68 PRACTICAL ARBORICULTURE 



WOOD PULP AND PAPER. 



During the month of January we made an extended visit into Maine, 

 visited some of the largest wood pulp mills and paper manufactories of that 

 state and made some investigations of the forest conditions with special refer- 

 ence to the future supply of materials for paper stock. 



The forests of Maine, once so noted for ship building materials, and from 

 which so vast amount of white pine has been marketed, while still producing 

 much valuable timber, have lost their prestige in this particular. A few 

 schooners of large size are being built at Bath, but not to the extent which 

 was done in years past. 



Once the pine trees of that state supplied the masts as well as the plank- 

 ing and frames of vessels, but enough may be judged of the timber situation 

 when it is learned that Oregon and Washington now supply the masts and 

 spars for the Maine built ships. 



Where the pine has been cleared away an assortment of soft wood, as 

 well as hard wood trees have come in to supply the vacancies made in clearing. 

 Birch, of various kinds, poplars, of all sorts, and similar trees having fine, 

 winged seeds, which are blown by the wind for long distances, and spruce, 

 where there are seed trees near, are first to make their appearance. For, in 

 this moist region, nature will always have good soil and ample moisture to 

 reproduce some kind of a forest, if man will but keep the fires out. 



It is from these second growth trees that wood pulp is made. 



Where it abounds, spruce is the wood mostly in demand for paper. Yet a 

 majority of the mills are using poplar, which possesses a very good fibre for 

 pulp. 



The populus family comprises quite a large group, among which are the 

 Aspen, Populus trcmnloidcs, Abele, P. alba (from Europe), Large toothed 

 Aspen. P. grandidentata, Carolina Poplar, or Cottonwood, P. nwnilifcra. 

 Balsam Poplar, P. balsaniifcra, Balm of Gilead, a sub variety, Lombardy 

 Poplar, P. dilataia, (from Italy) and several others, all of which are suitable 

 for paper pulp. 



With trees so quickly grown, so readily propagated from cuttings, or 

 self sown by natural seeding, the problem of future wood supply may be easily 

 solved, requiring only the ordinary forethought and business management of 

 corporations owning large tracts of land, together with a generous forest policy 

 by the states which are greatly interested in this industry. 



It is now recognized that good paper pulp can be manufactured from 



