574 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



is much improved, and it is believed 

 promises well for the future. 



During the fiscal year of 1911 the 

 work on the State highways has been 

 supervised by this office as in previous 

 years, and we have given it our best 

 attention. Not only has work been 

 done against the gypsy and brown-tail 

 moths, but we have also worked against 

 the elm-leaf beetle in the moth-infested 

 section of the State. The condition of 

 the State highways at the present time 

 is very much improved, as far as the 

 gypsy and brown-tail moth infestation 

 is concerned, and is not at all serious. 

 A general infestation of the elm-leaf 

 beetle occurs throughout the district on 

 the highways, and in irost places is 

 serious, and will necessitate very care- 

 ful spraying during the next summer 

 season. 



The amount expended this year is 

 somewhat increased over the previous 



year, owing to the fact that in 1910 the 

 government took care of several miles 

 of State highways which had been 

 turned over to the care of the highway 

 department during this year. 



In view of the fact that a feeling has 

 been entertained by some people in the 

 State that infantile paralysis has been 

 caused in some instances by arsenate of 

 lead used in spraying, 'for the gypsy and 

 brown-tail moths, the State Forester 

 has caused a rigid investigation to be 

 made in order to determine if there is 

 any foundation upon which to base 

 such fears. As a result of his research 

 he is firmly convinced that the use of 

 arsenate of lead has in no way been 

 responsible for the existence of the dis- 

 ease, and apprehends no danger in the 

 future from its use. 



*By courtesy of the Massachusetts State 

 Forestry Department. 



GREAT LOSS FROM YUKON FOREST FIRES 



C 



'ONSUL G. C. COLE, Dawson 

 Yukon Territory, Canada, reports 

 'as follows : 



The timber referred to in the an- 

 nexed paragraphs from the Dawson 

 Daily News of May 28 is spruce. In 

 fact, nearly one-half of the whole 

 Yukon Valley, including that part in 

 Alaska, contains a dense growth of 

 spruce (of a size suitable for pulp and 

 firewood only) which, if protected and 

 utilized, is worth more than the valley's 

 gold. 



Timber destroyed by forest fires in 

 Yukon Territory the last two weeks 

 was worth millions of dollars. Men 

 engaged in the wood business say it 

 might be placed at $100,000,000 or even 

 more. A well-known Dawson wood 

 dealer remarked: 



"It is easy enough to arrive at the 

 fact that wood destroyed was worth 

 millions. The Yukon Gold Co. burns 

 at its thawing plants $500,000 worth 

 of wood in a season of less than six 

 months, yet the removal of that wood 

 scarcely makes a noticeable hole in the 

 foiest. Dawson has been burning a 

 large amount of wood for 14 years, and 

 for a long time much, if not the most, 

 of it has come from two gulches north 

 of town. Those gulches have pro- 



duced millions of dollars' worth of 

 wood. 



"These forest fires are sweeping over 

 hundreds of miles of virgin timber. 

 One patch reported burned south of 

 Dawson is said to be 8 by 50 miles. In 

 that area alone are thousands of gulches 

 each containing tens of thousands of 

 cords of wood. The loss there alone 

 easily mounts into many millions. Some 

 may say the timber burned was of no 

 value because it stood where it would 

 not be touched in many years, and 

 possibly never. I say it is all valuable. 

 The future of this region and the great 

 outside demand which is calling for 

 timber of the class we have here for 

 pulp and other purposes must be con- 

 sidered. The fine timber of Yukon now 

 destroyed by fire can not be replaced 

 in 100 years. True, the large trees are 

 fit for wood after the fire goes through, 

 but woodmen estimate that a fourth of 

 the good wood is consumed. 



"Wood cut and placed on the river 

 bank costs the chopper $3 to $5 a cord. 

 To bring it to Dawson from near the 

 White costs $1.50 a cord. The large 

 contractor tries to clear about $1.50 per 

 cord on wood delivered here. Running 

 the risk of loss by fires of the kind 

 now raging, he is taking great chances." 



