132 Report of the Forest Commission. 



matured spruce for revenue only, still involves a discussion of 

 certain points closely connected with forestry principles. 



No matter how well our people may become educated in the 

 tenets of scientific forestry, or bow amply provided our land- 

 owners may be with skillful, professional foresters, the system 

 under which the Adirondack forest must be managed for years, 

 well or poorly, will be the one known as that of " selection." This 

 is indicated by various conditions. Our forests are already grown, 

 and the market price of their product will not warrant anything 

 in the line of planted forests other than some experimental work. 

 Moreover, as only one merchantable species is accessible, the cut- 

 ting will be limited for a long time to that one species, — the 

 black spruce. In order to insure a future and permanent supply 

 the selection will be further confined to the matured trees, so far 

 as the problem of tree-growth and interest account will permit. 



Aoe or the Spruce. 



Here arises the question, what constitutes a matured spruce in 

 the Adirondack forests ? How old must it be when it grows 

 under natural conditions ? How large, how tall, and what must 

 its diameter be ? Under any system, whether the thinning be 

 done for improvement or revenue, this point is one of the first to 

 be determined. 



For the purpose of obtaining definite information on this sub- 

 ject the Forest Commission instituted some researches, the result of 

 which is here submitted. Acting under definite instructions from 

 the Superintendent some of the foresters, specially detailed for 

 this work, went to different localities in the Adirondack forest, 

 where, by counting the annual rings of tree-growth as revealed 

 by the stumps and cross sections of the trunks, they accumulated 

 a mass of data and statistics which furnish satisfactory informa- 

 tion on this point. In counting the rings on the stumps the for- 

 esters used large magnifying glasses, which were necessary owing 

 to the slow growth of the spruce and crowded condition of the 

 annual rings. In many cases it would be impossible to count 

 these rings, or " grains " as the woodsmen term them, with the 

 naked eye. The rings were counted on the line of the greatest 

 diameter, and from the center along the longest radiating line. 

 Small pins were inserted at every inch, and the rings in each 



