SECRETARY'S REPORT. 153 



of little interest to us, as there is probably no part of the 

 United States where it could be raised to advantage in the 

 open air. It is true that in its native locality it is subjected 

 to a high degree of cold, as it grows immediately below the 

 covering of eternal snow which rests on the summit of Leba- 

 non. But the atmosphere even of England is unsuited to its 

 full development, on account of its want of sufficient moisture ; 

 and therefore it must be entirely out of the question to sup- 

 pose that it could flourish in our proverbially bright and dry 

 climate. It seems to partake of the nature of what are called 

 alpine plants ; and every gardener knows that such plants are 

 of all others the most difficult to rear, and that it is next to 

 impossible to supply them with a proper equivalent for the 

 constant shade and moisture which they enjoy on the cloud- 

 capped tops of their native hills. 



It was my intention to have submitted in this place a few 

 practical hints on the subject of planting; but, as complete 

 directions may be found in books easily accessible, I have con- 

 cluded rather to give an account of the mode in which the 

 business of procuring timber and boards, commonly called 

 lumbering, or logging, is carried on in the principal timber 

 regions in Maine. This account was furnished me by a highly- 

 intelligent friend residing in Bangor, and I trust it will be inter- 

 esting from its own merit, as well as from the importance 

 of the branch of industry which it describes. 



" When a lumberer has concluded to log on a particular 

 tract, the first step is, to go with a part of his hands and 

 select suitable situations for building his camps. In making 

 this selection, his object is to be near as possible to the best 

 clumps of timber he intends to haul and to the streams into 

 which he intends to haul it. He then proceeds to build his 

 camps and to cut out and clear out his principal roads. The 

 camps are built of logs, being a kind of log houses. They are 

 made about three feet high on one side, and eight or nine on 

 the other, with a roof slanting one way. The roof is made of 

 shingles split out of green wood and laid upon rafters. The 

 door is made of such boards as can be manufactured out of a 

 log with an axe. Against the tallest side of the camp is built 

 the chimney — the back being formed by the wall of the camp, 

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