242 FORESTRY IN NEW ENGLAND 



One silvicultural advantage of the presence of a railroad is that 

 it enables the owner to market his hardwoods. These cannot be 

 driven on account of their weight, and are, therefore, unmarket- 

 able where driving is the only method of transportation. On the 

 other hand, a railroad nearby tends to encourage heavy cutting 

 and even the stripping of the land, and increases the danger of 

 fire. Heavy cutting is not desirable as a whole in the spruce 

 forest. The cheapness of the logging, where river driving is 

 used, makes it possible, even in the case of a small cut per acre, 

 to leave the small trees standing for further growth. 



In the Vermont section there are more permanent railroads at 

 present and hence the opportunities for rail transportation of 

 logs are relatively better than in the New Hampshire or Maine 

 sections. 



In summary it may be said that the presence of a railroad as 

 a common carrier is desirable, but the presence of special logging 

 railroads with their demand for an exceptionally heavy cutting 

 is a disadvantage from a forestry standpoint. A railroad of the 

 first type offers the owner a chance to sell his hardwoods, but as 

 he is not financially interested in the railroad, and as the railroad 

 will be there permanently and does not depend on log carrying for 

 its main revenue, there is no insistent pressure to strip the land. 



Market Conditions. — The spruce region is essentially a timber- 

 exporting region. The lack of agricultural land and the scarcity 

 of its permanent population prevent any large internal demand 

 for forest products, but it is excellently located for exporting 

 purposes. The market hes naturally to the south, for on the 

 north is the Canadian boundary, with a rather sparsely-settled 

 country, with an abundant supply of spruce. To the south are 

 the numerous manufacturing cities of New England, and the 

 district surrounding New York City — distant only one hundred 

 to three hundred miles from the mills of the spruce region. 

 This southern territory is not only very thickly settled, but it 

 also is an important manufacturing section, calling for all sorts 

 of forest products. 



The effective network of waterways bringing the logs from the 



