COMMERCIAL USES OF RED SPRUCE 



709 



old houses are being demolished 

 in quest of such pieces. 



There are hosts of uses for 

 spruce in the various woodwork- 

 ing industries, all the way from 

 ship building to the manufact- 

 ure of wooden pie plates. 



The use of young spruce 

 trees along with the balsam fir 

 for Christmas trees is well 

 known. It was at one time 

 thought that this business would 

 put such a drain upon the repro- 

 duction in the forest that some 

 of the states in the spruce region 

 took steps to regulate it, but it 

 seems evident now that the stock 

 of young trees is not seriously 

 depleted and the young trees 

 bring more for this purpose 

 than they would for many years 

 if allowed to grow up for lum- 

 ber or pulp. 



A product of the spruce tree, 

 better known once than now, is 

 spruce gum. It is formed from 

 the resinous exudations which 

 take place at wounds and branch 

 stubs. Formerly it was col- 

 lected largely from the standing 

 trees, but now most of it is ob- 



Pholograph by P. L. Butlrick. 



A WOOD POREMAN IN THE SPRUCE WOODS 

 The success of a lumber camp depends upon the foreman. 

 He is generally a Scotchman or a Yankee. He must 

 have a large amount of technical knowledge at his com- 

 mand (learned from experience, not from books) and be 

 able to handle men. This picture was taken before 

 Mackinaw coats became popular in the cities, but they 

 have been used in the North Woods for many years. 



A TRAIN LOAD OF CHRISTMAS TREES 

 Every year thousands of young spruce and fir trees are cut in the North Woods and shipped all over the eastern 

 part of the United States to gladden the hearts of young and old at Christmas-tide. The balsam fir makes a some- 

 what prettier Christmas tree than the spruce and has a more pleasing odor, but very few can tell the difference. 

 It was at one time thought that the indiscriminate cutting of young trees for Christmas trees was contrary to con- 

 servation principles and destructive to the forest, but it now seems evident that without a great extension of the 

 business the loss is immaterial. The forest owner can obtain more for young trees as Christmas trees than their 

 value for pulpwood or lumber at a greater age. 



tained in the course of logging work from the felled trees. The gum is 

 used in medicine as part of the ingredients of cough syrups and drops, 

 and for chewing gum. It sells from I2y 2 cents to $4.00 per pound, accord- 

 ing to the grade. The state of Maine alone produces 150 tons annually, 

 valued at $300,000. 



As to the amount of its cut, spruce ranks sixth on the list of Ameri- 

 can woods, between 3 and 4 per cent of the total lumber cut of the 

 country being spruce. In 1912 the cut was 1,238,600,000 board feet. 



At one time pine land sold for more if no spruce grew on it, but 

 to-day spruce lands in Maine and the Adirondacks are worth more than 

 they were when they were first logged for pine, and very little spruce 

 stumpage is for sale. The 1915 prices for pulpwood stumpage were about 

 as follows: In New York from $3.50 to $4 per cord; in Maine from 

 $4 to $4.50 per cord. Saw timber in New Hampshire is worth from 

 $5.50 to $6 per thousand ; in West Virginia from $4 to $5 per thousand. 

 These prices are higher, by the way, than for the southern pines which 

 we ordinarily consider as more valuable woods. The prices for pulp- 

 wood ready for the mill vary from section to section. In North Carolina 

 spruce pulpwood sells for $6 per cord; in New Hampshire it averages 

 over $9 delivered at the mills. 



1862 $9.00 per M f. o. b. Boston 



1870 16.00 per M f. o. b. Boston 



1880 13.00 per M f. o. b. Boston 



1890 13.00 per M f. o. b. Boston 



1900 16.00 per M f. o. b. Boston 



1904 16.00 per M f. o. b. Boston 



1906 25.10 per M f. o. b. New York 



'1908 20.60 per M f. o. b. New York 



1910 23.30 per M f. o. b. New York 



1914 25.00 per M f . o. b. Boston 



