MARYLAND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 321 



lem confronting timber production in the county outranks this. Fires 

 in the forest are usually the result of carelessness. In sections where 

 logging companies employ locomotives, fires from carelessness are very 

 common. The condition of the cut-over lands on the Youghiogheny 

 river, Bear Creek, and Cherry Creek is a good illustration of the 

 indifference of the lumber companies of the county to damage by fire. 

 Thousands of young Spruce and much good material cut and skidded 

 were destroyed or injured by fire last year in the cutting between 

 Negro and Meadow mountains. Fires on the ridge have rendered 

 the trees there defective and in places even the humus and thin 

 layers of soil over the rock have been destroyed. A similar damage 

 is also noticeable on the Hemlock cuttings along the Youghiogheny 

 river and Bear Creek. Large areas of culled Chestnut and Oak lands 

 in all parts of the county have been burned over and thrifty young 

 sprouts and seedlings were killed and in many cases the stumps also. 

 Repeated fires in some sections have completely destroyed the valu- 

 able trees, especially on the ridges where the burns are now waste 

 tracts covered with only a low growth of Barren Oak, Mountain 

 Laurel, and scattered patches of scrubby Pitch Pine. 



Through neglect and indifference one of the county's chief sources 

 of revenue is rapidly disappearing. Its growing industries will be 

 seriously crippled if some action is not taken to prevent the cutting 

 off of the local supply of wood materials. 



USES or WOOD. 



The wood of Garrett county reaches the market in two forms, 

 either as a manufactured product or as a raw material. The manu- 

 factured products are, lumber (including plank and square or dimen- 

 sion stuff), shingles, lath, barrels, and excelsior. The raw material 

 marketed includes pulpwood, mining timbers, spars, railroad ties, 

 fencing material, fuel and tanbark. In value and amount the manu- 

 factured products exceed the raw material. 



LUMBER. Most of the timber cut in the county goes to the mills 

 and is sawn into boards, plank, or dimension stuff. The combined 

 daily cut of the mills averages about 100,000 feet, board measure. 



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