700 AMERICAN FORESTRY 



the slow process of pulling it down and scaled but taken by the mill for full 

 saving the material. measure." To repeat, the buyer de- 

 Here in the west the ground where manded the best and that the dealer 

 our timber grows is covered to the must furnish or go to the wall. The 

 depth of several feet with mold and logger must furnish what the mill 

 moss, decayed timber and fallen tree wanted or go to the wall, 

 trunks that have lost out in their strug- l/p to 1897 fir logs had seldom sold 

 gle to reach sunlight. Over all and be- for more than $4.50 and stumpage had 

 neath our big trees the brush is thick seldom been higher than 50 cents a 

 and many little trees are struggling thousand. The best quarter section of 

 for life. Then comes the timber faller, timber, under those conditions, cut less 

 and the tops and limbs of our big fir, than 6,000,000 feet. Six million was 

 cedar and spruce are piled on the cover the limit, as 12,000,000 to 14,000,000 is 

 and help protect the ground, in the the limit to-day. We must then have 

 choppir.g, from the sun. left the other 6,000,000 to 8,000,000 in 

 Many low grade and young trees the old choppings ; part in trees not up 

 and hemlock are left standing. An old to grade, part in the hemlock and cedar 

 chopping has a timber land appearance not then wanted, part in high stumps, 

 in some parts, for what we do is not to but mostly in long tops. Those days 

 cut all but only that adapted to our we took two logs out of many a tree 

 present market. Our process is the which we would take four or five logs 

 selection of the fittest the keynote of to-day, and those 40 feet long. 

 American forestry. Now keep out fire Had it occurred to you to ask what 

 and we become true conservationists, has become of the 6,000,000 to 8,000,000 

 for some day we will again return for feet we left behind on each quarter 

 the fittest and later for the best of the section? You all know of many old 

 new crop and thus perpetuate our for- choppings where fire has followed fire, 

 ests. and where there is no living shrub, and 

 Those long familiar with western hundreds of branchless stubs, telling by 

 lumber conditions will remember the their unsightly skeletons what might 

 time when we had only a coastwise have been had no fires reached them, 

 market, with an occasional foreign You also can recall, or find, if you 

 order, and no thought of ever shipping will, old choppings where no fire has 

 by rail. They will remember all coast- ever run. These you will have perhaps 

 wise cargoes were tallied and graded at passed by as original forests, for such 

 destination and the grades were mer- they look to be. But examine them 

 charitable, refuse and firewood. more closely hundreds of tall trees are 

 Firewood returned freight only ; re- standing, hemlocks perhaps in part, but 

 fuse returned freight and cost to saw ; none the less valuable twenty years 

 merchantable, which included all we from now. And beneath and between 

 now call select and most of the clear, these taller trees is a thick growth of 

 brought freight, cost to saw and cost of young fir, spruce, cedar and hemlock, 

 the log. Any profit had to come from of all ages, rank, thrifty, giving prom- 

 the little flooring we made or some ise of more timber to each acre, thirty 

 special order. or forty years hence, than was produced 



When lumber could be had for such by the original crop. 



prices customers wanted only the best. Now look again. Crawl through that 



so the dealers wanted onlv the best, jungle and you will find many a moss 



and the mills wanted only the best logs, covered top of the fathers of this young 



and the loggers could use only the best forest, and that top will often be 40 or 



of the best trees. For such logs the .So inches in diameter and 150 feet long, 



mill paid four dollars to four dollars for its father was cut when timber was 



and fiftv cents a thousand feet. Any- cheap, and that conrlition means waste ; 



thins: falling below their standard re- that timber was cut when 6,000,000 was 



ceived four notches, which meant "Not a large yield. The other 6,000,000 left 



