30 STATE OF MICHIGAN. 



years old are about 12 inches diameter inside bark, and 50 to 60 feet in 

 lieight. Being exceedingly durable, especially here in its native home in 

 the swamps, the old dead and down material remains useful for many 

 years,, but of course, remains more or less a menace from the fire-protec- 

 tion standpoint, for an equally long period. In most of the swamps of the 

 Reserve the Cedar has been more or less culled, but even where this is the 

 case a more thorough cleaning out of the old dead and down matei*iaLand 

 the removal of the old over-ripe, deteriorating trees appears a.dvisable. 

 In spite of its apparent slow growth, the Cedar seems destined to remain 

 an important tree of the swampwoods, for which it is naturally adapted, 

 and where its ready reproduction and the great value of its soft, durable 

 material must always commend it. 



The Tamarack or Larch on the Reserve resembles the Cedar, is a normal 

 pare of the swampwoods, varies in the proportion which it forms, and 

 presents no peculiarities. Like the Cedar, it reproduces abundantly, comes 

 up in dense thickets and stands crowding, but unlike the Cedar does not 

 endure much shade. It grows rapidly as a young plant and sapling, lets 

 up early, is straight, clean and sound ; attains a height of 70 to 80 feet, 

 but is rarely^a heavy bodied tree, its diameter usually being from 12 to 16 

 inches inside bark. Despised formerly, the Tamarack today is "good 

 timber." 



The Tamarack is now, and promises to be in the future, one of the 

 most valuable trees for these swamp woods. Its slow growth as old timber 

 make it probable that, like Cedar, it is destined to be cut early and thus 

 jH'omises only small but clean, long shafted timber. 



As in the case of Cedar, considerable of the best timber has been cut, 

 but there remains still a goodly number in every swamp which need re- 

 luoval to enable a thrifty and more valuable young growth to take the 

 place of the old, and thus avoid an actual loss from deterioration. 



The Spruce, though far less conspicuous than Cedar and Tamarack, 

 is equally characteristic of these swamps. There is no swamp without 

 n, in, one place it is abundant, in few cases it predo^minates ; in one place 

 it occurs only as a stand of old trees, in another it is found only as young 

 growth or sapling material. Generally a poorer seeder, it reproduces 

 much less abundantly and uniformly than Cedar and Tamarack; it grows 

 more slowly, more steadily, stands crowding and shade as elsewhere; 

 cleans fairly -well in the swampwoods, but remains behind the Tama- 

 rack even for size. A height of 60 to 70 feet, and diameter of nine to 12 

 inches inside bark is attained at an age of about 100 years and appears 

 to be about the normal for this tree in this locality. Though culled, con- 

 siderable old over-ripe material of this species still remains to be removed. 

 To what extent the Spruce will enter into the composition of these swamp 

 woods in the future must remain a problem, but until replaced by some- 

 thing better this tree deserves consideration. 



The Balsam, though common and quite characteristic of all swamp 

 woods of the district needs hardly more than mention. It forms but a 

 small part of these woods, being evidently deficient in its reproduction. 

 It grows, thriftily as a small plant and sapling, grows faster than Spruce, 

 but'like SjJTUce remains smaller than the Tamarack. 



Generally it may be said that throughout the Reserve* these swamp 

 conifers, Cedar, Tamarack, Spruce and Balsam are restricted to the 

 swamp and refuse to come out on the dry uplands, as they often do in 

 other localities and on different soils. 



