FOREST co:mmissioxer's report. 11 



grades and extremely thin soil of our niountain?^. Starting 

 readil}' and rapidly in o})en ground, it will yet survive dense 

 shading in the forest. The usual reproduction of spruce 

 is accordins: to this latter method. Seedlinos start in the shade, 

 ijrow verv slowlv throuuh a hundred years or more of sun- 

 pression, but retain their vitality and take advantage of the 

 first accession of light and air to thicken up their crowns and 

 begin a vigorous growth. 



Finding this to be a characteristic of the tree we are assured 

 that, unlike the pine, spruce can never be killed out of our 

 woods, that supplies from the great forest areas of the State 

 will always be in some degree maintained. 



With this information regarding spruce to commence with, 

 our next inquiry in order to lay out our work seems to be 

 how much standing spruce have we within the State. It is 

 not necessary for our present work that we should be exact 

 in this matter, yet in the near future, if it becomes certain 

 that spruce growth is becoming exhausted, it will l)e of the 

 utmost importance to know how much we have, and how 

 much we are diminishing the supply annually if at all. 



If decreasing can we by any practical methods increase the 

 supply? 



In general our feeling in regard to supply is conservative. 

 We do not anticipate exhaustion of our forest supplies for a 

 long period of years. Yet should it l)ecome certain after a 

 few years that the total supply was l)eing exhausted values 

 must necessarily l)c appreciated considerably, and in that case 

 investments in wild lands will show quite a different rate of 

 increase from that which comes from natural orrowth. 



In arramrinir the work of investigation I was extremelv 

 fortunate in securing the assistance of Mr. Austin Cary of 

 Bangor, a gentleman who is making the sul)ject of forestr}' a 

 life study, and whose work in collecting the scientific data 

 required by the national department peculiarly fitted him to 

 grasp the practical ideas of which we were in search. 



To him in a large measure is credit due should this report 

 prove of merit. In fact without his assistance we should 



