19 



Unfortunately the stripping of even our rocky lands of their 

 trees has gone on to an unprofitable degree. A maple tree that 

 will cut two cords of wood is worth on the stump for that 

 purpose about five dollars at the present price of wood and lumber. 

 The annual interest on this sum is from 25 to 30 cents. The tree 

 if left to grow into considerable value for itself will yield an average 

 of three pounds of sugar worth anywhere from 35 to 75 cents accord- 

 ing the intelligence of the maker. To clear off the maple timber from 

 stony land unsuitable for farming purpose is like killing the goose 

 that lays the golden egg. It should not and would not be a crime 

 to cut mature trees; but the sin lies in not allowing others to grow. 

 Reforesting with maple is undoubtedly as important as with pine 

 or spruce. In view of the returns to be expected from each of 

 of these kinds of timber there can be no doubt of the real economy 

 of not only conserving the maples on rough lands but also in taking 

 action to reclothe those rugged districts that have been made utterly 

 barren by the loss of the forest. 



REFORESTING WITH MAPLE. 



In the opinion of Mr. R. H. Campbell, Director of Forestry in 

 the Department of the Interior, it is more profitable to reforest with 

 maple than with white pine. In response to an inquiry as to the 

 relative cost of reforesting with maple as compared with pine Mr. 

 Campbell writes as follows :- 



DEPARTMENT of the INTERIOR, 

 Forestry Branch, 



Ottawa, May, 5th, 1913. 

 J. B. Spencer, Esq., 



Editor Publications Branch, Dept. of Agriculture, 



OTTAWA. 

 Sir: 



I beg to acknowledge your letter of April 25th asking for a com- 

 parison of the maple with the pine or spruce as to the cost and time to 

 bring these trees to a timber size. 



In determining the cost of producing any merchantable timber, 

 there are seven points to be considered, viz: 

 The value of the land. 

 Taxation. 



The cost of plant material. 

 The cost of planting. 

 The cost of management and protection. 

 The rate of interest on money invested. 

 The time for the trees to reach the desirable size. 



