7o 



THE FORESTER. 



March, 



Recent Publications. 



I Vie Adirondack Spruce, by Gifford Pinchot. 

 (The Critic Company, New York City.) "The 

 owners and operators of Spruce lands in the 

 Eastern United States will find within the 

 covers of this little book a collection of facts 

 and figures which is intended first of all to be 

 of practical use. The information it contains 

 is the product of a prolonged investigation con- 

 ducted throughout with that intention. If its 

 results have any merit, therefore, it must be 

 because they are capable of assisting American 

 lumbermen to get better returns from their 

 investments in Spruce lands through conserva- 

 tive lumbering and successive crops than they 

 could by considering the productiveness of 

 these lands as of merely temporary interest." 



These words, with which the preface opens, 

 will serve to indicate at once the author's aim 

 and the reader's standard of criticism. 



To begin with, a word must be said about 

 the investigation which forms the pith of the 

 text, about its subject-matter and the handling 

 of it. Ne-Ha-Sa-Ne Park, on the western side 

 of the Adirondacks, was the principal field of 

 work. Dr. W. Seward Webb, its owner, con- 

 tributed the funds needed for the work; while 

 Mr. Pinchot undertook the task of supervision, 

 and afterwards, that of throwing the material 

 collected into the form of the present book. 

 The measurements taken, which cover nearly 

 2,500 trees and over 1,000 acres, were made for 

 the most part under the direction of Mr. Henry 

 S. Graves. 



To turn now to the book itself. Its con- 

 venient size and business-like appearance 

 suggest what we afterwards find true of its 

 contents. From first to last the writing is 

 terse, clear and straight to the point. We are 

 not drawn into the details through which the 

 material had to pass on its way to completion ; 

 but are given the valuable results in an in- 

 teresting, almost a pictorial, form. By means 

 of a couple of simple devices we are made to 

 see the forest before we are asked to follow the 

 author in his statements and reasonings about 

 it. The devices are these : First, the forest as 

 a whole is classified under four types, dis- 

 tinguished according to soil and elevation, and 

 further emphasized by the addition of figures 

 showing the relative extent of each type: 

 Swamp lands, 22 per cent ; Spruce flats, 10 per 

 cent; Hardwood lands, 42 per cent; and 

 Spruce slopes, 26 per cent. Second, a table 

 for each one of these types shows the average 

 size and occurrence of Spruce, and associated 

 trees, over its particular area. When once we 

 have thus got a picture of the forest in our 

 mind's eye. there is no difficulty in following 

 the exposition from this point. The Spruce 

 in its silvicultural character is treated next, 

 and then come the species associated with the 

 Spruce within each of the four types. From 

 this presentation of the general forest con- 



ditions the author now comes down to a pre- 

 liminary practical question : What are the 

 effects of cutting on subsequent growth ? The 

 answer is supplied in an important table ( No. 

 7), which is based, like all the tables in the 

 book, on unquestionable data, and offers a 

 valuable working suggestion. Growth in the 

 original forest, which is next considered, comes 

 out in contrast. 



The most valuable tables in the book are the 

 Yield Tables. These "are prepared for the 

 purpose of predicting future crops of timber 

 after cutting to a given limit on lands yielding 

 a known amount of Spruce." By the aid of 

 tables of volume, or cubic contents, and the 

 tables showing the rate of growth under a 

 variety of conditions, it is possible, if we know 

 how much Spruce has been cut on any given 

 number of acres, and down to a given diameter 

 limit, to tell how soon again a like crop can be 

 cut from the same area. And by comparing 

 the amount of a given crop and the limit to 

 which it has been taken with the time required 

 to replace a similar stand, or with the time 

 required to replace a stand of some other 

 diameter limit, we are able to determine what 

 diameter limit it is most profitable to choose in 

 each case, according as we wish to reap the 

 full return at one general cutting or to defer 

 part of the return for any preferred number of 

 years. The working of these yield tables is 

 pointedly illustrated by a number of problems 

 which they are made to solve. 



The second part of the book contains a work- 

 ing plan adapted to the conditions described in 

 the first part. As a part of it there are here 

 given the following nine general rules for 

 cutting under conservative methods: 



"1. Only trees marked by the forester must 

 be cut, and each tree marked must be cut un- 

 less a reason satisfactory to the forester can 

 be given for leaving it. 



"2. No timber outside the line of a road 

 shall be used for corduroys, culverts, or other 

 road purposes, until all timber cut tor the 

 clearing of the road has been utilized; and 

 when more timber is necessary, all available 

 trees of other kinds within reach must be used 

 before any Spruce is taken. 



"3. All lumber roads must be marked out by 

 the contractor with the co-operation and assist- 

 ance of the forester. 



"4. As a protection against fire all tops must 

 be cut or lopped so that the thin branches will 

 be brought in contact with the ground by the 

 weight of the winter's snow. 



"5. Extreme care must be taken to prevent 

 fire. No fire must ever be lighted where it 

 can get into a rotten log or into duff. 



"6. Great care must be taken not to injure 

 young growth in felling timber, or to bark 

 valuable young trees in skidding. 



"7. Felled trees must be cut into logs at 



