FISHERIES, GAME AND FORESTS. 307 



There is an extensive hoop pole industry there, also, which is very destructive to the 

 sapling growth, and which gleans the waste land after the other demands have been 

 supplied. And so, although there are no lumbering operations in the Catskills, in the 

 ordinary sense of the term, the work of the forest destruction is being steadily 

 carried on. 



In the statistics showing the annual consumption of pulp timber no mention is 

 made of any species except spruce. At the same time, other kinds are used to a 

 limited extent in the manufacture of woodpulp. The balsam is cut in considerable 

 quantity where the stock is to be used in a chemical mill ; but this species cannot 

 be used in a mechanical mill — -one where the wood is reduced to fibre on grind- 

 stones — because the large amount of resinous matter gums up the screens. Hemlock 

 can be used in both the mechanical and chemical process; but the paper made from 

 it has a darker shade, and hence is available in small quantities only. Poplar, which 

 fifteen years ago formed the principal stock of the pulp mills, is now used only in two 

 or three mills of this State. This species is still considered the best for the 

 manufacture of the better grades of paper in which a smooth, calendered surface is 

 necessary, as in magazines or illustrated books. 



Of the 298 pulp mills in the United States and Canada, ninety-four, or nearly 

 one-third, are in New York. The Canadian provinces come next with thirty-seven; 

 then Maine and Wisconsin with twenty-nine each ; and then Michigan with eleven. 



The pulp mills of New York represent an investment of over $20,000,000.00, and 

 furnish employment to ten thousand people. To protect this immense industry, and 

 at the same time provide for a future supply of raw material, is a problem in forestry 

 requiring careful study. 



The important relation of the forests to the political economy of the State is not 

 fully understood by our citizens People think of the Empire State as the one with 

 the greatest population, largest cities, and most wealth; they note its great system 

 of railroads, canals, and inland commerce; they see its farms and factories, its schools, 

 churches, magnificent public buildings, and all the evidences of a most advanced 

 civilization. Few think of its forest resources; and, yet, the statistics furnished here 

 show that its annual production of timber is equal to fully three-fourths of the entire 

 Canadian importation of lumber. The protection and Tianagement of this great 

 source of industrial wealth is a question which demands to-day the thoughtful 

 consideration of every citizen. 



WILLIAM F. FOX. 



