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From the viewpoint of the lumber iiKUistry, New York iias passed 

 through an cxcectliugly interesting history. Jn speaking of lumber- 

 ing in this state, one at once thinks of the Adirondai-ks. uliic-h is tlu' 

 producing center of the lumber industry. Originally, only tlic white 

 pine was cut; then the spruce was cut over, and for a long time in the 

 old lumber days the hemlock and hardwoods were regarded as being 

 almost wortldefs, or certainly not worth while taking to the mill. 

 Finally the hemlock, which only a few years ago brought an average 

 of from seven to ten dollars per thousand board feet, millrun and 

 which now brings from eighteen to twenty-five dollars jier thousand 

 millrun, was logged along with the spruce and the pine. The advauce- 

 ing price of the hemlock bark for tanning purposes was tlie stimulus 

 needed to bring this tree on the market. Then finally, with the in- 

 crease in value and the general recognition of their wide use for so 

 many purposes in various lines of utilization, (lie hardwonds l]c<;:iii 

 to be cut until at the present time, there are 

 nearly as many hardwoods being lumbered 

 as softwoods. 



As a result of this progression iu cutting, 

 the second growth is almost entirely hard- 

 wood — that is from twenty to one hundred 

 years ago only the white pine and better 

 spruce were taken out which left the hard- 

 woods to occupy the soil. At the present 

 time therefore, there are several logging op- 

 erations in progress on areas that are now 

 practically pure hardwoods and which up to 

 about thirty years ago, were at least partly 

 covered by pine and spruce. One large tract 

 of 68,000 acres which was recently purchased 

 and is now being logged by a large hard- 

 v.ood operator, was cut over about twenty- 

 five years ago for 

 ppruce, and not a 

 Etick of the hard- 

 woods touched. The 

 late Col. Fox, a vet- 

 eran lumberman of 

 the Adirondacks and 

 for a long time state 

 superintendent o f 

 forests stated that 

 iu his opinion about 

 seventy or eighty 

 per cent of the Adi- 

 rondacks are now 

 composed of hard 

 woods; and this re 

 gion is commonly 

 known as the center 

 of a great spruce 

 belt. 



One jiromiiftnt 

 reason for this con- 

 dition, of course, is 

 the local custom of 

 driving which has 

 existed in the Adi- 

 rondacks from the earliest history of the lumber industry. This 

 region contains a large number of excellent drivable streams which 

 naturally afford the cheapest means of transporting the softwoods 

 to the mills. This obviously left the logging of the non-drivable 

 bardwoods out of the question. It is only within the last few years 

 therefore that railroad logging has been introduced to afford a 

 means of getting out the splendid big maple, beech, birch, basswood, 

 cherry and other hardwood logs. 



Within recent years, the stumpage . price of 'hardwoods has ail- 



— iS— 



vauccd remarkably. This is only a natural result of the above 

 described history. White pine stumpage brings from $9 to $12 per 

 thousand, dei)ending upon accessibility and condition. Spruce brings 

 from $7 to .$10 per thousand and the hardwoods from $5 to $12 per 

 thousand. Ten years ago, hardwood stumpage could be purchased 

 for about $2 or $3 per thousand, depending largely on species and 

 location. Within the last two years, how'ever, large purchases have 

 been made at a stumpage rate of around $.^ [)er thousand on the 

 average for all species, based on a fairly accurate estimate. It has 

 recently been estimated by the forestry officials of the state that if 

 all the trees were taken into consideration, between seventy-five per 

 cent and eighty-five per cent of all the present growing timber in 

 the Adirondacks would be found to be composed of hardwoods. Fifty 

 years ago (irobably >^ixty per cent of the merchantable timber at 



least 



comj>ose4l 



vhite pine, spruce, and hemlock. 



During the year 1911 approximately one- 

 half-billion board feet of lumber was cut 

 in New York. The hardwoods represented 

 ill this cut are best shown in the following 

 table. The average wholesale prices at the 

 mill as given in the Bureau of Census re- 

 jiorts are also shown: 



Yearly cut 

 Species— M feet B. M. 

 Hard maple 65,313 



iOOD STAND OF MIXED HARDWOODS 

 AND riNE RUNNING ABOUT 18.000 

 FEET TO THE ACRE 



ch 41,026 



Basswood 29,638 



Birch 28,46.'; 



Uak 27.446 



Chestnut 16,341 



Elm 12,462 



Asb 10,727 



Misc.. including hickory, wal- 

 nut, butternut, cherry, 

 Kvenmore, etc 7,000 



Price 

 at mill 

 $16,52 



flEXERAL VIEW OF ROLLWAY, MILLS AND YARDS OF THE EMPORIUM LUMBER COMPANY, 



A LARGE HARDWOOD OPERATION AT CONIFER IN THE HEART OF 



THE ADIRONDACKS 



238,648 

 The total cut of 

 the softwoods in 

 1911 amounted to 

 288,000,000 board 

 feet, exceeding that 

 of the hardwoods by 

 only about 50,000,- 

 000 feet. And when 

 one considers the 

 great amounts of 

 hardwoods utilized 

 in the many indus- 

 tries which are not 

 shown in the Census 

 lumber reports, this 

 apparent dis- 

 crepancy would 

 rapidly disappear. 

 The majority of the 

 softwoods shown in 

 the above cut in 

 fact is composed of 

 h e m 1 o ck which, 

 twenty years ago, 

 scarcely entered the 

 markets at all. 



The principal Adirondack hardwoods cut are, therefore, hard maple, 

 beech, basswood, birch and oak, with some elm, chestnut, ash and 

 hickory found chiefly at the lower elevations and in the many wood- 

 lots. 



In former years, practically all of the hardwoods consumed in the 

 state were brought in from the Middle West and the Lake State 

 region, and the real cause of the increased stumpage prices obtained 

 in the Adirondack region is the increasing demand for wood used 

 in the various lines of utilization. The prices obtained for forest 



