APPENDIX. 39 



upon juniper, pine and spruce. To be on the safe side and give the 

 advantage in favor of rapid growth we have examined the butts of 

 trees and from the heart to the bark on the side showing the most 

 rapid growth, and have selected as much as possible second growth 

 trees. The average of quite a number of observations are given. 



To produce a juniper one foot in diameter would require about 

 120 years, or ten years to make one inch of wood. One trunk 

 thirteen inches in diameter was 131 years old. In juniper there 

 seems to be a check in the growth after the trunk is six inches in 

 diameter ; up to that time it takes only about 6.5 years to make one 

 inch of wood. Besides many others, two pines were especially 

 examined, one with the finest grain that could be found. It was 

 eighteen inches in diameter, 351 years old — growth, one inch of 

 wood in 18 years. The other, the coarsest grain that could be 

 found. It was nineteen inches in diameter in 155 years old, a 

 growth of one inch of wood in 8.4 years. 



When these trees were one foot in diameter, their ages were 216 

 and 84 years, respectively. Perhaps a safe average for pine trees 

 one foot in diameter would be about one inch in eight years. 



There seems to be good reason for believing that under favorable 

 conditions of isolation, soil and situation, that white pine trees make 

 a more rapid growth than one inch in eight years. In our opinion, 

 such high rate of increase cannot be relied upon in estimating the 

 yield of forests. There is always a relation between the foliage of 

 a tree and the amount of wood made. Thinning gives to the trees 

 light, more circulation of air, more room for spread of top and more 

 soil from which to grow. Under such conditions the rate of growth 

 could be increased. 



The most favorable conditions for making long and first quality 

 of lumber are found in the dense forest, where the foliage is con- 

 fined to the top of the trees. In the struggle for existence the tree 

 pushes its head skyward, the rings of annual growth would be nar- 

 row and the wood free from knots because largely made on a 

 branchless trunk. 



Compare the quality of such a tree, that would bring when cut 

 thirty to forty dollars per thousand, with one of our rapidly grown, 

 sappy pines, with its short trunk, broad top and branches reaching 

 nearly to the ground, that would not, when cut, be worth any more 

 than hemlock. If we wish to grow first-class pine we must secure 

 the natural conditions for it, and be satisfied with slower production. 



