8 FOREST commissioner's REPORT. 



be appreciated. Thus the encouragement received from 

 the favorable criticisms of former work has furnished the 

 incentive to go on. 



One serious difficulty we find confronting us in arranoino^ 

 for work at all complete, is the fact that we have no reliable 

 maps of our forest region. In fact all pul^lished maps are 

 of the crudest nature, simply showing on a very small scale 

 a checkerboard of township lines with a partially correct plot 

 of the rivers, streams and lakes. Many streams are not shown 

 at all on such maps and those that are laid down are not to be 

 depended on for correctness in locality. 



I also realize that we are likely to offer some conclusions 

 and ideas, not fully in harmony with preconceived ideas ot 

 certain individuals, whose long experience in caring for for- 

 est lands and handling forest products necessarily gives their 

 opinion great weight. 



To all such I wish to say that it is with no desire to antag- 

 onize their opinion, or to prove our own that this work was 

 commenced, but simply to deduce the actual facts bearing 

 upon the growth and supply of spruce within our State, with 

 a plain recital of how the facts were obtained, leaving read- 

 ers themselves in many instances to draw their own conclu- 

 sions. 



In our previous report we discussed spruce growth almost 

 entirely, and have continued our studies with reference to 

 that wood alone for several reasons. — One beino- that our 

 means have been so very limited it was impossible to cover 

 much ground with a sum of money appropriated annually 

 that would he but little more than sufficient to explore a sin- 

 gle township in a thorough manner. 



Another reason was because spruce is our greatest forest 

 product, the most in demand, and the demand is likely to 

 increase as the pulp mills multiply. 



Also because the pul}) mills consume in many instances, 

 vast quantities of undersized lumber, which is causing manj^ 

 people to feel somewhat alarmed, fearing as they do, that 

 these mills will prove a great injury to our business interests. 



