AMERICAN FORESTRY 



503 



PEACE-TIME USES OF SITKA 

 SPRUCE 



Although Sitka spruce may never again 

 be so eagerly sought and so extensively cut 

 as during the war, it has so many superior 

 qualities in the; opinion of foresters and 

 lumbermen that it will always play an im- 

 portant part in the lumber industry of the 

 Pacific coast region. It grows rapidly, 

 makes a large yield to the acre, lends itself 

 fairly well to forest management, and pro- 

 duces a wood which has high value for 

 many special purposes, prominent anicng 

 which is the manufacture of paper. 



The greater part of the virgin forest in 

 which Sitka spruce occurs has not been 

 reached by lumbering operations, accord- 

 ing to EXepartment Bulletin 1060, Sitka 

 ^ruce: Its Uses, Growth and Management, 

 a new publication of the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture, prepared by N. 

 Leroy Gary, forest examiner. Until re- 

 cently the cut was relatively small. Sitka 

 Spruce was not well known in the world or 

 national markets until an extraordmary 

 demand for it arose during the war be- 

 cause of its superiority for airplane con- 

 struction. 



The total stand of SJtka Spruce in 

 America is estimated at 40 to 44 billion 

 feet. More than one-third occurs in Alaska, 

 one-third in British Golumbia and the re- 

 mainder in Washington, Oregon and Gali- 

 fomia. It does not ordinarily grow in pure 

 stands, but must be logged in conjunction 

 with other timbers with Douglas fir, west- 

 ern hemlock, and western red cedar in 

 Washington and Oregon, and with western 

 hemlock in Alaska. 



Sitka spruce forms only 1.5 per cent by 

 volume of the total merchantable stand of 

 timber west of the Gascades in Oregon and 

 Washington. In British Columbia it com- 

 prises 6,7 per cent of the timber along the 

 coast. Of the coastal forests of south- 

 eastern Alaska it forms about 15 per cent. 

 Approximately 50 per cent of the entire 

 stand of Sitka spruce is in private owner- 

 ship. 



In Washington and Oregon, the cut of 

 spruce increased more than 50 per cent in 

 1918, practically all this was Sitka spruce. 

 The cut in the United States increased very 

 little, and in general is declining. For a 

 number of years Maine was the leading 

 spruce-producing state, cutting chiefly red 

 spruce; but the pressing need for spruce 

 aircraft lumber for war uses stimulated 

 production in the Pacific Northwest to 

 such an extejit that in 1918 Washington 

 took first place with a cut of more than 

 275,000,000 board feet. Oregon was sec- 

 ond with a cut of more than 215,000,000, 

 while Maine dropped to third place. 



The varied qualitie,s of Sitka spruce fit 

 it for a wide variety of uses. It is the 

 premier wood for the manufacture of air- 

 craft. It is unsurpassed for pulp and is 

 especially adapted for musical instruments. 



It is also a desirable wood for boxes, 

 crates, barrels, veneer and woodenware. 



Copies of the new bulletin may be had 

 free upon application to the department at 

 Washington, D. C. 



A GOOD FIRE RECORD 



Major R. Y. Stuart, the State's Chief 

 Forester, presented a detailed report on the 

 spring forest fire season to the State For- 

 est Commission at its June meeting. He 

 reported Pennsylvania's situation as follows. 



"The record shows fewer fires reported 

 than in the; spring of 1921 and substantial 

 progress made in other respects under the 

 system of protection put into effect by it 

 last fall. 



"On of the remarkable, but expected de- 

 velopments from the Department's new sys- 

 tem was the service rendejed in detection 

 from the steel fire tower, of which fifty 

 were erected last summer and fall. Over 

 80% of all fires reported were detected and 

 reported from the Department's towers. 

 When the increased number of towers 

 contemplated are constructed it will be 

 possible to thus detect promptly practically 

 all fires. 



"Another striking feature of the spring 

 fire season was the promptness with which 

 fires were reported and reached by the 

 crews. This was possible through the 

 close and efficient cooperation rendered the. 

 Department men by local individuals and 

 organizations, and by members of other 

 Departments." 



GYPSY MOTH ESTABLISHED IN 

 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT 



Winter and spring scouting by the Bu- 

 reau of Entomology of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture; and State ento- 

 mological forces shows that the gipsy 

 moth is established over the entire central 

 part of Connecticut. The new territory is 

 as large as all the known infested area in 

 the State up to this time. The; area affected 

 is that through which the main railroad 

 lines run from New England into New 

 York City, and the spread of the pest to- 

 ward the great port is closely watched. 

 It has now reached the New York State 

 line in northwestern Connecticut. 



WOOD IMPERVIOUS TO DECAY 



'T'HE wood of the mangrove tree which 

 grows abundantly in French Guiana, is 

 said to be impervious to rot; at least, it 

 has not rotted under the severest tests 

 given it for four years by a French rail- 

 way company. The grain of the wood is 

 so close that it practically excludes mois- 

 ture and it has the further protection of 

 a large amount of tannin in its composi- 

 tion that prevents the invasion of insects 

 and protects it from mold, damp, etc. Its 

 discovery is important, especially to users 

 of railway ties and telegraph and telephone 

 poles. 



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American Forest 

 Regulation 



By Theodore S. Woolsey, Jr. 



Limited edition, paper cover, $2.75 net, 

 $3.00 postage prepaid (cloth, $3.50) ; about 

 230 pages (6x9 inches). 



A thoroughly Americanized discussion 

 of the regulation of forests. Introduction 

 by B. E. Fernow. LL. D. ; 4 chapters by 

 H. H. Chapman, Professor, Yale School of 

 Forestry. 



Of Interest to 



LUMBERMEN, FORESTERS 



and ESTATE OWNERS 



Order Direct From 



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New Haven, Connecticut. 



