232 



THE FORESTER. 



October, 



of fire and make the planting practicable. 

 The degree to which the clearing is neces- 

 sary varies, and so does the cost. 



The college has started the solution of 

 the question of how much clearing is 

 needful and how cheaply this preparatory 

 work may be done, as well as how cheaply 

 a growth of valuable species may be re- 

 established. Sometimes nature has cov- 

 ered the burn with a growth of Aspen or 

 Birch, and if left alone, the most valuable 

 conifers, Pine, Spruce, and Cedar would 

 gradually establish themselves by natural 

 process. But even here the helping hand 

 of man may hasten the process of useful 

 occupancy of the soil by using as much of 

 the volunteer crop for nurse purposes as 

 may be desirable. Lanes are opened 

 through the Aspen growth at varying dis- 

 tances apart and Pines and Spruces set out 

 in the lanes, where they will be benefited 

 by the light shade of the Aspen and White 

 Birch. 



One of the essential requirements in 

 this reclamation of waste lands is ade- 

 quate protection against fire. As I have 

 pointed out, the greatest danger lies in 

 these very areas ; hence special precautions 

 to reduce it become necessary wherever 

 the expenditure for planting has been 

 made. Greater vigilance and special fire- 

 guards are required, and in addition me- 

 chanical means can be employed to reduce 

 the danger. Among these one would be 

 to take the entire burn in hand at one 

 time, as far as possible, clearing and burn- 

 ing the debris, so that the cleared and 

 planted area be bounded by standing tim- 

 ber or by water or marshy land. The 

 an-a could then be subdivided by ditches, 

 or better still by lanes sown to grass, 

 which can be kept in proper condition and 

 made to serve as bases of defense in case 

 of fire. Old snags, especially dead Pines, 

 must be downed, as they are apt to be set 

 on fire by lightning. 



The <|iK-stion, I suppose, is asked, does 

 it pay to reforest these wastes? The an- 

 - that if the State really proposes 

 I" hold, protect and improve this forest 

 area as a whole, it does pay unquestion- 

 ably, even were we to look at it only as a 

 work of internal improvement. And, if, 



as the indications are, the cost of restock- 

 ing these at present worse than worthless 

 tracts be kept below $10.00 per acre on 

 the average, it can be figured out as a 

 profitable financial proposition even. 



This work of reclaiming wastes is, by 

 the way, one against which no conditional 

 bar exists and which, therefore, could be 

 taken in hand at once by the Forest Com- 

 mission. 



The other problem, that of handling 

 the culled lands, is one presenting much 

 greater difficulties. While the reclaiming 

 of the waste lands is merely one of ex- 

 penditures which can be more or less 

 accurately determined, the rational treat- 

 ment of the forested lands requires not 

 only much more skill, but their improve- 

 ment, if it is to be kept within practically 

 advisable expenditures, is dependent on 

 market conditions over which the State 

 may not exercise control. To understand 

 the problem, we must state the conditions. 



The Adirondack forest is one com- 

 posed of a variety of species in which the 

 hardwoods, Birch, Maple and Beech, pre- 

 ponderate, and the conifers, Pine, Spruce 

 and Hemlock, form a more or less pro- 

 minent part. The culling has been of 

 the latter, so-called softwoods, especially 

 Pine and Spruce, because they were most 

 in demand and most easily handled and 

 transported by water. As a consequence, 

 after the culling process, the hardwoods, 

 preponderating before, have become still 

 stronger: and only the Spruce's abilitv to 

 tolerate shade has maintained, besides the 

 decrepit old trees which the logger left, 

 the growth of young ones. The White 

 Pine, which cannot reproduce itself under 

 the shade of the hardwoods, is almost 

 extirpated except on occasional openings. 

 The hardwoods, while furnishing a full 

 and pleasing canopy of foliage which may 

 mislead the uninstructed into the belief 

 that he is looking upon virgin woods, ex- 

 hibit in the old specimens the decrepitude 

 of age, dead branches and rotten heart ; and 

 many of the younger, thrifty looking trees, 

 upon closer investigation, also show the 

 signs of decay as a result of the running 

 fires which have swept over nearly every 

 tract of the wild woods. 



