608 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



of spruce, much information has been gained about its forest habits 

 and its quahty, and about spiral grain, defects, and yield by grades. 

 The aim is to gather these data, from widely scattered and rapidly 

 dissipating sources, and to correlate them in order that they may be of 

 use to foresters and lumbermen. 



There has been talk of creating spruce reserves to provide against 

 future industrial needs for aircraft construction. For intelligent action 

 on such a matter a much better understanding of the requirements 

 and characteristics of such stands as might be held for many years is 

 essential. Such questions as the following will be answered by this 

 study: Is Sitka spruce a tree of agricultural or ultimate forest soils? 

 What is the relation between age and quality? What is the life history 

 of its defects? What are its enemies? What are its reactions upon 

 various sites? etc. 



Thornton T. Munger. 



Spruce Gum in the Northeast 



More than 1,500 tons of crude spruce gum are estimated to be 

 harvested annually in the State of Maine alone. In years gone by 

 spruce gum was harvested by the lumberjacks, who collected the 

 choicest bits in the course of their regular work. But as this class of 

 laborers was supplanted by foreigners, who knew nothing of spruce 

 gum, dealers experienced great difficulty in procuring the gum and so 

 the professional gum gatherer got into the game. Gum is collected 

 throughout the year, although fall and winter is the most popular 

 season. During the summer black flies are a nuisance and the col- 

 lectors lose much time in fighting them off. Pickers usually work in 

 pairs, mainly for sake of sociability. A small hatchet is used to re- 

 move the gum, which is dropped into a small pan or even a hat. 

 Oftentimes the axe is fitted with a hollow handle into which a pole 

 can be fitted, thus enabling the gummers to reach lumps high up and 

 ordinarily beyond reach. 



Twenty-five to thirty pounds is considered a fair day's haul. The 

 gatherings are cleaned and sorted. All bark, moss, and other foreign 

 matter is removed from the lumps of gum. The haul is sold under two 

 grades — "lump" and "chip" gum. The lump gum is free from any 

 foreign matter and is usually retailed in the original lump. The chip 

 gum, however, is so mixed with bark, etc., that it must be steamed 

 before retailing. After steaming it is rolled, cut into sticks, and 

 wrapped in tissue paper. 



