90 FOREST commissioner's REPORT. 



fifty square miles of producinf^ land. This gives us for each 

 of the regions named a yearly growth of about nine million 

 feet. The total production of the river therefore is set at 

 fifty-three million feet. 



What is meant by these figures must be as near as possible 

 defined. I mean by it the probable yearly production of 

 each territory named, should cutting continue all over it to the 

 standard and by the methods at present used, but not pro- 

 ceed to a lower standard or to closer methods. Thus the 

 Moose river drainage we will suppose cut all over to a stand- 

 ard of eight inches at twenty feet as cleanly as practical 

 lumbermen now cut. This cut may be followed by others at 

 Intervals of ten to twenty years, but not to a lower standard. 

 The Dead river and nearer drainage of the main river may be 

 cut all over closer, and still, according to the supposition, 

 produce the amounts set against them. Harder cutting, if 

 followed up, can, it is well understood, greatly decrease the 

 growing power of the land. 



In another direction these figures need qualification. All 

 these figures, whether relating to area, stand or growth, con- 

 cern only our old-growth tracts, tracts, that is, that were never 

 burnt or cleared. Now the older burnt lands, a considerable 

 portion of which are about seventy years of age, have more or 

 less small spruce upon them, some indeed of even a saw-log 

 size. It is believed, however, that this is not now of much 

 practical account and that many years must elapse before it will 

 be. The pine upon these tracts is greater in amount and 

 value. The old burnt lands of the Dead river region, Moxie 

 gore and other tracts of land in diftcrent localities are more 

 or less well stocked with it. This class of timber has been 

 left out of account in this discussion, which has been almost 

 entirely dealing with spruce. The pine, however, on the old 

 growth lands is included in the estimates of merchantable tim- 

 ber from those lands, and in the explorations and computa- 

 tions made, distinction between pine and spruce was not drawn. 

 The pine in these original forest lands, however, is not great 

 in amount. The best of it was cut years ago on almost 



