Alaska Woods. 195 



grown wood of this species to determine whether there are any 

 marked differences between it and wood of the same species 

 grown in the States, the general quahties are more or less simi- 

 lar therefore it is assumed to be a good pulp wood. Lower slope 

 hemlock makes a much more rapid growth than that found on 

 higher elevations and it is doubtless the better wood for paper 

 making. It is believed that this class of timber will make the 

 common grades of paper at a comparatively low cost of pro- 

 duction, and since enormous quantities of it can be secured from 

 the shorelands without the outlay of heavy expense for rail- 

 roads, it will be possible for the pulp industry to be introduced 

 in the near future. The most evident faults in thrifty young 

 growth timber of this species are the black knots and black 

 seams. The quantity of material containing these imperfec- 

 tions, however, is comparatively small and while they will in- 

 crease the cost of production more or less, they will not neces- 

 sarily lower the grade of paper. The highest cost of produc- 

 tion will be met with in the utilization of large overmature tim- 

 ber and the inferior young growth. The former class of timber, 

 which invariably contains a large percentage of defective ma- 

 terial, is found chiefly on the lowlands intermixed with the 

 healthy young growth, and while it will be one of the many 

 factors governing the cost of production, it will not be a serious 

 obstacle to success in the pulp industry. The inferior young 

 growth timber makes up the principal part of the upland types 

 and owing to the exposed conditions under which growth has 

 taken place, it is scrubby and contains a large percentage of 

 black knots and other defects. The cost of working up such 

 timber would be excessive, however, since there is an abundance 

 of better timber available, it will not be necessary to resort to 

 using any large quantities of inferior material until economic 

 conditions will permit its manufacture at a profit. 



White Spruce. This species occurs on the Chugach Forest, 

 the most extensive forests being found on and adjacent to the 

 shorelands of Cook Inlet and its tributaries. Trees of this 

 species grow to about 24 inches in diameter and 60 feet in 

 height. The wood is comparatively light, soft and is well 

 adapted for such uses as construction lumber, piling and cord- 

 wood- Its chief present uses are for piling, building material 

 and cordwood in the region where it is the most valuable species 



