39 IN CUTTING WASTE )¢ FIG, 33, Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota uces and for fire. c il left for insect breeding pl € Materi
40) AMERICAN MUSEUM GUIDE LEAFLETS FIG.34PREVENTABLEWASTE Fire lessens the productive capacity of soil and may set back young growth for acenturyormore 2. At the same tine thin the forest to let in light and air (Fig. 51); leave the most promising trees (some for seed trees); cut out undesirable species, old trees no longer growing, spreading trees that overtop others of value, and perhaps, trees that grow slowly or that never attain large size. Thin only to such an extent that the crowns of the remaining trees will meet in three or four years; if greater thinning is resorted to, reforest in the open spaces, if only to prevent growth of grass and shrubs and drying out of the humus.
3. Cut all stumps obliquely to shed rain, also as low as possible (Figs. 32 and +3). These precautions will do much toward ridding the forest of breeding places for insects. See p. 63 in regard to sprout growth from stumps.)
4. In cutting and removing trees avoid injury to the seedlings and young trees. “This is one of the most difficult and imperative of forestry laws. 5. Protect from grazing and from fire (Figs. 84 0 37). If used for grazing, a wood lot rapidly decreases in reproductive power, for cattle or sheep are certain to destroy the seeds and seedlings of the ground as well as the trees of a few years’ growth. — If the woodland occupies a hillside, animals do much injury by loosening the herbage that holds the soil in place.
Forest fires have increased in frequency and destructiveness till they
AS = a NYS ae es = ra NG BURNED AND WINDTHROWN TIMBER 36, FIG, A hint of the terrible fire havoe in the Bitter Root Mountains, Idaho, 1910
42 AMERICAN MUSEUM GUIDE LEAFLETS demand national attention. Each new one of large proportions proves a national calamity. Conservatively estimated, the loss to new forest growth amounts annually to $90,000,000, leaving out the $50,000,000 waste of mature timber as well as the loss due to decreased fertility of the forest floor. FIG. 36. FIRE IN VIRGIN WHITE FIR Prattville, California. The problem of insurance of forest property at rates no prohibitive must come up for settlement in the near future In case of large and isolated tracts of land, forest rangers must be employed;' in smaller woodlands, fire lanes, constructed to divide the forest 1Systemsoftelephonelinesconnectedwithoutlookshavebeenfoundtofacilitate greatlytheworkoftheserangers.
' Secretary of Agriculture James R. Wilson has signed an agreement with the Great Northern Railway Company and with the Northern Pacific Railway Company by which inthefuturetheForestServiceandtherailroadswillcoOperatecloselyinpreventingfires innationalforestsadjoiningthetracksofthesecompanies.
TREES AND FORESTRY 43 into small tracts, will prevent the spread of a fire to disastrous proportions; everywhere and at all times care must be taken to prevent the starting of forest fires from camp fires and burning brush.
The aim of all such work is the improvement of the woodland, although there may result a considerable product for home use and sale. Such improvement, made even at odd times by a farmer without help, has been known to increase the value of the wood lot forty per cent. When the aim of a given cutting is a large product for market, still the forest should be left in an improved, undepleted condition, the cutting accompanied by reforesting. For this cutting and attendant reforesting, few general laws can bemade. ‘The method most practicable is the so called “Selection Method”’ by which selected trees here and there are cut, the owner always keeping in mind the kind of forest he wishes to have after the crop is removed. He must consider the trees remaining as to age, condition, tolerance for shade and market value of species. Sprouts or seedlings from near seed trees will soon fill up the opened spaces; or better still, young trees raised in seed bed and nursery may be planted and so the species fully controlled. By this method a very irregular mixed forest results, with trees of many sizes and kinds, capable of yielding varied products (see p. 52). Trees tolerant of shade (beech, maple, spruce and hemlock) can be made to fill in below FIG.37.DISASTROUSRESULTSOFFIRE Although occurring twenty years ago, the fire has been followed by no young growth. Bighorn National Forest, Wyoming
44 AMERICAN MUSEUM GUIDE LEAFLETS those not shade-enduring, such as oak and hickory. The greatest difficulty in the management of a selection forest consists in not injuring young trees when getting out a crop.
If a forest consists of trees of relatively even size and age the “Strip” or the ‘Patch’? method may be followed, in accordance with which one portion is cut clean each year. Of course, if a forest is to yield equalized annual incomes, it must consist eventually of as many sections, varying in ages from seedlings to the marketable size, as it requires years for the trees to attain marketable size. For instance, to yield annual crops of box-boards cut from white pine trees of thirty-five years’ growth, a forest must consist of thirty-five sections; to gain annual crops of railway ties produced from catalpa trees fifteen years old, the plantation must have fifteen sections. AIM OF WOOD LOT OR FOREST HE aim of the wood lot or forest will be determined on (1) its conditions as to species and soil and (2) on the present and probable future market.
Soft Woods in Proximity to Pulp Mills It is fortunate if a forest of soft woods (balsam, hemlock, spruce, Carolina poplar, aspen, cottonwood, willow, basswood, or tulip-tree) has a near market in the shape of a pulp mill. In 1907 there were used in the United States for the manufacture of paper pulp, 3,962,660 cords of wood, more by 300,000 cords than in 1906. Of this amount 2,700,000 was spruce wood, one-third of which came from Canada.
Trees for the pulp industry must be grown close together so that the trunks will be clear of branches, because first-grade pulp wood, which may bring as high as $10 per cord, is free from knots. Since a pulp mill uses very small pieces, even as small as 2 ft. by 4 in., much of the material taken out in thinning a woodland may be sold to advantage. Experiments in the future may prove that paper can be made from still cheaper material than wood, perhaps from annual plants of rapid growth, cornstalks or the stems of other tall grasses. Here, as in all questions of agriculture and forestry, landowners must study the markets.
In the case of pulpwood, it is especially true that conservation means not only maintaining a supply of raw material but also operating economically in the use of this supply. Timber waste must be used as pulpwood, clear logs sent to the sawmill and slabs, tops and imperfect trunks turned into pulp. This economy is forced upon us, particularly since Canada to protect
TREES AND FORESTRY 45 her own resources prohibited the exportation of unmanufactured wood (May 1, 1910).
Durable Woods, and Market for Posts If conditions combine a market for posts and a woodland of durable woods such as cedar, white oak, Osage orange, catalpa, black locust, chestnut or mulberry, cypress or redwood (see p. 47 for treated woods serviceable for posts) the production of posts may be the aim, with reforesting by the sprout method (see p. 63) to gain rapid growth and frequent crops. It is the heartwood only that makes a durable post, so trees must be allowed to attain a diameter that will give a preponderance of heartwood, and naturally the best trees for the purpose are those in which the formation of heartwood follows rapidly on the growth of sapwood (see Fig. 6, p. 13). Reports from Ohio recommend honey locust for posts; if grown close in a good soil, it is said to produce straight, smooth posts more durable than even cedar or white oak.
Durable Woods, and Market for Ties, Poles or Piling The cutting of durable woods may be deferred until the trees attain a size suitable for railway ties (trees 12 to 16 inches in diameter; also the upper logs of larger trees). About sixty per cent of all ties in use at present are white oak, but the white oak supply is now practically exhausted. In the Lake States hemlock and tamarack are being used. Chestnut sprouts reach size for railway ties in thirty-five vears. Every mile of railroad requires 2500 ties and if these ties must be replaced every seven years, as previously, the demand means cutting clear one-half million acres of forest annually. It is reported that the Pennsylvania Railroad uses 620,000,000 ties in its system. This corporation has begun planting trees for production of its own ties: 3,482,186 trees have been set out; 290,000 seedlings were imported in 1908. More than 1,000,000 trees were planted along the railroad’s right of way in 1909. The species are black locust, red oak and catalpa, also various conifers such as Scotch pine, white pine and Norway spruce. (See wood preservation, p. 47.)
If durable woods are allowed to grow until they cut logs 25 to 30 feet long (upper diameter 5 inches or more), they find sale as telegraph or telephone poles with a market value of from two to ten dollars per pole. Chestnut poles may be grown in 42 vears from sprouts and will give 12 years’ service. Red cedar, which combines more valuable qualities for poles than any other wood, must pass out of use with the present supply since the posts are cut from trees 90 vears old and last only about 15 vears. Arborvite also is one of the most desirable timbers for poles but, like cedar, can be depended on only till exhaustion of the present supply since the tree is
46 AMERICAN MUSEUM GUIDE LEAFLETS FIG.
38.
‘*OPEN-TANK METHOD”’ IN WOOD PRESERVATION Experiments have proved that treatment of wood in a preservative fluid (coaltar creosote) makes it resist decay in moist situations. This fact will revolutionize the market for posts, poles and railway ties Unseasoned Seasoned FIG.
39.
COMPARATIVE SATURATION IN UNSEASONED AND SEASONED POLES A partial vacuum must be created in the wood before the preservative fluid can be forced in; and since air can be expelled much more readily than water, seasoned timber is more effectively treated than green