REPORT ON FORESTS. 63 



the oak and chestnut range from 7 to 35 inches in diameter and 

 30 to 45 feet in height. It is said that the last cutting about 

 Split Rock for the use of the furnace was some 30 years ago. 

 Further toward Marcella, oak and hickory were noted 10 

 inches in diameter and 55 feet high, while along the Marcella 

 and Hibernia road the oldest timber is 45 years old, but there 

 has been some recent cutting, and there are some tracts of 

 younger timber. 



From Beach Glen, eastward to the Morris canal, the country 

 is well known by Mr. W. K. Clarke, of Rockaway. He says 

 the last cutting for iron furnaces and forges in this district was 

 done 40 years ago, although a trifling amount has been done 

 since. He believes that after the forests here are cut two or 

 three times more the growth will become stunted and worthless, 

 and there will be a necessity for re-seeding. He mentions a 10 

 acre tract on his property where, in 1838, his father raised a crop 

 of buckwheat. It was then abandoned and oak and chestnut 

 came up. The timber was cut off in 1866, the 10 acres yielding 

 200 cords of wood. In 1883 it was cut again, yielding from 12 

 to 15 cords per acre, and now, in 1895, the growth averages 4 

 inches in diameter and 25 feet high. He thinks the best growth 

 is on the east and south slopes of the hills. 



The district which we are describing has generally a growth 

 of from 4 to 1 6 inches in diameter and 35 to 45 feet high. There 

 are a few coniferous trees, principally white pine, the largest of 

 which was 2 feet in diameter and 60 feet high, and about this 

 tree there were a great many small pines, some 20 feet high r 

 apparently sprung from the seed of the large tree. 



North and northeast of Boonton, the mountains appear to have 

 been cut off from 30 to 50 years ago, and are now beginning to 

 yield good timber again. Some of the cleared land in this 

 vicinity begins to grow up with red cedar. About Taylorville, 

 it is said that the timber was cut about 30 years ago for the use 

 of the forges. Mr. Ezekiel Earle, of Lyonsville, furnished the 

 following interesting facts as to this region : Last winter he cut a 

 tract on the hill north of Dixon's pond, the timber of which was 

 60 years old and which yielded 50 cords per acre. He has some 

 chestnut and oak timber which he has trimmed out and taken 

 care of, and he believes it will yield one-third more wood per acre 



