694 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



LOGGING FOR PULP WOOD IN SOUTHERN 

 APPALACHIANS 



The creek dashing down the mountain side, carrying 

 with it a multitude of billets 



a stamp of the foot or switch of the 

 tail to keep the flies at a respectful dis- 

 tance. A couple of black "porkers" are 

 still hunting for a last claintv morsel 



before 



turning in' 



for the night. 



After we have satisfied our curiosity, 

 the camp boss comes out and is quite 

 willing to have a chat with us. Among 



other things, he tells us 

 that it costs $8 per cord to 

 cut and deliver the wood 

 to the pulp mill. 



Does that mean any- 

 thing to us? Eight dollars 

 per cord, and nearly all of 

 it for transportation. The 

 mill must have wood, and 

 next year the railroad is 

 extended farther into the 

 mountains and the cost 

 will increase, so that every 

 balsam and spruce must be 

 cut to pay for the extra ex- 

 pense. It is not necessary 

 to say that the price of 

 paper must rise in a paral- 

 lel line with the cost of 

 production. Shall we be 

 ready to pay those prices, 

 or shall we cry out as we 

 recently did at the high 

 price of meat? Should we 

 not be willing to pay a few 

 cents more for our paper 

 at present, so that the lum- 

 berman in the forest could 

 practice a little conserva- 

 tive forestry? It is the 

 same with the hardwoods 

 which are being cut for 

 lumber. If we would have 

 them conserved we must 

 pay the lumberman for 

 conserving them. We could 

 easily pay a few cents 

 more per thousand feet to- 

 day to prevent an increase 

 amounting to dollars in the 

 future. And so if we wish 

 to have conservative for- 

 estry practiced we must 

 pay for it, as we must pay 

 for all things which are good. 



Having learned our lesson for the 

 day, we stroll up to the knob on the 

 ridge once more and there, as the sun 

 drops slowly behind the distant Smoky 

 Mountain, we watch night fall over the 

 Hetch-Hetchy Valley of the Appalach- 

 ians. 



