MARYLAND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 323 



industry, however, is practically at an end. The last body of Spruce 

 fit for this purpose is being cut now, and the land from which the 

 timber is being taken will probably be used for agriculture, so that it 

 is not likely that a second crop of Spruce will be grown. 



TIES. The timber used for ties is mainly of small size, or of 

 inferior quality. The logging and coal roads use most of the ties cut. 

 Hemlock, Beech, Birch, and Maple are used by the logging roads, 

 while a better class of ties are cut from White Oak, Chestnut Oak, 

 and Chestnut for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The cutting is 

 done by farmers or small contractors during the winter or other dull 

 seasons. The ridge and culled forests furnish most of this timber. 



FENCING MATERIAL. Farmers readily obtain plenty of good fenc- 

 ing material from the large areas of culled or virgin forests surround- 

 ing the agricultural valleys. Second growth Oak, Chestnut and 

 Locust may be had on many of the culled areas, while the ridge forests 

 furnish plenty of Oak and Chestnut for this use. Chestnut is pre- 

 ferred for rails, while White Oak, Chestnut Oak, and Locust are used 

 for posts. 



FUEL. The use of wood for fuel is probably less in Garrett than 

 in any other county in the state. Coal is very cheap and many 

 farmers dig a supply on their lands. Coal is commonly used for all 

 heating purposes and even for burning lime. This general use of 

 coal for all domestic fuel makes it impossible to dispose of the waste 

 hardwood tops left left by lumbermen. Thousands of cords of good 

 Oak, Chestnut, and other hardwoods are left to rot in the woods, and 

 this large amount of slash always adds to the fire danger. The future 

 will probably see but little increase in the demand for fuel, and unless 

 some industry using small and inferior material is introduced, the 

 fullest utilization of the hardwood cut is impossible. Charcoal kilns, 

 acid factories, and tool handle or spool mills, would be able to use 

 the wood now going to waste in the county. 



TANBARK. All of the Hemlock and Chestnut Oak bark peeled 

 in the county finds a ready market at the tanneries of neighboring 

 counties. The nearest market is just across the Potomac in West 

 Virginia. While the amount of Chestnut and Oak bark produced is 



