252 REPORT OF THE FORESTRY COMMITTEE 



A still more encouraging undertaking is the recent erection of a plant at 

 Marshfield, Oregon, which by means of the sulphate process will produce forty 

 tons of paper pulp daily from sawmill waste. 



Investigations and investments of private capital made in the South for 

 many years have resulted in the development of processes and plants which have 

 given promise of commercially successful utilization of yellow pine waste for 

 the production of turpentine, alcohol, oils, charcoal and paper, but the decline in 

 the price of gum turpentine and resin during the past two years has prevented 

 the realization of anticipated profits. 



A PENNSYLVANIA OPERATION 



DURING the past summer a member of the Committee (Mr. Ziegler) had 

 an opportunity to examine a lumbering operation in Pennsylvania, which 

 affords one of the best examples of close timber utilization to be found 

 in the country. It is worth while, therefore, to reproduce his notes, as follows 

 (it is understood that they are subject to correction as to details) : 



"An examination of one of the few remaining large lumbering opera- 

 tions in Pennsylvania reveals an economy in wood utilization which would 

 have been pronounced visionary and incredible if it had been prophesied 

 30 or 40 years ago. It is also truly prophetic of what will be possible in the 

 future in the last stand of the original forest in the Pacific Northwest, and 

 is worth study for that reason. 



"The time for the examination was limited to one and one-half days — 

 which was entirely inadequate for the size of the operation, and some of the 

 notes show only approximate figures, but are good enough to indicate how 

 economically the operation is carried on. 



"The tract in question is located in the Northern AUeghanies and con- 

 sists of little less than 30,000 acres of hemlock with a scattered stand of 

 hardwood. The country is rugged and consists of ridges and narrow valleys 

 which radiate largely from one drainage creek. 



"This central drainage creek is 13 miles from the main line of railroad, 

 and a logging road (standard gauge) was constructed over a ridge and down 

 one of the tributary valleys or ravines to this central creek valley where the 

 sawmill, stave mill and distillation plants are located, as well as the main 

 timber town. The logging is done by rail with a track laid up each ravine. 

 Horses are used only to pull the logs down the slopes to the skidways along 

 the track where the slopes are not steep enough to shoot the logs down slides 

 made of hewn logs. 



"The mill town is a clean, well-ordered town with electric lights, water 

 and baths in the houses and a sewage system. Not a saloon is allowed in 

 the town. This has all been done with a knowledge that the town would 

 live only ten years — the period of lumbering the tract. 



"The stave mill is about one mile below the sawmill, and the chemical 

 plant about a mile below the stave mill. 



"The forest consists of mature hemlock averaging 18 M ft. to the acre, 

 with about 4 M ft. of .first-class logs and 12 to 20 cords inferior stock, of 

 beech, yellow birch and maple (sugar and red or soft), with a little black 

 cherry. The hemlock is heaviest along the ravines and flats, while the hard- 

 woods are best on the slopes and ridges. Hemlock often runs up to 40 M ft. 

 per acre, and the trees reach a maximum at about 3 feet in diameter at 

 breast height and a height of 80 to 100 feet. 



