247 



from further damage by fire, it will in a short time completely reforest itself. " 

 (p. 113). 



" From the Summit to Cedar River the appearance of the lands along the road 

 is disappointing. There is too much open country, and too little of the forest 

 scenery which one expects to see. The open country is due to unsuccessful efforts 

 at farming, and the dwarfed condition of the trees to the disastrous fires which 

 in some places have occurred repeatedly ; but from Cedar River to Blue Mountain 

 Lake the road runs for ten miles through an unbroken forest which, to an 

 unpractised eye, shows no diminution of its primeval beauty. Though the 

 lumberman cut off, years ago, the merchantable spruce and pine, they took so few 

 trees to the acre that little trace remains of their operations, especially as the 

 smaller evergreens that were left ar.e fast takino- the place of those which were 

 cut." (p. 115). 



" Part of the forest along this road was cut clean about twenty -five years ago 

 by the charcoal burners, and persons interested in forestry matters will note with 

 pleasure as they ride by, that the land has completely reforested itself, there 

 being little in the present growth which would indicate to a casual observer that 

 it differed from the original forest on the surrounding lands. There are large 

 areas in this country which have been cleared by charcoal burners, but which are 

 rapidly recovering their growth, their present condition affording an encouraging 

 outlook for the future welfare of these forests." (p. 162). 



" Beyond and west of this place are some abandoned charcoal kilns, which are 

 responsible for the peculiar condition of the tree growth on either side for quite a 

 distance. The forest was cut here by the charcoal burners, and every tree, lai'ge 

 and small, was removed ; but the land is now covered with a promising second 

 growth. 



" Throughout the entire region the lands which were cleared for charcoal 

 reforest themselves quicker, and with a much more valuable growth, than those 

 which have been denuded by fire. Fortunately, the cutting for charcoal resem- 

 bles somewhat the coppice system, which is one of the recognized methods of 

 forest management ; and so, most of the stumps left by the charcoal axemen have 

 sprouted persistently, and yielded a second growth exhibiting most of the origi- 

 nal varieties, so far as the deciduous trees are concerned. But where the forest 

 has been destroyed by successive burnings the soil and seeds are too badly 

 scorched to reproduce the former trees, and so the land reforests itself with an 

 inferior crop of small poplars and bird cherries. In driving through Essex 

 County a good opportunity is offered for studying some of these phases of nat- 

 ural reforestation." (pp. 169-170). 



" Before reaching Aiden Lair the road enters township 26, and for six miles 

 passes through large tracts of State land, the most of this township having been 

 acquired through defaulted taxes in 1877. Some of this land has been denuded 

 by fire, but it was not burned so badly but that it is now reforesting itself. Of 

 these burned tracts there is one, in particular, which offers an interesting study 

 in reforestation, owing to a peculiarity in the process. The thick growth of 

 small poplar and cherry which sprang up immediately after the fire is rapidly 

 dying off and disappearing ; but it in turn is being succeeded by a promising 

 vigorous growth of spruce and balsam. 



" In this vicinity there is another piece of second growth which is composed 

 largely of white pine. The trees are strong and thrifty, and in a few years will 

 be large enough for manufacturing purposes. This second growth white pine 

 is inferior to the original. The trees are smaller, very knotty, and yield but little 

 clear stuff. Still the knots are small, red and sound, and the lumber meets with 



