200 Proceedings op the 



governmental auspices. These species grow very rap- 

 idly, provided they are planted in low, wet land; and 

 there is an abundance of such land that would grow 

 forests of this class of timber, if properly planted and 

 protected from fire, thereby utilizing, to the best ad- 

 vantage, land that is practically worthless for other 

 purposes. All other classes of deciduous woods (ex- 

 cepting the white or burr oak species) which are now 

 used to considerable extent for cooperage, can be 

 grown on hillsides and other lands which are not 

 valuable for agricultural purposes. ■ 



Some of my cooperage friends are of the opinion 

 that the time has passed when this Association, the 

 Government or its Bureau of Forestry, can render 

 any practical service in this direction. A very large 

 operator in Michigan writes as follows: "I know of 

 nothing that the Government can do, except to encour- 

 age reforestation as much as possible, as I believe the 

 Government owns practically no timber lands on which 

 cooperage material is now growing, and as the timbers 

 used for cooperage material are now in the hands of 

 private holders, the question of handling this class of 

 forest products in a more economical way, with less 

 waste, is entirely beyond the jurisdiction or dictation, 

 in any way, of the general Government. 



"There is a great deal of wasteful extravagane, 

 especially in the South at the present time, in the way 

 of not taking out of the timber tracts all of the timber 

 that might be used, which wastefulness is, in a large 

 degree, practiced on account of the low stumpage cost 

 at which most of these properties were acquired. 



"The question of reforestation of the kinds of timber 

 used for cooperage material is a large one, and it is 

 going to take a great deal of time. These kinds of 

 timber grow much less rapidly than pine, and many 



