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Lumbering in the ^West Indies 



A t-ommon idea of the tropics, held by many northern people, 

 is that everywhere one finds immense jungles of forest trees and 

 luxurious vegetation. This is true of the rich river bottoms which 

 have not as yet been disturbed by man, but in the tropics, as else- 

 where, there exists barren, rocky, dry soil upon which scarcely 

 an3'thing will grow. In many places, for unknown reasons, im- 

 mense savannahs or grassy plains exist, as those of Colombia, 

 Venezuela; Guianas, Brazil and Argentina. Very large tracts of 

 the best land, once forested, lying near the coast and river mouths 

 are now under cultivation. Among the barren or treeless islands 

 of the West Indies are Anguilla, Tortola, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis 

 and Antigua, while St. Bartholomew, St. Martin, St. Eustatius, 

 Montserrat, St. Lucia and St. Vincent have some trees but can 

 hardly be calleil forested islands. 



The part of the West Indies referred to in this article is the 

 chain of islands running from St. Thomas to Barbadoes and called 

 the Leeward and Windward Islands. In St. Thomas the hills are 

 now treeless, and are kept in that condition by the charcoal 

 burners. Most of the tropical towns or cities consume large quan- 

 tities of charcoal for cooking fuel, as it is cooler and in many 

 -cases less expensive than any other. St. Croix also had its timber, 

 but today the entire, island is under sugar cultivation. 



The three islands near the center of the group seem to be the 

 fortunate ones as to timber — Dominica in the center, with Guade- 

 loupe on the north and Martinique on the south. Dominica is 

 located about three hundred and twenty-five miles southeast of 

 Porto Rico, and approximately the same distance directly north 

 of Trinidad. It is the largest island of the Lesser Antilles, and is 

 under English control. It had been controlled by the French five 

 or six times, and so great has their influence been that today 

 the common language seems to be as much French as English. 

 Being an English possession, Dominica enjoys a quiet commercial 

 security not felt in the French islands. It is a little more than 

 fifteen degrees north of the equator and sixty-one degrees west 

 longtitude. 



The island in general shape is oval and is thirty-five miles by 

 fifteen miles in liimensions. Of its 290 square miles, only 110 can 

 be said to be under cultivation. The highest peak "Diablotin" or 

 "Devil Jlountain'' is the highest in the Lesser Antilles and over- 

 looks probably a -vaster area of forest than any other, save per- 

 haps Trinidad. From all the peaks (of which there are many) 

 run side-spurs and lateral ranges of hills, which enclose marvel- 

 ously beautiful valle\'s. A stream flows through every one of the 

 valleys, and there are so many that it has been said that there is 

 one stream for every day in the year. The country is very rugged, 

 which is due to its volcanic origin. It is told that Columbus, on 

 his return to Spain after his discovery of Dominica in 1493, being 

 asked what the new island was like, took a piece of paper, 

 ■crumpled it in his hand and throwing it on the table said: "There 

 is the physical character of the new island. ' ' 



Volcanic islands generally have rich soil and to this Dominica is 

 no exception. The timber of Dominica is practically undeveloped 

 and until recently, has never been touched by an active lumber 

 company. The interior of the island is covered with primeval for- 

 est composed of almost entirely unknown woods, and as yet not 

 all botanically classified, but known by their local French names. 

 The stand per acre varies as to soil and moisture (rainfall) so 

 that acres of twenty thousand feet are common, but the average 

 is about eight or nine thousand feet. One acre, measured by ths 

 writer, had fifty-six trees containing 27,000 feet — and this was not 

 an exceptional acre; another of fifty-five trees measured 22,500 

 feet; and still another of twenty-one trees measured 7,000 feet. 

 On the high hills the trees are stunted and smaller, due to the 

 rocky hill sides, while in the valleys and lower slopes it is not 

 uncommon to find trees eighty feet high and from three to seven 

 feet in diameter. As hardwoods generally grow, parts of the 

 forest will be quite uniform as to percentage of certain kinds of 



trees, and then suddenly there are pockets or patches of one kind 

 in which the average will run above 50,000 feet to the acre. 



The island of Dominica, being in the trade winds, offers splendid 

 facilities for shipping on the Leeward side in the several splendid 

 harliors, the best being that of Prince Ruperts ' bay. So good is 

 this harbor that it will be made into a coaling station before the 

 opening of the Panama canal. The Windward side is rocky and 

 dangerous, being subject to the heavy Atlantic seas. 



The best timber is found in the center of the island and on the 

 Windward side. From the main body of the timber to the Leeward 

 side, two railroad routes have been found. One, a rather long one, 

 was surveyed and a company formed, but active work was never 

 commenced. The second route which follows up the largest river 

 emptying into Prince Ruperts ' bay, lies along the Indian river for 

 four or five miles and then crosses into the interior. 



The company which recently started lumber operations in 

 Dominica is English and is called Dominica Forests and Sawmills, 

 Ltd. The square timber produced, besides supplying the local 

 markets, will be shipped to England. Mining timbers will be made 

 from the smaller trees, and from the tops and small stuff cordwood 

 and charcoal will be made. For the former, there is a good de- 

 mand from the sugar mills m the various islands, and the charcoal 

 will be shipped to the towns and cities. With the present knowl- 

 edge of the tract, it is estimated that the company has about a 

 fifty-years' cut for its present mill. As the land is cleared, India 

 rubber trees, limes and cocoa will be planted, each in its best 

 soil. 



As is the usual case with any new enterprise in a foreign 

 country, innumerable difficulties arise and must be overcome. The 

 work on the compan}' 's sawmill and railroad was nearly completed 

 in .lanuary of this year, but cutting had to be commenced before 

 the final completion of the mill. The sawmill site faces the sea, 

 and along one side flows the Indian river. The mouth of the river 

 was jettied, and by removing the sand bar helpeij the channel so 

 much that a passage was opened for the passing of barges. At low 

 tide the water is about four feet deep at the mouth, which is 

 ample for sixty-ton barges. The tide is only about twelve inches, 

 rising at flood tides to about eighteen inches. This small tide 

 makes the sea as steady as can be. The third side of the sawmill 

 faces a mangrove swamp of about forty acres, on which is found 

 plenty of cordwood, which sells at about six dollars a cord, de- 

 livered at the port in small sailing boats. The fourth side of the 

 mill opens to the hills and gives a fine location for the houses of 

 the white employes. 



Although the mill and railroad were started at the same time, it 

 required a longer time to complete the railroad. As the forest is 

 two miles from the mill over a route unbroken by any other road, 

 either parelleling it or reaching anywhere near the forest, no wood 

 for construction was available until the railroad reached the 

 forest. Thus the houses were built of American pine (long leaf), 

 and the mill buildings of light steel work 40x120 feet and 20x120 

 feet. 



All foundations as well as the belt races were made of concrete, 

 due to the scarcity of lumber. The concrete was made in blocks 

 and then laid in cement and sand mortar. This was found to be 

 very economical, as the native masons understood the work more 

 readily. The sand on the beach, not a hundred feet away, being of 

 an excellent quality, was used entirely, and the stone was broken 

 by hand right on the grounds. As the mill is under driven, con- 

 siderable concrete work was necessary. The main shaft is four 

 feet above high tide, while the top of the carriage floor is twelve 

 feet. The dirt from the foundations made the needed fills about 

 the machines to raise the ground to a level. 



The mill itself is a double mill, and the logs are hauled into 

 the mill on a car by a winch. The log yard is over one hundred 

 feet long and forty feet wide on either side of the mill track. 

 The winch hauls the car into the mill, and on either side is the 



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