SIMPLE FOREST CONSERVATION 



217 



be a fair guess to venture that those durable walks were 

 made of our common hemlock. Several other species 

 might have been used, but hemlock was cheap, strong, 

 hard enough to stand traffic, easily available from the 

 nearby forests of Pennsylvania, and we believe it ca- 

 pable of lasting 25 years in a board walk. The durable 

 material was probably used largely from chance, or 

 from the superior knowledge of the builder. Why did the 

 builder use hemlock instead of the equally cheap and 



mention the ones that seem to be the most valuable. 

 The United States Forest Service and in Canada, the 

 Dominion Forestry Branch, employ experts and publish 

 bulletins on timber. In case the Federal Government 

 does not supply the need, State or Provincial Forest 

 Departments may be called on. All of the North-eastern 

 States have State Foresters with staffs of experts. In fact 

 nearly all states are getting some sort of an organization 



A MERCHANTABLE WINDFALL ON CUT-OVER LAND 



This is a shocking example of careless lumbering as the tree was within 300 feet of a public highway and within one-fourth 

 mile of the logging camp. Three logs, containing 100 board feet, Doyle rule, could have been cut from this tree and the logs 

 would have yielded 200 board feet of lumber. Such trees, which arc not-wind firm, should be cut when the area is being 

 logged, as a conservative measure. 



more easily worked balsam fir that could readily have 

 been brought from Maine or New Brunswick and put 

 into board walks, to rot in a few years? Perhaps this 

 did occur in many cases to the detriment of the owners 

 profits. 



We are just beginning to learn about limber. Until 

 the last 20 years, we had few experts and no source 

 of knowledge that the public could turn to. Little can 

 be written in this small space that will give exact 

 knowledge of the subject, but next to specific knowl- 

 edge, it is important to know where that knowledge 

 can be obtained. There are many sources. We will 



to assist in this kind of work. The Provinces of Quebec, 

 New Brunswick, Ontario, and British Columbia have 

 well organized Forest Services. There is a Dominion 

 F"orest Products Laboratory at McGill University and a 

 United States Forest Products Laboratory at the Uni- 

 versity of Wisconsin. These laboratories belong to the 

 public. Then consider the various University Forestry 

 Departments and State Forestry Colleges. In some cases, 

 the colleges maintain a well equipped Extension Depart- 

 ment with the sole aim of assisting the public in knowl- 

 edge of forestry. This is especially true of New York, and 

 New York State is a huge factor in the timlber market. 



