March 28, 18 



■] 



Garden and Forest. 



59 



represented is, in so far as the specimens brought back can be 

 determined, PopuliLs trichocarpa, but there is little doubt that 

 the Balsam Poplar also occurs. Trees six feet in diameter 

 were seen on the Stikive River, but further inland they were 

 very rarely found to reach a diameter of three feet. 



Greater interest, from a botanical point of view, attaches to 

 the trees of which the ranges are more restricted. The Black 

 V\'aii{Pinus Murrayana), so common in the interior to the south, 

 is also pretty widely distributed in this northern country. It is 

 found in abundance on the Stikive immediately to the east of 

 the coast mountains and thence inland. It was observed on 

 the Dease and Upper Liard, and from the mouth of the Dease 

 (according to specimens sent back by Mr. R. G. McConnell), 

 down the Liard to Devil's Portage, some miles east of the 

 range which appears to represent the northern continuation of 

 the Rocky Mountains proper. Further east, the Banksian Pine 

 becomes characteristic of the great valley of the Mackenzie, 

 which is here entered ; but this tree does not extend to the 

 west of the Rocky Mountains, on the head-waters of the Liard. 

 Pinus Murrayana reaches nearly to Finlayson Lake, its most 

 northern source, but does not occur on the Upper Pelly, in 

 descending which it was first met with in longitude 133' 30'. 

 From this point, down the Pelly and up the whole length of 

 the Lewes, it is moderately abundant. On the authority of Mr. 

 W. H. Dalls the northern limit of this tree has been given as 

 at the confluence of the Pelly and Lewes (lat. 62° 49'), but as it 

 there shows no sign of having reached its extreme point, it 

 may probably be found some distance further northward in 

 the Yukon Valley, though not as far as the mouth of the Por- 

 cupine, in latitude 66' 2}3'. 



The known range of the common Larch {Larix Americana) 

 has by the observations of the past summer been definitely 

 carried to the west of the Rocky Mountains. It extends west- 

 ward on the Dease River to a point twenty-two miles above 

 the mouth of that stream, and along the upper Liard and 

 Frances Rivers spreads northward nearly to Finlayson Lake, 

 reaching latitude 61° 35'. Between these limits it is abundant 

 andcharacteristicof cold, swampy ground. It was looked for all 

 along the Pelly, but not found either on this or the Lewes 

 branch of the Yukon. It appears probable, however, that this 

 tree will eventually be proved to characterize the sub-arctic 

 country, further to the north, from the Mackenzie Valley 

 nearly to the shores of Behring Sea, as Dall, in his well known 

 work on Alaska, mentions the occurrence of a Larch on the 

 lower Yukon (as L. microcarpa ? and L. Daviirica?), v{h\c\\ 

 can scarcely be any other than this species. Larix Lyallii, 

 which about the 49th and 51st parallels in the Rocky Mountains 

 is the most characteristic tree at the timber-line, was not found 

 in the region now in question and would therefore appear to 

 be a relatively southern mountain species. 



The Birch \Betula papyrifcra) was first seen to the east of 

 the coast mountains in the Stikive Valley and occurs sporadi- 

 cally along the river-valleys throughout the interior. It is 

 quite abundant on Frances Lake, near the head of the Liard, 

 but was not observed on the upper Pelly east of the 131st 

 meridian. 



Jiiniperus Virginiana was observed as a small tree, with 

 trunks six inches in diameter, at Telegraph Creek on the Sti- 

 kive in the dry country in the lee of the coast mountains, but 

 was not elsewhere found in an arboreal form. The Alder (pro- 

 bably Alniis rubra) and one or more species of Willow become 

 small trees along some of the rivers of the interior, the Alder 

 being noted as specially abundant and large on the Pelly above 

 the mouth of the Lewes. 



As already noted, the timber-line was found to be at about 

 4,200 feet on the mountains of the interior near the watershed 

 between the Liard and Pelly (lat. 61° 30'). At a similar dis- 

 tance from the Pacific coast, in the corresponding range of 

 the Cordillera in latitude 51°, this line is at an altitude of about 

 7,000 feet, showing a descent to the north of 2,800 feet in ten and 

 a half degrees of latitude, or about 280 feet for each degree. 



It is generally stated that the influence of the warm waters 

 of the Pacific "Gulf stream," reaching the northern part of the 

 west coastand flowing southward along it, is such as to produce 

 a nearly identical climate and Flora from the Strait of Fuca far to 

 the north. While this is true in a general way, it is a mistake to 

 suppose that no effect is produced by increasing latitude. The_ 

 most marked change of climate, as indicated by the arboreal' 

 vegetation, nearly coincides with Dixon Entrance and the 54th 

 parallel. North of this the forest is usually inferior in growth 

 and the quantity of marketable timber is much smaller? The 

 ^<id.Q&A^x {Thuya gioa7ifea) is not found in any abundance, 

 north of the latitude of the mouth of the Stikive, and though 

 closely looked for along the coast in the vicinity of Lynn Canal, 

 no single specimen of it was detected there. 



The YellowCedar(C/;a;«a'g/^«rzVA«/?'/a(?«jzj) scarcely reaches 

 Sitka, and is not anywhere found among the inner islands near 

 the entrance of Lynn Canal. The Alder {Alnus ?-ubra) forms 

 groves along the shores at least as far north as latitude 59°. 

 Tlie western Crab-apple (Pyrvs riinilaris) occurs here and there 

 as far north as Lynn Canal. The Broad-leaved Maple {Acer 

 inacrophylluin) may reach latitude S5° as stated by Prof. Sar- 

 gent in his Census report, but was not observed by me, and 

 must be rare. North of the Prince of Wales Archipelago, 

 eight- tenths of the entire forest of the coast region appears t(i 

 consist of the single tree Menzie's Spruce [Picca Sitchciisis). 



Pinus contorta was noted at the head of Lynn Canal and 

 elsewhere along the coast. Here also, in the valley of tin.' 

 stream on the west side of the Chilkoot or Perrier Pass, by 

 which the coast mountains are crossed, Tsuga Pattonian'a 

 grows to a fair size and forms entire groves. It ^vas foimd as 

 well within a few hundred feet of the'summit of the pass ataji 

 altitude exceeding 3,000 feet, in a prostrate form, but still fre- 

 quently bearing cones. Abies amabilis (?) was also noted in 

 the valley of the west slope of the pass and occurs along Lvnn 

 Canal and other parts of the coast. Unfortunately no cones of 

 this tree were found. 



I am indebted to Prof. J. Macoun and Prof. C. S. Sargent for 

 the determination of most of the specimens of trees collected. 



George M. Dawson. 



The Forests of New Jerse}-. 



pROFESSOR Geo. H. Cooke, Director of the State Geologi- 

 -'- cal Survey of New Jersey, states in a recent report that 

 the total area of woodland in that State amounts to 2,069,805 

 acres, or 41.5 per cent, of the total area of the State. The 

 growing of Chestnut timber for railroad ties on the untillable 

 lands of northern New Jersey is recommended, as there is 

 always a demand for them by the numerous railroads crossing 

 the State in every direction. Chestnut stump-land sells for 

 from $1.00 to $5.00 per acre, a growth of thirty years at from 

 $10.00 to $30.00 an acre ; of fifty years from $25,00 to $50.00 

 an acre. But in many cases good growths, accessible to mar- 

 kets, have sold at figures three to four-fold greater. The value 

 of the timber depends much on the soil and the location. The 

 time required to grow ties and telegraph poles will average 

 about thirty years. In the northern part of the State the 

 Chestnut grows naturally, and brings the quickest and best 

 returns, although Oak is more valuable when grown. It has 

 been demonstrated that Locust timber can be grown with 

 profit on the 250,000 acres of waste land on the cretaceous 

 formation. It is possible to raise on good land a crop worth 

 $3,000 per acre in thirty years, and returns at the rate of $2,000 

 are not uncommon. The growing of White Cedar timber is 

 generally recognized as profitable. The value of stump-land 

 is from $5.00 to $10.00; of twenty years' growth of timber from 

 $5.00 to $50.00 ; of thirty-five years from $15.00 to $200.00 ; and 

 of fifty years growth from $75.00 to $400.00. Of course, loca- 

 tion and size have much to do with the price. A swamp of 

 seventy years' growth recently sold for $800.00 per acre. 



The Pitch Pine {Pinus rigitfa) in the southern and central 

 parts of the State attains a size suitable for firewood in about 

 fifteen or twenty years. It is commonly estimated that it will 

 produce as many cords per acre as it has been years in grow- 

 ing. The present value of Pine wood per acre standing aver- 

 ages about $1.00. When the timber becomes larger, its value 

 per cord increases, and it finds a market for lumber and lath, 

 for piling and other purposes. The following figures are from 

 estimates of men familiar with the Pine forests, and the wide 

 range is due to difference in accessibilit)' and the producing 

 power of the land. Pine stump-land ranges from $0. 10 to $5.00 

 per acre. Of course, this does not include the figures from 

 localities where the land has a value of from $10.00 to $25.00 

 per acre for cultivation. The value of thirty years' growth of 

 timber is from $5.00 to $25.00 ; of fifty ve.ars' from $ro.oo to 

 $100.00. Taking figures pertaining to the average of the bet- 

 ter two-thirds of Pine land as a guide, the present conditions 

 would give about the following results : 



Cost of stump land, per too acres $250.00 



Taxes on averag-e value, 30 years, . . . 448.00 



Policing and protection, 30 years 120.00 



Interest, at 6 per cent., 450.00 



Total expenditure $1,268.00 



Value of 30 years' growth, for 100 acres, . . 2,500.00 

 \'alue of stump land, 250.00 



Total value $2,750.00 



Profit 1,482.00 



