506 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS. 



divided into two parties, each fully organized, and with the knowledge 

 of local conditions given by previous experience it was possible to 

 push the work rapidly to completion. The stand was actually meas- 

 ured upon 5,481 acres, and the volume and rate of growth of 2,058 

 trees were determined. The most difficult problem with which the 

 working plan had to deal was to increase upon cut-over lands the 

 reproduction of the Spruce, which under present methods of lumbering 

 does not compete successfully with the Balsam. The working plan 

 will include a discussion of the silvicultural characteristics of the 

 commercial trees and diagrams giving their rate of growth in diameter, 

 height, and merchantable contents. Detailed regulations for lumber- 

 ingwill be given, which indicate a diameter limit for the Spruce below 

 which no tree should be cut, and provide in other ways for the pro- 

 duction of an abundant second crop. A detailed forest map will 

 accompany the working plan showing the several forest types, the 

 localities in which lumbering has been carried on, and the areas which 

 have been burned over. 



Working Plans in Preparation. 



Under the terms of Circular No. 21 preliminary examinations were 

 made during the year of ten timber tracts in the States of Alabama, 

 Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, New Hampshire, New York, 

 and Pennsylvania, comprising a total area of 415,522 acres. Upon 

 seven of the tracts examined it was found that the applifeation of 

 practical forestry would be sound business policy, and the prepara- 

 tion of detailed working plans was therefore recommended. For six 

 of the seven tracts this recommendation was approved by the owners. 

 The total estimated cost to them for the plans will be $3,150. 



One of the tracts examined during the year, for which the study 

 required for the preparation of a working plan has been begun, is that 

 of the Blue Mountain Forest Association, in Sullivan County, N. H. 

 The forest, which comprises an area of 26,000 acres, consists mainly 

 of Spruce in mixture with commercial hardwoods. The generally 

 good quality of the stand and its nearness to market make the tract 

 particularly favorable for conservative lumbering. The working 

 plan will include a detailed forest map, an estimate of the stand of 

 commercial timber and its rate of growth, and a thorough study of the 

 present condition of the forest as a basis for plans for its best devel- 

 opment. The present method of lumbering will be given careful 

 study with a view to advisable modifications. 



ALLEGHANY SPRUCE AND HARDWOODS. 



Another tract for which the field work incident to a working plan 

 was commenced during the past year comprises 50,000 acres of 

 the holdings of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in Webster, Nich- 

 olas, and Pocahontas counties, W. Va. This mountain forest con- 

 tains, in addition to valuable hardwoods — among which are Yellow 

 Poplar, Basswood, Cucumber, Black Cherry, and Ash — a heavy stand 

 of Spruce on the higher slopes. The composition and quality of the 

 forest may be improved without appreciable reduction in returns 

 from lumbering. The ownership of the tract is such that a steady 

 income is preferable to a speedy return. In addition to estimates of 

 stand and rate of growth, and to tlie results of silvicultural study, the 

 working plan will consider the logging problem under existing condi- 

 tions. The latter is here the most difacult factor in conservative 



