14 NORTHERN SPRUCE TYPE 



commonly been grants of thousands of acres issued to one paten- 

 tee. Hence their history is easy to trace. Claims of title are, 

 however, sometimes obscure from the fact that the tracts of 



^65 PER M 



S;5 PER M BOARD FEET 



1910 1911 1912 1913 191i 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 

 Fig. 3. Wholesale Prices of Spruce Frames, 1910-1920, Boston. Mass. 



moimtain land upon which spruce grows have only recently had 

 a merchantable value and their early owners were lax in recording 

 transfers and alienationf=. Breaks in the chain of title are not 

 uncommon either due to simple failure to record sales and 



