436 LUMBER REGION OF NORTHERN NEW YORK. 



The lumber region of N'orthern Neio TorJc. 



Aronnd the upper waters of the Hudson, between Lake Champlain 

 and the Black Eiver, and northward of the Mohawk, lies a large ele- 

 vated and broken region, almost wholly covered with forests, and a large 

 part of it unfit for cultivation on account of swamps, broken ridges of 

 rock, poverty of soil, and liability to summer frosts. The eastern part 

 is mountainous, and this region, by those living to the eastward, is often 

 known as the " Adirondac Wilderness," while on the western border, 

 from a conspicuous but unsuccessful attempt at settlement at an early 

 period by Mr. John Brown, of Providence, E. I., the whole region has 

 received the name of " Brown's Tract," although strictly applicable to 

 only a small part in Herkimer and Lewis Counties. 



No separate statements of the timber and lumber pro<luct of this re- 

 gion can be given, excepting as they may appear in statistics of trans- 

 portation. A few years since, a project was entertained of holding a 

 part of this forest region as a State park, in order to insure permanence 

 in the water-supply for the State canals, and for manufacturing interests, 

 but insuperable difficulties were found in the fact that the soil belonged 

 chiefly to private owners, and could not be acquired without unreason- 

 able cost. Furthermore, the physical conditions of the region are such 

 that it must forever remain an uninhabited district — often overrun by 

 fires and cut over where accessible by lumbermen, but when left to itself 

 Ijroducing new growths of timber and a feeble profit upon capital. 



Within the last twenty years extensive tanneries along the western, 

 southern, and eastern borders have made havoc with the native hem- 

 lock timber, which seldom or never is found coming up as a new growth. 

 Much of the timber after peeling has been left to perish, the present 

 conditions of the markets scarcely paying the cost of cutting and trans- 

 portation. 



The proposed Adirondac Park of Northern Neic YorJc. 



Around the head-waters of the Hudson, in Northern New York, in- 

 cluding also a large "region drained by the Black, Indian, Oswegatchie, 

 Grass, Racket, Saint Regis, Salmon, and Ausable Rivers, and their tributa- 

 ries, is a wilderness — for the most part an elevateil plateau — interspersed 

 with swamps and lakes, and on the eastern part broken by lofty mount- 

 ains. It is surrounded by a well-settled region, but it has itself proved 

 incapable of agricultural improvement, being generally frosty and barren. 

 It has been an important source of supply for pine timber, but much of 

 this has been removed, wherever accessible to waters suitable for tioat- 

 ing. It still, however, furnishes a large amount of the coarser kinds of 

 lumber, and supports a considerable number of large t^inneries. Its 

 chief economical value appears to be for the growth of timber, and wood 

 for fuel and charcoal, the latter being needed for metallurgical opera- 

 tions, especially on its eastern border, where rich iron mines occur. The 

 waters from this region afford valuable hydraulic power, and are taken 

 from its southwestern part tor feeding the Erie Canal, which could 

 scarcely be kept navigable in summer but for this source of supply. The 

 streams that traverse this region are navigable by canoes for long dis- 

 tances, and with occasional portages travelers can go entirely across, 

 from the settlements on the Black River and the Saint Lawrence, to 

 those along Lake Champlain, the general elevation of these waters being 

 about 1,700 feet above tide. This circumstance renders it a favorite 

 resort in summer, on account of its picturesque scenery, abundance of 

 lakes, and attractive opportunities for sportsmen. 



These considerations, but chiefly those looking to its importance for 



