CHESTNUT BARK DISEASE. 17 



of the hard woods in the brass industry. The brickyards and 

 the lime kilns also use it when it can be obtained. These 

 numerous uses for the smaller products, such as cordwood, have 

 resulted in large areas of sprout forests under 30 years of 

 age, in which the percentage of chestnut has been on the increase, 

 due to the great vigor with which the stumps sprout. In those 

 sections of the state where the market for cordwood is not as 

 good, the stands are usually left until pole or tie size. Here the 

 percentage of seedling trees is slightly greater, due to the 

 increased seed production of the more mature trees. These 

 stands, as a whole, are mixed with a greater variety of species 

 and are in a better condition to withstand the spread of the 

 chestnut blight, as there are in many cases enough trees of other 

 species to continue the stand even if the chestnut is entirely 

 removed. There are very few stands in the state in which the 

 trees are of a size to make lumber. This is largely due to 

 the ready market for ties and poles, but it is also due to the 

 fact that in a sprout stand the trees begin to deteriorate after 

 it reaches the age of fifty to sixty years. 



Native chestnut is the wood most used in this section for ties 

 and poles. Chestnut and red cedar are most commonly used 

 for posts. Chestnut is used for timbers in the construction of 

 a large number of buildings, especially on the farm where the 

 owner has his own wood lot. When the tree is large enough 

 to saw, the planks are commonly used in the wooden bridges to 

 be found throughout the state. The boards are used as rough 

 siding and to a limited extent in the manufacture of boxes, but 

 this use is limited by the weight of the lumber. As an interior 

 finish, this wood is coming into favor, but up to the present time 

 the southern lumber is preferred because of better milling and 

 closer grading. Chestnut is used in furniture as the core for 

 veneering. 



MILL PRACTICE. 



The chestnut of this state is milled by small portable outfits 

 which have a daily capacity of five to fifteen thousand feet per 

 day. The timber holdings are small and a mill has to make 

 frequent moves which tends to make the owner careless in 

 setting up, with the result that there is a tendency to produce 

 lumber of varying thickness. The mills have circular, inserted 



