amount of wood stored up and distributed over younger and older trees or stands of trees, which are maintained as stock 'The ascertainment of the amount of standing tiraher is done in varions ways. Usually tlie judgment of a more or less experienced expert, a " timber looker," is taken, who by riding or walking through the woods mentally forms an idea of the number of logs that could be got from the land, and of the cost of moving them to the mill. An improvement consists in making at least a few trial measurements either of the contents of average acres, or else counting and measuring the trees of certain kinds which constitute the main value. This is done especially with walnut, cherry, or yellow poplar, and other kinds which are especially valuable and occur scattered through the woods; these are now often sold by the tree instead of by the acre or by the M feet B. M. A fair method also practiced is to sell by the " scaling " when the logs are cut and collected on "skidways," where they are measured and paid for by the M feet B. M. PRINCIPLES OF FOREST ECONOMY. 301 on which the auunal growth takes place (the wood capital), just as iu the herd a certain number of cows and bulls and heifers of various ages must be kept to secure a continuous supply of cattle and a tolerably uniform revenue on the investment. In order to be able to deteruiine what this wood capital is to be and how much the yield or revenue that can be expected the manager must have knowledge of the manner and rapidity with which the crop develops. It is not necessary to go into details of the methods developed to ascertain the amount of wood growing per acre at different ages, or how to determine tlie rate of growth and the quanti- tative as well as qualitative accretion. It will, however, be needful to indicate briefly what in general the results of such measurements would be in order to get an insight as to how these will influence the methods of management. While individual trees of the same si^ecies may develop very differently and seemingly without law, when we deal with larger numbers under forest conditions we may more readily discern that a more or less precise law and rate of growth cau be established for each species and condition. Of course different soil and climatic conditions and the character of the site influence the rate of development of forest growth, yet on all sites the relative rate at various periods remains more or less constant. Thus for a given species and site we will be able to discern after a brief seeding stage a juvenile stage, when trees develop iu height growth at the expense of diameter growth; an adolescent stage, when height growth decreases and diameter growth accelerates, and a mature stage, when height growth practically ceases and diameter growth, although persisting, declines. The growth in volume progresses dili'erently because the A^ery wide rings or layers which are laid on in early life, and which denote rajiid diameter growth, cover only a small circumference, while the much narrower ring of a later period laid on over a much thicker stem represents a much larger volume. Thus the rate of growth in white pine decreases in height and thickness practically from the jjolewood stage forward, while the rate of growth in volume increases up to the sixtieth or eightieth year, and then continues uniformly for a century or more before it declines. Or to illustrate in figures, a white pine seedling only 1 foot high and one-half inch in diameter, with hardly an appreciable volume of stem, will have reached a height of 30 feet in twenty years, 60 feet in forty years, 100 feet in one hundred years ; the width of the rings will have averaged one-eighth to one-sixth inch during the first thirty years, while at one hundred years the average will have come down to one-twelfth inch; but the volume growth, which during the first thirty years was but a fraction of a cubic foot, has after sixty years attained a rate of 1 to 2 cubic feet per year, and is kept at that rate to a great age — two hundred and fifty to three hundred years. If we substitute the red or Norway pine we will find the progress quite dift'erent. It may start out at about the same rate as the white pine, and at sixty years may also have attained a rate of 2 cubic feet per year, but soon the rate begins to decline, and iu the one hundred and twentieth year with a volume of 80 cubic feet the average accretion is only two-thirds cubic foot per year. Its average growth for the one hundred and twenty years has now become equal to the current rate of growth. The tree then passes its maximum capacity of wood production, for from this time on its current growth falls behind its average, and from the standpoint of quantitative production the tree should now be cut. But there is a growth in value which does not progress continuously and iiroportionately with the growth in volume, and which is also an important factor in deciding when a tree is to be cut. Generally in all lumber and timber markets the prices are classified, and sticks, boards, etc., are priced according to size as well as freedom from defects and knots. For instance, poplar logs under 12 inches may have no price at all, logs of 1(3 to 20 inches may bring $15, those of 20 to 29 inches may bring $20, and if over 30 inches $25 may be paid per 1,000 feet B. M. contained in the log. Hence, although the quantitative development may have decreased in the log of 29 inches, it may still pay to hold it over until the better-paying size is attained. 302 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. In a stand of trees, an acre of forest growth, the progress of wood production is, to be sure, different from that in the individual tree, for here the amount of wood to the acre at any time depends on the number of trees as well as their volume. And this number, as we have seen, rapidly decreases as the trees grow older and crowd each other, when some are killed and eliminated from taking part in the total wood production, while the remaining, with the increase in light and food supplies, increase their production. This increase in the rate of volume growth per acre is very rapid in young woods and on good soil; it reaches a maximum and then declines more or less rapidly according to species and site, very much according to the diameter growth of the individual. The question as to the number of trees which should be allowed to grow per acre, so as to produce not only the largest amount of wood, but of useful sizes and best quality, which means freedom from knots and technically most serviceable in form and grain, is one of the foremost problems of both the technicist and the manager. The capacity of our unmanaged virgin forests in this resi^ect is no criterion of the possibili- ties, and on the other hand the experience of other countries is only partially applicable to our conditions. But as an examijle of what our white pine forests, for instance, may eventually produce, we may cite the exj)erience with spruce in Germany, which on good soil is capable of producing at the rate of 40 cubic feet per acre each year during the first decade, as much as 120 cubic feet in the second decade, and at the rate of 200 cubic feet at the age of 40, while at one hundred and fifty it shows only an average of 80 cubic feet ]>er acre annually; having declined from about the seventieth year ou. On poorer soils about one-half of this production may be expected, and if we inquire into the total quantity per acre we may find at thirty years 4,200 cubic feet of wood, more than twice that amount at sixty years, and 14,000 cubic feet at one hundred years, which appears an enormous yield compared to those of our virgin forests, whose yield is depressed by the presence of much valueless material and lack of density, and which would in double the time hardly have produced such amount. With other species, to be sure, entirely different aggregate amounts would result, but in general. the march of progress would be in a similar iiroportion. If, however, we have to deal not with seedling trees, but with coppice growth like the sprout lauds of our New England States, the progress is entirely different. There are several million acres of hard-wood coppice in these States, which, when fairly stocked, produce annually for the first twenty-five to thirty years at the rate of a cord or a little less (i. e., about 100 cubic feet solid) per acre, but after that time very rapidly decline in production without an equivalent value increase, and hence must be cut when the maximum amount of wood jiroduction has been attained; this is also necessary from silvicultural reasons, as the stocks, if left too long, are impaired in reproductive power. To be sure, such woods yield hardly any other material than firewood and fence rails. There are many trees to the acre, 1,500 to 2,000 at least, but each one is small, not more than 10 to 12 inches in diameter at best, hence the supply of firewood is in excess of the home demand and the price obtained hardly covers the exjiense of getting the material to market. To j)roduce materials of size and quality such as we now require in the lumber market, nature has taken from one hundred and fifty to five hundred years, and for the giants of the Pacific, two thousand years and more. Even with the best skill in managing the crop, not less than seventy- five to one hundred years from the seed will be required to x^roduce logs fit for the mill, such as are now considered hardly worth sawing. From such measurements and considerations of the quantitative and ijualitative development of the crop, the economist will learn that the time at which a forest growth is utilized has an important bearing on the more or less intensive and profitable use of the resource. When the crop, accumulated during a longer or shorter period, is ripe for the ax depends not only upon silvicultural and forest-technical considerations influenced by soil and climatic condi- tions and the species composing the forest, but, from a business point of view, uiion market con- ditions and financial considerations. The material would hardly be useful for anything but firewood or small posts and fencing material at best before twenty years, and again for lumber or x)urposes of construction it may be considered fit for use not before one hundred and more years. PRINCIPLES OF FOKEST ECONOMY. 303 Market conditions may be such that the small demand for the flrst-mentioned class of products would make it unprofltable-io cut the growth, and again while, other things being equal, the larger dimensions are not only more valuable and in greater demand, but permit a greater and greater intensity of exploitation,' yet the long time during which the capital represented in the standing timber is tied up, and must therefore produce at compound interest, may have a disadvantageous influence upon the balance sheet. The determination, therefore, of the length of time during which the growth is to be allowed to accumulate, which is called rotation, requires not only consideration by the technicist, but very close and complicated calculations by the manager. According to the iioint of view from which this jieriod of rotation is determined, we can distinguish and designate these time periods by various names which explain themselves, namely, as silvicultural rotation, rotation of greatest material production, financial rotation of highest harvest value, rotation of highest forest rev- enue, etc.- Now, if an owner of land should stock it all with forest growth at the same time, he would have to wait twenty, forty, sixty, one hundred years or more, according to the rotation which he has recognized as most desirable, before he would have any returns, or else, if he should have a tract of virgin growth, all ripe for the ax, and cut it all, he would again have to wait many decades without income until the new growth can be profitably cut. Such an intermittent revenue is not only undesirable for private enterprise, but also impracti- cable, since the cost of caring for the property would have to be provided for without any direct income during a long jjeriod. For small holdings, such as the wood lot of a farmer, attached to the farm and readily super- vised by him while attending to his regular business, the objection to the intermission of revenue is not serious altogether he manages his wood lot mainly for his own use. But in growing wood crops for the market as a business it is necessary to change the intermittent into an annual revenue, or at least one returning in short periods. This is done by gradually bringing the forest into such condition that each year, or at least during each short period of the rotation, a portion or parcel, as nearly as possible producing the same amount of material or revenue, becomes ready for the harvest, until finally the whole forest area assumes the condition of what may be called the normal forest, or at least a regulated forest Ideally such a forest when so regulated would yield every year or short period of years the same amount of material and aj^proximately the same money revenue, the amount to be cut annually or periodically being as nearly as possible the amount annually growing. If, for instance, we have a pine forest which we propose to manage iTuder a rotation of one hundred years, which means that we expect to return for a new crop within one hundred years to the same acre we have just cat, and finding from our measurements that all our acres are of a uniformly producing capacity, we would have it divided into 100 equally large compartments, each stocked with trees just one year older than the preceding, and successfully representing 100 age classes, so that we could cut each year one compartment with the same amount of wood just one hundred years old. ' How, with the increaao iu tho sizo of the log, the amount of lumber that cau he obtained from it increases or the necessary waste decreases disproportionately may be seen from the subjoined table of output, based upon the results of the average sawmill iiractice: Diametiir of log (10 feet lung)— Eeal contents of log in feet, U. M. or one- twelfth cubic foot, allow- ing no -waste. Contents in feet B. M. as per Scribner or Doyle's rules. Waste as a per cent of real contents deduced by Doyle. ■ 65 127 167 211 261 376 5K8 847 1.046 1,635 23 63 00 122 160 250 423 640 810 1.322 65 51 46 42 39 34 28 25 23 20 16 inches 50 inches -Note from page 332, Report 1893, "Determining rotation.' 304 FORESTEY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. The total amouut of wood standing in such a forest at the time of entering upon the work would represent the normal stock — the wood capital which must be maintained in order to insure an equal annual yield. The average difference of the amounts of wood standing in any two compartments would represent the normal annual accretion — the amount of wood which we are entitled to harvest if we desire to secure a continuous revenue in equal annual amounts. If, for example, on our 100 acres managed with a 100-year rotation we found the average annual accretion per acre to be 50 cubic feet, the normal stock — the wood capital — which must be maintained on .the acre would be found by the addition of the contents of all compartments, as — p X 100 = 250,000 cubic feet. The total normal yield which we are entitled to harvest would be represented by the oldest 100 year-old compartment, containing, naturally, 50 x 100 = 5,000 cubic feet, or 2 per cent of the normal stock. If we were to cut more than this normal yield in any year, we would be trenching on the capital stock and disturb the attempted equalization of income. If we were to cut less, we would unnecessarily accumulate capital in the wood, which would be lying idle and be for the time unremunerative. The conception of a normal forest, with normal stock, normal accretion, normal distribution of age classes, and normal yield, first taught in 17SS, is a most useful one, representing an ideal or standard which, although in practice never attained and hardly fully attempted, serves nevertheless as a guide in calculation and working phius. In practice the growths of different age may be distributed in compartments of separate areas or they may be distributed in single trees over the entire area or in groups of trees, and thus many variations of the method may occur, but they are all based on the same principle of maintaining a wood capital distributed over a number of age classes in such amounts that the oldest classes always represent what may be cut as the annual or periodic revenue which has accumulated on the entire capital. Before even an approach to such ideal and systematic condition can be secured in our virgin woods a long time must elapse — the period during which the regulation is gradually perfected, the length of which depends upon the condition of the forest area. If begun with a well-stocked virgin forest composed of old and young timber of varying age, the conditions are most favoralile, and a systematic management can be instituted in a comparatively short time and with a revenue from the start. In any case it requires a strong mind and persistent effort on the part of the owner to accumulate tlie wood capital, to forego, if need be, i>resent revenue for future profits and to keep capital and interest account in the growing croj) clearly separate, and to abstain from cutting into the wood capital before it has done its full duty when tempting opportunity arises for liquidating it. This fact, namely, that a diiferentiation into fixed capital and interest as represented in the growing timber and the harvest is not readily recognizable — that the choice of when to harvest the growth is not based on natural conditions so much as on the opinion and pecuniary interest of the owner, and in addition that there is a long time during which he could if he chose turn the accumulated fixed capital into cash — may sometimes, to be sure, ai>pear as an advantage from the standpoint of private industry, but from that of national economy it is fraught with danger, as it is ax)t to lead to uneconomical use of the forest resource whenever the owner finds himself in difficulties or sees a temporary advantage in reducing this capital, which can be restituted only by the expenditure of a long time. If a farmer sells his cattle, horses, plows, etc., and leaves the ground to fallow, he may suffer loss individually, but the community does not, or at least only to a slight osition of the forest as a climatic factor is still uncertain, at least as to its practical and quantitative importance, but that its relation to water and soil condi- tions is well established. As a climatic factor, it would appear that the forest of the plain is of more importance than that of the mountains, where the more ijotent influence of elevation obscures and reduces in significance the influence of their cover; as a regulator of water condi- tions, the forest of the mountains is the important factor; and since this influence makes itself- felt far distant from the location of the forest, the claim for attention of Government activity and for statesmanlike policy with reference to this fiictor of national welliire may be considered as well founded. Every civilized government must in time own or control the forest cover of the moun- tains in order to secure desirable water conditions. In conclusion, I may urge that systematic observations bearing on the subject of forest influ- ences should be instituted in this country by a Government agency, perhaps under the authority of the Weather Bureau and with the cooperation of the agricultural experiment stations. No other country is so well adapted for the study of this question as the United States, offering all the varying climatic conditions of a whole continent under one government, with changes in forest conditions constantly progressing. GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS. The following diagrams, reproduced from Bulletin 7, represent more in detail, yet in a succinct manner, the results of the long-extended series of observations by the Prussian forest-meteoro- logical stations. These stations were double stations; i. e., one set of instruments was placed in the forest and a corresponding set at some distance from the forest in open fields. The stations represent varying conditions in geographical and topographical location and in character of forest growth. At Lintzel there was only one station, originally in an extensive open heath, which was gradually planted to forest, allowing an observation of changes due to these changed conditions. The conditions at the various stations were as follows : German stations for forest meteorology. Station. Latitude. liOngi- tade east of Perro. Eleva- tion. Kind of treea and age at founding of station. Distance to margin of forest. Beginning of obser- vations. Forest station. Field station. 54 50 53 3i 50 28 52 50 50 36 51 52 51 45 52 16 52 59 53 16 53 36 50 53 50 27 48 29 48 50 48 59 48 25 38 13 39 9 34 31 29 28 28 28 14 28 10 28 38 27 55 27 9 25 14 25 54 24 3 26 59 25 28 24 57 24 57 Feet. 128 423 2,484 79 2,349 1,296 2, 549 420 325 125 10 1,998 2,024 2,493 499 1,158 3,064 45.year spruce 80-140-year pines . - . 45-year spruce 45-year pines 60-70-year spruce . . . 65-85-year beeches - - 45-year spruce 60-year beeches Feet. 262 679 591 410 984 367 328 984 Feet. 459 433 869 591 492 1, 138 650 656 1873, x,i. 1873, xii, i. 1874, xi, i. 1375, xii, i. 1881, x,i. 1874, X, i. 1877, vi, i. 1878, V, i. 1831, iii, i. 1375, X, i. 1876, X, i. 1877, vi, 1. 1874, x,i. 1875, v,i. 1876, v, i. 1875, V, i. Eberswalde SchmiedefeUl Friedrichsrode Sonnenberg Marientbal Hadersleben 70-80-year beeches.. 20year pines 70-year beeches 45-year spruces 50-year spruces 55-65-year pines 45-year beeches 60-80-year beeches . . 410 656 2,461- 361 1,640 4,167 320 3,937 394 1,640 640 328 656 2,192 820 5,249 FOREST INFLUENCES. 317 The couipilatiou of tlie records at these stations iuto the ingenious graphic form here presented was made by Mr. Mark W. Harrington, formerly Chief of the United States Weather Bureau ; they explain themselves without the need of additional text to any one who will learn to read them with the aid of the following explanation and show at a glance the difl'erence of meteoro- logical conditions prevailing in the forest and in the open. NOTE ON THE CONSTRUCTION AND READING OF THE DIAGRAMS. The horizoDtal lines forcUnates) above or below the zero line represent values or amounts, degrees of tempera- ture, inches of precipitation or evaporation, percentages, etc. The vertical lines (abscissii;) represent time, dividing the field into twelve seasonal divisions corresponding to the twelve months of the year, the outer lines both stand- ing for the month of December or commencement of winter. The curve lines are constructed by noting on each monthly line the values found for the month, and then connecting these points by either straight or rounded-oif lines. Unless otherwise noted, the values so plotted are the differences between the readings under two sots of condi- tions, namely, in most cases the values which were found for the stations in the woods (W) diminished by the values found for the stations in the open field (O), or If — O. The value of this ditference is positive, if the curve runs above the zero line — that is to say, the records for the ■woods ())') showed higher values than for the open field (0); it is negative, i. e., the record for the woods was lower, if the curve line runs below the zero line. The greater, therefore, the vertical distance of any point in the curve from zero line, the greater is the influence of thS woods. In temperature readings, for instance, the curve above the zero line would denote that the woods were warmer; below the zero line, that the woods were cooler than the open field by as many degrees as the curve runs above or below the zero line, the latter representing that state of conditions when W=0. i. e., when there is no ditference in the readings for the two sets of conditions. Where values for each set of conditions are plotted separately, the area included within the two curve lines (hatched) exhibits the difl'erence between the woods and open field. To exhibit more readily the amount of influence of the forest, the areas included by the zero line and the curve for mean values is also hatched in most cases. 318 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. Soil temperatures. Average, Hadersleben, - Lintzel, Hollerath, - - Schoo, - - - Lahnhuf, - - Marienthal, - Fritzen, - - Friedrichsrode, St. Johann, - Kurwien, - - Carhherg, - - Eherswalde, - Sehmiedefeld, Hagenaii, - - Sonnenberg, - Neumath, - - Melkerei,'-^-' Scale of degrees. At surface. — — - Pm. 42.— Differences of m Scale of degrees. L — - ,-ii six indies : '.".... -~- "-■_>_ -■ - — - b °r- °ai °ro ■^ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 L Muiiual t,emi)Bi:it.ure3 of soil ( W—O). FOREST INFLUENCES. Soil temperatures — Continued. 319 SCHOO. ^ HADERSLEBEN. ■ \ ' _ HOLLERATH _.. ^ \"v ^ CARLSBERG. ,,., ■^ ^ "^ "■^ y NEUMATH, -^^ - s_ y y'^ ,.--' '' ^^' --- •.^" \ — -' / _^ EBERSWALDE "^ "^\-, k ' /:-M 1 AHNHOF. . ^ '- ,\"- \ y^. ^y MELKEREI. "^ ■\ \ \ ^. . _--< fy/ ^ KURWIEN. F'^ t:^ "-. ^^^ ,-'- ^' / /y\ FRIEDRICHSRODE.^ — =^ ^^ X '^^ / /,/ A '^ — \ '' ,. // /' / FRITZEN.. \ \ ~--\ \ ■■' / // SCALE OF DEGREES OF FAHRENHEIT. 0° \ \ N, \^ y / 1° \ --^^ y^ ^7 ?° \ \ y' / 1 1 3° \- ./ 1 1 A-" 1 1 S° \ \ / 1 7° \ fi° > WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 Flo. 43 Difference of temperature ( TF— O) at the depth of 4 feet. (The line running nnder the name of a atation is its zero lijie. The curve for the stiition is represented hy the nearest broken, unbroken, or dotted line like that in the margin.) 1- o 1- < + 1° e J^ '-' ■~- J ^~~--, ^^' -21 '^. ^/■■' -3° , L-'^-'. \ — j^/ — -4" ^^.^N y + 1° ■i.^_ -r.- :-rr "-"■^--i :------ r o z X CO < - r %> // -2° V ' ^ -3° / -4° ^y -s° .^-,. .<-^ + 1° ^**~. ~-r- '■■' —;.- =--= .^ 'l'- 1 ■c 1- < - 1° ~X / y -2° V\ -3° v" -4° '•■ 4 -5° \\ /y -6° \* / ' -7° v_ -8° ■■ .---' WINTER SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN 1 ■1 Fig. 44. — Differences of soil temperature (-woods and open fields). Conipai deciduous and evergreen trees (TT— O). 320 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Soil lemperaLiires — Contiuued . + 1 n T-t-- !^t::?s ■^-'^^, jf^ f^. - r \ >-, / •V / -z" \\ ^\ // ' /-' -3° \ \ N /-// -4° \\ '\ / / / -fi° \^ ^^ /"' -e° \ J ^\7 -7° \ / -r WINTER. SPF5ING, SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 Fig. 45.— Difference of soil temperature (TF—0), all stations — Grerman observations. \ a. o H < + 1° I n ^ — ^ ^'- - 1° _. — - ^\ / _. -?" "n. / / y ■ -,v \ N -4° ■\ / ,.'' - 1" ^ ^ ~c-i_ ^--- „.'' r r-^ ^^ X o z X 1- < - 1° y ,-- -" - ?° / - 3° \X / -4° ^,'' /y - vS" \ /y + 1° .__ :_U' ^ ,_ ~^ ^^ /'' < EC 1- < - 1° v^\ / ^ -'" -2° / .''' - 3° \N / y -4° * W »/,-' -5° 'sN / -6° '-\ v^ .-/ -T \ ~- -..,' / ^8° — " WINTER SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 -- 240C EEET. 240 FEET | Fig. 46. — Differences of soil temperature (woods and open fields). Comparison of e vations .above sea level (IT — O). + 1 ■-. -=rr: ^^ ,^ _ .0 " \\" y. =--?^ ^^ -2° V \ '* y/-- .'' -3° v\ ^^.^ .--'y ^ -4° \\ y - 5° / - 6° / - 7° / WINTER- SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN.. 1 At surface. At C inches beloju surface Atifeetielow surface. -Differences of temperature for young trees, Lintzel Station, woods and open fields ( W— O). POKEST INFLUENCES. Soil temperatures — Continued. 321 ■Hi° . _ ■ \ y »-«-^:^ / - 1° \ \ " - — "■ / / - 2° \ ^ -^'-• --^-^ ^y' / - 3° \ \ "^^ / - 4.° \ - S° \ " WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 B.esvXts^ on loamy i . Results on quartz soil. Fig. 48. — Effects of litter on soil temperature (littered surface— bare). ( TT— 0.) + 3° . + 2° .-^■;> 1 ■ P^^!:^ + 1° ^ K'"' -^ y ■-■ 1 ■\>v -^^ ..^ .,--^ :^-^ y - |» ^ ■ ^-~~- :^ '^^ ^ - 2° ^ — — -s" WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. J • Dcfth of O.S inch. Depth of 4.C inches Depth of 9.S inches. Fie. 49.— Ditference of soil temperature, iinJer sod, and Ijare surface (sod— bare) . Beoqnerel's observations. + 1° .— — "■--,. h- u - 1° y/Mm •ii!^ ^^ P ^_,:_-^ r^m -2° - ——— \ "^^ W/,...^ — — -^ / - 3° "'n ggXi^ Y - 4° \ / - S° \ - 6° \ ^^y" - 7° ^-~._ — -" WINTER. SPRING SUMMER, AUTUMN. 1 Fig. 50. — Under decidnous trees. + 2° + 1 ° r ' '■-- . - 1° 'v.v/m/i'/ Wmi ¥m te , /Ji. -2° -^^ ^^-1 _^_ji^^ ^■^~ - 3° ~—-~. .... y^ - 4.° ^ — — . — -5° — — — ' WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 FiQ, 51.— Under evergreen trees. - 1° ^ ST^* _,.-=: ...-"::> \ ^-. ^ ^/i/^A I'lU'llS'. -2° ~^ — — ^ WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN 1 MINIMA. H. Doc. 181 21 'MAXIMA. Fig. 52 Under young forest (Lintzel). 322 FOEESTRY LNVESTIGATIONS V. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. Air temperatures m forests and opei} fields. Minimum. Maximum. Fritzen, - ■ Kurwien, - - Carlsberg, - - Eberswalde, - Schmiedefehl, - Friedriehsrocle, Sonnenherg. Marienthal, Lintzel, - ■ Haderslehen, - Sehoo, - - . Lahnhof, - ■ Hollemth, - St. Johann, Hagenau, - - Nemnatli, - ■ Melkerei, - . Average, Scale. i_ Fig. 53.— Forest air temperature dittbrences (W—0). German stations. Mean annual (cross- bar), maxima (below zero line), minima (above zero line), and range (length of lines). FOREST INFLUENCES. . Air iemperaturen in forests and open fields — Continned. 323 + 2° + 1 ° "~,^ "^N -~,^ - 1° 1 i?^-- "■ R'*^^? 1 ■ ■^■^^^^ - 2° ^ -^ -3° \ ^ ^^ / - 4-° \ \ / -6° \ / - 6° \ \ / ' - 7° \ \ y -8° \ ^ - 9° ~~^ WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 Fm. .•i4.— Friedriclisroae + 1° h 1 1 .— . "t --j- - 1" 'mm. k__- _ I ^^ ^ ^^^^ -2° ""^^ / y __ -3° "~~ — — --"^ ■~ — -.^ ^ V^ / -4° \ -"^^ / -S" \ / -6° ^. / -7° \ / -8° ■'^ WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 Fig. 55. — Hagenan. + 3° ^^ + 2° '""-- U- — '-^ _.^ + 1 " - 1° — iiiai^ bic p;^ '/////////, w/z/m W///''/// iii2^22 ^^2iii^ -2° __,- -3° ^^-, ' v,^ ^^' -4-° "•^ ^ -5° "■->- '" - ~ WINTER. SPRING, SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 Fig. 56.— Sonnenliprg^. + 1° . ... — ~^ -~- - 1° ^^ \i/:'miA \wy/^A m/j/d^ ^//////A ^^i^i^ ■^////A '/iO^^^ Y^TTT^' W//y ^ii^ ._-—- -?■> ~--^_ --^^ ^^ - 3° ^^-.^ ,-' -4' WINTER SPRING SUMMER AUTUMN. 1 Fig. 57. — Eberswalde. 4-1' "1 " - 1° ^ ' Kitwy^^^/^ 'm^ W//M ^^ - 2' ~'~ — -^^ '''' - 3° ^^_. WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 Fig. 58.— Sclioo. 324 FOEESTKY INVESTIGATIONS U S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Air iemperattire in forests and open fields — Coutiuued. ....MINIMA. MEAN. ■ MAXIMA. + 3- "■.. + 7? ,, *^^ + 1° ,-' '-v,_ ' u_ - 1° .— .^"--"V -^ '■'■' i ■ '■ , -^^^iSiiii'p.^ ■- Z" \ fZ^,2^.=-^ - 3° s ^^ '-'' - 4° \ ^- - 5° \ _^^ -6° '■.^ . — -^ WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 Fig. 59.— Marientlial. + 1° _.,. 1 N^ ,. .-—- "' ---- ,--^ - 1° ■— -^ ■p^'-.- - 2° .. ■ ' f.' , ■ -, . r""^ ' - ,1° \ ^ - 4° \ , - 5* "--.__ _-^ WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER AUTUMN. 1 Fig. 60.— Hader-sleben. + ?" + 1° ^^ ..- _ - 1' -mm^ i _^ J ' ' __ "-m ^-= - 3" -- y -4° \ / - 6° \ ^_-- .y - %° "" 1 — WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 Fig. 61.— Averag + 2° _,,_- ,^^ + 1° \-" -_. "-■ , - 1° ma^ ■mm 'W/^A --'-_ . K''-. /i 2^^ -2° •».^_^ "~~ ■"^ ^'"^--i i^//-'^.\ ,"1-,".-:.. r^ ^ V-^"' - 3° ~- — — ^ X -4° "■ ~. /' -S" "\ / -6° 1 ^~- WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 Fig.— 62. — Elevated stations. + r '"' "-- - 1° Z!Z_ '^'"^ ^^^ . . y/ 'W^ - 2° '^s -3° N / -4° X y -5° WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 Fig. 63.— Near sea level. FOREST INFLUENCES. Tree-toil tonperatiirc differences, woods and open-fields. 325 Average, - - . _ - St. Johann, - - - il9. Melherei, - - - 26. Hollerath, - - - 2S. Schmiedefekl, - - ;;i. Sonnenbery, - -■'• Marienthal, - - - o'6'. Fritzen, - - - - 26. Hagenaii, - - - 52. Lahnhof, - - - 38. Kurwien, - - - 51. Friedrichsrode, - - 26. Eberswulde, - - - 39. Carlsherg, - - - 3G. Hadersleben, - 41. Mmniath,- - - - SO. Schoo, - - - - IS. Minimum Maximum i Scale. L Fig. 64. — Forest temperature ditVerences for the year at lieig:litof the tree top (IF— 0). + z° + 1° _^. "--, - 1° _^ .___ i 'm^ .- - 2° ■ -.^ - 3° ~^N • - 4° ^— _ ■ —--^ ' WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 FiQ. 65 Average differences of tree.top temperatiire, sixteen German stations ^ TF— 0), 326 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS V. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Tree-top temperaiure differences, woods and open fields — Continued. MINIMA. MEAN. MAXIMA. + ?' ,.' + r \ ^— - ^^--^ f^~C ^^ ■•• =^.-=^ - 1° \ ^ WM, WM W^ ^ii^ ' ^^' 1 ,-2° \ "^ « m^ y -5" \ / -4° \ / -5° • ./ - 6° ^■~- — WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 Fig. 66.— Friedrichsrode. + 2° + r ;t— •- - ""--- - 1° ^f^ass 2jJij5^ :A:A:ZiZi bziiiii. '/^'//^lU. ^////^' '//////A fe^^^2^:t^^^ii^^kkW^ rteijg - 2° ^^^ ^ /^ -3° ~~' _ .-^ WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 Fig. 67.— Eberswalde. + 3° _._ ,,,'- + 2° '~~---. ■-' + 1° . '^-, .---' + 1° ■■^ y/MZo w^ ^^ ^^ wd ;%%^ ^^ + 2° ^ ^^- + 3° \ ^' --''' + 4-° -^ ^ - ^ / + 5° X / + 6° ""-- --''' WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN.,^ 1 Fig. 68.— St. Johann. + 1° ..^ ■ - -. ..^ 1 ^ _,.--• - 1" --.^^ .^^ .. — — --- -2" ~"^ '" WINTER. SPRING, SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 Fig. 69.— Carlsberg. ....^ -.=.... 1 1" \_Z'-\ 1 - '-" ~~ ^ ^-c: iiim^i^u f-^a^ ~''^- "^~... "^ WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 Fig. 70.— Sohoo. FOREST INTFLUENCES. Tree-lop temperature differences, xeoods and open fields — Continued. -MINIMA. , MEAN. MAXIMA. 327 + 3° + ?° ^--""" "**-, + 1° _^__ - 1° — z° ^ --^ ^"^^ -3° "^v ."^ . "-- _. -^_ • WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 Eia. 71.— Sonnenberg. -1-2° y '■--, -1- r , "~*--, . 111-^^-^-— ^y ^ ^^ — - 1° 1 ^^ ~-~,. ^---' -?° "~- ■ ' r^. ,^- --'" -.1° WINTER. SPRING SUMMER, AUTUMN. 1 Fig. 72. — Kiirwieu. .—- -4-- 1 J - 1° •mm t^ ' ' : — \ — ""'^ '5-^ -7° — — ^ ^"-==:^~_, — — _ ■ — ^=— — .— ^ -J^^ ^- -^° "^^- ^ , 1 ""■^^ / -4° "■ — ~-~ ^-''' ^^^ / -.s° ^v / -6° 1 ^ WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 FlQ. 73.— Hagena + 1" ^- — ^ _-;:^ z=„.<^ r^^ ---:r ^- "-- — - - 1' '0 ^ - : i _—-. S-m .:auii. „,._£. -2° ■--^-'"' y -3° \ \ \ -— ' -4-° - — - ' WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 FlG.74.-Nenm:it.Ii. Fig. 75.— DeciUuous trees, 328 FORESTRY INVESTIGATtOXS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. + 2° + r .,.-- _.--"" '"--- - 1° 1 iiii^ ^^S^ - 2° ~~^-~ --^^ ^■^' - 3° "** —-^ / - 4° WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. Fig. 76.— Tree-top temperature (liftereD(/.'s [^Y — O), evergreen trees. +2° r^ :::::; ■H" _,.,.- / /f ^\ r^<.\ ..^ -^ //■' ^-~-.^\ — — " ' /// ■- WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN., Dccicliioas h'ecs Everijrieii trees. Ai-enije of all. FrG. 77.— Vertical te]iipuratiu-e, gradient in woods, de.grces F.alirenlieit for 100 feet. + 5° ^~ — . + 4° y — ^\ .^;^ ^^T- -^ N. •»-3° / -X + 2° ^'' ■ ^ -^ / -' ~^x + 1° ^- — ,.^ _.. y ■^ b WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. 1 , EVERGREEN TREES AVERAGE OF BOTH DECIDUOUS TREES. !FiQ. 78. — Vertical temperature gradients from observations aboAe trees. + r DECIDUOUS TREES. ,___ -^ — ___ + r *■""• — =- EVERGREEN TREES. + 1° ^-— ' - "" ~ ■- "-^.^ , - 1° ...---' . -2° "■ WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. Fig. 79, — Forest teiuperjitiire, differences above trees — from Fautrat's observations. FOREST INFLUENCES. 62d riQ. 83._Ka,tio of evaporation from water surface in field (upper curved and forest (lower curve) to precipitation (top line). 100 75 , -^ / ^\ \ ^ -X ^ 50 V ^ \ J 1 25 ■'" ^^~-'\ "^~-": --7 -'-" . — ■- WINTER. SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. - ,-^ EVERGREEN TREES. DECIDUOUS TREES »"" f IG. 84.— Percentage of evaporation in woods to that in the open air. 1. THE WORK IN TIMBER PHYSICS IN THE DIVISION OF FORESTRY. Bv FiLiHKRT Roth, Laie Assistant in the Divisluii. of Forestry, Historical. As iu tlie wise of other materials, exact iuvestigatiou of the properties of wood did not begin nntil the latter part of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century, when Girard Buflbn and Duhamel du Monceau iu France, and Peter Barlow, the nestor of engineering in England, laid the foundation for this inquiry by devising suitable methods and working out correct formulse for the computation of the results. As might be expected, the results of this pioneer work, particularly that of the French investigators, were often contradictory, and have to-day little more than historical value. vSubsequently our knowledge of wood in general, and that of European species in particular, was increased by a number of experimenters. Among these, Chevandier and Wertheim in France, and Nordlinger in Germany, stand out conspicuous. Unfortunately, their apparatus was crude and, in the case of the French workers, the series was too small to satisfy so complicated a problem, while Nordlinger was obliged to content himself with small and few specimens, owing to a want of proper equipment. In England considerable money was expended from time to time both by Government and private enterprise, but the eagerness of making the matter as practicable as possible led, unfortu- nately, to much testing of large sizes and to the employment of insufficient (because unsystematic) methods, so that such extreme experiments as those of Fowke and others have really neither furthered science nor helped the practice. In this country the engineering world for a long time relied largely on the results of European testing, and the wood consumers in general depended on a meager accumulation of experience and crude observation concerning most of the fine array of valuable and abundant kinds of timber offered in our markets. Ignorance and prejudice had their way. Chestnut oak was pronounced unfit for railway ties, and thus millions of logs were left rotting iu the woods, though this prejudice had not a single fair trial to support it. "Bled" longleaf, or Georgia pine, was considered weaker and less durable, millers and dealers were obliged to misrepresent their goods, causing unnecessary loss and litiga- tion, and yet there existed not a single record of a properly conducted experiment to substantiate these views. Gum was of no value. Southern oak was publicly proclaimed as unfit for carriage builders, and the views as to the usefulness of dift'erent timbers were almost as numerous as the men expounding them. The engineering world was the first to realize this deficiency, and men like Hatfield, Lanza, Thurston, and others attempted to replace the few auti(iuated and unreliable tables of older text- books by the results performed on American woods and with modern appliances. In addition to these efibrts of engineers, Sharpies, under Sargent's direction, in his great work for the Tenth Census of ISSO, subjected samples of all our timber trees to mechanical tests, but, since in these tests only a few select pieces represented each species, the engineering world never ventured to use the results. As regards the rest of the wood testing in oar country, it may be said that it generally possessed two serious defects: (1) the wood was not properly chosen, and (2) the methods of testing were defective, especially with respect to the various states of seasoning, wood being tested in iilmost every state from green to dry, without distinction. This is the more 330 TIMBER PHYSICS. 331 remarkable since the important influence of moisture was recognized and emi)hasized by both French and German experimenters more than forty years ago.' These facts were fully appreciated by the engineers of our country, as is well shown by the numerous, often emphatic, approvals and recommendations of the timber-physics work undertaken by the Division of Forestry, and by the eagerness with which wood consumers generally seized on all information of this kind as fast as the Division of Forestry could supply the same. Southern and Northern Oak. Though fully planned before, the work in timber physics was really begun in order to decide an important controversy as to the relative value of Southern and jS^ortheru grown oak. A representative committee of the Carriage Builders' Association had publicly declared that this important industry could not depend upon the supplies of Southern timber, as the oak grown in the South lacked the necessary qualities demanded in carriage construction. Without experiment this statement could be little better than a guess, ^ and was doubly unwarranted, since it condemned an enormous amount of material, and one produced under a great variety of conditions and by at least a dozen ditterent species of trees, involving, therefore, a complexity of problems difficult enough for the cai'eful investigator, and entirely beyond the few unsystematic observations of the members of a committee on a flying trip through one of the greatest timber regions of the world. A number of samples were at once collected (part of them supplied by the carriage builders' committee) and the fallacy of the broad statement mentioned was fully demonstrated by a short series of tests and a more extensive study into structure and weight of these materials. From these tests it appears that pieces of white oak from Arkansas excelled well-selected pieces from Connecticut both in stiShess and endwise compression (the two most important forms of resistance). Results of testa on Northern and SoiUhern white oak made in Washington University Lahoratory, St. Louis, Mo., hy Prof. J. B. Johnson, iSS!). ' For a more complete history see Bulletin fi of Division of Forestry. • ^ See Report of the Division of Forestry, 1890, page 209. (W. ^ total load at center in puuuda W. L.-i where L. = length in inches. D. ^ deflection in inches. I b. =^ breadth yi inches. ^ h. — height in inches. Test piece. Bending and cross breaking. Size of test piece 14 by Ig by 24. Compression. Shearing. Stiffness. tritimate strength. Resistance to shock. Endwise. Tran averse. Longitudinal. Where procured. No. ^Modulus . 1 of elaa- ' ■ per sipiare inch. Range Modulus 3. W. L. 2. h. h^ pounds per square inch. Range No. Modulus inch- pounds per cubic inch. j Modulus ] pounds r-ge' „p, inch. Size li by 5 iuches. Range No. Modulus pounds per square inch. Range No Modulua pounds per inch. 1,375 1, olio A.i I Average J. II Average Avor.ige 1 2 3 4 5 6 ■ 9 1 990,000 5 ; 1,280,000 3 1 13, 760 18,500 4 1 59 92 6, 160 7 1 5,480 1 3 3,400 3,100 3 I n 1. Iffi.OOO 1 1 16, 130 1 76 3 5,820 I 3, 250 1 I 1. 4eK A. 6 ' 1, 120, 000 10 920,000 8 5 12. 300 12, 700 5 47 55 11 4,740 4,980 7 .1 2,500 2, 800 G I 7 ! 1,225 4 1 1,020,000 3 12, 500 3 51 5 4,860 2 2, 650 3 1 1,225 11 j 850,000 7 , 1, 140, 000 9 7 11, 400 12, 300 7 83 45 8 10 5, 230 4,820 5 8 2. 700 2,500 4 1,375 2 1 , 540 5 995, 000 5 11,850 2 64 4 5,025 3 2,600 2 1,458 B 5 ize: IJby Ig by 18 inches. Size: 1 g cube. 8 9 3 1.570,000 8 1, 100, 000 4 1,385,000 6 2 11 12, 380 14, 690 11,240 9 3 11 27 82 19 4 I 5 6,800 7,800 6.800 11 2 9 2,000 3, 200 2.300 10 860 5 1 1,260 11 , 82.T 2 1 1,351,667 2 12, 770 4 43 2 7, 133 4 2, 500 5 1 9S2 10 11 1 1,653,000 2 . 1,581,000 4 10 13, U30 11, 590 8 10 30 22 3 2 6,900 7,700 6 10 2. 0011 3,100 8 9 1,050 940 1 1 1,617,000 5 26 1 7,300 ' 2,350 4 095 3 Yoim^a moilulus of elasticity: ^=^T"WirTr3 332 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Beacriptioii of test material and results of phjisieal examination. Notation as to station, site, and tree. Niimbor of test piece Exposure i n tree Heigli t in tree Position in tree (witli reference to iieripljery) Size of test material : Lengtb ' 4 . I. Connecti- A. h. 11. Connec- cut xipland. 1. Nortb. "Butt cut." Not known. 1 rings). Breadth - Deptii (measured i Number of rings Width of rings (average) Summer wood as a wliole Firm bast tissue Space lost by large vessels Moisture conditions when tested. Density 2.7 miUimeter.s. 80 per cent. GO per cent. 14.7 percent. Nearly seasoned. .84 ticut lowland. 3. ■ Soutbwest. " Butt cut." I Not known. 1| incb. l| incb. 1.5 millimeters. 54 per cent. 37.5 per cent. 24.9 per cent. Half seasoned. .77 Not specified. These particular tests can hardly settle definitely any question. Samples 1 and 2 being selected stock, second growth, can not be used for comparison with samples of B, except to show that for stiffness the unselected Southern stock is superior to the best Northern growth, as also in resistance to endwise compression. The samples 3, 4, 5, and 6 are probably more nearly compara- ble to samples of B, and here we find the Southern oak very miich superior, not only in stiffness and columnar strength, but also in ultimate cross-breaking strength, while for resistance to shock, at least one sample of Southern oak is superior to three samples of forest-grown ISTorthern, and even to one of the best Northern second growth. This piece (No. 8) exhibits, altogether, qualities which render the verdict tenable that Southern oak is not necessarily inferior to Northern oak in any of its qualities. Beyond this it would not be safe to use these figures for generalizations. In 1888 the really first beginning in timber physics was made in the form of a preliminary physical and structural examination of a set of trees representing the more important lumber pines of the South and of the lake region, as well as of bald cypress. A comprehensive plan was fully worked out and the mistakes of former methods were carefully avoided. In 1891 a more extensive study of the four great Southern timber pines, the longleaf, Cuban, loblolly, and shortleaf, was begun, and the material was at the same time collected in such a manner as to enable a detailed inquiry into the relative merits of timber bled or tapped for turpentine as compared with unbled timber. The trees were collected by Dr. Charles Mohr, of Mobile, Ala., an acknowledged authority on the botany of the region, and thus a correct identification was assured. Of each tree entire cross sections as well as the intervening logs were utilized, the former being subjected to examinations into their specific weight (the acknowledged indicator of many valuable technical properties), into the amount of moisture contained, into the shrinkage consequent on drying, and into the struc- tural peculiarities, particularly those structural features which are readily visible and may be utilized in practice for purjioses of timber inspection. The logs were sawed and tested according to definite plans in the well-equipped test laboratory of the Washington University, St. Louis, Mo., under the direction of Prof J. B. Johnson, a recog- nized authority in engineering. The first series of test results are embodied in Bulletin No. 8 of the division, where the strength values for the longleaf pine are fully tabulated and discussed. So eagerly was this bulletin sought by wood consumers, that an edition of 5,000 copies was exhausted in a short time. Bled and Unbled Pine. In addition, this series of tests together with an extensive chemical analysis and physical and structural examination of material from unbled and bled trees, as well as from trees bled and abandoned for five years, re-enforced by an extended study of bled and unbled timber at various points of manufacture, proved conclusively that the discrimination against bled timber was unwarranted, since the bled timber was neither distinct in appearance, behavior, nor strength. To avoid error in so important a matter, and also for a comparison of the three most important turpentine trees — the Cuban and longleaf with the loblolly pine — the exteusive chemical analyses of Dr. M. Gomberg, of the Michigan University, were repeated and extended by Mr. O. Carr, of the Chemical Division of the Department of Agriculture. This series of additional ghemical RESINOUS CONTKNTS OF PINE. 333 analyses fully substautiated Dr. Gomberg's work, so that it was safe to announce that: (1) Bled timber is as strong as unbled timber; and (2) that it contains the resinous substances iu the same amounts and similarly distributed as the wood of unbled timber, so that it seemed to follow as a simple corollary that bled timber is also as durable as unbled, and hence equal to the latter in every respect. The importance of this fact was quite fully realized. Trautwine, in his standard work, the Engineers' Pocketbook, at once placed tlie fact on eminent record, and the lumbermen of the South, as well as all trades journals, spread the welcome news in every paper and at every opportunity. The work of Mr. Gomberg iu determining the distribution of the resin through the different parts of the tree is unique iu method and classical iu its clear scientific procedure and statement. Since the publication in which it first appeared was at ouce exhausted, it appears proper to repro- duce it iu full, leaving out only a few tables, as a part of the most valuable work in timber physics performed under direction of the Division of Forestry: A Chemical Study of the Eesinous Contents and their Distribution in Trees of THE LONGLEAF PiNB BEFORE AND AFTER TAPPING FOR TURPENTINE. [By M. Gomberg.] Botauists tell us that resins are produced by the disorganization of cell walls aud by the breaking dowu of starch granules of cells. Chemists believe that resins are oxidation products of volatile oils, the change being expressed by formula as follows: 2C]oHi,;+30=C2oHm02+H,0. Whatever view be correct,' one thing is certain, and that is that the formation of either resins or essential oils requires the presence iu the tree of those peculiar conditions which we call vital. The tree must live, must be active, must assimilate carbon dioxide and imbibe moisture, in order that oil of turpentine and rosin be formed. The heart of the tree is the dead i^art of it. It does not manufacture any turpentine. A part of the oleoresin iu it had l)eeu formed when the heartwood was yet sapwood, and remained there after the change from sap to heart had taken place. It is also probable that the heart of the tree acts as a storehouse in which there is deposited a portion of the oleoresin formed in the leaves and sap. When a tree is tapped for turpentine there are two possible changes that might be supposed to take place: (1) The tree may be considered as placed in a pathological condition, when it will strive to ijroduce a larger amount of oleoresin in order to supply the amount removed. In a few /years the energy of the tree will be exhausted and the amount freshly supplied will fall far below the amount of oleoresin drawn oii by the tapping. The tapjting will then have to be discontinued. The oleoresin in the heartwood will in this case remain untouched. (2) The oleoresin previously stored away in tiie heart might, by some unknown means and ways, also be directed toward the wound. If the first change takes place then, the tapping will have little eU'ect upon the chemical composition of the heartwood. If, however, the second condition prevails during tapping, then of course the heartwood will be seriously affected for some time afler tapping, and will contain a much smaller amount of oleoresin than it contained before tapping. Moreover, the tapping may affect not only the amount of oleoresin, but also the quality of the new product and the relative distribution of volatile products. For this reason the chemical side of the i)roblem has been approached by parallel analyses of tapped or untapped trees for their relative amounts of turpentine. It was hoped that by a large series of analyses an average might be obtained showing whether tapped and untapped trees differ from each other in that respect. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF TURPENTINE. Under the name of turpentine is known an oleoresinous juice produced by all the coniferous trees iu greater or less amount. It is found in the wood, bark, leaves, and other parts of the trees. It flows freely as a thick juice from the incisions in the bark. It consists of resin or resins ' The one view (.Toes not excliiile the other. 334 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. dissolved in an essential oil; the latter is separated from the former usuallj'^ by distillation with steam. There are many varieties of turpentine, corresponding to the different varieties of coniferse, but only three are commercially important, as they are the source of the three principal oils of turi)entine. (1) The turpentine of Finns pinaster (syn. P. tnaritima), collected in the southern departments of France around Bordeaux. From it is obtained the French turiieutine, which yields 25 jier cent of volatile oil. (2) The turpentine from Pinus palustris, P. tceda, P. heterophylia, collected in the southern sea-bordering States from ISTorth Carolina to Texas. From them, principally from the first source, is obtained the English or American oil of turpentine, which yields 17 per cent of volatile oil. Formerly the P. i-igida was also worked for turpentine in the l^Torth Atlantic States, but it is now exhausted. (3) The turpentine from Pinus laricio var. austriaca, collected mainly in Austria and Galicia. From it is obtained the German turpentine oil, which yields 32 per cent of volatile oil. The Russian oil of turpentine is obtained from Pinus silvestris and Pinus ledebourii, by the direct distillation of the resinous wood, without previously collecting the turpentine. It is said to be identical with the German oil of turpentine, but more variable, as it contains products of destructive distillation, both of wood and rosin. The turpentines from the different sources differ from each other — (1) in their action upon polarized light, (2) in the relative amounts of volatile oil they yield on distillation with steam, and (3) in the nature of the volatile oils they contain. Colophony. — The rosin in the different varieties of turpentine is x'ractically the same. It is known as common rosin or colophony.' It consists chemically of a mixture of several resin acids and their corresponding anhydrides. The chief constituent is abietic anhydride, C44H62O4, abietic acid being C44Hc40;;. The crystals that are noticed in crude turpentine are the free abietic acid; on melting the thick turpentine, or on distilling the volatile oil, the acid is changed to the anhy- dride. Colophony is nonvolatile, tasteless, brittle, has a smooth shining fracture, sp. gr. about 1.08. It softens at 80° C, and in boiling water melts completely at 135° C. The volatile oil. — The second principal constituent of turpentines are the volatile oils. The chief ingredient of the three turpentine oils is a hydrocarbon of the same composition, GioHin; nevertheless the three oils have distinct hydrocarbons differing from each other in physical if not in chemical properties. The empirical formula of the hydrocarbon is CioHn;, and according to the latest researches of Wallach ^ it has the following structural formula: cm CJSF thus being a dihydro-para-cymene, paracymene being C10H14, cj/ccj/jj^ c EM CCHa Cff ' Coloplioii, a city of Iconia, wlience rosin was obtained by the Greeks. = Anii. Cliem. (Liebig), 239, 49; Ber. d. Chem. Ges., 21, 1545. RESINOUS CONTENTS OF PINE. 335 TliL', posLtiou of tliis particular terpene, piuene, will be best seen from the general classiflca- tion of terpenes taken from Wallach.' I. Memilerpenes or pentenes of the formula CsHs. II. Terpenes or dipentenes of the fonnula CioHie. (1) Pinene, obtained from many varieties of turpentine. (2) Campheiie, obtained artificially from camphor. (3) Fenchene, obtained artificially from fenchone, a constituent of many fennel oils. (4) Lemoneiie occurs in orange-peel oil, in oils of lemon, liergamot, cuminin, etc. (5) Dipeiilene, obtained artificially from pinene. Occurs m Russian and Swedish turpentine. (6) Syh'cstrene occurs in Russian and Swedisli turpentine. (7) PheJandrene occurs in the oils of bitter fennel and water fennel, elomi, eucalyptus. (8) Terpinene occurs in oil of cardamom. (9) Terjrinolene, only slightly known. III. — Poli/terpeiies, of the formula (CnHs),,, as cedrenes Ci-.Hi, caoutchouc (CsHs)],, etc. The hydrocarbon of the American and French oils of turpentine is pinene. It is dextro- rotatory when obtained from the American turpentine oil, and is known as austro-terebinthene or australene; laivo-rotatory when obtained from the French turpentine oil, and is known as terebinthene. Otherwise the two hydrocarbons agree entirely in specific gravity, boiling point, and behavior toward chemical reagents. The hydrocarbon of the Russian oil of turpentine is sylvestrene. It is dextro-rotatory, and has a higher boiling point than pinene. The latter boils at 155° to 156° 0., the former at 175° to 178° 0. But even the turpentine oils of high grade as found on the market do not consist of pure pinene; especially is this true of ordinary oil of turi)entiue, which is obtained from the cruder turpentine by a single distillation with steam. Dift'erent samples vary from one another considerably in their specific rotatory power as well as their boiling point. American oil of turpentine has a density of 0.804° to 0.870°. According to Allen ' it begins to boil at a temperature between 156° and 160° C, and fully passes over below 170° C. "A good sample of rectified American oil will give 90 to 93 per cent of distillate below 165°, the greater part of which will pass over between 158° and 160°",' while in tlie experience of J. H. Long,^ "In the examination of a large number of pure commercial samples of turijeutine oil it was observed that the boiling point was uniformly at 155° to 156°, and that 85 per cent of the samples distilled between 155° and 163°. The distillation is practically comjjlete below 185° G." Then, again, as found by Long, the vapor densities of many samples of oil are too high to allow the formula CioHie for the entire oil. Fractions of different boiling points show different degrees of specific rotation. All this would indicate that ordinary turpentine oil contains hydrocarbons heavier than pure pinene, CioH,,;. They are probably either isomeric with pinene, but of a higher boiling point, or may belong to the polyterpenes. Still less do we know of the source of these hydrocarbons. Whether they are produced by the tree simultaneously with pinene, and are therefore to be found in the oleoresin or whether they are all or in part produced by exteriial agencies after the turijentine has been dipped can not be answered. Probably the formation of these other hydrocarbons takes jjlace in both ways spontaneously in the tree and by some influences outside the tree. Indeed, all terpenes have this property in common that they easily imdergo change, from optically active to inactive, from hemiterpeues to terpenes and polyterpenes. The change can be brought about either by heat alone, or by heating the terpenes with salts or acids. So, when a sample of American turpentine oil of -|-18.6° was heated to 200° C. for two hours it showed an opposite rotation of — 9.9°.'' Pinene heated to 250° to 300° C. is converted into dipentene OH, boiling at 175°, and a hydrocarbon CH, boiling at 260° 0. These illustrations will suffice to show that the transformation of pinene into i.someric and heavier hydrocarbons may occur, at least partially, after the turpentine has been removed from the tree. ' Ann. Chem. (Lieblg), 227, 300; Ber. d. Chem. Ges., 24, 1527. ^ Allen, Com. Org. Anal., 2, 441. -Allen, Com. Org. Anal., 2, 437. •'.Tour. Anal, and Appl. Chem., 6, 5. ' MuBpratt's Chemie, 4th ed., 1, 153. 336 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. The crude turpentine from Pinus paltistris, or long-leaf piue, is tlius made up of — (1) Rosin, 75 to 90 per ceut; mostly abietie anhydride. (2) Australene, 25 to 10 per cent; bolls at 155° to 156° C. (3) Some other terpenes of CiuHmj; small portions ; kind not known. (4) Some polyterpenes of (CsHs).!; small portions ; kind not known. (5) Cymene (?) Ci,,Hh; small portions, if any ; boils at 175° to 176° C. (6) Traces of formic and acetic acids; produced probably by atmospheric oxidation during- collection of turpentine. ANALYTICAL WORK. As both the rosin and the volatile oil are easily soluble in chloroform, ether, carbon disulphide, etc., their separation from wood by any of the above solvents would appear to be an easy matter. But an exact quantitative determination of the volatile oil ijresents considerable difficulties, and for these reasons: (1) Wood can not be dried free from moisture without driving ott' some of the volatile hydrocarbons; (2) the ether extract can not be freed entirely from either without some loss of the volatile oil. If a weighed quantity of wood shavings is exhausted with either, the residue dried at 100° G. and weighed, the total loss thus found will represent : The moisture = H. The rosin = R. The volatile hydrocarbons = T. It is suSicient to determine two of these factors; the third could then be determined by difference. But as has been mentioned before, the ether extract can not be obtained in any degree rg^ Fig. S5. — Method uf lOiemiral analysis of Inrpentine. of purity without loss of turpentine. The evaporation of ether in a stream of dry air, as proposed by Dragendorf, for the estimation of essential oils in general, does not give satisfactory results with turpentine oil, as Dragendorf himself observed. A weighed quantity of a mixture of rosin and oil, made up in about the same proportions as they exist in crude turpentine, was dissolved in a suitable amount of ether. The latter was then evaporated in a current of dry air till the odor of ether was hardly noticeable. The mixture was found to have gained considerably in weight by retaining ether in the thick sirupy oleorosin. It was only by heating at 100° 0. for some time that all of the solvent could be driven off, and then the mixture was found to have lost in weight. Repeated trials proved that this method could not be used safely. An attempt was then made to determine the quantities if and B, and thus find Tby diftereuce A weighed quantity of wood shavings was placed in a small flask a. The latter was connected on one side with a tray of drying bottles, on the other two GaClz tubes h and c, similar in size and form. The flask is immersed in boiling water and a current of dry air is passed through the whole apparatus for one and one-half hours. The flask is then cooled and air is passed for one and one-half hours longer. It was thought that while h would retain all the moisture and a portion of the volatile com- liounds, c would retain about the same amount of the volatile products only. Gain in weight of INVESTIGATIONS INTO RESINS. 337 c subtracted from that of b would theu give the moisture H. The sample of wood shavings is then exhausted with ether, the latter evaporated, and the residue heated at about 140° to 150° to constant weight; this gives the rosin R. If L be the total loss by extraction with ether, we have L-H+R=T. But it was soon found by experiments upon pure turpentine oil that the two CaClj tubes did not retain an equal amount of volatiJe oil. The quantity retained depended upon many circum- stances, the chief one being the amount of moisture already present in the CaClj tubes. Even had the tubes retained quantities of turpentine oil, this method would still have the objection that one of the constitueuts was to be determined by difference— an objection especially serious when the ingredient to be so determined is small in comparison with the materials to be weighed. The writer has therefore attempted to make use of a somewhat different principle. A few trials were sufficient to show that the method promised to give satisfactory results. The basis of the method is the same which served for the production of Eussian turpentine oil on a large scale, namely, the distillation of the volatile products from the wood itself, without previously obtaining the turpentine. But instead of condensing the volatile products, their vapors are passed over heated copper oxide, whereby they are burned to water and carbon dioxide. Many trials were made with this juethod upou pure materials and on samples of resinous wood. As the results were found to be entirely concordant and satisfactory, the method was adopted, and by it were obtained the results presented in this report. DESCRIPTION OF THE METHOD EMPLOYED. A weighed amouut of wood shavings is placed in a straight CaCl, tube «. The tube is con- nected on one side by means of a capillary tube with a drier A, which serves for freeing the air from moisture and COj. The other end of the tube is connected with an ordinary combustion llothoil of distillatioa of turpentine. tube b coutainiug granulated CuO. The tube is drawn out at one end as is shown in the figure, and the narrow portion is loosely filled with asbestus wool. The connection is made glass to glass, so that the vapors of distillation do not come in contact with any rubber tubing. The forward end of tlie combustion tube is connected with a CaCl. tube c, one-half of which is filled with granulated CaCU and the second half with P2O5. Then follows a potash bulb d provided with two straight tubes, the first one filled with solid KOH, the second with P2O5. The last tube is connected with an aspirator. All the connections having been made air-tight, the connection between the tube a and the drier A is shut off' by means of a clamp and the aspirator turned on. When the combustion tube has been heated to dull redness the burner under the air-bath B is lit and the temperature raised to 1100-120° C. The moisture contained in the tube escapes quite rapidly, carrying with it some turpentine oil. The capillary tube at the other end of A practically checks backward diffusion H. Doc. 181 22 338 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. or auy accumulation of condensed vapors. In about fifteen minutes all fhe moisture appears at the forward end of the combustion tube. The clamp is now opened and a streani of air at the rate of somewhat over one liter an hour is passed through the whole apparatus, while the tem- perature of the air bath is raised to 155° to 160° C, and kept at that point for about forty-ftve minutes. Toward the end of the operation the temperature is raised to 105° to 170° C. for ten minutes. Then the light under the air bath is turned off and air aspirated for twenty to twenty- five minutes longer. As the air bath is in close contact with the combustion furnace, the whole length of the tube is kept at a temj)erature above the boiling point of turpentine oil. In this way a coniiilete distillation is insured. All the moisture is retained by c, while the CO^ is absorbed in the potash bulb d. The gain of weight in o represents the moisture originally present in the sample of wood plus the water produced in the combustion of the hydrocarbons. The gain in weight of d represents the amount of CO2, derived from the combustion of the volatile products. The tube a is now transferred to an ordinary Soxhlet's extraction apparatus and exhausted with ether. The latter is distilled oft", the residue dried for about two hours at 100° C, and weighed. This represents the amount of rosin in the sample of wood taken. As has been jjreviously mentioned, the volatile oil of the oleoresin is not pure australene, OioHiG = (C5H8)2. It probably contains some other hydrocarbons, either of the same formula or belonging to the class of polyterpenes (CsHg),,. It is clear that whichever they be their percentage composition is alike in all; they all have C = 88.23 j^er cent, H = 11.77 per cent. Therefore, so far as the combustion of the volatile terpenes is concerned, they can all be represented by the equation : C,oH„ + 140 = 10 CO,,= 8 H.O 136 410 144 In other words, 440 parts of OOj are derived from 136 parts of volatile terpenes. 440:136 = 1:X; X = 0.3091, i. e., 1 part of CO2 obtained in the combustion represents 0.309 parts of the volatile hydrocarbons. For every 440 parts of COj produced there are 144 jiarts of HoO formed. 440:144:z.l:X; X = 0.3272, i. 0., simultaneously with 1 i^art of CO2 there is produced 0.327 i^arts of H2O. Let the weight of the sample taken = W, Let the weight of CO2 obtained = W, Let the weight of H2O obtained = W", Then — W x 0.309 = T, the amount of volatile hydrocarbons. W X 0.327 = H', the amount of H2O corresponding to the volatile hydrocai'bons. W" X — H', = H the amount of moisture in the wood. T H -^ =lier cent of T; Tjn-= per cent of moisture. Thus the moisture, the volatile hydrocarbons, and rosin are obtained directly from the same samiile. Where many estimations are to be made, it is of course unnecessary to cool down the combustion tube between successive combustions. The temperature of distillation. — Some experiments were made to determine at what tempera- ture it is safe to conduct the distillation. Although pure turpentine boils at 156-160° C, yet in open air it can be A'olatilized at a much lower temperature, even on the water bath, without any difficulty. Especially is this the case when the vapors are removed as soon as formed by a stream of air, but it must be remembered that the volatilization of the essential oil directly from the wood might be considerably hindered by the large amount of rosin. A sample of wood distilled by the method outlined above gave the following results at difl'erent temperatures : 120° 140° 150° 160° 170° H20 = Per cent, 1.09 11.17 Per cent. I.IS 11.33 I^er cent. Per cent. 1.30 1.30 Per cent. 1.32 1 INVESTIGATIONS INTO RESINS. 339 160° 180° 1 1 Per cent. 4.00 i'er cent. 3.98 Another samijle gave: The results would iudicate that the distillation is practically complete at 160°, and that liie wood itself does not contribute any CO, by partial decomposion at that high temperature; for, should the latter be the case, higher results might be expected at 180° than at 100°, and then the sapwood would give much higher numbers for turpentine oil than those actually obtained. Even if this method does not give the absolute amounts of volatile hydrocarbons, yet it certainly gives results very near the truth, and, what is more important, under the same conditions it gives constant results. Therefore, by employing strictly parallel conditions in the analysis of the different samples, results are obtained which can be safely used as indices of comparison of the relative amounts of volatile hydrocarbons in the samples under analysis. MATERIAL FOR A^tALYSIS AND METHOD OF DESIGNATION. Materials. — Trees No. 52 and 53, abandoned five years. Trees No. 60 and 61, abandoned one year. Trees No. 1 and 2, not tapped. Trees 54-57, abandoned five years. Trees 58-59, abandoned five years. Trees C3-65, abandoned one year. Trees 66-69, abandoned one year. Trees 17-19, not tapped. Generally Dist II is 23 feet from ground. Disk III is 33 feet from ground. Disk IV is 43 feet from ground. Method of desif/natiou. — It was thought best to make a somewhat detailed analysis of a few bled and unbled trees in order to gain an insight into the quantitative distribution of turpentine in the trees. Each disk was divided into pieces of about thirty rings each, the heart and sapwood being kept separate. The number of the disk is designated by a roman Jigure, the kind of wood by either s for sapwood or h for- heartwood. The arable figure which precedes the h or s designates the number of the piece, counting for the sa^jwood from the bark; for the heartwood, from the line of division between saj) and heart. Preparation of material. — The first six tables give the results of what might be called "detail" analysis, where each i^iece of about thirty rings has been analyzed separately. The material for analy- sis was prepared in the following way: A radial section of the disk, about 1 to 2 inches thick, is selected. A piece of 1 inch is cut off transversely, and the strip is then divided into pieces of about thirty rings each. From the freshly cut transverse surface about 15 grams of thin shavings are planed off and placed in a stoppered bottle. The exact amount used for analysis, usually from 3 to 5 grams, is found by weighing the bottle before and after taking out the portion for analysis. The second set of tables, VII to XII, inclusive, give the results of "average" analysis. The material for these analyses was obtained by mixing equal quantities of shavings from the corre- sponding portions of several trees and taking for analysis an average sample of the mixture. The sapwood furnish one analysis and the heart wood was either analyzed as a whole or divided into portions, l/i and 2/i, if of considerable thickness. NOTE.S ox Tables I to XII. Eacb table contains a column "calculated for wood free from moisture," giving tbe per cent of volatile bydro- carbons and rosin obtained Ijy calculation from results actually found. Objections migbt be raised to this mode 9f interpreting the results. It might be said that the moisture in the wood can not be disregarded, because it is as much an essential proximate constituent of wood as the turpentine itself is. But since the analyses were not made soon after the trees had been felled, the moisture found in the samples does not represent the original moisture, nor Fig. 87. — Distribution of turpentine in trees. (A piece marked 52 III 2/1 means tree No. 51J, disk III, tlie second piece of the heart.) 340 FOEESTKY INA^ESTIGATIONS U. 8. DEPARTMENT OF AGKICULTURE. Relationship of different parts of does it represent eciual portions of it in all samples. Tlie numbers given in the column "water" arc of course sutrn-estive as to the comparative degree of retention of moisture by the different samples, since the latter were all exposed to about the same intluences. But it seemed best to compare the amounts of volatile hydrocarbons and rosin on wood free from that variable constituent ; the moro so as sometime elapsed between the analysis of the lirst and last samiiles. The last column in each table contains the ratio between the volatile hydrocarbons and rosin. This ratio ig multiplied by 100, and means that for every 100 parts of rosin as many parts of the volatile hydrocarbons are found as is indicated in the column. This ratio ( \ is of little value in cases when the amount of turpentine is small, because a very small increase of the first constituent — an increase within experimental error — will change the quotient considerably. An increase of 0.07 per cent of A'olatile hydrocarbons in 60, IV, Is will bring up - from 7.2 to 10. A decrease of 0.07 per cent in 52, TV, 2s will change ', from 25.20 to about 19. These numbers are therefore of very little significance when applied to the sapwood of all samples, to entire tree 52, and to some parts of trees 60 and 1, all of which show only small portions of turpentine. DISCUSSION OF KESULTS OBTAINED. Relation of rosin and volatile hydrocarbon to moisture, — The amount of moisture retained by different samples does not seem to have any direct relation to the amount of oleoresiu in these samples. Yet in the same tree, or rather in the different parts of the same disk, there seems to exist something like a relation of the two. This is especially notice- able in tree No. 53. The moisture retained seems to vary in- versely with the amount of oleoresin in the sample. Compare, for example, in 53 II, l/(, 2h, 31i; in 53 III, l/i, 2h, oh, iJi; in 53 IV, 2/i, 3/i, 4/1. The piece richest in oleoresin is generally the i^oorest in moisture. But this is by no means a universal rule. Some trees show about the same per cent of moisture in parts ■widely differing from each other in the amounts of turi^entine, and in many instances a smaller amount of tur- pentine is associated with a smaller i>er cent of moisture. Sapwood and hearticood. — All the analyses, detail and average, show conclusively that the sapwood is comparatively very poor in turpentine; it is immaterial whether it co;i;es from a rich tree or a poor one, from a tapped tree or an untai^ped one. The turpentine in sapwood reaches 3 to 4 per cent in very rich trees, as in Nos. 53, 61, and 2; in the remaining trees it is 2 to 3 jier cent. Consequently the results obtained for sapwood are not taken into account in the following paragraphs. When differences between trees are spoken of, it applies entirely to haartwood. The different parts of the same disk show a constant relation in nearly all instances. In most cases l/i is the richest, and th(? heartwood grows poorer as we approach the pith of the tree. In a few cases, as in 1 III and in 1 IV, Ih and 2/t are practically identical, while iu some instances, in 2 III, 61 II, 01 III, and 53 II, Ih is poorer than 2h. In nearly all cases the decline is marked in 3/t, and ih is usually found to be the poorest part of the disk. This relationship can be represented iu a general way by the following curve: Relation of volatile hydrocarhons to rosin.— As the turpentine in the tree is a solution of rosin iu an essen- tial oil, it will follow that the richer a tree is in tur- pentine the richer it will be in the constituents that go to make np this mixture. One would also expect that the ratio between the volatile hydrocarbons and rosin would be tolerably constant in the different parts of the same tree, but the results of analysis do not indi- cate it. They show that this ratio increases with the amount of rosin. A part of heartwood having twice as much rosin as another part will contain more than twice as much volatile i^roducts as the second part. This is true in a general sense of parts of the same disk, of parts of different disks iu the same tree, and i)arts from different trees. There is no distinction iu that respect between bled and nnbled trees. This relationship can be formulated in the following way: The crude turpentine from heartwood rich in oleoresin will yield a comparatively larger amount of turpentine oil than the turpentine from heartwood poor in oleoresin. Ih, 2h 3h 4h. Fig. 89.— Yield of volatile oil froii: turpentine. coDStaut (luantitj of INVESTIGATIONS INTO EESINS. 341 It has been shown that the heartwood s;rows poorer from Ih toward the pith of the tree. It T . will therefore follow from what has been said in the preceding paragraph that ^ will also grow smaller from Ih to the pith. The yield of volatile oil from a constant quantity of turpentine can be expressed in a general way by a graphic illustration similar to that which expresses the yield of total oleoresiu from different parts of the disk. T It is difficult to explain satisfactorily this decrease of -^. The two parts of the radial sec- tions that have been tlie longest exposed to air are In and the last li. The question naturally T arises, May not the decrease of t> be due to a greater evaporation of volatile hydrocarbons from these two ends? But this can hardly be so. No. 53, II, ih was analyzed at intervals of two months and furnished the following data : I, Sept. 28. II, Nov. 27. Hj0=11.23 T =1.30 K = 7.9li 7.24 1.34 8.12 Calculated for wood free from moisture : i I- 11. ■ T=1.30 Il.= 8.9G 1.30 8.75 Sufficient experimentul data are lacking to prove conclusively that the volatile hydrocarbons do not evaporate to any extent from the heartwood except from freshly cut surfaces of it. Relation heiiceen different dixLs of the same tree. — There is no constant relation between the different disks of the same tree so far as the amount of oleoresiu is concerned. Although the disks do vary from each other, the variation can not be connected with gravitation, by virtue of which the lower disks would contain a larger amount of turpentine thauthe upper ones; for dif- ferent trees vary from each other considerably in this respect, the variation being apparent lu both bled and unbled trees. If a, h, e stand for the amounts of oleoresiu in disks denoted by Eoman numerals, the relative magnitudes being represented by the letters in the alphabetic order, then the results of analysis can be condensed in the following table for the trees denoted in Arabic numbers : 53. 60. 61. 1. 2. XV jj '> a p III.... b c a c b II " b b a It is evident that no constant relation as to amounts of oleoresiu exists between the disks of the same tree. Gomiyarison of tree r,.2 nnth 58. — ^These two trees were both supposed to have been sound, healthy trees at the time of felling, and yet they dift'er from each other as much as two trees could differ. The heartwood of one is very rich in turpentine; that of the other contains comparatively very small quantities — only a trace. How to explain the difference? Previous to felling they had both been tapped for four consecutive years; consequently both must have contained considerable amounts of turpentine. Since the last tapping they stood for five years side by side, both exposed to the same influences. This great difference can not be traced directly to tapping, for the latter, it may be assumed, would have affected both trees equally. The cause of the difference between 53 and 52 ought to be looked for, ratlicr, in the condition of the two trees before tapping. In connection with this it would be interesting to know how much turpentine each tree had yielded when tapped. Comparison of trees 00 and 67.^There is a decided difference between the two trees. The high- est numbers in 60 are 0.S4 per cent for volatile hydrocarbons and 5.35 for rosin, while in 61 0.75 342 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. and 5.67 are the lowest numbers for the corresponding constituents, the highest being 3.49 and 1G.29, respectively. Here again we have two trees of about the same age, under apparently the same conditions of growth, tapped at the same time and abandoned for the same length of time before felling, and yet differing very widely from each other. It is diflicult to conceive why tap- ping should have affected the heartwood of these two trees in such a strikingly different manner. If the assumption is made that the tapping had drained both trees equally, what explanation can be given for the fact that within one year of abandonment one tree is very rich in turpentine while the other has less than one-fourth as much? Comparison of trees 52 and 53 mth GO and 01. — Compare 53 and 01. Here we have two trees both very rich in turpentine, but while 53 had five years of rest after tapping, CI had only one year. Had the tajjping forced the trees to pour out their oleoresin previously stored n^) in the heart, we should expect to find in the time of rest the prime factor for the tree in resuming its natural condition ; but, on the contrary, results of analysis show that time of abandonment before felling is of little importance. While we can have a tree very rich in turi^entine within live years after tapping, we can also have trees rich and i^oor even within one year, and trees almost totally deprived of turpentine in the heartwood within live years after tapj)ing. GomiHirison of 1 with 2. — These two trees had never been tapped, and yet neither is rich in turpentine. No. 2 contains about twice as much turpentine as No. 1, the difference becoming smaller as we go up the tree. The highest numbers for 2 are 1.93 and 14.19 for T and R, respec- tively, the lowest 0.86 and 5.89, with an average of about 1 and 7. We can say tliat there is as much difference between untapped trees as there is between trees that have been tapped. Average analyses. — The average analyses cover 16 trees. Thirteen trees furnish four sets of analyses of tapped trees and 3 trees furnish one set of untapped. The results obtained are summarized in the following table: Tree No. II. III. Kemarlcs. T. n. r jjXlOO. T. Ji. T 54-57 57-59 63-65 66-69 17-19 Per cent. 0.93 .80 .91 .89 .64 Per cent. 5.88 4.06 5.32 4.95 2.98 15.58 19.63 17.18 18 21.37 Per cent. 0.58 .82 Per cent. 3.98 4.29 14.04 19.10 Abandoned 5 years. Do. Abandoned 1 vear. Do. Not tapped. .71 3.21 21.76 These results show a pretty constant average number for turpentine in tapped trees. The heartwood of untapped trees is poorer in both volatile oil and rosin than that of taliped trees. And here agaiu it is worthy of notice that time of abandonment is of little importance to tapped trees. The trees that had been abandoned for one year are fully as rich as those that liad five years to recover from tapping. Comparison of tapped intlt. untapped trees. — If now the heartwood of tapped trees be compared with that of untapped, one is at a loss as to what conclusions should be drawn from so few analytical data. It is remarkable that the two richest trees and the poorest tree are among those that had been tapped. Of the remaining 19 trees, there is no difference between the 14 tajiped and 5 untapped. Whatever differences are found among bled trees are equally found among those that have not been tapped. Indeed, from the study of the results of analyses the writer is of the opinion that the difference in untapped trees is due to the same cause as the difference in trees that have been tapped. As stated above, the cause of tlie difference amoug tapped trees can not be traced directly to tapping; it ought to be looked for, rather, in the condition of the trees previous to tapping. The difference between trees 52 and 53 can be explained on the following hypothesis : 53 had been a rich tree from early growth and had a large amount of turpentine stored up in the heart- wood; 52 for some reason or otlier liad A'ery little stored away. When the two trees were sub- jected to tapping they gave up whatever turpentine they had in the saj^wood and whatever they could produce from season to season, till at the end of four years the production became too small in amount and too poor in quality. The trees were then abandoned. But tree No. 53 had its oleoresin in the heartwood untouched, while No. 52 had hardly any before tapping, and for the same unknown cause did not store away any in the heartwood after the tree had been abandoned. RESIN IN BLED AND UNBLED TREES. 343 The explanation offered in the preceding paragraph gains still more probability when trees 60 and Gl are compared with each other and also with 52 and 53. The difference between 1 and 2, the results of average analyses— all these are very suggestive of the theory that the sap, and not the heart of the tree, supplies the turpentine when the tree is tapped. The fact that the heartwood of trees felled one year after tapping is fully as rich or as poor as that of trees felled five years after tapping, seems to the writer of especial significance, for it shows that the richness of the heart- wood in a tapped tree is independent of time of rest before felling. It is a well-known fact that when a pine tree is cut transversely, liquid turpentine immedi- ately appears on the fresh surface of the sapwood, while the heartwood remains perfectly clear. It would seem as if the turpentine in the sap is far less viscid than that in the heart of a tree. It is probable that the turpentine in the sap is richer in volatile hydrocarbons than that in the heart. (A difference of cell structure and manner of existence of oleoresins may also account for this difference in part. — B. E. F.) It is generally stated that crude turpentine as obtained on a large scale yields from 10 to 25 per cent of volatile oil. This gives §=11.11 to 30, with an average of over 20. This average is somewhat higher than that for the -^ as found for the turpentine from heartwood of the 21 trees analyzed. Although experimental data are wanting to show conclusively that the difference in the consistency of the oleoresin from sapwood and heartwood is due to a difference in the relative amount of volatile oil, yet it is quite probable that this should be the cause. The oleoresin in the heartwood of trees has been produced for the most part when the -heartwood was yet sapwood. Therefore that part of turpentine which is ionnd in the heartwood is the oldest in age and consequently has been exposed the longest to oxidizing intiuences of air, which gradually replace the water when the sapwood changes to heartwood. It is the same kind of oxidation and of thickening which takes place when crude turpentine is exposed to the air and sun, or when a T fresh cut is made in the bark of a tree. It is probably for the same reason that j^becomes smaller as we ai)proach the pith of the tree, because the parts nearest the pith are the oldest. It is difficult to conceive how the thick oleoresin of the heartwood could be made to flow toward the incision when a tree is tapped. It is also difacult to explain by what means the tree could change this thick turpentine into a less viscid solution in order that it may flow toward the wound. One would judge, a priori, from the great difference in the consistency of the turpentine in the heart and sap that only the liquid turpentine will flow wheu a tree is tapped. Tapping will then have little effect, if any, upon the oleoresin stored up in the heartwood of the tree. A tree whose heartwood is rich in turpentine will remain so after tapping. The writer is not willing to generalize too hastily from so few results and consider them as a solution of the problem. A large number of analyses, devoid of the possibility of chance selection of samples, is necessary before a positive or a negative answer can be given to the question, does the tapping of trees for turpentine affect the subsequent chemical composition of the heartwood? But, however few in number the results are, they admit of the following conclusions: (1) Trees that have been tapped can still contain very much turpentine in the heartwood. (2) Trees that have been abandoned for only one year before felling can contain fully as much turpentine in the heartwood as trees that have been abandoned for five years. (3) Trees that have not been tapped at all do not necessarily contain more turpentine in the heartwood than trees that have been tapped. The following -diagram serves to show what proportion of each disk was involved in each of the detail analyses, and the results in each case. The right-hand vertical line represents the pith / of the tree, the horizontal lines represent the radical extension of each disk, as numbered by roman number, the position of the disk in the tree being maintained as in nature, IV being the top, II the lower, and III the intervening disk. The subdivisions of radii represent the actual divisions of the disk to scale of one-half natural size, the portions to the left of the heavy subdivision line representing sapwood s 1 and s 2; the portions to the right heartwood /t, /*, divided according to the method as indicated above. The four columns of figures over each disk piece represent results pertaining to that piece; they stand in order from the top for (1) number of rings, (2) volatile 344 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. T hydrocarbons, (3) rosin, (4) ratio ^j (2) and (3) as calculated on wood free from moisture. For instance, for tree No. 53, disk lY, s2, we find — 40 = Number of rings. 0.40 = Per cent, of volatile hydrocarbons. 3. 81 = Per cent of rosin. T 10. 37^^ 34. 33. 31. 0.40 0.46 4.66 4 49 3 86 ■ 2.66 3.81 3 96 24.01 22.23 17 74 15.19 Tree 1 10. 37 1 11 60 1 19.02 1 20 12 1 21.77 1 17. 53 No. 53. 40. 0.39 2.96 1 33.01 37. 0.42 3.02 13.82 35. 3.87- 21.77 17.85 1 38. 3.81 20.09 18.94 1 30. 2.10 11.97 17.53 18. 1.25 9.71 1 13. 10 37. 40 33. 32. 32. 28. 0.18 19 2.56 4.39 2.22 1.46 0.97 9li 12. 02 24.70 12.30 8.96 1 18. 39 1 19 77 21.23 1 22.43 1 18.29 1 16. 33 • 0.26 0.34 15 0.22 0.23 0.26 1.40 1.34 1 65 1.97 1.72 1.92 Tree :^'o. 52 40. 18.78 1 25.20 1 9 33 11.11 1 13.38 1 13.64 30. 30. 30. 32. 27. 11. 0.25 0.25 0.15 0.20 0.14 0.18 0.18 1.99 1.87 1.77 1.87 1.86 1.60 1.53 1 12.71 1 13.67 1 8.64 1 10.51 1 7.65 9.65 1 9.26 40. 40. 36 32 35 24 0.30 0.31 30 26 17 17 2.19 2.01 2 17 1.83 ■; 98 1 51 1 13.64 1 15.48 1 14 14 1 14 38 1 8 83 1 11.60 Tree No. 61. 0.22 0.28 3.07 3.49 3.14 1.08 3.01 2.75 13.55 16.29 14.18 8.04 7.35 10.20 1 22. 05 1 21.42 1 21. 42 1 13. 39 35. 35. 36. 33. 30. 35. 0.20 0.26 1.57 2.09 2.92 0.75 3.01 3.11 7.88 13.57 11.34 5.67 1 6.50 1 8.36 1 19. 85 1 19. 86 1 25. 81 1 13.28 0.16 24 II 84 0.41 2.32 2 06 5 35 3.13 1 7.02 1 9 09 1 15 59 1 12.85 1 30. 34. HO. 36. 36. 20. 0.28 0.35 0. 5S 0.40 0.42 0.50 2.05 2.88 3.60 2.99 2.42 3.39 1 10.33 1 12.16 1 lb. 27 1 13.23 1 17.04 1 14. 70 30. 35. 37. 33 35. 27. 0.29 0.33 0.71 51 0. 73 0.47 2.26 63 5. 03 2 71 0. 19 3.62 1 12. 74 12. 56 1 14.07 1 18 62 1 14. 03 1 13. 00 0.22 0.25 1.07 1.06 1.43 1.57 7.61 6.62 1 15. 27 1 15.97 1 14. 12 1 16.04 30. 33. ,30. 25. 13. 0.32 0.34 0.94 0.73 0.40 2.25 2.25 4.90 5.12 3.57 1 14.49 1 13.90 1 19. 11 1 14. 21 1 11. 20 30. 35 35. 34. IS. 0.20 17 0.18 0.66 0.37 1.06 1.32 6.57 3.92 2.23 1 18.55 1 13.72 1 17. 97 1 16.67 1 16. 50 30. 36. 30. 30. 0.31 0.34 1.13 0.87 2.52 2.71 8.10 6.41 12.12 1 12. 36 1 13.98 1 13. 53 30 36. 33. 28. 17. 18 0.24 1.37 0.92 0.86 1 95 2.24 9.14 .5.89 7.40 1 8.94 1 10.06 1 14. 77 1 15. 61 1 11. 64 0.20 0.31 1.55 1.93 1.39 4.29 3.05 10.10 14.19 8.78 4.56 I 10.00 I 15.35 | 14. 4 I 15.75 Fig. 90.— Diagram of detail aualysca, representing radial dimensions of teat pieces in each disk. Scale, one-half natural size. DISTRIBUTION OP RESINOUS CONTENTS. 345 TABLE I.— TREE No. 53. Calculated on wood free from moisture. Part of disk. Number of riugs. "Width. Water. Volatile kydro- carbon. Roain. VoLhydroc, Jfo.ofai.sk. Volatile hydro- Rosin. Eosin. - "" carbon. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. 3.3 10.51 0.16 0.87 0.18 0.97 4 10.05 0.17 0.86 0.19 9.11 2.32 10.93 2.56 12.02 2A 32 2.9 8.79 8.47 4.00 2.03 17.83 11.26 4.39 2.22 24.70 12.30 18.29 10.0 *11. 23 1.30 7.96 1.46 8.96 2.7 9.08 0.35 2.69 0.39 2.6 8.90 0.38 2.75 0.42 3.02 3.5 7.89 3.57 20.05 3.87 ni < 4.1 8.04 3.50 18.48 3.81 20.09 30 5.5 8.55 1.92 10.95 2.10 7.0 8.79 1.14 8.86 1.25 8.96 0.36 3,47 0.40 3.81 3.0 8.67 0.42 3.62 0.46 3.96 11.60 3.9 8.04 4.20 22.08 4.56 24.01 2h 33 3.0 5.8 7.93 8.65 4.13 3.53 16.21 3.86 17.74 21.77 ih 15 5.3 9.55 2.41 13.74 2.66 15.19 - , ,, , ,. ininiTio. nart of moisture. Table II.— TREE No. 52. 40 3.1 9.72 0.27 1.98 0.30 2.19 13.64 3.9 9.77 0.28 1.81 0.31 36 4.6 8.67 0.28 1.98 0.30 2.17 2A 32 3.0 6.8 8.44 8.80 0.24 0.16 1.81 0.17 1.98 8.83 { 4/i 24 7.4 8.55 0.16 1.38 0.17 1.51 3.0 9.12 0.23 1.81 0.25 40 3.5 9.00 0.23 1.68 0.25 3.4 8.44 0.14 1.62 0.15 in 2A 3ft 30 32 3.0 4.8 8.51 8.37 0.18 0.13 1,71 1.70 0.20 0.14 1.89 1.86 10.51 7.65 6.9 9.35 0.14 1.45 0.15 15.0 9.21 0.13 1.39 0.14 1.53 J 3.5 8.88 0.24 1.28 0.26 3.3 8.49 0.31 1.23 0.34 1.34 25.20 lA 32 3.0 9.08 0.14 1.50 0.15 1.65 2ft 34 30 2.8 3.6 8.86 8.48 0.20 0.21 ' 1.57 0.23 1.72 13.38 4ft 30 6.8 8.10 0.24 1.76 0.26 1.92 Table III.— TREE No. 61. Is 35 3 2* 35 3 J lA 36 2 2ft 3ft 33 30 4 4ft 35 9 r 1» 30 a 1 2« 36 2 1ft 40 3 2ft 33 3ft 35 G ^ 4ft 30 8 3.0 7.94 0.18 2.77 0.20 3.01 6.50 7.90 0.24 2.87 0.26 3.11 8.36 2.8 7.35 1.45 7.30 1.57 7.88 19.85 3.2 7.58 2.49 12.54 2.69 13.57 19.86 4.5 7.64 2.70 10.46 2.92 11.34 9.5 7.10 0.70 5.27 0.76 6.67 13.28 3.0 7.65 0.20 2.78 0.22 3.01 7.35 2.7 7.43 0.26 2.55 0.28 2.75 3.1 7.14 2.85 12.58 3.07 13.55 22.65 3.2 7.46 3.23 15.08 3.49 16.29 G.O 7.41 2.91 13.59 3.14 14.18 21.42 8.0 7.09 1.00 7.47 1.08 8.04 13.39 Table IV.— TREE No. 60. 30 •> 7 9.91 0.26 2.04 0.29 2.26 12.74 2.8 9.34 0.30 2.39 0.33 2.63 37 3.5 8.72 0.65 4.62 0.71 5.03 14.07 2ft 33 35 4.5 4.6 9.15 8.01 0.46 0.67 4.71 0.73 5.19 14.02 ( 4ft 27 6.5 8.45 0.43 3.31 0.47 3.62 13.00 30 3.1 8.74 0.25 2.42 0.28 2.65 34 2.8 8.60 0.32 2.63 0.35 2.88 12.16 1ft 30 3.2 8.68 0.53 3.47 0.58 3.80 15.27 2ft 3ft 36 36 4.4 4.5 9.02 7.73 0.38 2.23 0.42 2.42 17.04 4A 20 6.0 7.73 0,46 3.13 0.50 3.39 : 30 2.6 7.51 0.15 2.15 0.16 2.32 2s 27 2.6 7.84 0.22 2.45 0.24 2.66 9.09 1ft 2ft 28 36 3.7 5.0 7.77 8.12 0.77 0.37 4.94 2.88 0.84 0.41 5.35 3.13 ^ 3ft 40 8.0 7.92 0.26 2.81 0.28 3.05 9.18 346 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Table V.— TREE No. 1. Calculated on -woed free Part of • disk. Number ef rings. Width. Water. Volatile hydro- carbon. Eosin. Vol.hydro^o. Eosin. ^™ • No. of disk. Volatile hydro- Ko.9in. carbon. Cm. Per cent. I'er cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Is 30 2.0 8. 67 0.18 0.97 0.20 1.06 18.55 2» 35 3.0 8.77 O.IU 1.21 0.17 1.32 13.72 2A 35 34 3.6 6.5 8.56 8.30 1.08 0.60 6.01 3.00 1.18 0.66 0.57 3.92 16.67 [ 3li 14 3.0 7.67 0.34 2.06 0.37 2.23 16.50 f U 30 2.8 7.94 0.30 2.07 0.32 2. 25 14.49 2s 33 3.0 7.92 0.31 2. 23 0.34 2.42 13.90 III I lA 30 3.8 8.13 0.86 4.50 0.94 4.90 19.11 1 2A 25 4.2 7.78 0.67 4.72 0.73 5.12 14.21 ( 3/1 1,5 3.5 7.57 0.37 3.30 0.40 3. .57 11.22 ( Is 30 2.2 8.33 0.20 1.31 0.22 1.43 15.27 2s 28 2.8 8.12 0.23 1.4-! 0.25 1. .-i7 15.97 l/i 32 5. 7.94 0.99 7.01 1.07 7.61 14.12 I •111 19 5.2 7.73 0.98 6.11 1.06 6.62 16.04 Table VI.— TEEE Ni u 30 3.0 7.65 0.18 3.95 0.20 4.29 4.56 2s 20 2.7 8.19 0.38 2.80 0.31 3.05 10.00 " Vi 34 3.6 7.-31 1.44 9.25 1.55 10.10 15.35 2h 30 ,5.0 8.11 1.77 13. 0.-. 1.93 14. 19 14.41 ill 30 6.0 8.16 1.27 8. 06 1.39 8.78 15.75 1 ih 11 4.2 7.88 1.07 8.24 1.10 8.94 12.99 1 Is 30 2.7 8.00 0.16 1.79 0.18 1.95 8.94 2s 36 3.0 8.01 0.22 2.00 0.24 2.24 10.06 III \ l/i 33 3.2 7.44 1.25 8.40 1.37 9.14 14.77 27i 28 5.5 7.78 0.85 5.44 0.92 5.89 15.61 1 3A 17 4.8 7.12 0.80 6.87 0.86 7.40 11.64 1 Is 30 2.7 8.20 0.28 2.31 0.31 2. 52 12.12 ''s 36 3.0 8.08 0.31 2.49 0.34 2.71 12. .36 111 30 3.6 8.10 1.04 7.44 1.13 8.10 13.98 I ih 30 7.6 7.81 O.RO 5.91 0.87 6.41 13.53 Table VII — Sumalary of Results of Tree.s No.s. 54 to 69 and Nos. 17 to 19. Serial number of trees. 54,55,56,57 1 58,59 .*- / 63.64,65 1 66.67,08,69 { 17, 18, 19 i l''\ jn Per cent. 1.48 6.781^ 88 4.97r"° 1.76 4.06 1.74 4.351- o, 6. 29J ''■ ■'- 1.78 4.95 1.49 I ?-15|2.98 I 2.4iJ • "Us. ;.55\,„ 0.8n„ 0. 34/" 0.20 0.82 Per cent. 1.93 ^•«2k89 13.33 10.821,, ,,, ii.27;""-' 14 14 19. 10 0.11 I 1.34 0. 91\„ _, /I 3. 03\„ , 0.5or-" \i2.79r-- 8.20 25. 151 , 18.36J- TiMBEE Physics Work. The timber pliysics work was coutiuued actively and tlie investigation extended to other kinds of timber, both conifers and hard woods. In 1S90 the Division was in position to announce its findings with regard to the mechanical, physical, and structural study of the four principal Southern pines (Circular 12). Based, as these results are, on over 20,000 mechanical tests and over 50,000 weighings and measurements, they may fairly be regarded as final, and thus avoid future discus- sion and much fruitless and expensive i^rivate testing. According to this exhaustive study, the Cuban and long-leaf pine rank foremost among our timber pines, and are fully 20 to 25 per cent stronger than had previously been assumed. It also appeared that the wood of these species varies in strength directly as the weight (little discrepancies being well accounted for by varia- tions in resin contents, which add only to weight and not to strength) ; that in the same tree the wood varies according to certain definite laws, being heaviest at butt, lightest in top, heavier in the interior, and lighter and weaker in the outer parts of saw-size timber; that thus the age when formed, as well as the position in the tree, exercises a definite influence which is generally far greater than the much-quoted influences of soil, locality, etc. In this latter respect it was clear TIMBER PHYSICS SOUTHERN PINE. 347 from the results that the oft-claimed superiority of the timber of certain localities is not substantiated by experiment, but that there is heavy and strong as well as lighter and weaker timber in every locality throughout the range of these species. The all-important effect of moisture was carefully considered throughout the work, and it was established that in general an increase in strength of at least 50 to 73 per cent takes place during ordinary seasoning, so that for all designing of covered work, as in ordinary architecture, this improvement may be depended upon and considered in the proportioning of the timbers. The manner in whicli the valuable information was secured and communicated will appear from the following reprint of Circulars 12 and 15, issued in 1896 and 1897: Southern Pine — Mechanical and Physical Pkoperties. THE material UNDER CONSIDERATION. The importance of reliable informatiou regarding tlie pines of tlie South is evident from the fact that they furnish the bulk of the hard-pine material used for constructive purposes with an annual cut hardly short of 7,000,000,000 feet B. M., which, with the decline of the soft-pine supplies in the North, is bound to increase rapidly. Although covering the largest area of coniferous growth in the country (about 230,000 square miles), proper economies in their use are nevertheless most needful, since much of this area is already severely culled and the out per acre has never been very large. Hence the demonstration (a result of the investigations in this Division) that bled pine is as strong and useful as unbled, and the assurance that long-leaf pine is in the average 25 per cent stronger than it is often supposed to be, and therefore can be used in smaller sizes than customary at present, must be welcome as permitting a saving in forest resources which may readily be estimated at from eight to ten million dollars annually, due to this information. The pines under consideration, often but imperfectly distinguished by consumers in name of substance, are: (1) The long-leaf pine {I'lniis jialnstris), also known as Georgia or yellow pine, and in England as "pitch pine," and by a number of other names, is to be found in a belt of 100 to 150 miles in width along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from North Carolina to Texas, furnishing over 50 per ceut of the pine timber cut in the South — the timber par excellence for heavy construction, but also useful for flooring .and in other directions where strength and wearing qualities are required. (2) The Cuban pine (Piiiiis IteteroplnjUa), found especially in the southern portions of the long-leaf jiine belt, known to woodsmen commonly as "slash pine," but not distinguished in the lumber m.arket. It is usually mixed in with long leaf, which it closely resembles, although it is wider ringed (coarse grained), and to which it is equal if not superior in weight and strength. (3) The short-leaf pine (Pinus echinata), also Iruown, besides many other names, as yellow pine and as North Carolina pine, but growing through all the Southern States generally north of the long-leaf pine region; much softer and with much more sapwood than the former two, useful mainly f«jr small dimensions .and .as Hnishing wood, being about 20 per cent weaker than the long-leaf pine. (4) The loblolly or old-field pine (Pinus taida), of similar although more Southern range than the short leaf, also known as Virginia jiiue, much used locally and in Washington and Baltimore, destined to iind more extensive application. At present largely cut together with short leaf and sold with it as "yellow pine," or North Carolina pine, without distinction, although sometimes far superior, approaching long-leaf pine in strength and general qualities. The names in the market are often used interchangeably and the materials in the yard mixed. All four species grow into tall but slender trunks, as a rule not exceeding 30 inches in diameter and 100 feet in height; the bulk of the logs cut at present fall below 20 inches. The sapwood forms in old trees of long leaf (with 2 to 4 inches) about 40 per cent of the total log volume ; in Cub.an, short leaf, and loblolly CO per cent and over. A reliable microscopic distinction of the wood of the four species lias not yet been found. As a rule long leaf contains much less sapwood than the other three. The narrow-ringed wood of long leaf (averaging 20 to 25 rings to the inch) usually separates it also from the other three, while the especially broad-ringed Cuban excels usually also by broader summer- wood bands. In the log short leaf and loblolly may usually be recognized as distinguished from the former by the greater proportion of sapwood and lighter color due to smaller proportion of summer wood. The general appearance of the wood of all four species is, however, quite similar. The annual rings (grain) are sharply defined; the light yellowish spring wood and the dark orange-brown summer wood of each ring being strongly contrasted produce a pronounced pattern, which, although pleasing, especially in the curly forms (which occur occasionally;, may become obtrusive when massed. 348 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. The following diagnosis may prove helpful in the distinction of the wood : Diagnostic features of the wood. Name of speciea. Specific gravity of kiln* /Possible range dried wood. \Mo8t frequent range Weight, pounds per cubic foot, kiln-dried wood. (Average) ._ Character of grain eeeu iu cross section Color, general appearance Sapwood, proportion Kesin Long-leaf pine (Pinus palustris Miller). . 50 to . 90 . 55 to . 65 36 Fine and even; annual formly narrow; on large logs averag- ing generally 20 to 25 rings to the inch. Even dark reddish yellow to reddish brown. . Little; rarely over 2 to 3 inches of radius. Very abundant; parts often turning into "light wood;" pitchy throughout. Cuban pine {Pinus heterophylla (Ell) Sud) 37 Variable and coarse, rings mostly wide ; averaging on large logs 10 to 20 rings to the inch. Dark straw color with tinge of tiesh color. Broad ; 3 to 6 inches . . Abundant, sometimes yielding more pitch than long leaf; "bleeds" freely, yielding little scrape. 30 Very variable ; me- dium, coarse; rings wide near heart, fol- lowed by zone of narrow rings; not less than 4 (mostly about 10 to 15) rings to the inch, but often very fine grained. Whitish to reddish or yellowish brown. Commonly over 4 inches of radius. Moderately abundant, least pitchy ; only near stumps, knots, and limbs. Loblolly pine (Pinus tcedalAuu.) . 31 Variable, mostly very coarse; 3 to 12 rings to the inch, gener- ally wider than in the short leaf. Very variable, 3 to 6 inches of the radius. Abundant; more than short leaf, less than long leaf and Cuban, but does not ' ' bleed " if tapped. The sapling timher of all four species is coarse grained, that of lohlolly exceeding the rest in this respect. The grain varies most in the hutt, least in the top, is vei'y fine in the outer portions of all old trees. Loblolly in the center of the log frequently shows rings over oue-half inch wide, and timber averaging eight rings to the inch is not rare, while short leaf will average 10 to 15 rings to the inch. The greater or less proportion of the sharply defined dark-colored bands of summer wood of the ring furnish the most reliable and ready means of determining q^uality. At present distinction is but rarely made in the species and in their use. All four species are used much alike, although differentiation is very desirable on account of the difference in quality. Formerly these pines, except for local use, were mostly cut or hewn into timbers, but especially since the use of dry kilns has become general and the simple oil finish has displaced the unsightly painting and "graining" of wood Southern pine is cut into every form and grade of lumber. Nevertheless, a large proportion of the total cut is still being sawed to order in sizes above 6 by 6 inches, and lengths above 20 feet for timbers, for which the long leaf and Cuban furnish ideal material. The resinous condition of these two pines make them also desirable for railway ties of lastiug quality. MKCHANICAL PKOPERTIKS. In general the wood of all these pines is heavy for pine (31 to 40 x>ouuds per cubic foot, when dry); soft to moderately hard (hai*d for pine), requiring about 1,000 pounds per square inch to indent one-twentieth inch; stiff, the modulus of elasticity being from 1,500,000 upward; strong, requiring from 7,000 pounds per square inch and upward to break iu bending, and over 5,000 pounds in compression when yard-dry. The values given in this circular are averages based on a large number of tests, from which only defective pieces are excluded. In all cases where the contrary is not stated the weight of the wood refers to kiln-dried material and the strength of wood containing 15 per cent moisture, which may be conceived as just on the border of air-dried condition. The first table gives fairly well the range of strength of commercial timher. Average strength oj Southern pine. Air-dry material (about 15 per cent moisture). Cuban pine ... Longleafpine. Loblolly pine . Shortleaf pine Compression strength. Average of all valid tests. Lbs. per sq. inch. 7,850 6.85C 6,500 5,90U Average for the weakest! one- tenth of all the tests iRela tive. Lbs. per sq. inch. 6,500 5,650 5,350 grain. I per cent indenta tion. Lbs. per sq. inch. 1,050 Bending strengtli. Average of all vSid teats. for the weakest one- tenth of all the teats Lbs. per sq. inch. U. 950 10, 900 10, 100 9,230 Lbs. per sq. inch. 8,750 At elastic limit modulus 3 Wji 2 bKi Lbs. per sq. inch. 9, 450 Lbs. per sq. inch. 2,305,000 1, 890, 000 1, 950, 000 1, 600, 000 Relative elastic resili- ence. Tensile Shearing strength, strength. Lbs. per sq. inch. 14, 300 15, 200 14, 400 13,400 Lbs. per sq. inch. TIMBER PHYSICS — SOUTHERN PINE. KELATION OF STRENGTH TO WEIGHT. 349 The intimate relation of strength and specific weight has been well established by the experiments. The aver- > results obtained in connection with the tests themselves were as follows : Transverse strength Specific "weight of teat pleces- Siuce in the determination of the specific gravity above given, wood of the same per cent of moisture (as is the case of the values of strength) was not always involved, and also since the test pieces, owing to size and shape, can not perfectly represent the wood of the entire stem, the following results of a special inquiry into the weight of the wood represents probably more .iccurately the weight and with it the strength-relations of the four species. [These data refer to the ; WEIGHT KELATIONS. ^lit for all the wood of each tree, only trees of approximately the ! i age heing involved.] Number of trees involved... Specific gravity of dry wood Weight per cubic foot Relative weight (Transverse strength a) Cuban. Longleaf. Loblolly. Shortleaf. a The values of strength refer to all tests and therefore involve trees of wide r.ange of age and consequently of quality, especially those of longleaf, involve much wood of old trees, hence the relation of weight and strength appears less distinct. From these results, although slightly at variance, we are justified in concluding that Cuban and longleaf pine are nearly alike in strength and weight and excel loblolly and shortleaf by about 20 per cent. Of these latter, contrary to common belief, the loblolly is the heavier and stronger. The weakest material would differ from the average material in transverse strength by about 20 per cent and in compression strength by about 30 to 35 per cent, except Cuban pine, for which the difference appears greater in transverse and smaller in compression strength. It must, of course, not be overlooked that these figures are obtained from full-grown trees of the virgin forest, that strength varies with physical conditions of the material and that, therefore, an intelligent inspection of the stick is always necessary before applying the values in practice. They can only represent the average conditions for a large amount of material. DISTRIBUTION OF WEIGHT AND STRENGTH THROUGHOUT THE TREE. In any one tree the wood is lighter and weaker as we pass from the base to the top. This is true of every tree and of all four species. The decrease in weight and strength is most pronounced in the first 20 feet from the stump and grows smaller upward. (Sec fig. 91.) This great difference in weight and strength between butt and top finds explanation in the relative width of the summerwood. Since the specific weight of the dark summerwood band in each ring is in thrifty growth from .90 to 1.00, while that of the springwood is only about .40, the relative amount of summerwood furnishes altogether the most delicate and accur.ate measure of these differences of weight as well as strength, and hence is the surest criterion for ocular inspection of r[uality, especially since this relation is free from the disturbing infllnence of both resin and moisture contents of the wood, so conspicuous in weight determinations. The following figures show the distribution of the summerwood in a single tree of longleaf pine, as an example of this relation : In the 10 rings next to the bark In the 10 rings, Nos. 100 to 110 from bark. Average Specific weight. At the stump 32 feet from stump 87 feet from stump 350 FOKESTKY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPAKTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. Weiyht and strength of wood at different heights in the trt Strength of longleaf pine (p(utnd3 per square inch). Specific weight. Mean of all three species. Eelative weight. Eelative strength of lougleaf pine. Mean of com- pression and bending. Bending strength. Compres- sion end- wise (with grain). Lougleaf. Loblollj'. Sliortleaf. 56 150 (over) 22 127 14 113 12 131 48 56 1 Number of feet from stump : .751 101! .705 100 .674 9« .624 SO .500 Si .560 SO .539 77 .528 76 .629 106 .595 100 .578 97 .534 90 .508 S6 .491 S3 .476 SO .470 79 .614 lOS .585 100 .565 97 .523 90 .496 86 .472 81 .455 78 .454 78 100 100 97 90 S5 SI 78 77 12, 100 100 11, 650 S6 10, 700 S8 10, 100 Si 9,500 79 9,000 75 8,600 71 7,350 100 7,200 9S 6,800 93 6,600 S9 6,300 S6 6,150 SS 6,050 S3 100 97 00 S6 83 79 76 49.6 43.4 37.1 31.0 « 24.8 20 30 40 Feet from Stump. Fig. 91. — Variation of weight with height of tree. TIMBER PHYSICS SOUTHERN PINE. 351 Logs from the top can usually be recognized by tlie larger percentage of sapyrood and the smaller proportion and more regular outlines of the bands of summer ■n'ood, which are more or less wavy in the butt logs. The variation of weight is well illustrated in the foregoing table, in which the relative values are indicated in italics. For comjiarison the figures for strength of long-loaf pine are added. Both weight and strength vary in -the different parts of the same cross section from center to perijihery, and though the variations appear frequently irregular in single individuals, a definite law of relation is nevertheless discernible in large averages, and once determined is readily observable in every tree. A separate inquiry, avoiding the many varialiles which enter in the mechanical tests, permits the following deduc- tions for the wood of these pines, and especially ibr long leaf, the data referring to weight, but by inference also to strength : 1. The variation is greatest in the butt log (the heaviest part) and least in the top logs. 2. The variation in weight, hence also iu strength, from center to periphery depends on the rate of growth, tlie heavier, stronger wood being formed during the period of most rapid growth, lighter and weaker wood in old age. 3. Aberrations from the normal growth, duo to unusual seasons and other disturbing causes, cloud the uniformity of the law of variation, thus oc'casionally leading to the formation of heavier, broad-ringed wood in old, and lighter, narrow-ringed wood in young trees. 4. Slow-growing t];ees (with narrow rings) do not make less heavy, nor heavier, wood than thriftily grown trees (with wide rings) of the same age. (See fig. 92.) EI'-FBCT OF .\GK. The interior of the butt log, reitresenting the young sap- ling of less than 15 or 20 years of age, and the central portion of all logs containing the pith and 2 to 5 rings adjoining is always light and weak. The heaviest wood in long-leaf and Cuban pine is formed between the ages of 15 and 120 years, with a specific weight of over O.GO and a maximum of 0.66 to 0.68 between the ages of 40 and 60 years. The wood formed at the age of about 100 years will have a specific weight of 0.62 to 0.63, which is also the average weight for the entire wood of old trees. The wood formed after this age is lighter, but does not fall below 0.50 up to the two hundredth year; the strength varies in the same ratio. In the shorter-lived loblolly and short leaf the period for the formation of the lieaviest wood is between tlie ages of 15 and 80, the average weight being then over 0.50, with a maximum of 0.57 at tlie age of 30 to 40. The average weight for old trees (0.51 to 0.52) lies about the seventy-fifth year, the weight then falling olf to about 0.45 at the age of 140, and continuing to decrease to below 0.38 as the trees grow older. That these statements refer only to the clear portions of each log, and are variably aff'ectcd at each whorl of knots (every 10 to 30 inches) according to their size, and also by the variable amounts of resin (up to 20 per cent of the dry weight), must be self-evident. Sapwood is not necessarily weaker than heartwood, only usually the sapwood of the large-sized trees we are now using is represented by the narrow-ringed outer part, which was formed during the old-age period of growth, when naturally lighter and weaker wood is made; but the wood formed during the more thrifty diameter growth of the first eighty or one hundred years — sapwood at the time, changed into heartwood later— was, even as sapwood, the heaviest and strongest. 200 '20 eo so C EO 6ff JBO SOO SCALE VEffr/CAl ^ M.= /Er. w/f/zo/vrAi '/sw ■=///!/. Fig. 92. — Schematic section through atom of long-leaf pine, sbowiug variation of specific weight, with height, diame- ter, and age, at 20 {.aba), CO (dcd), 120 (race), 20O (////) years. 352 FOEESTEY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPAETMENT OP AGRICULTURE. KANGE OF A'ALUES FOR WEIGHT AND STRENGTH. Although the range of values for the iudlvidual tree of any given species varies from butt to top and from center to periphery by 15 to 25 per cent and occasionally more, the deviation from average values from one individual to another is not usually as great as has been believed ; thus of 56 trees of long-leaf pine, 42 trees varied in their average strength by less than 10 per cent from the average of all 56. The following table of weight (which is a direct and fair indication of strength), representing all the wood of the stem and excluding knots and other defects, gives a more perfect idea of the range of these values : Sange of specific weight with age {kiln-dried ivood). [To avoid fractions the values are multiplied by 100.] Number of trees involved . Trees over 200 years old . . . Trees 160-200 years old Trees 100-150 years old Trees 50-100 years old Trees 25-50 years old Trees under 25 years old- . . Cuban. Longleaf' Loblolly. '^""f Though occasionally some very exceptional trees occur, especially in loblolly and short leaf, the range on the whole is generally within remarkably narrow limits, as appears from the following table : Range of specific weight in trees of the same age approximately; averages for whole trees, {Specific gravity multiplied by 100 to avoid fractions.] Name. No. of trees. Age (years). Single trees. Average. Cuban { t 13 10 12 150-200 50-100 100-150 125-150 100-150 62.5 60.9 60.5 52.8 50.8 Long-leaf pine Loblolly pine Sliort-leaf pine 59 66 57 62 66 .IS 59 57 57 66 59 62 57 51 51 53 51 55 53 54 55 55 52 45 47 53 47 50 51 55 55 63 51 50 53 .. From this table it would appear that single individuals of one species would approximate single individuals of another species so closely that the weight distinction seems to fail, but iu large numbers — for instance, carloads of material — the averages above given will prevail. INFLUENCE OF LOCALITY. In both the Cuban and long-leaf pine the locality where grown appears to have but little influence on weight or 8tren"th, and there is no reason to believe that the long-leaf pine from one State is better than that from any other, since such variations as are claimed can be found on any 40-acre lot of timber in any State. But with loblolly, and still more with short leaf, this seems not to be the case. Being widely distributed over many localities different in soil and climate, the growth of the short-leaf pine seems materially influenced by location. The wood from the Southern coast and Gulf region, and even Arkansas, is generally heavier than the wood from localities farther north. Very lii'ht and fine-grained wood is seldom met near the southern limit of the range, while it is almost the rule in Missouri, where forms resembling the Norway pine are by no means rare. The loblolly, occupying both wet and dry soils, varies accordingly. INFLUENCE OF MOISTURE. This influence is among the most important; hence all tests have been made with due regard to moisture contents. Seasoned wood is stronger than green and moist wood. The difference between green and seasoned wood may amount to 50 and even 100 per cent. The influence of seasoning consists in (1) bringing by means of shrinkage about 10 per cent more fibers into the same square inch of cross section than are contained iu the wet wood; (2) shrinking the cell wall itself by about 50 per cent of its cross section, and thus hardening it, just as the cow skin becomes thinner and harder by drying. In the following tables and diagram this is fully illustrated. The values presented in these tables and diagrams are based on large numbers of tests and are fairly safe for ordinary use. They still reriuire further revision, since the relations to density, etc., have had to be neglected iu this study. TIMBER PHYSICS-^SOUTHERK PINE. 353 Influence of moisture on slreiigth. ) of 111! valUl tests. Beudiug strength . Crushing endwise Per cent of moist- ure. a 7,660 8,900 10, 900 14, 000 4,450 6,450 (1, 850 9,200 7,370 8,650 10, 100 13, 400 4,170 5, 350 6,500 8,650 6,000 8,170 9,230 11, 000 4,160 5,100 5,900 7,000 Relative values. Bending strength Ciusliing endwise Mean of hoth bending and crushing strength Lob- Short- lolly. leaf. 100 100 117 118 138 134 168 160 100 100 128 122 156 142 206 168 100 100 122 120 1 147 138 1 187 1 164 33 per cant green, 20 per cent lialf dry, 15 per cent yard dry, 10 per cent room dry. It will be observed that the strengtli iucrca.ses by about 50 per cent in ordinary good yard seasoning, and that it can be increased by about 30 per cent more by complete seasoning in kiln or house. Large timbers require several years before even the yard-season condition is attained, but 2-inch and lighter material is generally not used with more than 15 per cent moisture. WKKMIT AND MOISTUKE. So far the weight of only the kiln-dry wood has been considered. In fresh as well as all yard and air-dried material there is contained a variable amount of water. The amount of water contained in fresh wood of these pines forms more than half the weight of the fresh sapwood, and about one-fifth to one-fourth of the heartwood ; in yard-dry wood it falls to about 12 to 18 per cent, while in wood kept in well-ventilated and especially in heated rooms it is about 5 to 10 per cent, varying with size of piece, part of tree, species, temperature, and humidity of air. Heated to 150° F. (65^ C.) the wood loses all but about 1* to 2 per ceut of its moisture, and if the temperature is raised to 175° F. there remains less than 1 per cent, the wood dried at 212° F. being assumed to be (though it is not really) perfectly dry. Of course large pieces are in practice never left long enough exposed to become truly kiln-dry, though in factories this state is often approached. As long as the water in the wood amounts to about 30 per cent or more of the dry weight of the wood there is no shrinkage' (the water coming from the cell lumen) and the density or specific gravity changes simply in direct ' In ordinary lumber and all large size material the exterior parts commonly dry so much sooner than the bulk of the stick that checking often occurs, though the moisture per cent of the whole stick is still far above 30. H. Doc. 181 23 354 FOKESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. proportion to the loss of water. When the moisture per cent falls below ahout 30 the water comes from the cell wail, and the loss of\Water and weight is accompanied by a loss of volume, so that both factors of the fraction Specific gravity ; weight volume are affected .and the ch.vuge in the specific gravity no longer is simply proportional to the loss of water or weight. The loss of weight and volume, however, being uneeripheral parts of the same, while the shrinkage of the heavy wood of saplings is greatest of all. On the whole, the wood of these pines shrinks about 10 per cent in its volume, 3 to 4 per cent along the radius, and 6 to 7 per cent along the tangent or along the yearly rings. After leaving the kiln tlie wood at once begins to alisorb moisture and to swell. In an experiment with short pieces of loblolly and shortleaf, representing ordinary flooring or siding sizes, these regained more than half the water and underwent more than half the total swelling during the first 10 days after leaving the kiln (see fig. 94). Even in this less than air-dry wood the changes in weight far (ixcel the changes in volume (sum of radial and tangential swelling), and therefore the specific gravity, (^ven at this low per cent of moisture, was decreased by drying and increased by subsequent absorption of moisture. Immersion and, still more readily, boiling, cause the wood to return to its original size, but temperatures even above the boiling point do not prevent the wood from " working," or shrinking, and swelling. 94.— Loss of wiiter in kiln dryins and reulisorptii In fig. 94 are represented the results of experiments on the rate of loss of water in the dry kiln and the roab- sorption of water in the air. The wood used was of loblolly and shortleaf pine kept on a shelf in an ordinary room before and after kiln-drying. The measurements were made with caliper. KFFECT OF KILN-DRYING. Although kiln-drying has become quite universal, opinions arc still divided as to its eff'ects upon the strength of the nuiterial and other qualities. Many objections and claims as to physical and chemical changes produced by the treatment remain unsubstantiated. The method most widely used and most severely criticised is that of the "blower" kiln, where hot air (180= F.) is forced into the drying room by means of powerful fans. Besides the TIMBER PHYSICS SOUTHERN PINE. 355 many, in part, unreasonable and contradictory claims about closing or opening of pores, chemical or physical influence on the sap and its contents, albumen, gum, resin, sugar, etc., substances whose very existence in many cases is problematical or doubtful, the general claims of increased checking and warping, "casehardening," "honeycombing," etc., as well as reduction of strength, are still prevalent even among the very manufacturers themselves. The manner and progress of the kiln-drying may render this otherwise useful method of seasoning injurious. Rapid drying of the heavier hardwoods of complicated structure, especially in large sizes and from the green state, is apt to produce inordinate checking and thus weakening of the material. For Southern pine, however, it is entirely practicable to carry on the process without any injury, as is evidenced by the following experiment, in which wood of Cuban pine in small dimensions (4 by 4) was seasoned in warm air (about 100>^ V.) and parts of the same scantling were dried at temperatures varying from 150° at the entrance end to 190° F. at the exit- Bending strength. Compression strength. Absolute. At elastic limit. Mean of material not tiln-drieiX (reduced to 15 per Lbn.persqAn. 12, 200 11,600 Lbs. per sq. in. 9,070 9,180 Lbs. per sq. in. 7,630 8,550 Well-constructed "blower kilns," where the hot air is blown in at one end and escapes at the other (this latter always the entrance end for the material), are giving satisfaction. The best kiln, however, seems to be one in which ample piping in the kiln itself insures sufficiently high (up to 180'^ F.), uniform temperature in all parts of the kiln, and where the circulation, promoted by a suction fan, is moderate and under perfect control. In such kilns even timbers of large size can be dried satisfactorily with a temperature not over 150° F. EFFECT OP HIGII-TEMPERATUKB AND HIGH-PKESSUKE PROCESSES. For some time a process employing high temperature under high pressure (temperature over 300° F., pressure 150 pounds) has been discussed and applied, claiming as a result of the treatment (1) increase in strength; (2) increase in durability; (3) absence of shrinkage. The result of a series of experiments in which a number of scantlings of longleaf pine, one-half treated, the other untreated, is as follows : Bending strength. Lbs. per sq.i 7,770 12, 340 Compression strength. Lbs. per sq. i 5,600 7,400 The same difterence in favor of the untreated material obtained in every single case. The chemical analyses performed on wood lying side by side along the same radius, being of the same annual rings and same position in tree, gave the following: Per cent of rosin and phenols calculated to dry weight of wood. Tree No. 475. Tree Xo. 470. Average of both. Treated. Untreated. Treated. Untreated. Treated. Untreated. Kosin : Per cent. 1.21 8.35 0.061 0.290 Per cent. 2.05 10.58 0.083 U.180 Per cent. 1.22 2.23 0.045 0.070 Per cent. 1.23 1.93 0.083 0.058 Per cent. 1.22 5.29 0.053 0. 180 Per cent. 1.61 6.26 0.083 0.119 Phenols : Ic appears that the protective rosin is rather decreased by the treatment, and the antiseptic phenols not increased in an adequate amount to 1)6 of value since it requires at least 20 times as much heavy oil in wood impregnation to be effective. It is, however, possiljle that the change of color due to the process may be accom- plished and be produced by the formation of empyreumatic bodies (allied to the humus substances) which may act as preservative against the attacks of fungi. The claim that the shrinkage of the wood is favorably influenced Ijy the process was not sustained by a series of experiments with oak and i)ine, which showed that the treated wood absorbs water from air or in the tub, swells and shrinks in the same manner and to about the same extent as the untreated wood. EFFECT OF IMMERSION ON THE STRENGTH OF WOOD. The notion frequently expressed is that "soaking wood by floating, rafting, etc., reduces its tendency to decay and shrinkage, but injures its strength." The same was claimed for boiling or steaming preparatory to bending. The last position was disjjroved by Peter Barlow in the first quarter of this century. The following figures (results of an experiment involving several hundred separate tests) disprove the former assertion. 356 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. The soaked wood was kept immersed six months, each piece having its check pieces from the same scantling, which were not subject to the same process, but were tested — one green and one dry. All soaked pieces were seasoned in dry kiln before testing. All values were reduced to 15 per cent moistuie. Lobolly pine. BendJDg strength. Conipression strength. Lbs. per sq.in. 10, 820 10. 570 Lbs. persq. in. 6,780 7,060 EEFECT OF "BOXING OR "BLEEDING." "Bleeding"' pine trees for their resin — to which only the longleaf and Cuban pine are subjected — has generally been regarded as injurious to the timber. Both durability and strength, it was claimed, were impaired by this process, and in the specifications of many architects and large consumers, such as railway companies, "bled" timber was excluded. Since the utilization of resin is one of the leading industries of the South, and since the process aft'ects several millions of dollars' worth of timber every year, a special investigation involving mechanical tests, physical and chemical analyses of the wood of bled and unbled trees from the same locality were carried out by this division. The results prove concnsively (1) that bled timber is as strong as unbled if of the same weight; (2) that the weight and shrinkage of the wood is not affected by bleeding; (3) that bled trees contain practically neither more nor less resin than unbled trees, the loss of resin referring only to the sapwood, and, therefore, the durability is not aff'ected by the bleeding process. The following tal>le shows the remarkable numerical similarity between the average results for three groups of trees, the higher values of the unbled material being readily explained by the difference in weight : Longleaf pine. Number of teats. Speciflo weight of test pieces. Bending strength. Compression strength. 400 390 535 0.74 0.79 0.76 Lbs. per aq. in. 12, 358 12,961 12,586 Lbs. per sq. in. 7,166 7,813 7,675 The amount of resin in the wood varies greatly, and trees growing side by side differ within very wide limits. Sapwood contains but little resin (1 to 4 per cent), even in those trees in which the heartwood contaius abundance. In the heartwood the resin forms from 5 to 24 per cent of the dry weight (of which about one-sixth is turpentine and can not be removed by bleeding), so that its quantity remains unaffected by the process. Bled timber, then, is as useful for all purposes as unbled. To give au idea how necessary it i.s that a hirge series of material be tested before making statements of the strength of wood of any species, we reproduce one of the many tables contained in Bulletin 8, which at the same time exhibits the variation of strength throughout the tree and from tree to tree. TIMBER PHYSICS SOUTHEKN PINE. 357 PH 3 < 9 it •aioqil 9qj JO SI 991^ qOEa ?a93 J9ti: 97.1 90.9 94.9 § i © ^ 1 87.5 88.1 104.4 97.0 107 1 102.0 104..3 111.8 » •!(qSl9M. lEnt)9 pai^l qouB SacAiS '9IOqM! 9m JO BI pUI^l qOE9 ?U90 J9J[ g o ^ 5B •pui^i fiji JO BI dnoiS q9E9 'jn90 J9^ ° S L~- t» ■pniii BJI JO SI 99^^^ qoE9 !ja99 J9j; «4 ■dnojS e»i jo Bt 99aj qDE9 }n9D jgj; r.< ■ W '00 1 :| :g is g i ^ ; X ^e Is is : = « •qaai 9jEnbs J9(I qi3ii9jje 3atjB9qs ^ '(9Jn^BTOni JOJ p90np9j !JOU) qoar 9J«nbs J9ii " qi2a9JjB 9[iBa9x 2 g a-" ^1, 2 j:ppiili|i||pi5»iPP|ilip|i|i|il ■ -qoai 9jTJnbB J9(I 98IAIPU9 qjSnaiis Satqenio 1 1 SJ i si i 1 is i g 3,5 i g % §1 S g S g SJ i g *^£ S g S s S s i O i lis- E? (» ei GC .•- « 51 ^ ^ « « CS -H -- cc x *i .s cs er .h" CI r^ 01 rt rH M -- 01 ^ 1-1 .-(' ^ 01' fH ^ W ft 1 » Qc "»"«"» CO aT t^T^sT'^o oT e" sT'^ aT'-' m^ cT'-' % . £ S 1 e ^2 11 |pj|3|iijp|iijijljij|i|pj|pjijij| »« "(aju^sioui joj p9Dnp -9J ^ou) .^^lATiJS ogio9ds qSvj&ay t^ t- L- t- t- c- t- L^ eo t~ I- «) t- t- t- l^ I- 000000000000000000 « •9Jn!;sioaijo oSBjnoDjod pjiipuBjg ;5 2 S S 3 S 3 S 3 S S 3 S S 15 S S S « •sgqoui nt uotBagiuip a^umixojddy ■* •p9^e9; Bi[0i:j8 JO jgqran^ t-a^t-j5.noco^-.ooa>o»ccooT. M IP ill i jSgSg 1 : : IgS ■•;■•; « iiisiiiiiiiiissiiiiiiiiiii|isi|||is| Sisi S'l g^s ^-g ftS aS S.| S,| P.9ti' ^t oioiSiS-s ot^li S - •9Sy i s S S 1 i S § 1 5 i S i ; : ■99J^ JO jgqran^ --"-"SSSSSSSSSSKSS mJlOJS JO SUOnipUOD 1E001 'p9XO una •P 9XO lua •Samno 9joj9q Bji aXoAg paxog: 358 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. o 5) t 11 « » = © 5« ■oioqil o q( JO Bi oajj qoEO jngo .i9j 104..'J 104.4 IIO.S 91.1 108.7 10G.7 102.8 109.4 1 ft ■^qSiQM. xi3nT)9 pai3[ iiOBO SaiAiS 'opq-ii oqi .;o sj vni)] qora !(a30 ioj X •pniil B)l JO Rl (1I10J3 1I0)?3 ^Q90 JQd o •paj5[ B15 JO St mit qDim »ii93 J,i,i SoSojoooo !-(»-( rH H IM TH rH « •dno.iS B){ JO si eojt i[0ii9 inoo aa.i oi-MOoocm.oc o c !D i OSCiOQDOOCSOC 1 CT >s ■ipnt 9.iBiiTie J9r»coaDt>aso*i-d't> CJ^CD^ « «o -* •(9in:jsroni .toj paonpaj !jon) t[Dut ejBnl3B aad i[?3u9J^s oiisaax £ Oi '^O *9,.-( O^I^ ^O 0,r-. "^Cl 'T^O »0^0 fi o »'~'t*'~^CS '-'^^'"'^ »Q'^i^'~'a ,»»»« o^ '^0© ^ CO© oT cTcT Ills Ei 1 E "-2 1! f 1 *'■§ "i s ^' ^ ""il ^i^ ^3 ^-.H ^--i ^ ot->na O* I- ©^ r- to© T-C MM »• •(ajnistom joj poonp -oj :jon) jf^iATuS oyioade qSbjsav ooooooooc o c I o o" o o e •3jn(jBT0ni JO oSu^uoDJOd paupim^s :5SS2SSS!2 s rt •eaq^nt ui noieiioiuip o:juinixo.iddy gggggogg o 1 ># ■p95B9!; B3[0l?S JO J9quIU^ SjHOCOCOCO^CC g n Si If iiii : is ;i is ii is i iJ g" ^ p' J go tT M t," M >' M ■>' ti jj ti i ^ (Pinus tKda.) 6 (Pinus strobus.) Eedpine (Pinus rosinosa.) (Pinua glabra.) q (Taxodium diatichum.) (Cbamaecyparis tbyoides.) (Pseudotsuga taxifolia.) 12 10 8 11 3 4 12 11 6 4 4 .1 3 3 3 1 7 (Quercus alba.) n (Quercua lyrata.) (Quercus minor.) (Quercua michauxii.) (Quercus rubra.) Ark.ansas, Mississippi bottom. Alabama, Tennessee Valley (5) . Mississippi, low plain (4) . Alabama, Tennessee Valley (5) ; Arkansas, Mississippi bottom (3) ; Missis- sippi, low plain (4). Alabama, Tennessee Valley (5) ; Arkansas, Mississippi bottom (3) ; Missis- sippi, low plain (3). Mississippi, alluvial plain (3) ; limestone (3). Mississippi, low plain. 17 {Quercua texana.) IS (Quercua velutina.) (Quercua nigra.) (Quercua pbellos.) 'l' (Quercua digitata.) no (Hicoria ovataO ■>? (Hicoria alba.) (Hicoria aquatica.) ""i (Hicoria minima.) Do M (Hicoria raynaticaiformis.) Do. (Hicoria pecan.) (Hicoria glabra.) Mississippi, bottom. "I (Ulmus americana.) Cedar elm 10 (tllmus crassifolia.) Mississippi, bottom. ^^^ (Fraxiuus americana.) (Fraxinus lanceolata.) Arkansas, bottom (3) ; Mississipiri, low plain (4) . (Liquidambar styraciflua.) a Sixteen of these were bled treea to atudy tbe effects of boxing. h These two should probably be clasaed as Southern red oak. Thoy were collected before the distinction was finally decided upon. NoTE.^ — The values for apecific gravity hero given refer to "dry" wood of teat material — i.e., wood containing variable- amounts of moisture below 15 per cent; the moisture eflect has therefore not been taken into account, but more careful experiments indicate that its nfluence on apecilic gravity at such low per cent is so small that it may be neglected for practical purposes. As -will be observed, some species, notably the Southern pines, have been more fully investigated, and the results on these (-which have been published more in detail in Circular No. 12) may be taken as authoritative. With those species of which only a small number of trees have been tested this can be claimed only within limits and in proportion to the number of tests. 364 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. g. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. The great variation in strengtli which is noticeable in timber of the same species makes it necessary to accept with caution the result of a limited number of tests as representing the average for the species, for it may have happened that only all superior or all inferior material has been used in the tests. Hence we would not be entitled to conclude, for instance, that pignut hickory is 14 per cent stronger than shagbark, as it would appear in the table, for the 30 test pieces of the former may easily have been superior material. Only a detailed examination of the test pieces or a fuller series of tests would enlighten us as to the comparative value of the results. The following data, therefore, are not to be considered as in any sense final values for the species, except where the number of trees and tests is very large : BesuJts of tests in compression endwise. [Pounds per square iuch.] Species. Jteditced to 15 per cent moisture. Longleaf pine Cuban pine Shortleaf pine Lobhilly pine Jieduced to IS per cent moisttire. White pine lied pine Spruce pine Bald cypress White cedar Douglas spruce a Whi te oak Orercup oak Post oak Cow oak J.. Ked oak Texan oak Yellow oak Water oak Willow oak Spanish oak Sliagbark hickory Mockeruut hickory . ._ Water hickory Bitternut hickory Nntni^g hickory Pecan hickory Pignut hickory White elm Cedar elm White ash Green ash ; Sweet gum Number of teats. Higliest single teat. Lowest single test. Arerage liighestlO per cent of tests. Average lowest 10 par cent Average of all tests. Proportion of tests within 10 per cent of Proport.ion of tests within 25 per cent of Per cent. Per cent. 1,230 11. 900 3,400 8,600 5,700 6,900 53 90 410 10, 600 2,800 9,500 6,500 7,900 61 93 330 8,500 4,500 7,600 4,800 6,900 47 90 660 11, 200 3,900 8,700 5,400 6,500 49 81 130 8,600 3,200 0,800 4,000 5,400 49 93 100 8,200 4, 300 8,100 4,900 6,700 54 96 170 10, 000 4.400 8,800 5,600 7,300 66 95 655 9,900 2, 900 8,500 4,200 6,000 31 74 87 6,200 3,200 6,000 4,400 5,200 79 99 41 8, 900 4,100 8,100 4,200 5,700 28 65 218 12, 500 5,100 11, 300 6,300 8,600 40 81 210 9,100 3,700 8,600 6,000 7,300 70 95 49 8,200 5, 900 8,100 6,000 7,100 58 lOO 250 11, 500 4,600 9,800 5,600 7,400 51 89 57 9,700 5,400 9,200 5, 500 7,200 36 84 117 11,300 5, 800 9,800 6,900 8,100 62 98 40 8,600 5,500 8,300 5,800 7,300 58 lOO 31 9,200 0, 200 9,000 6,300 7,800 75 lOO 153 11,000 4,200 8,700 5,500 7,200 51 88 251 10, 600 3,700 9,500 5,100 7,700 61 94 137 13, 700 5, 800 10, 900 7,500 9,500 79 97 75 12, 200 6,200 11,600 8,000 10, 100 65 99 14 10, 000 6,700 9,000 7,000 8,400 71 100 25 11, 500 7,300 11, 200 7,800 9.600 00 100 72 12, 300 6,400 11,000 7,100 8,800 79 97 37 10, 500 5, 800 10, 400 7,300 9,100 51 95 30 13, 000 8, 700 12, 700 8,900 10, 900 72 100 18 8,800 4,900 8, 800 5,000 6, 500 28 88 44 10, 600 6, 200 10, 100 G, 500 8,000 66 95 87 9,000 5,000 8,700 5,700 7. 200 48 96 10 n. 800 6,600 9,800 6,600 8,000 29 100 118 8.900 4,600 8,500 5,600 7,100 60 97 a Actual tests on "dry" material not reduced for moisture. The variation in strengtli in wood of the virgin forest, as -will be seeii from the tables, is in some species so great that by proper inspection and selection values differing by 25 to 50 per cent may be obtained from different parts of the ,s.ame tree, and values differing 100 to 200 per cent within the same species. These differences have all their definite recognizable causes, to find and formulate which is the final aim of these investigations. The tests are iuteutionally not made on selected material (except to discard absolutely defective pieces), but on material as it comes from the trees, so as to arrive at an average statement for the species, when a sufficient number of trees has been tested. How urgent is the need for data of inspection as above indicate.d will appear from the wide range of results recorded. To enable any engineer to use the data here given with due caution and judgment, not only the ranges of values and the average of all values obtained, but also the proportion of tests which came near the average values, have been stated, as well as the average results of the highest and lowest values of 10 per cent of the tests. With this information and a statement of the actual number of tests involved, the comparative merit of the stated values can be judged. With a large number of tests, to be sure, it is more likely that an average value of the species has been found. The actual test results have been rounded oft' to even hundreds in the tables. FACTORS OF SAFETY. With such lowest standard values, also lowest factors of safety could be employed. As to factors of safety, it may be proper to state that the final aims of the present investigations may be summed up in one proposition, namely, to establish rational factors of safety. It will be admitted by all engineers that the factors of safety as used at present can hardly be claimed to be more than guesswork. There is not an engineer who could give account as to the basis upon which numerically the factors of safety for wood have been established as "8 for steady stress; 10 for varying stress; 15 for shocks" (see Merriman's Testbook on the Mechanics of Materials); or as 4 to 5 for "dead" load and 5 to 10 for "live" load (see Rankiue's Handbook of Civil Engiuoeriug). TIMBER PHYSICS FACTOR OF SAFETY. 365 The directions for using these indeterminate factors of safety given in the text-books would imply that the student or engineer is, after all, to rely on his judgment as to the modification of the factor, i. e., he is to add to this general guess his own particular guess. The factor of safety is in the main an expression of ignorance or lack of oontidence in the reliahility of values of strength, upon which the designing proceeds, together with an absence of data upon which to inspect the material. With a larger number of well-conducted tests, coupled with a knowledge of the quantitative as well as qualitative influeuces of various factors upon strength, and with definite data of inspection which allow ready sorting of material, the factor of safety, as far as it denotes the residuum of ignorance which may be assumed to remain, as to the character and behavior of the material, may be reduced to a mininium, restricting itself mainly to the consideration of the indeterminable variation in the actual and legitimate application of load. liesiUts of Ivats in compresaion endwise on rjreen wood (abore 40 per cent moisture, not reduced). [Pounds per atiuare inch.] Species. Highest Lowest single single test. test. 7, .lOO 2,800 6,100 3,500 4,000 3,000 6,500 2,600 4,700 2,800 8,200 1,800 3,400 2,300 7,000 3,200 4,900 2.800 4,900 2,300 6,000 3,100 5,500 2,300 6,100 2, 500 6,900 3,500 7,200 4,500 5,600 4,700 6.500 3,700 3,800 3,300 0,200 4,700 3,600 3,000 Average of all tests. Longleaf pine Cuban pine Shortleaf pine Loblolly pine Spruce pine Bald cypress "WTiite cedar "White oak Overcup oak Cow oak Texan oak "Willow oak Spanish oak Shagbark hickory. . Mockerniit hickory "Water hickory Nutmeg hickory — Pecan hickory Pignut hickory Sweet gum 4,300 4,800 3,300 4,100 3,900 4,200 2,900 5,200 3.800 3,900 6,700 6,100 5,200 4,500 3,600 5,400 While the values given in these tables may claim to contain more elements of reliability than most of those published hitherto, much more work will have to be done before the above-stated aim will be satisfied. In explauatinn of the table recording tests in bending at relative clastic limits it should be stated that since an elastic limit in the sense in which the term is used for metals, namely, as a point at which distortion becomes disproportionate to load and a permanent injury and set results, can not be readily determined for wood. Prof. J. B. Johnson has proposed to utilize a point where the rate of distortion becomes 50 per cent greater for the amount of load than it was for the initial' load, which point can be tolerably accurately determined (see Bull. 8, p. 9). This point he has called the "relative elastic limit." The assumption is that such a point would be near the limit to which the material can be strained without permanent injury, and the strength values obtained at that point would serve for indications of safe loads. The practical utility of determining this point and the strength values relating to it remains, however, still open for discussion. A comparison of the values obtained for the strength at rupture and at relative elastic limit shows a parallelism which would make it questionable whether much is gained by the use of that point, which in reality lies beyond the limit where practical injury has begun, as indicated by the increased distortion. We would bo inclined to consider that point more serviceable where the curve begins to deviate from the straight line, at which point we may assume no permanent injury has as yet been experienced. This point we may call provisionally the "safe limit." Objection has been made to utilizing this ])oint because it can not be located with as much nicety and mathe- matical precision as the ijoint of "relative elastic limit." But even this point is only approximately definable; and since no strength values can claim to l)e more than approximately correct, it would suffice to determine the safe- limit point and the correspondent strength values also only approximately. This point has the advantage that it lies on the safe side. Special series of tests to investigate the legitimacy of the use of any of these limits for practical purposes were designed, but have as yet not been taken up, and hence the values in the table on p. 367 are given (mly as suggestions for what they are worth. 366, FOKESTKY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. MesuUs of tests in hending, at ruxdure. [Pounds per a(xuare inch.] lieduccd to 16 jjer cent Tnolsture. Loiigleaf itino Cuban pino SUortleaf pine Loblolly pine. - - - Jicduced to 13 per cent moisture, "White pino - Ked pine Spruce pine Bald cypresa White cedar Douglas spruce a "Wliite oak Ovcrcupoak •-... Tost oak Cow oak Kedoak Texiiiioak Yellow oak - Water oak AVillow oak Spanish oak Shajibark hickory Mockeniut liickory Water hickory Bitterniit hickory Kutnicf^ hickory Pecan hickory Pignut hickory White elm. Cedar elm White ash Green ash Sweet gum Highest single test. 17,800 17, OUO 15, :mi 14, 800 11, 100 12, 900 16, :ioo 14, 800 9,100 13, 000 20, 300 19, 600 16, 400 23, 000 16, 500 19, 500 15, 000 16, 000 16, 000 17, 300 23, 300 20, 700 18, 000 19, 500 16, 600 18, 300 25, 000 14, 000 19, 200 15, 000 16, 000 14, 400 Lowest single test. 3,300 2,900 5,000 3,900 4,600 3,100 3,100 2,300 3,500 3,800 5,700 4,900 5,100 3,300 5,700 8,200 5,100 5,700 5, 300 .5, 300 7,000 6,700 6,600 11, lOO 7,300 6,600 5,000 5,100 Average highest 10 per cent of tests. 14,200 14, 600 12, 400 13, 100 10, 100 12, 300 13, 600 11, 700 8,400 12, 000 18, 500 14, 900 15, 300 12, 500 15, 400 16, 900 14, 600 15, 700 13, 800 15, 600 20, 300 19, 700 17, 30O 10, 300 15, 600 18, 100 24, 300 13, 600 17, 300 14, 200 16, 000 12, 700 Average lowest 10 per cent of tests. 8,800 7,000 8,100 5,000 4,900 5,800 5,000 4,000 4,100 7,600 6,300 7,400 6,500 9,100 10, 000 5,700 7,200 5,400 6,900 9,400 7,900 5,400 8,700 8,100 10, 300 11, 500 7,300 8,600 6,300 5,100 6,000 10,900 11,900 9,200 10, 100 7,900 9, 100 10, 000 7,900 6,300 7,900 13, 100 11,300 12, 300 11,500 11, 400 13, 100 10, 800 12, 400 10, 400 12, 000 16,000 15,200 12, 500 15, OOO 12, 500 15, 300 18, 700 10, 300 13, 500 10, 800 11,600 9,500 Proportion of tests within 10 per cent of average. Proportion of testa within 25 per cent of a Actual tests on "dry" material not reduced for moisture. KELATIONS OF WEIGHT AND STRENGTH. That within the same species the strength of wood varied with the dry weight (specific gravity), i. e., that the heavier .stick is the stronger, has been known for some time. That this law of variation held good not only for a given species, bnt irrespective of species for the four principal pines of our Southern States was indicated in Circular 12 of this Division. This fact becomes the more important in practical application, as the wood of these species of pines so far can not be distinguished at all by its anatomical structure and only with difficulty and uncertainty by other appearances, while in the lumber market substitution is not infrct^uent. It will therefore be best with these pines, where strength alone is desired, to inspect the material by weight (specific), other things being equal, disregarding species determination. While this result of the exhaustive series of tests reasonably well demonstrated for these pines may be considered of great practical Aalue, we can now extend the application of the law of relation between weight and strength a step farther, and state as an indication of our tests that probably In woods of uniform structure strength increases with specific weight, independently of species and genus distinction, i. e., other things being ec[ual, the heavier wood is the stronger. We arc at present inclined to state this important result with caution, only as a probability or indication, until either the test material and tests can be more closely scanned, or more carefully 2)lanned and minutely executed series of detail tests can be carried on to confirm the truth of what the wholesale tests seem to have developed. In the following two diagrams the average strength of the different species in compression endwise and bending, as found in the preceding tables, has been plotted with reference to the dry weight as given in preceding table. Considering that these tests and weight determinations (especially the latter) were not carried on with that finesse which would be required for a scientific demonstration of a natural law, that other influences, as crossgrain, unknown defects, and moisture conditions may cloud the results, and that in the averaging of results undue consid- eration may have been given to weaker or stronger, heavier or lighter, material, the relaxation is exhibited even by this wholesale method with a remarltable degree of uniformity bordering on demonstration. An exception is apparent in the oaks in that they do not exhibit this relation of weight and strength with reference to other species, and also with less definiteness among the various sjiecies of oak in themselves. The structure of oak wood being exceedingly complicated and essentially different from that of tlio wood of all other species under consideration, it may reasonably be expected that it will not range itself with these. TIMBER PHYSICS STRENGTH AND WEIGHT. 367 Mesults of tests in lending^ at relative elastic limit. [Pounds per square iucli.] JS 40 4S "Weight ijer cubic foot in pounds. Fig. 95.— Eelation of strength in compression endwise to Tveight of materia!. The lig thereby represented. SO S5 oo at each point indicates the species 368 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMEKT OF AC4RICULTURE. moo\ moo /7000 moo /£P00 7 uooo /3000 /2000 I' //ooo /oooo 9000 8000 7000 6^000 ,^o SS &0 W 2S JO 35 ^O /^ Weight per cubic foot in pounds. Fig. 96.— Relation of weight to bending strength at rupture. The figure at each point indicates the species thereby TIMBER PHYSICS — UNIFORMITY OF STRENGTH. 369 In addition, the difficulty of seasouing oak without defects or even securing perfect material may liave influenced the results of tests so as to cloud the relationship with the genus. If further close study, supplemented by additional series of tests carefully devised to investigate this relation- ship, should uphold the truth of it, this result may be set down as the most important practical one that could be reached by these tests, for it would at once give into the hands of the wood consumer a means of determining the relative value of his material as to strength and all allied properties by a simple process of weighing the dry material; of course with due regard to the other disturbing factors like crossgrain, defects, coarseness of grain, etc. Results of tests in compression across grain {a) and shearing with grain. [Pounds per square inch..] Reduced to 15 per cent ■}iioisture. Longleaf pine. Cuban pine Shortleaf ]iine. Loblolly pine.. Reduced to 13 per cent moisture. White pine Ked pine Spruce pine Bald cypress "White cedar Douglas spruce 6. W.hit6oak Overcup oak Post oak Cow oak Red oak Shearing Compres- with ber of tests. graiu. grain not reduced for moisture. No. 1,210 1,000 700 400 1,000 700 16 330 900 700 17 690 ],0()0 700 18 19 20 !>1 130 700 400 '?V, 100 1,000 500 K3 175 1,200 800 •M 650 800 500 V,5 87 700 400 ;^fi 41 800 500 K7 218 2,200 1,000 2K 216 1,900 1,000 «!) 49 3,000 1,100 HO 256 1,900 900 31 57 2, 300 1,100 32 Southern red oak. . "Black oak , "Water oak "Willow oak Spanish oak Shagback hickory. "White hickory . — "Water hickory Bitternut hickory. Nutmeg hickory .. Pecan hickory Pign at Ijickory "White ehn Cedar elm "White ash Green ash Sweet gum Num- Compres- Derof 117 2.000 40 1,800 30 2,000 153 1,600 255 1,800 135 2,700 75 3,100 14 2,400 25 2,200 72 2,700 37 2,800 30 3,200 . 18 1,200 44 2,100 S7 1,900 10 118 1,700 1,400 Shearing with grain not reduced 900 900 1,100 1,100 1,000 1,000 1,100 1,200 1,200 800 1,300 1,100 1,000 ndentation of 3 per cent of the height of the specimen. & Actual tests on " dry " material not reduced for moisture. Having fully established tlie great influence of moisture on the strength of wood, the practi- tioner still needed information as to the rate and manner of drying and as to the way in which moisture is distributed during seasoning. Several thousand moisture determinations were made and it was established beyond doubt that moisture is generally least abundant at the ends, is quite evenly distributed throughout the length, but is not always uniform in different parts of the same cross section, often varying in this respect within astonishing ranges, so that the use of timber in a half-seasoned condition, and where uniform seasoning can not be obtained by the material, requires that these facts be duly considered in designing. Tests of Maximum Uniformity. Both in this country and abroad small differences in strength values were often interpreted as deciding for or against any given material. This same iiroblem arose also in every case where many results were to be compiled, and it seemed especially desirable once for all to find just how much uniformity could be expected of wood materials. From a large series of well-selected quarter-sawed pieces representing several kinds of pine, cypress, and hardwoods it was found that even contiguous blocks, 2.J inches long, may differ by as much aS 2 to 4 per cent in conifers and as much as 13 per cent in oak, and that in a scantling only 6 feet long the butt might differ from the top by 10 to 20 per cent in conifers and over 35 per cent in oak. This extremely valuable set of results throws much light upon discussions of the past, and is well suited to show that many boastful claims rested on very flimsy and entirely unreliable differences, such as might well be accounted for by a little more extended examination of materials. It will also assist in judging test results in the future and help to avoid useless controversy and prejudice. The following more fully illustrates the results of this series : Scantlings of air-dry material, 6 to 10 feet long, of white pine, longleaf pine, tuliptree (poplar), and white oak, and of perfectly green material of loblolly pine and cypress, fresh from the saw, were cut partly into blocks 2 by 2 by 2| inches, but mostly into cubes of 2f inches. All material was quarter sawed, carefully jirepared, and in all cases treated alike, either perfectly green or dried together at the same temperature. Altogether 529 tests in endwise compression were made, namely, 100 on white piue, 72 on longleaf pine, 99 on loblolly pine, 40 on white oak, 115 on tuliptree (poplar), 103 on cypress. H. Doc. 181 24 370 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS V. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. From these tests the following table of averages is derived, together with fig. 97: Average of tests for maximum nniformiiy. "White pine (Plrnis atrobus) Longleaf pine (Pinna paluatris) Tuliptree (poplar) (Liriodendron tulipifei;9.) ■White oak (Quercus alba) Loblolly pine (Pinna taeda) Cypress (Taxodium distichum) Yard dry. 125+ (green). 125 + (green). Average .strength oi" all pieces. 4,900 10, 800 6,010 Greatest difference in strength between adjoin- ing pieces. Greatest dif- ference in en- tire scantling. It will he observed that green cypress excelled in its uniformity; that green loblolly proves not more uniform than dry white and longleaf pine; that wood of the conifers far excel even the tuliptree (poplar) with its uniform grain and texture; and that oak, as might be expected, is the least uniform. It will also be noticed that even in one and the same short scantling (6 to 10 feet) of select quarter-sawed longleaf pine differences of 10 per cent may occur, and that in all others these differences were even greater. Incidentally in this and the following experiment a small number of the blocks were thoroughly oven-dried (to about 2 per cent moisture), and it was found that the strength of both cypress and loblolly was increased by about 150 per cent during drying, so that wood at 2 per cent is about two and one-half times as strong as perfectly green or soaked material; and also that drying from 8 to 10 per cent to tlie lowest attainable moisture condition (1 to 2 per cent) still adds about 25 per cent to the strength of the wood. In the following diagram and table a part of the results are presented in detail : glOCKA/mfff/?:/ 3 S 7 9 // /3 /S /7 /9 2/ 23 25 Fio. 97. — Strength of contiguous blocks, showing maximum uniformity of select quarter-sawed material in compression endwise. TIMBER PHYSICS — VARIATION IK STRENGTH. 371 strength of contiguous Mocks of the same scantling, select material, in compression endtvise. [Dimensions generally, 2.76 by 2.7G by 2.76 incbes.] Number of blocks Kind of -wood. Wbite pine (3 per cent mois- ture). Lougleaf pine (8 per cent Loblolly pine (125+per cent ture). Tulip- tree (8 per cent mois- ture). Oak (yard dry). Pounds per square inch. 11, 580 11, 580 11, 310 11,000 8,250 10,740 11, 180 11, 230 10, 980 11, 130 11,510 11,490 11, 320 11, 220 11,320 11,340 11,470 10, 790 10, 740 11, 030 11, 110 11, 450 12, 250 12, 760 10, 740 10, 350 10, 280 10, 150 9,860 10, 000 10, 120 10, 370 10, 320 10, 250 10, 400 10, 050 10, 050 10, 350 10, 100 10, 030 9,970 9,880 10.050 10, 220 10, 470 10, 860 10, 590 10,350 11,150 10, 970 10,890 2,380 2,450 a 6, 700 2,600 2.080 2,640 2,720 a 6, 970 2,770 2, 7:io 2, 780 2,800 a5,8J0 2,880 2,870 2,870 2,860 a 6, 480 2,760 2,760 2,720 2,640 a7,050 2,680 2, 6.50 2,650 2,780 a 7, 320 2,730 2, 780 2,720 2,660 a 5, 360 2,610 2,560 2,580 2,580 tt 5, 220 2,620 2,600 2,640 2,610 a 6, 440 2,020 2, G20 2, 600 2,680 a 0,440 2,710 2,720 2,700 2.720 2,680 2,680 2,720 2,770 2,820 3,020 3,070 3,099 3,120 3,170 3,140 3,090 3,490 3, 520 3,570 4,170 4,190 4,170 4,180 4,200 4,180 4,230 4,230 4,180 4,130 4,160 4,160 4,160 4,110 4,090 4,070 5,740 5,700 5,770 5,700 6,430 5,430 5,420 5,560 6,440 17,070 5,770 6,030 6,170 6,840 6,440 5,360 10, 790 2, 750 10, 970 2, 760 11,040 2,720 10,940 a 6, 850 10, 970 2,710 10, 840 2,680 10.710 2, 660 10, 890 2,660 10, 710 O7,030 5,920 5,930 5,770 5,780 6.120 6,480 6,310 6,220 6,310 1 7, 420 6,340 6,360 6,040 6,910 7,340 7,870 9,030 8,660 8,060 7,740 7,580 8,400 8,710 8,060 6,280 6.490 6,610 6,220 6,190 I 7, 300 6,010 6,140 6,170 6,010 6,490 7,280 7,510 7,510 8.080 9, 030 8,790 8,640 8, 560 8,780 6, 080 5,800 6,110 b7, 920 6,210 6,270 6,300 6,420 6,450 6,170 6,440 6,340 8,310 a7, 510 aDried to about 2 per cent moisture before testing. As was indicated at the outset and is fully explained in Bulletins 6 and 8, the plan of this investigation also included among the objects to be sought the establishment of the following: (1) The relative value of each species. (2) The outward signs or physical and structural properties, easily used in inspection. (3) The relation of the properties among themselves; and (4) Their relation to the conditions under which the wood is formed, such, for instance, as the age of the tree when wood is laid on, influences of soil, climate, etc. As has been explained, some of these relations were more or less fully determined, at least, qualitatively; nevertheless, the relation of the several forms of resistance, as well as the mutual relations of the properties in general, seemed to escape observation in the manner of inquiry generally pursued. It became clear before long that these laws must be established by special series, planned each to seek answer to some specific question. Several of these were carried out, 372 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. and, thouga little more was accomplished than to find proper ways, the study of these results, amplified by the largo ordinary series, led to several interesting discoveries, the most important of which is the discovery of the relation between the strength in cross bending at elastic limit and the compression endwise, this latter being equal to the fiber stress of the former. Though still requiring special experiments to become convincing, it is fair to state at this point that a great deal of useless testing will be saved in the future, since the test in compression is by all means the simplest, the selection and treatment of the material for it the easiest, and the result the most satisfactory. The importance of this discovery by Mr. S. T. Neely is such that a reprint of Mr. Neely's discussion here will be found justified. Relation op Compression-endwise Strength to Breaking Load of Beam. In testing timber to obtain its various coefficients of strengtb, tbe test which is at once the simplest, most expedient, satisfactory, and reliable is the "compression-endwise test," which is made by crushing a specimen parallel to the fibers. All other tests are either mechanically less easily performed, or else, as in the case of cross- bending, the stresses are complex, and the unit coefficient can be expressed only by reliance upon a theoretical ■formula, the correctness of which is in doubt. It would, therefore, be of great practical value to find a relation between the cross-bending strength, the most important coefficient for the practitioner, and the compression strength, when the study of wood would not only be greatly simplified and cheapened, but the data could be applied with much greater satisfaction and safety. The consideration of such a relation resolves itself naturally into two parts, namely, a study of the relation ot the internal stresses in a beam to the external load which produces them, and a study of the relation of the internal stresses in a beam to the compression-endwise strength of the material of which the beam is made. The first relation has been a subject of study for more than two centuries, and from the time of Galileo down to the present day the theory of beams has been gradually evolved. Within recent years several eminent physicists aud engineers have given a true analysis of both the elastic and ultimate streugth of a beam, a clear exposition of which is made by Prof. J. B. Johnson in his work on Modern Framed Structures. He points out that the "ordinary equation " for obtaining the extreme fiber stresses, when the external load and dimensions of the beam are given, is not applicable to a beam strained beyond its elastic limit ; and he follows this statement with a discussion of the true distribution of internal stresses in a beam at time of rupture, and with a " Rational equation for the moment of resistance at rupture," devised by M. Saint- Venant, which really does connect the extreme fiber stress in a bent beam with the compression-endwise strength and also with the tension strength. Professor Johnson's final conclusion, however, is that for practical use the " ordinary formula" may be applied to a beam at rupture, providing the fiber stress involved is obtained from cross-bending tests ; and this is the present practice among engineers. RELATION OF INTERNAL STRESSES. Assume for the discussion of the relation of internal stresses to external load the simple conditions of a beam of rectangular cross section loaded at the middle. Regarding the distribution of internal stresses, it must be agreed that the neutral plane lies in the center of the beam so long as the beam is loaded within the elastic limit ; this follows from the fact that the modulus of elasticity is the same whether derived from compression tests or from tension tests (i. e., Ec ^ Et), as proved by experiments of Niirdlinger, Bauschinger, Tetmayer, and others. Since the distortion of any given fiber in the beam is proportional to its distance from the neutral plane, the distribution of stresses in a longitudinal section of a beam loaded up to its elastic limit may be represented by the following diagram, in which the vertical scale represents increments of distortion and the horizontal scale the fiber stresses. In this diagram the angle a = angle Z>, since Ec = Et; and furthermore, since these latter quantities arc each equal to the modulus of elasticity obtained from cross-bending tests (according to the same authorities), this angle a (or 6) can be obtained by platting the results of the cross-bending test itself. It is a well-established fact that the tension strength of wood is much greater than the compression strength, and also, as shown by the German experimenters quoted, that the elastic limit in either case is not reached until shortly before the ultimate strength. Furthermore, it seems reasonable to suppose, and is essential to the construc- tion of the above diagram, that the true elastic limit of the be.am (shown on the strain diagram of a beam at the point where it ceases to be a straight line) is reached at the same instant that the elastic limit of the extreme com- pression fiber is reached ; for when the loading is continued beyond this latter condition the line GO must begin to cur\e upward (since the proportion of load to distortion on that side begins to increase more rapidly), while the line OT continues in its original direction. Therefore, in order to maintain the equilibrium, the whole distribution of stresses will necessarily be changed, the position of the neutral axis will be lowered, and these changes will, of course, show an effect on the deflection of the beam. Now, even at rupture the proportionality of fiber distortion to distance from neutral axis is maintained (because a plane cross section will always remain a plane), and therefore the distribution of internal stresses just at the point of rupture can be represented by a diagram similar to fig. 99, in which, as before, the vertical scale represents incre. ments of distortion and the horizontal scale fiber stresses. The fibers on either side of the neutral plane are under stresses which vary from zero at the neutral plane to the maximum stress in the extreme fiber, changing in proportion TIMBER PHYSICS — RELATION OP CRUSHING TO BENDING. 373 as the increments of load in the test machine vary. Therefore, the distribution of stresses on the compression side of the neutral plane will he shown by an ordinary strain diagram for compression, and on the tension side by a similar tension-strain diagram. Unfortunately there are no reliable diagrams of these kinds now on record. The compression pieces tested have usually been too short to afford reliable measurements of distortion, and, owiug to structural and mechanical difiSculties, satisfactory tension tests seem to be impossible. .ST^£SS£S /A/ WOO IBS. a / 2 3 ^ S 6 ,, STRESSES /A/ WOO IBS. U. / 23 4-S6769/0// /_,/ 2 3 4 S 6 .—Relation of fiber stresses and distortions. / 2 3 'f S 6 7 8 S'/ /O'y/ 9 — Distribution of internal stresses in a beam at rupture. Experience in testing, however, has taught that when a piece of green wood is tested in lompression it will undergo a great distortion after the maximum load has been applied without actually breaking down — in fact, while sustaining the same load. A piece tested in tension, on the other hand, breaks suddenly as 9oon is the maximum load is applied. A beam in failing may, therefore, sustain an increasing load long after the extreme compression fiber has been loaded to its ultimate strength; the fibers on the compression side continue to be mashed down, while the neutral plane is lowered and the stress in the tension fiber increases until, very often in practice, the beam "fails in tension." With these facts and ,, rORC£S W. / 2 3 4? S <5 7 WOO LBS. J3 9 JO // /S observations before us it is possible to con- struct a diagram so that it will represent, approximately, at least, the distribution of internal stresses in a beam at rupture. (See fig. 100.) In this figure OA represents the position of neutral plane at time of rupture, OU the distortion in the extreme compression fiber, UC the stress on same fiber, OL the distor- tion in extreme tension fiber, and LT the stress on that fiber. It can readily be seen that the manner of breaking will influence slightly the form of this diagram. If the beam fails in com- pression before the tension fiber reaches its elastic limit the line OT will be straight as shown, otherwise the line will assume some such position as Oi,T, (diagram 99), in which Z, is the elastic limit in tension. From the approximate distribution of internal stresses their relation to the external load may be determined. The two funda- mental equations — (1) that the sum of inter- nal stresses on the tension side equals the sum of internal stresses on the compression side, and (2) that the sum of the external moments equals the sum of the inter- nal moments — apply at the time of rupture as well as at the elastic limit. From (1) it follows that area OUCZ := area OLT, and the position of the neutral plane at rupture is thereby fixed. If now the line LU be assumed to represent the depth of the beam in inches instead of indicating the distortion of the fibers, the sum of the internal moments about the point O is found by multiplying the area of either the compression or tension diagram by the sum of the distances of their respective centers of gravity from the neutral plane. By putting this sum equal to the moment of the external load about the same point O the first relation is established. ^'-Z 2 3 '^ S 6 7 8 9 JD // /2 Tig. 100. — Position of neutral axis and internal stresses at rupture of beam. 374 ■ FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. RELATION OF CRDSHING-ENDWISE STKBNGTH. The second relation (that of crushing-endwise strength to internal stresses) -was touched upon in discussing the first, when it was stated: (1) That the true elastic limit of the beam is proljably reached at the same instant that the extreme fibers on the compression side reach their elastic limit in compression. (2) That this latter limit lies close to the ultimate compression-c-ndwise strength (so close that former experimenters have been unable satisfactorily to separate them). (3) That a piece of green wood will stand a great deal of distortion after the ultimate load is applied before actually failing. And to these statements may be added the evident fact (4) that the stress on any fiber on the compression side cau not exceed the compressiou-eudwise strength of the material. (5) Finally and most important it appears from (1) and (2), but especially from an examination of the several thousand test results on the several species of conifers made by the Division of Forestry, that the extreme fiber stress at the true elastic limit of a beam is practically identical with the compression-endwise strength of the material. (This last observa- tion, which was forced upon the writer by its continual repetition in the large series of tests under review, lies at the basis of this discussion.) The observation of this identity makes the distribution of internal stresses appear more simple than was hitherto assumed, aJnd the desired relation between compression and cross-bending strength capable of mathematical expression. DEVELOPMENT OF FORMULAE. From these considerations the distance UC in fig. 100, which represents the ultimate compression-endwise strength of the material, becomes practically equal to the distance el, which represents the compression strength at the true elastic limit, and hence the line IC straight and vertical ; and if OT is taken as straight, the diagram will be made up of simple geometric figures, as in fig. 100. The line LU will represent the total fiber distortion at time of rupture, and is equal to the sum of the amounts by which the extreme compression fibers shorten and the extreme tension fibers elongate. Let a test in which the following quantities have been observed and recorded be considered: Let Pr^the external load at rupture (pounds). ^r = the corresponding deflection of the beam (inches). C ^ compression-endwise strength of the material (pounds). E = modulus of elasticity (pounds). d = depth of beam (inches). 6 ^breadth of beam (inches). ?^ length of beam (inches), ^e = deflection at true elastic limit. Then, based upon the above statements, by means of formulas derived from the geometric relations of the diagram and the fundamental equations of equilibrium, the following (xuantities can be calculated : Let Ee = total fiber distortion due to bending at true elastic limit (inches). Er = total fiber distortion due to bending at rtipture = LU (inches). and the sum of internal moments. A i 1 I ^ d ./-"^"n^ N£UT/?AL PlANf ^"^-^^^^ 1 ^"^--^^^ I Y"^-^ Y FiQ. 102. — I'ositiou of neutral plane at rupture. T (11) iUr= (Cadc + T„(?t)J, and since C'a = Ta, hence J/r=Ca(d<, + dt)6. But since the sum of internal moments equals the sum of external moments : -^- = ifr = Ca((ic+(?t)6. And since Pr is the breaking load of the beam, and Ca involves only the compression endwise strength and lineal dimensions, we have a formula directly connecting the breaking load of a beam with the compression strength.' Application of these formulw. — Unfortunately no tests have been made to study the application of these formulte directly and in particular. The tests on beams published in this circular were made for a different purpose. For the purpose of ascertaining the correctness of the formula} only the tests made on large beams have been utilized, since in these the deflections were specially accurately measured. In addition to the quantities to be calculated already given in this discussion, the fiber stress at the true elastic limit is also calculated, and called Se, to be compared with C, and the load producing it, Pe, is also set down as an observed quantity. If the modulus of S P rupture, K, has already been calculated by the "ordinary formula," Se can be obtained from the relation^ ^^P" ""^^ (12) Se = ^R. The modulus of elasticity at true elastic limit E„ is recomputed as a check, and of course is : ' (13) E,=j|^. Since Pe is an arbitrary quantity within certain limits, and can not bo determined with any degree of accuracy, Se will be found to dift'er more or less from C. For these reasons, however, C is a more reliable value for the true elastic limit than Se itself, and in the formuUe is used as such; for instance, E'eis the fiber distortion produced by the same load which produces a fiber 8tress=C, not by the load which produces Se. The following table exhibits the results of applying the formulai to, the data from these tests : ['The factors d^+dt, within such limits as the cross-bending strength is constant, are constants; they will have to be ascertained by actual experiment for each species and quality, and might then be expressed as a proportion of the depth. In the material used, pine as well as oak, it appears to be about 3/5. The material on which this rela- tionship has been mainly studied was green wood, and it may be questioned whether the factors ^ •ajn^tJnj %v ^atod jnoqB sjagraom tT3aja:jni jo rang a — o5^ 1 1 .& 1 g 1 •a ■s inoqB e^-uouiora t'cnaaijxo jo tune ^un^o^v" fir •^imii oi^jSBp Qnj;^ ^b aoi^oogaij; < .d SSSSgS^KSgggS •^lutri or^e-Bio ghj; ^-b pBo^; p^ .a 13, 000 13, 300 19, OUO 17, 000 17, OoO 16, 000 16, 000 16, 000 20, 000 12, 000 9,000 20,000 14, 000 <4-. R ■qipEOja .a .a 7.87 8.2 8.0 8.0 8.1 7.9 8.0 7.95 8.1 7.96 8.0 8.0 8.37 ■q»d9cr 11.87 11.9 12.0 12.0 12.1 11.75 12.06 12.0 12.3 12.1 12.0 12. 25 12.26 » -q^Sugi ~ 192.0 216.0 192.0 192.0 192.0 216.0 216.0 216.0 216.0 216.0 192.0 216.0 216.0 •gjn^dnj iv uoB09g9C[ < 3.10 6.24 6.16 4.31 4.06 4.86 3.36 6.57 4.90 3.76 7.94 5.93 6.70 •^iT0i'jSB[9 JO sninpon H Ii 1,711 1,4S3 1,030 1,340 1,540 1,703 2,017 1,718 1,713 1,320 1,646 1,825 1,485 ■gjnadnj (ju p^oi fC 3 28, 000 23, 500 32, 800 29, 400 29, 800 24, 500 26,400 27, -240 33, 550 18, 700 25, 800 31, 500 26, 000 •q^Saaj'je Sntpugg K 7,360 6,670 8,300 7,440 7,320 7,410 7,450 7,710 8,850 5,300 6,670 8,640 0,870 •qijSnoj^B osmpno HoiBSMdmoo o P..3 ►4 " 3,850 3,590 4,030 3,900 4,100 4,450 4,350 4,500 5.300 3,330 3,030 4, 460 3,470 -CQCOq }0 J9CI mnnp mSpo ■-tCvl fH r-, N CO CO Ttt in =0 1 i P P. 1 p a R i R fl BJU'O 3^M fl TIMBER PHYSICS — METHODS. 377 In order to see how far the formuliB may be applicable to beams of the same material the data obtained on the small beams cut from one of the large beams were subjected to scrutiny, basing the calculations on the data from the adjoining compression block. The calculated result compared with the actual breaking load showed a most convincing similarity, as will be apparent from the table herewith presented: Strength of small beams, calculated iy Neeh/s fomiulai from compression strength, on the assumption that the relative position of the neutral plane at rupture is the same as found in large beams. [Shortleaf pine, large beam No. 13, special series. 1 — Data observed in testing. Hesolts calculated by Neel; 's formuliB. .^ «> Eeal dis- a Distance Dimensions of beams. c a tance of neutral a Sums of forces for unit -width from neu- tr,il plane .*3 ^ !^g ■^ plane at .£ of beam. of center of a, Ti •S"! rupture. a gravity. a .i £ a ■ -tJ ® .a a II i £ la P i £.1 p. . ill ■s| , it aS a 1 -w 11 1 g ifi a i i i 1 1 ^j s .a 3 s tu a Ti M 1 a « 1 a, a s £ a, =M •2 1 a hi P « « o O Kl « 1^ 'f\ 03 .0 tA fi I d b E c P P, s. d. d. T T. c. dt do Mr P. Ae Inches. Lbs. pe rsq.iD. Lbs. Lbs .per sq. in. Inches. Lbs.per aq.in. Lbs. Lbs. Inches. Inch pounds. Lbs. Inch. 3 50 3.51 3.56 7, 3.iO 4,430 1 4,.-J00 4,708 3,760 1.46 1.23 10,517 7,677 7,719 0.97 1.18 58, 760 ■ 2,200 0.296 H M 3.75 3.37 7,910 4,610 .5,0«0 5,.{IO 4,430 1.56 1.31 10, 979 8,564 8,562 1.04 1.26 66, 380 2,800 0.391 4 M 3.55 3.60 7,790 4,5«0 4.710 .1,037 3,969 1.48 1.24 10,885 8,055 8,026 0.99 1.19 63, 216 2,400 0.413 5 m 3.49 3.50 8,230 4.070 4,eso 4,J03 4,220 1.45 1.22 9,675 7,014 7,061 0.97 1.17 52, 535 2,400 0.345 () r.d 3.58 3.54 7,750 4,l.iO l.fi»0 4, .571 4,296 1.49 1,25 9,894 7,371 7,376 0.99 1.20 57,144 2,600 0.356 7 .% 3.53 3.50 7,810 4,l(i(l 4,.j40 4,420 4,129 1.47 1.23 9,943 7, 30S 7,290 0.98 1.18 55, 248 2,400 0.431 H 5il 3.5G 3.54 7,470 3,S70 4,4ro 4,.178 4,178 1.48 1.25 9,164 7,381 6,840 0.99 1.20 57, 222 2,500 0.440 n,9 5(1 3.52 3.54 5, 13U 3,SS0 :$,ooo 4,109 3,078 1.47 1.23 9,274 6,810 6,751 0.98 1.18 52,118 1,800 0.328 Id fto 3.52 3.45 7,510 3,680 4,aso 3,S.54 3,860 1.47 1.23 8,796 6,465 6,403 0.98 1.18 48, 177 2,200 0.387 11 .■)() 3.47 3.52 6,370 3,7.iO S,600 3,312 3.893 1.44 1.21 8,926 6,427 6,485 0.96 0.87 41,400 2,200 0.372 12 50 3.48 3.54 6,580 3,540 3,760 3,«97 3,395 1.45 1.22 8,415 6,101 6,124 0.97 I.IV 46, 219 1,940 0.300 !NOTE. — Columns of figur a Failed, due to knot. I same distinctive type to be compared one with the other. On the whole, it is in no way boastful to assert that this work has already furnished prac- tical data enough to more than pay the expenses incurred ten times over; that its fruits are not half gathered, and that for more than a quarter of a century its results will serve as a basis for the user of wood and as the guide to the teacher and experimenter. Development of the Science op Timber Physics and Methods Employed in the Investigation. Since the elaborate plan and methods of this study of our woods denotes an entirely new departure in timber investigations, at least in our country, it is only fitting to i:)lace the credit for its conception, for the elaboration of the plan, the organization of the work, and the persistent prosecution of the same in spite of many drawbacks and lack of support. This credit belongs to Dr. B. E.Fernow, chief of the Division of Forestry. The plan was first foreshadowed in his second report (1887, p. 37) as chief of that division, and the word "timber physics" was there used for the first time, and the essentials of the future plan were there discussed. In a small tentative manner the first steps to put it in operation were made in 1888. In. the report for 1889 we read : The investigations into the technology of our timbers and especially into the conditions upon which the qual- ities of our timbers depend — for which Mr. Roth of Ann Arbor has begun preliminary studies — has also made but slow progress for lack of means. In the report for 1890 we find, besides an account of the tests on Northern and Southern oaks referred to before, the statement that "by the increase of appropriations the forest technological investigations referred to in former rejjorts have become possible on a scale which was hitherto unattainable," and a description of the plans is given. But the first fuller statement of the 378 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. developineut of the investigation and its methods was not publislied until 1892, in Bulletin 6, in which Mr. Feruow described the aims, objects, and methods at length. In the report for 1890 the following language is used: TIMBER TESTS. AVhile the use of wood pulp and other substitutes may displace in many ways the use of wood in its natural state, there will always be desirable qualities inherent in the latter that make its use indispensable. Hence the desirability of knowing the qualities of our timbers and, if possible, of knowing the conditions under which the wood crop will develop the desirable qualities. Much work and useful work is done in the world by the rule of thumb. All such work is not reliable and certainly not economical. With the need of greater economy in production, the need of more accurate measuring arises, and Avith that the need of more specific knowledge of the materials to be measured. Wood is one of the materials which has been measured by the rule of thumb longer than others. Iron and other metals used in the arts have their properties much more accurately determined than wood material. Especially in the United States, when we speak of quality of our timbers, it can only be in general terms ; we lack definite data. One difficulty in determining reliably the qualities of our timbers lies in the fact that living things are rarely precisely alike. Every tree differs from every other tree, and the material taken from the one has a dift'erent value from that taken from the other of the same species. Yet every tree has some characteristics in common with all those grown under similar conditions. But even these common properties differ in degree in different individuals. Individual variation tends to obscure relationship. The factors which determine the quality of timbers are found directly in the structure of the wood, and it is possible from a mere ocular examination to judge to some extent what (jualities may be expected from a given piece of timber, although even in this direction our knowledge is very incomplete, and but few definite relations between structure and quality, or between physical and mechanical properties, are established. We know that the width of the annual rings, their even growth, the closeness of grain, the length, number, thickness, and distribution of the various cell elements, the weight, and many other physical appearances and properties of the wood influence its quality, yet the exact relation of these is but little studied. Conjectures more or less plausible, suppositions, and a few practical experiences preponderate over positive knowledge and results of experiments. Again we know, in a general way, that structure and composition of the wood must depend upon the conditions of soil, climate, and surroundings under which the tree is grown, but there are only few definite relations established. We are largely in-norant as to the nature of our wood crop, and still more so as to the conditions necessary to i)roduce desirable qualities, and since forestry is not so much concerned in producing trees as in producing quality in trees, to acquire or at least enlarge this knowledge must be one of the first and most desirable undertakings in which this Division can engage. Accordingly a comprehensive jilan has been put into operation to study systematically our more important timber trees. It will at once bo understood that as long as the qualities are to be referred to the conditions under which the tree is grown, the collection of the study material must be made with the greatest care, and the material must be accompanied with an exhaustive descrijitiou of these conditions. Since, further, so much individual variation seems to exist in troes grown under seemingly the same conditions, a large number must be studied in order to arrive at reliable average values. For the present it has been decided to study the pines, especially the white pine and the three Southern lumber pines. In selecting localities for collecting specimens, a distinction is made between station and site. By station is understood a section of country (or any places within that section) which is characterized in a general way by similar climatic conditions .and geological formation. Station, then, refers mainly to the general geographical situation. Site refers to the local conditions and surroundings within the station, such as difference of elevation, of exposure, of physical properties and depth of the soil, nature of subsoil, and forest conditions, such as mixed or pure growth, open or close stand, etc. The selection of characteristic sites in each station requiies considerable judgment. On each site five full-grown trees are to be taken, four of which are to be representative average trees; the fifth or "check'' tree, however, should be the best developed tree that can be found on the site. Some additional test trees wil 1 be taken from the open and also a few younger trees. The trees are cut into varying lengths, and from each log a disk of 6-inch height is secured, after having marked the north and south sides and noted the position of the log in the tree. The disks are sent for examination of the physical and physiological features to the Michigan University, while the logs, and later on special parts of the disks are to be sent to the test laboratory of the Washington University of St. Louis. Here, for the first time, a systematic series of beam tests will be made and compared with the tests on the usual small laboratory test pieces. Such tests with full-length beams in comparison with tests on small speci- mens promi.se important practical results, for a few tests have lately developed that large timbers seem to have but little more than one-half the strength they were credited with by standard authorities, who relied upon the tests on small specimens. From the " check " tree mentioned before only clear timber is to be chosen, in order to ascertain the possibilities of the species and also to establish, if possible, a relation between such clear timber and that used in general practice, whore elements of we^^kpees are introduced by knots and other blemishes, TIMBER PHYSICS METHODS AND AIMS.'^'" 379 An authority on engineering matters writes regarding tliis worli : "Inasmuch as what passes current among engineers and architects as information on the strength of timber is really misinformation, and that no rational designing in timber can be done until something more reliable is furnished in this direction, the necessity for making a competent and trustworthy series of such tests is apparent. This is a work which the Government should undertake if it is to be impartial and general." A careful record of all that pertains to the history and conditions of the growth from which the test pieces come, and of their minute physical examination, will distinguish these tests from any hitherto undertaken on American timbers. Tbe disk pieces will be studied to ascertain the form and dimensions of the trunk, the rate and mode of its growth, the density of the wood, the amount of water in the fresh wood, the shrinkage consequent upon drying, the structure of the wood in greatest detail, the strength, resistance, and working qualities of the wood, and lastly, its chemical constituents, fuel value, and composition of the ash. Ill Bulletiu G we are introduced to the science of "timber xAysics" in the following language: Whenever human knowledge in any particular direction has grown to such an extent and complexity as to make it desirable for greater convenience and better comprehension to group it, correlate its parts, and organize it into a systematic whole, we may dignify such knowledge by a collective name as a new science or branch of science. The need of such organization is especially felt when a more systematic progress iu accumulating new knowledge is contemplated. In devising, therefore, the plans for a systematic and comprehensiTe examination of our woods it has appeared desirable to establish a system under which is to be organized all the knowledge we ha\'e or may acquire of the nature and behavior of wood. To this new branch of natural science I propose to give the name of "timber physics," a term which I have used first in my report for 1887, when, in devising a systematic jilan of forestry science the absence of a collective name for this class of knowledge became apparent. While forest biology contemplates the forest and its comijouents in their living condition, we comprise in timber physics all phenomena exhibited in the dead material of forest production. The practical application of timber or wood for human use, its technology, is based upon the knowledge of timber physics, and under this term we comprise not only the anatomy, the chemical composition, the physical and mechanical properties of wood, but also its diseases and defects, and a knowledge of the influences and conditions which determine structure, physical, chemical, mechanical, or technical properties and defects. This comprehensive science, conceived under the name here chosen, although developed more or less in some of its parts, has never yet been dignified by a special name, nor has a systematic arrangement of its parts been attempted before. It comprises various groups of knowledge derived from other sections of science, which are neither iu themselves nor in their relations to each other fully developed. While iilant physiology, biology, chemistry, anatomy, and especially xylotomy, or the science of wood structure, are more or less developed and contribute toward building up this new branch of science, but little knowledge exists in regard to the interrelation between the properties of wood on one side and the modilications in 'its composition and structure on the other. Even the relation of tbe properties of various woods, as compared with each other, and their distinct specitic peculiarities are but little explored and established. Less knowledge still exists as to the relation of the conditions which surround the living tree to the properties which are exhibited in its wood as a result of its life functions. Suppositions and conjectures more or less plausible preponderate over positive knowledge derived from exact observation and from the results of exjicriments. Still less complete is our knowledge in regard to the relation of properties and the methods and means used for shaping or working the wood. The close interrelation of all branches of natural science is now so well reciignizcd that I need not remind my readers that hard and fast lines can not be drawn whereby each lield of inquiry is coiilined ami limited; ihere must necessarily be an overlapping from one to the other. Any system, therefore, of dividing a larger iield of inquiry into parts is only a matter of convenience ; its divisions and correlations must be to some extent arhitrary and varied according to the point of view from which we proceed to divide and correlate. There are two definite and separate directions in which this branch of natural science needs to be developed, and the knowledge comprised in it may he divided accordingly. On one side it draws its substance largely from the more comprehensive fields of botany, molecular physics, and chemistry, and on the other side it rests upon investi- gations of the wood material from the point of view of mechanics or dynamics. In the first direction we are led to deal with the wood material as it is, its nature or appearance and conditions; in the second direction we consider the wood material in relation to external mechanical forces, its behavior under stress. The first part is largely descriptive, concerned in examining gross and minute •structures, physical and chemical conditions and properties, and ultimately attempting to explain these by referring to causes and conditions which produce them. This is a field for investigation and research by the plant physiologist in the laboratory in connec- tion with studies of environment iu the forest. The second part, which relies for its development mainly upon experiment by the engineer, deals with the properties which are a natural consequence of the structure, physical condition, and chemical composition of the wood as exhibited under the application of external mechanical forces. It comprises, therefore, those studies which contemplate the wood substance, with special reference to the uses of man, and forms ultimately the basis for the mechanical technology of wood or the methods of its use iu the arts. The correlation of the results of these two directions of study as cause and effect is the highest aim and ultimate goal, the philosophy of the science of timber physics. Timber physics, iu short, is to furnish all necessary knowledge of the rational application of wood in the arts, and at the same time, by retrospection, such knowledge will enable us to produce in our own forest growth qualities of given character. 380 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Conceived in this manner it becomes tlie pivotal science of the art of forestry, aioand whicli the practice hoth of the consumer and producer of forest growth moves. The first part of our science vrould require a study into gross and minute anatomy, the structure of the wood, form, dimensions, distribution, and arrangement of its cell elements and of groups of structural parts, not only in order to distinguish the ditterent woods, but also to furnish the basis for an explanation of their physical and mechanical properties. We next would class here all investigations into the physical nature or properties of the wood material, which necessarily also involves an investigation into the change of these properties under varying conditions and influences. A third chapter would occupy itself with the chemical composition and properties of woods and their changes in the natural process of life, which idedicate the fuel value and durability as well as the use of the wood in chemical technology. Although, philosophically speaking, it would hardly seem admissible to distinguish between physical and mechanical properties or to speak of "mechanical" forces, for the sake of convenience and practical purposes it is desirable to make the distinction and to classify all phenomena and changes of nonliving bodies, or bodies without reference to life functions, into chemical, physical, and mechanical phenomena and changes. As chemical phenomena or chaui'es, and therefore also conditions or properties, we class, then, those which have reference to atomic struc- ture ; as physical phenomena, changes, and properties those which refer to and depend ou molecular arrangement, and as mechanical (molar) changes and properties those which concern the masses of bodies, as exhibited under the influence of external forces, without altering their physical or chemical constitution. There is no doubt that this division is somewhat forced, since not only most or all mechanical (as here conceived) changes are accompanied or preceded by certain alterations of the interior molecular arrangement of the mass, but also many physical phenomena or properties, like density, weight, shrinkage, having reference to the mass, might be classed as mechanical; yet if we conceive that physical phenomena are always concerned with the "quantity of matter in molecular arrangement'' and with the changes produced by interior forces, while the latter are concerned rather with the "position of matter in molecular arrangement" and with changes under application of exterior forces, the distinction assumes a practical value. Our conception of these distinctions will be aided if we refer to the physical laboratory as furnishing the evidence of physical phenomena and to the mechanical laboratory as furnishing evidence of mechanical phenomena. These latter, then, form the subject of our second or dynamic part of timber physics, which concerns itself to ascertain mainly by experiment, called tests, under application of the laws of elasticity, the strength of the material and other properties which are exhibited as reactions to the influence of applied stresses, and those which need consideration in the mechanical use of the material in the various arts. Having investigated the material in its normal condition, we would necessarily come to a consideration of - such physical and chemical conditions of the material as are abnormal and known as disease, decay, or defects. Finally, having determined the properties and their changes as exhibited in material produced under changing conditions or differing in physical and structural respects, it would remain the crowning success and goal of this science to relate mechanical and physical properties with anatomical and physiological development of the wood substance. The subject-matter comprised in this branch of applied natural science, then, may be brought into the following schematic view : TIMBEE PHYSICS, OK THE SCIENCE OF WOOD. I.— Wood structure or xylotomy. (a) Exterior form. Here would be described the form development of timber in the standing tree, differentiated into root system, root collar, bole or trunk crown, branches, twigs ; relative amounts of material furnished by each. (6) Interior structural appearance; differentiation and arrangement of groups of structural elements. Here would be described the gross structural features of the wood, the distribution and size of medul- lary rays, vessels, fibro-vascular bundles, as exhibited to the naked eye or under the magnifying glass on tangential, radial, and transverse sections ; the appearance of the annual rings, their size, regularity, dif- ferentiation into summer and spring wood, and all distinguishing features due to the arrangement and proportion of the tissues composing the wood. (c) Minute anatomy or histology; differentiation and arrangement of structural elements. Here the revelations of the microscope are recorded, especially the form, dimensions, and structure of the different kinds of cells, their arrangement, proportion, and relative importance in the resulting tissues. {d) Comparatire classification of woods, according to structural features. , (e) Laws of wood growth with reference to structural results. Discussion of the factors that influence the formation of wood in the standing tree. (/) Abnormal formations. Burls, bird's eye, curly, wavy, and other structural abnormities and their causes. II. — Physical properties, i. e., properties based on molecular (physical) constitution. (a) Exterior appearance. Such properties as can be observed through the unaided senses, as color, gloss, grain, texture, smell, resonance, (i) Material condition. Such properties or changes as are determined by measurements, as density or weight, water contents and their distribution, volume, and its changes by shrinkage and swelling. TIMBER PHYSICS — EARLIEE WORK. 381 (c) Classificaiion of woods according to pliysico-teclmical properties, i. e., snch physical properties as determiDe tlieir application in the arts. III. — Chemical troperties, i. e., properties based on atomic (chemical) constitution. (a) General chemical analysis of uood (qualitative and quantitative). Here would be discussed the chemical constitution of different woods and different parts of trees and their changes due to physiological processes, age, conditions of growth, etc. (b) Carbohydrates of the wood. Here would be more specially discussed cellulose and lignin, cork formations, organic contents and their changes, and such properties as predicate the fuel value of woods, their manufacture into charcoal, their food value, pulping qualities, etc. (c) Extractive materials. A knowledge of these underlies the application of wood in the manufacture of tan extracts, resin, and turpentine, tar, gas, alcohol, acids, vanillin, etc. (d) Antiseptic materials. A knowledge of those chemical properties which predicate durability and underlie processes of increasing the same. (e) Mineral constituents. A knowledge of these in particular will establish the relation of wood growth to mineral constituents of the soil and also serve as basis for certain technical uses (potash). IV. — Mechanical properties, i. e., properties based on elastic conditions exhibited by the aggregate mass under influence of exterior (mechanical) forces. {a) Form changes without destruction of cohesion, commonly called elasticity, flexibility, toughness. (b) Form changes with destruction of cohesion, commonly called strength (tensile, compressive, torsional, shearing), cleavability, hardness. V. — Technical properties, i. e., properties in combination. Here would be considered the woods with reference to their technical use, their application in the arts, which is invariably based upon a combination of several physical or mechanical properties. VI. — Diseases and faults. Here would be treated the changes in structure and properties from the normal to abnormal conditions, due to influences acting upon the tree during its life or upon the timber during its use. VII. — Relation of properties to each other. Here would be discussed the connection which may be established between structure, physical, chemical, and mechanical properties, and also between these and the conditions of growth under which the material was produced. The philosophy of the entire preceding knowledge would here be brought together. To contribute toward this important branch of human knowledge and to help in the building of its foundation, the work undertaken by the Division of Forestry described in this bulletin was designed by the writer; and, in order to build with a knowledge of what has been done before on this structure, a brief review of the progress in the development of timber physics seemed advisable. This historical review is then given. From this we deem it appropriate to quote the portion which refers to ett'orts in the United States up to the time of the writing to establish data regarding the mechanical properties of our tiniber : AMERICAN WORK. While it may be possible to work out the general laws of relation between physical and mechanical properties on material of European origin, for practical purposes we can not rely upon any other data than those ascertained from American timbers, and so far as dependence of quality on conditions of growth are concerned this truth is. just as patent. Although in the United States probably more timber has been and is being used than in any other country, but little work has been done in the domain of timber physics. Among the earliest American experiments falling in the domain of timber physics may be cited those of Marcus Bull to determine "the comparative quantities of heat evolved in the combustion of the principal varieties of wood and coal used in the United States for fuel," made in the years 1823 to 1825 and published in 1826. Here the experiments of Lavoisier, Crawford and Dalton, and Count Rumford on similar lines are discussed and followed by an able series of experiments and discussion on American woods and coals. The only comprehensive work in timber physics ever undertaken on American timbers is that of Mr. T. P. Sharpies, in connection with the Tenth Census, and published in 1884, Vol. IX, on the Forests of North America. Comprehensiveness, however, has been sought rather in trying to bring under examination all the arborescent species than in furnishing fuller data of practical applicability on those from which the bulk of our useful material is derived. "The results obtained," the author says, "are highly suggestive; they must not, however, be considered conclusive, but rather valuable as indicating what lines of research should be followed in a more thorough study of this subject." Not less than 412 species were examined in over 1,200 specimens. The results are given in five tables, besides four comparative tables of range, relative values, averages, etc. The specimens were taken " in most cases from the butt cut and free from sap and knots;" the locality and soil from which the tree came are given in most cases, and in some its diameter and layers of heart -and sapwood; determinations were made of specific gravity, mineral ash per cent, and from these data fuel values were calculated. 382 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. The specimens tested were "ciirefully seasoned." For transverse strain they were made 4 centimeters (1.57 inches) square, and a few of double these dimensions, with 1 meter (3.28 feet) span. One table illustrates "the relation between the specific gravity and the transverse strength of the wood of species, npon which a sufBeient number of tests has been made to render such a comparison valuable." This table seems to show that iu perfect specimens weight and strength stand in close relation. A few tanning determinations on the bark of a few species are also given. The object of the work as stated, namely, to be suggestive of a more thorough study of the subject, has certainly been fully and creditably attained. Of compilatory works, for use in practice and for reference, the following, published iu the United States, may be cited: De A^olson Wood: Resistance of Materials (1871), containing rather scanty references to the work of Chevandier and Wertheim. R. G. Hatfield: Theory of Transverse Strain (1877), which, besides other references, contains also twenty-three tables of the author's own test on white pine, Georgia pine, hemlock, spruce, white ash, and black locust, on sticks 1 by 1 inch by 1.6 feet in length. William H. Burr: The Elasticity and Resistance of Materials of Engineering, third edition, 1890, a compre- hensive work, iu which many references are made to the work of various American experimenters. Gaetano Lanza, in Applied Mechanics, 188.5, lays especial stress on the fact th.it tests on smaU select pieces give too high values, and quotes the following experiments on loug pieces. He refers to the work of Capt. T. J. Rodman, United States Army, published in Ordnance Manual, who used test pieces 2i by of inches and 5 feet length, without giving any reference to density or other facts concerning the wood; and to Col. Laidley's United States Navy test (Senate Ex. Doc. 12, Forty-seventh Congress, first session, 1881), who conducted a series of experiments on Pacific slope timbers, "white and yellow pine," 12 feet long and 4 to 5 by 11 to 12 inches square, giving also account of density and .average width of rings. Lastly, the author's own experiments, made at the Watertown Arsenal for the Boston Manufacturers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company, on the columnar strength of " yellow pine" and white oak, 12 feet long and 6 to 10 inches thick, are brought in support of the claim that such tests show less than half the unit strength of those on small pieces. Data as to density, moisture, or life history of the specimens are everywhere lacking. R. H. Thurston, Materials of Engineering, 1882, contains, perhaps, more than any other American work on the subject, devoting, in Chapters II and III, 117 pages to timber and its strength, and in the chapter on Fuel several pages to wood and charcoal, .and the products of distillation. It also gives a description of some twenty-five kinds of American and of a few foreign timber trees, with a description of the structure and their wood in general; directions for felling and seasoning; discusses briefly shrinkage, characteristics of good timber, the influence of soil and climate ou trees and their wood, and of the various forms of decay of timber, methods of preservation and adaptation of various woods for various uses, much in the same manner as Rankine's Manual of Civil Engineering from which many conclusions are adopted. The author refers, besides foreign authorities, to the following American investigators : G. H. Corliss (unpublished?) is quoted as claiming that proper seasoning of hickory wood increases its strength by 15 per cent. R. G. Hatfield is credited with some of the best experiments on shearing strength, published in the American House Carpenter. Prof. G. Lanza's experiments are largely reproduced, also Trautwine's on shearing, and some of the author's own work on California spruce, Oregon pine, and others, especially in torsion, with a specially constructed machine, an interesting pl.ate of strain diagrams accompanying the discussion. In connection with the discussion by the author on the influence of prolonged stress, there is quoted as one of the older investigators, Herman Haupt, whose results on yellow pine were published In 1871 (Bridge C(mstruction). Experiments at the Stevens Institute of Technology are related, with the Important conclusion that a load of GO per cent of the ultimate strength will break a stick if left loaded (one small test piece having been left loaded fifteen months with this result). In addition the following list of references to American work in timber physics is here inserted, with a regret that It has not been possible to include all the stray notes which may be in existence but were not accessible. Those .able to add further notes are invited to aid in making this reference list complete : Abbott, Arthur V. Testing machines, their history, construction, and use. With Illustrations of machines, includ- ing that at Watertown Arsenal. Van Nostrand's Magazine, 1883, vol. 30, pp. 204, 325, 382, 477. Day, Frank M., University of Pennsylvania. The microscopic examination of timber with regard to its strength. Read before American Philosophical Society, 1883. Estrada, E. D. Experiments on the strength and other properties of Cuban woods. Investigations carried on in the laboratory of the Stevens Institute. Van Nostrand's Magazine, 1883, vol. 29, pp. 417, 441. Flint, . Report of tests of Nicaraguan woods. Journal of Franklin Institute, October, 1887, pp. 289-315. Goodale, Prof. George L., Harvard University. Physiological Botany, 1885, chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 11, and 12. Ihlseng, Magnus C, Ph. D. On the modulus of elasticity in some American woods, determined by vibration. Van Nostrand's Magazine, 1878, 19. On a mode of measuring the velocity of sounds in woods. Read before the National Academy of Science, 1877 ; published in American Journal of Science and Arts, 1879, vol. 17. Johnson, Thomas H. On the strength of columns. Paper read at annual convention of American Society of Civil Engineers, 1885. Transactions of the Society, vol. 15. TIMBER PHYSICS — EARLIER WORK. 383 Kidder, F. E. Experiments at Maine State College on transverse strength of soutliem and white pine. Van Nostrand's Magazine, 1879, vol. 22. Experiments with yellow and white pine. Van Nostrand's Magazine, 1880, vol. 23. Experiments on the strength and stift'uess of small spruce beams. Van Nostrand's Magazine, 1880, vol. 24. ■ Influence of time on bending strength and elasticity. Journal of Franklin Institute, 1882. Proceedings Institute of Civil Engineering, vol. 71. Lanza, Gaetano, professor Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Address before American Society of Mecbanical Engineers, describing the 50,000-pound testing machine at vVatertown Arsenal and tests of strength of large sprnce beams. Journal of Franklin Institute, 1883. IJeport of Boston Manufacturers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company of tests made with Watertown machine on columns of pine, whiteWood, and oak of dimensions used in cotton and woolen mills. See summary and tables of same in Burr's Elasticity and Resistance of the Materials of Engineering, p. 480. Macdonald, Charles. Necessity of government aid in making tests of materials for structural purposes. Paper read before the American Institute of Mining Engineers. Van Nostrand's Magazine, 1882, vol. 27, p. 177. Norton, Prof. \V. A., Yale College. Results of experiments on the set of bars of wood, iron, and steel after a transvei'se set. Experiments discussed in two papers read before the National Academy of Science, 1874 and 1875. Published in Van Nostrand's Magazine, 1887, vol. 17, p. 531. Description of machin-3 used is given in proceedings of the A. A. A. S., eighteenth meeting, 186M. Parker, Lieut. Col. F. H., United States Ordname Department. Report of tests of American woods by the testing machine. United States Arsenal, Watertown, under supervision of Prof. C. S. Sargent, for the Census Report, 1880. Senate Ex. Doc. No. 5, Forty-eighth Congress, first session, 1882-83. Report of experiments on the adhesion of nails, spikes, and screws in various woods, as made at Watertown Arsenal. Senate Ex. Doc. No. 3.5, Forty-ninth Congress, first session, 1883-84, and in report on tests of metals and other materials for industrial purposes at Watertown Arsenal, 1888-89. Also in report on tests of iron, steel, and other materials for industrial purposes at Watertown Arsenal, 1886-87, pp. 188, 189. Report on cubic compression of various woods, as shown by tests at Watertown Arsenal, 1885-86, in report on tests of metals, etc., for industrial purposes. Philbrick, Professor, Iowa University. New pr.actical formulas for the resistance of solid and bnilt beams, girders, etc., with problems and designs. Van Nostrand's Magazine, 1886, vol.35. Pike, Prof. W. A. Tests of white pine, made in the testing laboratory of the University of Minnesota. Van Nos- trand's Magazine, 1885, vol. 34, p. 472. Rothrock, Prof. J. T., University of Pennsylvania. Some microscopic distinctions between good and bad timber of the same species. Read before American Philosophic Society. Smith, C. Shaler, C. E. Summary of results of 1,200 tests of full-size yellow-pine columns. See W. 11. Burr's Elasticity and Resistance of the Materials of Engineering, pp. 48.5-490. Thurston, Prof. R. H., Cornell University. The torsional resistance of materials. Journal of Franklin Institute, 1873, vol. 65. Experiments on torsion. Van Nostrand's Magazine, July, 1873. Experiments on the strength, elasticity, ductility, etc., of materials, as shown by a new testing machine. Van Nostrand's Magazine, 1874, vol. 10. . The relation of ultimate resistance to tension and torsion. Proceedings of Institute of Civil Engineers, vol. 7, 1878. . The strength of American timber. Experiments at Stevens Institute. Paper before A. A. A. S., 1879. .lonrnal of Franklin Institute, vol. 78, 1879. . Effect of prolonged stress upon the strength and elasticity of pine timber. Journal of Fr.anklin Institute. vol. 80, 1880. . Influence of time on bending strength and elasticity. Proceedings A. A. A. S., 1881. Proceedings Institute of Civil Engineers, vol. 71. Watertown Arsenal. Summary of results of tests of timber at, in Ex. Doc. No. 1, Forty-seventh Congress, second session. See Burr's Elasticity and Resistance of Materials of Engineering, pp. 486 and 535. Wellington, A. M., c. e. Experiments on impregnateil timber. Railroad Gazette, 1880. Organization and METnoDS. Although in the course of the investigations many minor and some more important changes in methods became necessary, the general plan was in the main adhered to. We consider it, therefore, desirable to restate from the same bulletin such portions as will explain the methods pursued. The work at the test laboratory at St. Louis, Mo., was described in full by Prof. J. B. Johnson, in charge, and the methods in the examination of the physical properties of the test material by the writer. There are four departments necessary to carry on the work as at present organized, namely: (1) The collecting department. (2) The department of mechanical tests. 384 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U, S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. (3) The department of physical and microscopic examination of the test material. (4) The department of compilation and final discussion of results. The region of botanical distribution of any one species that is to be investigated is divided into as many stations as there seem to be widely different climatic or geological differences in its habitat. In each station are selected as many sites as there seem widely different soils, elevations, exposures, or other striking conditions occupied by the species. An expert collector describes carefully the conditions of station and site, under instructions and on blanks appended to this report. From each site five mature trees of any one species are chosen, four of which are average representatives of the general growth, the fifth, or "check" tree, the best developed that can be found. The trees are felled and cut into logs of merchantable size, and from the butt end of each log a disk 6 inches in height is sawed. Logs and disks are marked with numbers to indicate number of tree and number of log or disk, and their north and south sides are marked; their height in the tree from the ground is noted in the record. The disks are also weighed immediately, then wrapped in oiled paper and packing paper, and sent by mail or express to the laboratory, to serve the purpose of physical and structural examination. Some disks of the limbwood and of younger trees are also collected for other physical and physiological investigations, and to serve with the disks of the older trees in studying the rate of growth and other problems. The logs are shipped to the test laboratory, there sawed and prepared for testing, carefully marked, and tested for strength. The fact that tests on large pieces give different values from those obtained from small pieces being fully established, a number of large sticks of each species and site will be tested full length in order to establish a ratio between the values obtained from the different sizes. Part of the material is tested green, another part when seasoned by various methods. Finally, tests which are to determine other working qualities of the various timbers, such as adapt them to various uses, are contemplated. The disks cut from each log and correspondingly marked are examined at the botanical labora- tory. An endless amount of weighings, measurings, countings, computings, microscopic examina- tions, and drawings is required here, and recording of the observed facts in such a manner that they can be handled. Chemical investigations have also been begun in the Division of Chemistry of the Department of Agriculture, the tannic contents of the woods, their distribution through the tree and their relation to the conditions of growth forming the first series of these investigations. It is evident that in these investigations, carried on by competent observers, besides the main object of the work, much new and valuable knowledge unsought for must come to light if the investigations are carried on systematically and in the comprehensive plan laid out. Since every stick and every disk is marked in such a manner that its absolute position in the tree and almost the absolute position of the tree itself or at least its general condition and surroundings are known and recorded, this collection will be one of the most valuable working collections ever made, allow- ing later investigators to verify or extend the studies. This significant prophetic language also occurs in this connection, which has finally been realized by the discovery of the relation between compression and beani strength : By and by it is expected that the iinmber of tests necessary may he reduced considerahly, when for each species the relation of the different exhibitions of strength can be sufficiently established, and perhaps a test for compres- sion alone furnish sufficient data to comjiute the strength in other directions. WORK AT THE TEST LABORATORY AT ST. LOUIS, MO. SAWING, STORING, AND SEASONING. On arrival of the logs in St. Louis they are sent to a sawmill and cut into sticks, as shown in fig. 103. In all cases the arrangements shown in Nos. 1 and 2 are used, except when a detailed study of the timber in all parts of the cross section of the log is intended. A few of the most perfect logs of each species are cut up into small sticks, as shown in Nos. 3 and 4. The logs tested for determining the effects of extracting the turpentine from the Southern pitch pines were all cut into small sticks. In all cases a "small stick" is nominally 4 inches square, but when dressed down for testing may be as small as 3A inches square. The "large sticks" vary from 6 by 12 to 8 by 16 inches in cross section. All logs vary from 12 to 18 feet in length. They all have a north and south diametr.al line, together with the number of the tree and of the log plainly marked on their larger or lower ends. The stenciled lines for sawing are TIMBER PHYSICS — TESTING. 385 adjusted to this north and south line, as shown in the figures. Each space is then branded hy deep dies with three 25 numbers, as, for instance, thus : 2, which signifies that this stick was number i, in log 2, of tree 25. A facsimile of 4 the stenciling is recorded in the log book, and the sticks there numbered to correspond with the numbering on the logs. After sawing, each stick can be identified and its exact origin determined. These three numbers, then, become the identification marks for all specimens cut from this stick, and they accompany the results of tests in all the records. The methods of sawing shown in Nos. 2 and 4 are called "boxing the heart;" that is, all the heart portion is thrown into one small stick, 'whioh in practice may be thrown away or put into a lower grade without serious loss. In important bridge, floor, or roof timbers, the heart should always be either excluded or "boxed" in this way, since its presence leads to checking and impairs the strength of the stick. After sawing, the timbers are stored in the laboratory until they are tested. The "green tests" are made usually within two months after sawing, while the "dry tests" are made at viu-ious subsequent times. One end (60 inches) of each small stick is tested green, and the other end reserved and tested after seasoning. The seasoning is hastened in some cases by means of a drying box. The temperature of the inflowing air in this drying box is kept at .about 100" F., with suitable precaution against checking of the wood, and the air is exhausted by means of a fm. The air is, therefore, somewhat rarefied in the box. The temperature is at all times under control. It operates when the fan is running, and this is only during working hours. The mechanical and moisture test are then made according to known methods. I i No. 2. No. 3. Fig. 103.— Metliod of sawing test logs. EXAMINATION INTO THE PHYSICAL PEOPEETIBS OF TEST MATERIAL. The physical examinatiou consists in ascertaining the specific weight of the dried material, and incidentally the progress and amount of shrinkage due to seasoning; the counting and measuring of the annual rings, and noting other microscopic appearances in the growth; the microscoiiic investigation into the relation of spring and summer wood from ring to ring; the frequency and size of medullary rays; the number of eel's and thickness of their walls; and, in short, the consideration of any and all elements which may elucidate the structure and may have influence upon the properties of the test piece. The rate of growth and other biological facts which may lead to the finding of relation between physical appearance, conditions of growth, and mechanical properties are also studied incidentally. SHAPING AND MARKING OF THE MATERIAL. The object of this work being in part the discovery of the difl'erences that exist in the wood, not only in trees of different species or of the same species from various localities, but even in the wood of the same tree and from the same cross section, a careful marking of each piece is necessary. The disks are split, first into a north and south piece, and each of these into smaller pieces of variable size. In one tree all pieces were made but 3 cm. thick radially, in another 4 cm., in still others 5 cm., while in some trees, especially wide-ringed oaks, the pieces were left still larger. In the conifers the outer or first piece was made to contain only sapwood. Desirable as it appeared to have each piece contain a certain number of rings, and thus to represent a fixed period of growth, it proved impracticable, at least in the very narrow-ringed disks of the pines, where sometimes the width of a ring is less than 5 mm. (0.2 inch). H. Doc. 181- — 25 386 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Some of the disks were split to a wedge shape from center to periphery, so that each smaller piece uot only represents a certain period of growth in quality, but also in quantity, thus simplify- ing the calculations for the entire piece or disk. Other pieces were left in their prismatic form, when to calculate the average density of the entire piece the density of each smaller piece is multiplied by the mean distance of this smaller piece fi'om the center, and the sum of the products divided by the sum of the distances. , Each piece is marked, first by the number of the tree, in Arabic; second, by the number of the disk, in Roman numbers; and if split into small pieces, each smaller piece by a letter of the alphabet, the piece at the periphery in all cases bearing the letter a. Besides the number and letters mentioned, each iiiece bears either the letter K" or S, to indicate its orientation on the north or south side of the tree. To illustrate: 5 — vii N a means that the piece bearing the label belongs to tree 5 and disk vii comes from the north side of the tree, and is the peripheral part of this disk piece. Prom the collector's notes the exact position of this piece in the tree can readily be ascertained. The entire prisms sent by freight are left in the original form, unless used for special purposes, and are stored in a dry room for future use. WEIGHING AND MEASURING. The weighing is done on an aijothecary's balance, readily sensitive to 0.1 gram with a load of more than 200 grams. Dealing with pieces of 200 to 1,000 grams in weight, the accuracy of weigh- ing is always within 1 gram. The measuring is done by immersion in an instrument illustrated in the following design : Fis a vessel of iron ; 8 represents one of two iron standards attached to the vessel and projecting FlQ. 104. — Apparatus for determining specific gravity. above its top; i? is a metal bar fastened to the cup A, which serves as guard to the cup and pre- vents it going down farther at one time than another by coming to rest on the standards S. The cup A dips down one-sixteenth to one-eighth of an inch below the edge of the knee-like spout. In working, the cup is lifted out by the handle which the bar B forms, water is poured into the vessel until it overflows through the spout, then the cup is set down, replacing the mobile and fickle natural water level by a constant artificial one. Now the instrument is set, the pan P is placed under the spout, the cup is lifted out and held over the vessel, so that the drippings fall back into the latter, the piece of wood to be measured is put into the vessel and the cup replaced, and pressed down until the bar B rests on the standards 8. This is done gently to prevent the water from rising above the rim of the vessel. This latter precaution is superfiuo us where the cup fits closely, as it TIMBER PHYSICS PHYSICAL EXAMINATION. 387 does in oue of the instruments thus far used. The pan -n-ith water is then weighed, the pan itself being tared by a bag of shot. The water is poured out, the pan wiped dry, and the process begins anew. To work well it takes two persons, one to weigh and record. The water pan is a seamless tin pan, holding about 1,500 cc. of water and weighing only 144 grams. The temperature as well as density of the water are ascertained, the latter, of course, omitted when distilled water is used. To maintain the water at the same temperature it requires frequent changing. DRYING. After marking, the pieces are left to dry at ordinary temperature. Then they are placed in a dry kiln and dried at 100° 0. The drying box used is a double-walled sheet-iron case, lined with asbestus paper, and heated with gasoline. The air enters below and has two outlets on top. The temperature is indicated by a thermonieter and maintained fairly constant. ' After being dried, the pieces of wood are weighed and measured, in the same way as described for the fresh wood, and from the data thus gathered the density, shrinkage, and moisture per cent are derived in the usual manner. The formulae employed are : (1) Density of fresh wood =;5^^'?M^Lft:?^l'^22d: Volume of fresli wood. (2) Density of dry wood=^f S-^i-O^^EZJ^^: ' V olume of dry wood. (3) Shvmkage=l'^^^p--=$^:U^^^^ Fresh volume. ,'4) Moisture iu wood=^'^'^"^^ weight-dry weight. Fresh weight. In presenting these values they are always multiplied by 100, so that the density expresses the weight of 100 cm.^ of wood; thus the shrinkage and the amount of moisture become the shrinkage and moisture per cent. SHRINKAGE EXPERIMENTS. To discover more fully the relations of weight, humidity, and shrinkage, as well as "checking" or cracking of the wood, a number of separate experiments were made. A number of the fresh specimens were weighed and measured at variable intervals until perfectly dry. Some dry pieces were placed in water and kept immersed until the maximum volume was attained. Without describing more in detail these tests and their results, it may be mentioned that in the immersed pieces studied the final maximum volnine differed very little, iu some cases not at all, from the original volume of the wood when fresh; and also that in a piece of white pine only 15 cm. long and weighing but 97 gs. when dry, it required a week before the swelling ceased. To determine the shrinkage in ditterent directions a number of measurements are made iu pieces of various sizes and shapes. In most cases j)ins were driven into the wood to furnish a firm metal point of contact for the caliper. A number of pieces of oak were cut in various ways to study the effect ot size, form, and relative position of the grain on checking. WOOD STRUCTURE. The most time-robbing, but also the most fascinating, part of the work consists in the study of the wood as an important tissue of a living organism; a tissue where all favorable and unfavorable changes experienced by the tree during its long lifetime find a permanent record. GENERAL APPEARANCE. For this study all the specimens from one tree are brought together and arranged in the same order in which they occurred in the tree. This furnishes a general view of the appearance of the stem; any striking peculiarities, such as great eccentricity of growth, unusual color, abundance of resin iu any part of the stem, are seen at a glance and are noted down. A table is prepared with separate columns, indicating — (1) Height ot the disk in the tree (this being furnished by the collector's notes); (2) Radius of the section; 388 FORESTEY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. (3) ^S^umber of rings from periphery to center; (4) Number of rings in the sap wood; (5) Widtli of the sapwood; and (6) Eemarks on color, grain, etc. The results from each disk occupy two lines, one for the pieces from the. north side and one for those of the south side. The radius is measured correct to one-half millimeter (0.02 inch), and the figures refer to the air-dry wood. To count the rings, the piece is smoothed with a sharp knife or i)lane, the cut being made > oblique, i. e., not quite across the grain, nor yet longitudinal. Beginning at the periphery, each ring is marked with a dot of ink, and each tenth one with a line to distinguish it from the rest. After counting, the rings are measured in groups of ten, twenty, thirty, rarely more, and these meas- urements entered in separate subcolumns. In this way the rate of growth of the last ten, twenty, or thirty years throughout the tree is found, also that of similar periods previous to the last; in short, a fairly complete history of the rate of growth of the tree from the time when it had reached the height of the stump to the day when felled is thus obtained. jSTot only do these rings furnish iuformation concerning the growth in thickness, but indicating the age of the tree when it had grown to the height, from which the second, third, etc., disks were taken, the rate of growth in height, as well as that of thickness, is determined, any unfavorable season of growth or any series of such seasons are found faitlifuUy recorded in these rings, and the influence of such seasons, whatever their cause, both on the quantitj^ and on the quality or properties of the wood, can thus be ascertained. In many cases, especially in the specimens from the longleaf pine, and from the limbs of all pines, the study of these rings is somewhat difficiilt. Zones of a centimeter and more exist where the width of the rings is such that the magnifier has to be used to distinguish them. In some cases this difflculty is increased by the fact that the last cells of one year's growth difi'er from the first cells of the nest year's ring only in form and not in the thickness of their walls, and therefore produce the same color effect. iSuch cases frequently occur in the wood of the upper half of the disks from limbs (the limb supported horizontally and in its natural position), andoften the magnifier has to be reenforced by the microscope to furnish the desired information. For this purpose the wood is treated as in all microscopic work, being first soaked in water and then sectioned with a sharp knife or razor and examined on the usual slide in water or glycerin. The reason for beginning the counting of rings at the periphery is the same which suggested the marking of all peripheral pieces by the letter a. It is convenient, almost essential, to have, for instance, the thirty-fifth riug in Section II represent the same year's growth as the thirty-fifth ring in Section X. The width of the sapwood, the number of annual rings composing it, as well as the clearness and uniformity of the line separating the sapwood from the lieartwood, are carefully recorded. In the columns of " remarks" any peculiarities which distinguish the particular piece of wood, such as defects of any kind, the presence of knots, abundance of resin, nature of the grain, etc., are set down. When finished, a variable number, commonly 3 to 6 small pieces, fairly representing the wood of the tree, are split off, marked with the numbers of their respective disks, and set aside for the microscopic study, which is to tell us of the cell itself, the very element of structure, and of its share in all the properties of wood. The small pieces are soaked in water, cut with a sharp knife or i-azor, and examined in water, glycerin, or chloriodide of zinc. The relative amount of the thick-walled, dark-colored bands of summer wood, the resin ducts, the dimensions of the common tracheids and their walls, both in spring and summer wood, the medullary rays, their distribution and their elements, are the principal subjects in dealing with coniferous woods; the quantitative distribution of tissues, or how much space is occupied by the thick-walled bast, how much by vessels, how much by thin- walled, pitted tracheids and parenchyma, and how much by the medullary rays; what is the relative value of each as a strength-giving element; what is the space Occupied by the lumina, what by the cell walls.in each of these tissues — these are among the important points in the study of the oaks. Continued sections from center to periphery, magnified 25 diameters, are employed in finding the relative amount of the summer wood; the limits of the entire ring and that of spring and TIMBEK PHYSICS STATEMENT OF RESULTS. 389 n.54 [i±o_ W357o\ S.n.%j FT. 203 Rings'^- 33% S.10% RMoSSm-TTu [W:41% ,S.8.7% W.957It.TTl. EiG. 105. — Kesult of physical examination. (Sample.) LONGLEAF PINE (V, polusiri. Locality : "Wallace, Ala. Site: XTpland forest, quite deuse. Soil: Sandv. "White pine (P. Strohus), tree 116. Locality: Marathon County, "Wis. Site: Grown in dense mixed Ibrest. Soil : Sandy, with sandy subaoil. 2). Denotes density or specific gravity of the dry wood. TT. Denotes percentage of water in the fresh wood, related to its weight. *S'. Denotes percentage of shrinkage in Uiln drying. M. W. Denotos width of ring (average) in millimeters (25mm.:^l inch). S. W. Denotes percentage of summer wood as related to total wood. Koman numbers refer to number of disk, placed in position of disk. Legends Height is given in feet from the gronnd ; lale, 10 feet ^2 inches. millimeters; scale, 10 mm.= Kadius, north and south (dotted line), i Clinch. Median line represents the pith. Hight-hand numbers relate to north side, left-hand numbers to south side. Outer lines represent outlines of trees. 390 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. summer wood are marked on paper with the aid of the camera, and thus a panorama of the entire section is brought before the eye. The histology of the wood, the resin ducts, the tracheids and medullary rays, their form and dimensions, are studied in thin sections magnified 580 diameters and even more. Any peculiarity in form or arrangement is drawn with the camera and thus graphically recorded ; the dimensions are measured in the manner described for the measurement of the summer wood, or with the ocular micrometer. In measuring cell walls the entire distance between two neighboring lumina is taken as a " double wall," the thickness of the wall of either of the two cells being one-half of this. The advantage of this way of measuring is apparent, since the two points to be marked are in all cases perfectly clear and no arbitrary positions involved. The length of the cells is found in the usual way by separating the elements with Schultze's solution (nitric acid, chlorate of i>otassium). All results tabulated are averages of not less than ten, often of more than one hundred, measurements. In the attempt to find the quantitative relations of the different tissues, as well as the density of each tissue, various ways have been followed. In some cases drawings of magnified sections were made on good, even paper, the different parts cut out, and the paper weighed. In other cases numerous measurements and computations were resorted to. Though none of the results of these attempts can be regarded as perfectly reliable, they have done much to point out the relative importance of different constituents of the wood structure, and also the possibility and practica- bility, and even the necessity, of this line of investigation. INSTRUCTIONS AND BLANK FORMS, WITH ILLUSTRATIVE RECORDS. Instkuotions fob the Collection of Test Pieces of Pines for Timber Investigations. a. — object of work. The collector ehould understand that the ultimate object of these investigations is, if possible, to establish the relation of quality of timber to the conditions under which it is grown. To accomplish this object he is expected to furnish a very careful description of the conditions under which the test trees have grown, from which test pieces are taten. Care in ascertaining these and minuteness and accuracy of description are all-important in assuring proper results. It is also necessary to select and prepare the test pieces exactly as described and to make the records perfect as nearly as possible, since the history of the material is of as much importance as the determination in the laboratory. K. — localities FOR COLLECTING. As to the locality from which test trees are to be taken, a distinction is made into station and site. By station is to be understood a section of country (or any places within that section) which is characterized in a general way by similar climatic conditions and geological formation. "Station," then, refers to the general geographical situation. "Site" refers to the local conditions and surroundings within the station from which test . trees are selected. For example, the drift deposits of the Gulf Coast plain may be taken for one station; the limestone country of northern Alabama for a second. But a limestone formation in West-Virginia, which differs climatically, would necessitate another station. Within the first station a rich, moist hummock maj' furnish one site, a sandy piece of upland another, and a wet savannah a third. Within the second or third station a valley might furnish one site the top of a hill another, a different exposure may call for a third, a drift-capped ledge with deeper soil may warrant the selection of another. Choice of stations. — For each species a special selection of stations from which test iiieces are to be collected is necessary. These will bo determined, in each case separately as to number and location, from this office. It is proposed to cover the field of geographical distribution of a given species in such a manner as to take in stations of climatic difference and different geological horizon, neglecting, however, for the present, stations from extreme limits of distribution. Another factor which will determine choice is character of soil, as dependent upon geological formations. Stations which promise a variety of sites will be preferably chosen. Choice of site. — Such sites will be chosen at each station as are usually occupied by the species at any one of the stations. If unusual sites are found occupied by the species at any one of the stations it will be determined by special correspondence whether test pieces are to be collected from it. The determination of the number of sites at each station must be left to the, judgment of the collector alter inspection of the localities; but bei'ore determining the number of sites the reasons for their selection must be reported to this office. The sites are characterized and selected by differences of elevation, exposure, soil conditions, and forest conditions. The difference of elevation which may distinguish a site is provisionally set at 500 feet; that is, with elevation as the criterion for choice of stations the difference must be at least 500 feet. Where differences of exposure occur a site should be chosen on each of the exposures present, keeping as much as possible at the same elevation and under other similar conditions. Soil conditions may vary in a number of directions, in mineral composition, physical properties, depth, and nature of the subsoil. For the jiresent, only extreme differences in depth or in moisture conditions (drainage) and decided difference in mineral composition will bo considered in making selection of sites. TIMBER PHYSICS COLLECTING MATERIAL. 391 Forest conditions refer, in the first place, to mixed or pure forest, open or close stand, and should be chosen as near as possible to the normal character prevailing in the region. If what, in the judgment of the collector, consti- tutes normal conditions are not found, the history of the forest and the points wherein it differs from normal conditions must be specially noted. C. — CHOICE OF TREES. On each site five trees are to be taken, one of which is to serve as "check tree." None of these trees are to be taken from the roadside or open field, nor from the outskirts, but all from the interior of the forest. They are to be representative average trees — neither the largest or best nor the smallest or worst, preferably old trees and such as are not overtopped by neighbors. The "check tree," however, should be selected with special care, and should represent the best-developed tree that can be found, judged by relative height and diameter development and perfect crown. The distance between the selected trees is to be not less than 100 feet or thereabout, yet care must be exercised that all are found under precisely the same conditions for which the site was chosen. There are also to be taken six young trees as prescribed under E. If to bo had within the station, select two trees from 30 to 60 years old or older, which are known to have grown up in the open, and two trees which are known to have grown up in the forest, but have been isolated for a known time of ten to twenty years. D. — PROCEDURE AND OUTFIT. The station determined upon, the collector will proceed to examine it for the selection of sites. After having selected the sites, he will at once communicate the selection, with description and justification, to this office, uegotiiite with the owners of the timber (which might be done conditionally during the first examination) for the purchase or donation of test trees; and the latter arrangements completed, without waiting reply from this oflice, he will at once proceed to collect test pieces on one of the sites in regard to the selection of which he is not in doubt. To properly carry out the instructions, the following assistants and outfit may be required: (1) Two men ' with ax and saw ; a boy also may be of use. (2) Team, wagon, and log trucks for moving test pieces and logs to station. (3) Frow or sharp hacking knife for splitting disks. Heavy mallet or medium-sized "maul" to be used with frow. (4) A handsaw. (5) Red chalk for marking. (A special marking hammer will be substituted.) (6) Tape line and 2-foot rule or calipers. (7) Tags (specially furnished). (8) Tacks (12-ounce) to fasten tags. (9) Wrapping paper and twine. (10) Franks for mailing test pieces (specially furnished). (11) Shipping tags for logs. (12) Scales, with weight i)ower not less than 30 pounds. (13) Barometer for ascertaining elevations. (14) Compass to ascertain exposures. (15) Spade and pick to ascertain soil conditions. (16) Bags for shipping disks. E. — METHOD OF MAKING TEST PIECES. (a) Mature trees. (1) Before felling the tree, blaze and mark the north side. (2) Fell tree with the saw as near the ground as iiracticable, avoiding the flare of the butt and making the usual kerf with the ax opposite to the saw, if possible, so as to avoid north and south side. If necessary, square off the butt end. (3) Before cutting off the butt log mark the north side on the second, third, and further log lengths. (4) Measure oft' and cut logs of merchantable length and diameters, beginning from the butt, noting the length and diameters in the record. Should knots or other imperfections, externally visible, occur within 8 inches of the log mark, make the cut lower down or higher up to avoid the imperfection. (.5) Continue measuring the full length of the tree and record its length. Note also distance from the ground and position on the tree (whether to the north, south, west, cast) of one large sound limb. Mark its lower side and saw it oft" close to the trunk and measure its length and record it, the limb to be utilized as described later. If the tree after felling prove unsound at the butt, it will be permissible to cut off as much or as little as necessary within the first log length. If sound timber is not found in the first log, the tree must be discarded. Only sound timber must be shipped. Any logs showing imperfections may be shortened. Be careful to note change in position of test pieces. (6) Mark butt end of each log with a large N on north side. Saw off squarely from the bottom end of each log a disk 6 inches long, and beyond the log measure cut oft" disks every 10 feet up to 2-inch diameter. Place eack disk 1 Only men familiar with felling and cutting timber should be chosen. 392 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. on its bottom end, and after having ascertained and marked the noitli and south line on top end. Split the disk with a sharp hacking knife and mallet along this line. Split from outside of the westhalf of the disk enough wood to leave a iirisni'l inches tliick. Split from the east half two wedges with one plane in the south-north line and with their wedge line tlirough the heart of the disk; the outer arc to be about 4 inches. Mark each piece as split off on top side with number of the tree (Arabic), the serial number (Roman) of the disk in the tree, beginning with No. 1 at butt log, and with a distinct N or S, the north or south position of the piece as in the tree. Write the same data on a card and tack it to the jjiece to which they belong. Whenever disk pieces are small enough for mailing, leave them entire. Whenever they can not be shipped by mail, leave disks entire, wrap in paper, and ship by express. (7). Weigh each piece and record weight in notebook, using the same marks as appear on the pieces. (8) AVrap each piece in two sheets of heavy wrapping paper and tie securely. (9) Marie on the newly cut bottom end of each log with a heavy pencil a north and south line, writing N on the north and S on the scmth side of the log, large and distinct. Also mark centrally with an Arabic number on each log the number of the tree in the series, and with a distiiict Roman number the serial number of the log in the tree, counting the butt log as first. Tack to the butt end of each log securely a card (centrally), on which is written name of tree, species, locality from which tree is taken, denoted by the letter corresponding to that used in the notebook, number of tree, and section. This card or tag is intended to insure a record of each log in addition to the marking already made. (10) Limb wood. — Having, as before noted, selected a limb, measured iind recorded its distance from the butt and position on the trunk, and marked its lower side and sawed it otf close to the latter, now take a disk 6 inches long from the butt end and others every 5 feet up to 2-iuch diameter at the top. Number these consecutively with Roman number, calling the butt disk No. 1. Note by letters L and U the lower and upper side, as the limb appeared on the tree, and place the (Arabic) number of tree from which the limb came on each. Enforce the record by cards containing the same information, as done in case of other disk jiieces. • Weigh and wrap and mail in the same ni.nnner as the other pieces. (11) Check trees.— From the "check tree," which is to he the very best to lie found, only three disks or three logs are to be secured, from the butt, middle, and top part of the tree Absolutely clear timber, free from all knots and blemishes, is to be chosen. The disk jjieces are to be of the same size, aud to be secured in the same manner as those described before ; the logs to be not necessarily more than 6 feet ; less if not enough clear timber can be found. Note the position of each piece in the tree by measuring from the butt cut to the butt end of the piece. Prepare and mark all pieces in the same manner as those from other trees, adding, however, to each piece a X mark to denote it as corning from the "check tree." (12) Young trees. — Select six trees from each site approximately of fol- lowing sizes: Two, C-inch diameter, breast high; two, 4-inch diameter, breast high; two, 2-inch diameter, breast high. Mark north and south sides and chop or saw all close to the ground and cut each tree into following lengths : First stick, 2 feet long ; second stick, 4 feet long ; the remaining cuts 4 feet long up to a top end diameter of about 1 inch. Cut from the basal end of each log a disk 6 inches long. Mark and ticket butt eud of each log as in case of large trees. Mark a north and south line on iop end of each disk, with N and S at extremities to denote north and south sides; and also ticket with same data as given on large disk pieces. Weigh and wrap as before. Of these trees only the disk pieces are to be mailed. F. — SHIPPING TEST PIECES. Ship all pieces without delay. To each log tack securely a shipping card (furnished), so as to cover the marking tag. The logs will go to J. B. Johnson, St. Louis, Mo. The disks aud other pieces are to be mailed to F. Roth, Ann Arbor, Mich., using franks, securely pasted, for mailing, unless, as noted before, they must be sent by express. Mail at once to the above addresses notice of each shipment, and a transcript of notes aud full description to this office, from which copies will be forwarded to the recipients of the test pieces. If free transportation is obtained from the railroad companies, special additional instructions will be given under this head. G. — RECORDS. Careful and accurate records are most essential to secure the success of this wort. A set of specially prepared record sheets will be furnished, with instructions for their use. A transcript of the record must be sent to this office at the time of making shipment ; also such notes as may seem desirable to complete the record and to give additional explanations in regard to the record and suggestions respecting the work of collecting. Original records aud notes must be preserved, to avoid loss iu transmission by mail. f5 TIMBER PHYSICS — COLLECTING MATERIAL. 393 FORM OF FIELD RECORD. (Folder.) ' ' Name of collector: (Charles Mohr.) Species: Pinus palustria. Station (denoted by capital letter) : A. State: Alabama. County: Escambia. Town: Wallace. Longitude : 86'' 12'. Latitude : 31° 15'. Average altitude : 75 to 100 feet. General configuration: Plain — hilla — plateau — mountainous. General trend of valleys or bills Climatic features: Subtropical; mean annual temperature, 65°; mean annual rainfall, 62 inches. Site (denoted by small letter) : a. Aspect: Level — ravine — cove — bench — slope (angle approximately). Exposure : Elevation (above average station altitude) : 125 feet. Soil conditions: (1) Geological formation (if known) : Southern stratiiied drift. (2) Mineral composition: Clay — limestone — loam — marl— sandy loam— loamy sand — sand. (3) Surface cover: Bare — grassy — mossy. Leaf cover: Abundant — scanty — laclcing. (4) Depth of vegetable mold (humus) : Absent — moderate — plenty — or give depth in inches. (5) Grain, consistency, and admixtures: Very fine — fine — medium — coar.=e — porous — light- moderately loose — comxiact — binding — stones or rock, size of (6) Moisture conditions: Wet — moist — fresh — dry— arid — well drained — liable to overflow — swampy — near stream or spring or other kind of water supply (7) Color : Ashy-gray. (8) Depth to subsoil (if known) : S hallow , 3 to 4 inches to 1 foot — 1 foot to 4 feet, deep — over 4 feet, very deep — shifting. (9) Nature of subsoil (if ascertainable) : Red, ferruginous sandy loam ; moderately loose, or rather slightly binding; always of some degree of dampness; of great depth. Forest conditions: Mixed timber — pure — dense growth — moderately dense to open Associated species : None. Proportions of these Average height : 90 feet. ' Undergrowth: Scanty; in the original forest often none. Conditions in the open : Field — pasture — lawn — clearing (how long cleared): In natural clearings untouched by fire, dense groves of second growth of the species. Nature of soil cover (if any) : Weeds— brush — sod. Station: A. (Inside of folder.) Site : a. Species : P. palustris. Tkee No. 3. Position of tree (if any special point notable not a]ipearing in general description of site, exceptional exposure to light or dense position, etc., protected bj' buildings, note on back of sheet) : In ratlier dense ijosition. Origin of tree (if ascertainable) : Natural seedling, sprout from stump, artificial planting. Diameter breast high: 16 inches. Height to first limb : 53 feet. Age (annual rings on stump) : 183. Height of stump: 20 inches. Length of felled tree : 110 feet 4 inches. Total height : 111 feet 8 inches. Ko. of disk. Bistance from butt. "Weight of combined disk pieces. Eemarts. No. of log. Distance from butt. Length of log. Diameter, butt end. I I'eet. 13 19 32 47 57 67 77 87 97 Pounds. 27 20 20 18 16 14 17 14 f Crown touching those of nearest trees to the N. .and NE. Open toward SW. I 11 HI IV V VI VII VIII Ft. In. 8 13 8 19 8 32 8 47 8 57 8 67 8 77 8 n. In. 12 4 5 4 12 4 14 4 9 4 9 4 9 4 9 4 Inches. lej 144 14 134 1 II IV V VII viir X LlMBWOOD : Distance from butt : Number of disks taken: Position on trunk : Total length: Note. — As much as possible make description by underscoring terms used above. if necessary. Add other descriptive terms 394 FORESTRY INVESTIGATIONS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. SAMPLE RECORDS OF TESTS. CROSS BREAKING TEST. (116 Mark J 1. [3. Length, 60.0 inches. Height, 3.74 inches. Breadth, 3.75 inches, White pine. Strength of extreme fiber, 3 Wl where /= „ ^ j^ = 5,660 pounds per square inch. Modulus of elasticity =1,320,000 pounds per square inch. Total resilience =3,460 inch-pounds. El. Res., 550. Resilience, per cubic inch ^4.11 inch-pounds. El. Res., 0.65. [Number annual i i per inch ^19.] July 18, 1S91. Load. Deflection. Micrometer. Eemarks. h. m. 4 24 25 26 27 28 29 31 33 35 37 40 .200 1,000 1,600 2,000 2,200 2,400 2,600 2,800 3,000 3,200 3,300 ,042 .211 .300 .454 .511 .595 .690 .853 1.015 1.270 1.521 0.757 0.926 1.065 1.169 1.226 1.310 1.405 1.568 1.730 1.991 2.236 i ^ Maximum load. Deflection, in inches. TIMBER PHYSICS METHODS. 395 CROSS BKEAKING TEST. Longleaf pine. Mark, ^3, I^enfiith, 60.0 inches. Heiylit, 3.50 inches. Jireaclth, 3.72 inches, [Number annual rings per inch := 23.] July 1 20, 1891, Load. Deflec- tion. Micro- meter. Remarks. ..«.! 2 58 200 .042 0.958 ^rl 3 i 1,000 .208 1.124 1 1,600 .324 1.240 1—7 7 -pr ] 2 2, 000 .404 1.320 '^y'y''^y 3 , 2, 400 .481 1.397 y'^ y y^y 4 2, 800 .558 1.474 /"^/O^/ 6 3, 200 .640 1,556 xXyx 6 3, 600 .721 1.637 yOyO" / //// 8 4, 400 .926 1.842 9 4, 800 1.074 1.990 13 1 5,180 1.544 2.460 Maximum load Strength of extreme fiber, where f- 10,230 pounds per square inch. ■2 }) ]\r Modulus of elasticity ^1,760,000 pounds per square inch. Total resilience ^5,110 inch-pounds. El. Res., 1,780. Resilience, per cubic inch =6.54 inch-pounds. El. Res., 2.28. FINAL EECOBD OF TIMBER TESTS. Longleaf pine: Percent- age of moiatnre Cross bending test. Inches. 60.0 Inches. 3.50 Inches. 3.72 Pounds. 5,180 Inches. 1,544 Strength per square inch. (/) Pounds. 10, 230 16 3,300 1,521 5,660 1,320,000 Modulus of elas- ticity, (e) Pounds. 1, 760, 000 Resilience in inch- pounds per cubic inch, (r) Crushing endwise. Strength per 3. = •x''^ "^^.. %. v-^' '*/'b. OO ■^z. C^'^ "3. '' ^^^\^" ,0 o. ^"i .s- *"^Va.° '. cv I * ^.J^'^^ , v^^ ^-^ ' -^"1- ^ %. ..^^■' .■r »^,f>^t »,.^^/_/% =a;./^/^ ,#'^ / r \ ' ,0 a 00' -.■i^ ■*-. 3. ^y .^^' <'^ y V- -/^.^'is^J^ ,'\ -^o^\ .'*' ,■0- * . " .x^' x':^^e-v 00' ,0 a^ o 0' \0 o ■^"^ ^,1.^