Report of the Forest Commission. 123 



In the Albany lumber market the log run brings about $14 

 per 1,000 feet. There is very little clear stuff to be sorted out ; 

 a small percentage of clear inch, however, is generally selected 

 which sells for $23 per 1,000 feet. For this market it is sawed 

 largely into nine-inch boards, and into two-inch planks, nine 

 inches wide ; also into 2 by 10-inch planks. Shingles made from 

 spruce are of inferior quality, and not durable ; hence it is seldom 

 used for this purpose. The wood decays rapidly when exposed 

 to the weather, but when protected it will compare favorably 

 with other softwoods in durability. The trees of this species 

 growing in a dense forest furnish tall tapering trunks, free from 

 branches, with an elastic, straight-grained timber, which makes 

 it very desirable for spars and piles. One firm of lumbermen in 

 the Adirondack region ships annually a large quantity of this 

 timber " in the round," the full length of the tree, for this pur- 

 pose. It is used in boat building, the base of the tree and princi- 

 pal roots furnishing knees, while the best quality of the straight- 

 grained planks taken from the butt logs are manufactured into 

 oars. In the southern part of the Adirondack forest the best 

 trees are selected, from which the clear butt logs are taken for 

 the manufacture of sounding boards for pianos. Only choice 

 logs are used for this purpose, and these are " quarter sawed " 

 into boards five-eighths of an inch thick. This class of lumber is 

 worth $35 per 1,000 feet at the mills. The logs cut for this pur- 

 pose are known in the trade as u fiddle butts." 



Mention should be made here, also, of the resinous gum which 

 exudes from the tree trunks of this species, and which, after 

 undergoing a slight preparation, is sold for chewing gum. A 

 large number of men known as gum-pickers follow this industry 

 during the winter months, obtaining a good livelihood from 

 this peculiar work. Years ago a favorite drink known as spruce 

 beer was made by boiling the young branches and evaporating 

 the infusion, but its place as a beverage has been so largely 

 taken by other drinks that now one seldom sees or hears of the 

 old-fashioned " spruce beer." This decoction of the spruce twigs 

 has valuable medicinal properties, and is a well-known antidote 

 to the form of scurvy prevalent among seamen while on long 

 voyages. 



The wood furnishes an inferior quality of fuel, giving out little 

 heat comparatively, and, owing to the air contained in it, causing 



