190 



I. 



AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION. 



*7 



The Forester, 



PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY 



The American Forestry Association, 



AND 



Devoted to Arboriculture and Forestry, the 



Care and Use of Forests and Forest 



Trees, and Related Subjects. 



The Forester assumes no responsibility for 

 opinions expressed in signed articles. 



All members of the American Forestry Associa- 

 tion receive the Forester free of charge. Annual 

 fee for regular members $2.00. An application blank 

 will be found in the back of this number. 



All contributions and communications should be 

 addressed to the Editor, 



202 14th Street, S. W., Washington, D.C. 



Subscriptions and remittances should be sent to 

 41 North Queen St., Lancaster, Pa., or 202 14th St., 

 S. W., Washington, D. C. 



Copyright, 1901, by the American Forestry As- 

 sociation. 



Vol. VII. 



JANUARY, 1 90 1. 



No. 1. 



Amendments to The attention of the For- 

 the Constitution ester's readers is called 

 of the A. F. A. to the amendments to the 

 Constitution of the Amer- 

 ican Forestry Association which were 

 passed at the annual meeting in Decem- 

 ber. The last year has shown both that 

 the Association can spend to good pur- 

 pose much more money than it has had 

 heretofore, and that there are many persons 

 who are able and glad to give more to the 

 Association than the old schedule of dues 

 asked. For this reason a new one has 

 been adopted. The regular membership 

 fee of two dollars remains unchanged in 

 this schedule, but on the other hand, the 

 one dollar subscription to the Forester 

 has been abolished, and single copies are 

 to be sold hereafter for twenty cents each. 

 In other words, those who wish to receive 

 the magazine from now on must become 

 members of the Association. 



The Western At a time when a prom- 

 Hemlock, inent feature of the East- 

 ern lumber situation is 

 the problematical condition of the Hem- 

 lock market, the first organized attempt to 

 rescue the Western species" from obscurity 

 and to give it a place among high-grade 

 timbers, is being made. Government in- 



vestigations have been begun and the press 

 has been made the agent for circulating 

 information about the merits of the West- 

 ern Hemlock throughout the country. 



Notwithstanding its excellence for many 

 uses, this wood has heretofore been almost 

 unrecognized and wholly without place in 

 the market. This has been partly because 

 Red Fir was so cheap that there was no 

 incentive to use Hemlock, but the chief 

 reason has been its unfortunate name. 

 Although different and better in almost 

 every respect, it has been condemned with- 

 out trial on the reputation of its Eastern 

 relative. 



The difficulty of using it is a serious 

 factor in the Northwestern lumber situa- 

 tion and results in a large annual loss. In 

 the States of Oregon and Washington 

 Hemlock makes up nearly thirteen per 

 cent, of the standing timber. Seldom 

 occurring in pure stands, it grows together 

 with Red Fir and other merchantable 

 species. The result is that after logging 

 it is left standing and almost invariably 

 is destroyed by fire, wind, or insects. 

 Were it possible to save it until it becomes 

 valuable, the question would be less 

 serious. 



As a timber tree, the chief fault of the 

 Western Hemlock is its variability. Nor- 

 mally it is light, rather hard, straight- 

 grained, tough and usually white. In points 

 of strength, ease of working, and freedom 

 from warp, or windshake, it is especi- 

 ally unlike the Eastern species. It is 

 very light and tasteless, and therefore 

 adapted for box material. It makes a 

 handsome finishing wood, and is strong 

 enough for ordinary building purposes. 

 As pulp wood it is said to be superior to 

 the Eastern species, but is not white 

 enough to be used in any mills but those 

 employing the chemical processes. It has 

 proved satisfactory for woodenware stock, 

 and in this form and as box wood it is 

 already sold to some extent under the alias 

 of Spruce. 



It is true that though it possesses these 

 qualities when at its best, Western Hem- 

 lock is liable to many defects. The heart- 

 wood is frequently discolored, fungous dis- 

 eases produce what are known as " black 



