FOREST commissioner's REPORT. 41 



growth characteristic of burat land. It is now sixty-nine years 

 since this great fire took place, while all about it are tracts that 

 were never touched by fire. Here then is a chance to learn, on a 

 large scale and in a variety of conditions, what change in the 

 nature of the natural growth fire causes, and what is the yield that 

 sixty-nine years will produce. These then have been the objects 

 held in view. In carrying them out there has been neither much 

 time nor money to S{)end, while we have had no precedents to 

 guide us Such estimates of stand, as are of service io an owner, 

 could not be attempted, and those it is not the business of an 

 investigation like this to furnish It is rather the general consid- 

 erations that can be derived from the study of sample territories. 



The first cruise in the interest of this work was taken in Novem- 

 ber 1893 along the newly opened Aroostook Railway from Brown- 

 ville across the East Branch of the Penobscot. The line of the 

 road was traveled on foot, and notes of the land and growth taken. 

 Later a tramp was taken through Abbot, Parkman and Dexter, 

 while at various points in the tract in the course of other business 

 the growth upon it was made the subject of observation and inquiry. 

 The newly cut road from Hrownville east to the Penobscot offered 

 excellent opportunities for observation. The soil through that 

 region, beneath the leaf mold, is composed of the mingled clay and 

 s'oncs of a deep glacial deposit. Uneven, but not rough, the 

 country lies in alternate ridges and hollows, each with their char- 

 acteristic growth. This growth for the swamps is oftenest cedar, 

 mingled with a varying proportion of spruce, while in many such 

 places the tall hackmatacks that were killed by insects some years 

 ago tower far above the other species. Hackmatack springing up 

 unobstructed has proved itself a very quick growing tree. For 

 many years before its destruction the hackmatack of this region 

 furnished the finest of ship knees. On sites adapted to it the tree 

 evidently reaches early a merchantable size, and should it again 

 become of vji,]ue it is probable that if no calamity again befalls it, 

 one stock of this timber will be renewed in the course of forty or 

 fifty years. 



Thousands of railway ties, recently cut and piled near the track 

 gave good opportunity to see the size and quality of the ceder 

 grown. The largest and best of the ceder seemed just fit for this 

 purpose. Butt cuts of about twelve inches diameter seemed to be 

 the largest, and whenever standing trees of larger dimensions were 



