THE STORY OF HEMLOCK 



581 



WHERE HEMLOCK GROWS 



The commercial stands of Eastern 

 hemlock are found principally in Wis- 

 consin, Michigan, West Virginia, Penn- 

 sylvania, New York, and New Eng- 

 land. Timber of excellent quality but 

 not in large amounts grows in the west- 

 ern parts of Virginia and North Caro- 

 lina and the eastern portions of Ken- 

 tucky and Tennessee. It is now more 

 abundant in Wisconsin and Michigan 

 than in any other States, the remaining 

 stand there having been estimated at 

 25,000,000,000 feet. That is sufficient 

 to supply the whole hemlock lumber 

 output, at the present rate of cut, for 

 about ten years. It is believed that 

 not more than half of the hemlock is 

 in Michigan and Wisconsin, and if that 

 shall prove correct, there is supply in 

 sight for twenty years of lumbering. 

 This takes no account of the Western 

 hemlock, which does not occur east of 

 the Rocky Mountains, and which has 

 not yet entered the markets in large 

 amounts. 



The output of hemlock has been de- 

 clining for several years. The cut of 

 lumber in 1912 was 29 per cent less 

 than in 1899. This decline is due solely 

 to the lessening supply of timber. Mill's 

 have been cutting out other hemlock 

 and have not gone to new stands where 

 more could be had. This has been oc- 

 curring throughout the whole range of 

 the tree, from Maine to Minnesota, and 

 from Canada to the southern Appa- 

 lachian States. 



In 1909 a cut of hemlock was re- 

 ported by 8,572 mills in the United 

 States, and in 1912 the number of mills 

 fell to 5,<;14. The decrease in the num- 

 ber of mills, however, was not as great 

 as these figures imply, because in 1912 

 many small mills were omitted from the 

 census returns of lumber. 



The total hemlock lumber production 

 in 1912 was 2.426,554,000 feet, which 

 is 200.000.000 in excess of the total 

 of the above table. This difference rep- 

 resents Western hemlock milled on the 

 Pacific coast. 



Statistics which have been compiled 

 represent fairly well, but not with entire 

 accuracy, the extent of the hemlock- 



lumber operations in the several States. 

 Hemlock logs frequently cross State 

 lines, and what is logged in one State 

 may be sawed into lumber in another. 

 That doubtless occurs in New Jersey. 

 Ohio, and Indiana, which have little 

 standing hemlock timber, yet some mil- 

 lions of feet of logs pass through their 

 mills in the course of a year. Logs are 

 even brought across the line from 

 Canada, and boats on the Great Lakes 

 and ships on the Atlantic Ocean may 

 land in regions where hemlock does not 



grow. 



SFM 



HEMLOCK CONES AND SEEDS, NATURAL SIZE. 



The closed cone is the summer form which retains 

 the seed; the open cone represents it late in 

 winter after the seeds have escaped. 



The trees usually occur in thick- 

 stands, often not associated with any 

 other commercial timber ; but at other 

 times they are mixed with hardwoods. 

 In the former case, a logging operation 

 may handle hemlock only, and cut the 

 tracts clean, leaving no young trees for 

 the future. If the timber is associated 

 with hardwoods, it is customary to 

 lumber all at one operation. When that 

 is done, hemlock and birch usually 

 reach the mills together, also with some 

 maple and birch. 



RAILS INSTEAD OF WATER. 



The spectacular log drives of former 

 years on rivers from Maine to Minne- 

 sota were made up principally of white 



