FORESTRY 



EDITED BY DR. B. E. FERNOW, 



Director of the New York School of Forestry, Cornell University, assisted by Dr, John C. Gifford, of same 



institution. 



SPRUCE PlLP FOR PAPER. 



Few people realize the immense quantity 

 of wood which is used in the manufacture 

 of paper for our newspapers. One reads 

 all sorts of statesments in reference to this 

 matter, and is often prone to question their 

 exactness. In fact, the quantity of paper 

 used and the quantity of spruce used in its 

 manufacture is so enormously large that 

 without looking into the subject with care 

 we invariably or rather unconsciously pro- 

 nounce such statements exaggerations. I 

 had occasion recently to gather a few sta- 

 tistics first hand, which are instructive from 

 several points of view. 



The New York Journal uses 150 tons 

 of paper daily. One fails to appreciate the 

 magnitude of this amount without actually 

 seeing it in bulk or taking part in the 

 handling of it. To produce this amount 

 of paper 225 cords of spruce are con- 

 sumed. This makes a large pile of wood, 

 and means a great deal of labor in its 

 preparation. It requires 1% cords of wood 

 to produce one ton of pulp. As spruce 

 ordinarily occurs in our Northern moun- 

 tains it averages about 5 cords to the acre. 

 Of course, in Europe, especially in Saxony 

 and Bavaria, where immense quantities are 

 raised for this purpose, it grows in dense 

 pure stands. One acre there produces 

 many times as much. It grows faster and 

 is of better quality. It is all under a sys- 

 tem of intensive management. Owing to 

 the fact that it is concentrated in a bunch 

 there is less expense in working and han- 

 dling it. In this country it is scattered 

 and mixed more or less with hardwoods. 



The Journal, therefore, in one year con- 

 sumes all the spruce on 16,225 acres of 

 land as it grows naturally in our Northern 

 mountains. 



Now, the main points in this connection 

 are simply these — How long will it last 

 and what will be done when it is ex- 

 hausted? 



Much of the spruce which is used is very 

 old, often over 200 years. The smallest 

 and youngest is rarely under 75 years. 

 Now, even if the planting of spruce on a 

 large scale, and it will have to be done on 

 a large scale to supply the demand, which 

 will be immense 75 or 100 years hence, is 

 done soon it will be many years before a 

 crop can be taken. There is bound to be 

 a long interval of great scarcity. This 

 period will be so long, in fact, that some 



other material will be used, and there will 

 follow a change of machinery, etc., etc It 

 seems therefore certain to me that some- 

 thing must be planted for the purpose 

 which will grow quickly; that is, produce 

 good paper material in at least 20 years. It 

 is true that by planting the European or 

 Norway spruce (Picca excels a), which ap- 

 pears to grow much better than our native 

 spruce and as with all trees can be pro- 

 duced much more quickly and of better 

 quality when planted, thinned and properly 

 regulated, good paper material may be pro- 

 duced in 40 years. The qualities of this 

 spruce are well known. It grows well in 

 this climate, and the seeds may easily and 

 cheaply be secured. Forty years, however, 

 is too long in the future. We must, there- 

 fore, select a quicker grower. 



It might be possible, as has been sug- 

 gested and attemped with camphor and 

 rubber, to sow the seeed broadcast, as one 

 would wheat, and then, while still small 

 in height, say, waist high, reap it and con- 

 vert the sticks into pulp. This would turn 

 a forest crop into an agricultural crop. It 

 is, however, very likely impractical, al- 

 though in the cases of camphor and rubber 

 it is possible. 



It seems most likely that we shall have 

 to turn our attention to some quick grow- 

 ing species and move a little farther to the 

 South to enjoy the privilege of a longer 

 growing season. It seems to me, therefore, 

 that the Carolina poplar fills the bill, and 

 that our Southern mountains is the spot 

 where it can be most profitably produced. 

 This poplar grows rapidly, is easily propa- 

 gated from cuttings, and afterward nat- 

 urally produces itself indefinitely from root 

 suckers and stump shoots. 



This tree will not grow in the far North, 

 but there are immense areas in Pennsyl- 

 vania and Southward where it will flourish. 

 The person who plants this tree may there- 

 fore be sure of reaping a rich harvest in the 

 harvest in the course of 20 years. J. 



TO SAVE A PLTRIFIED FOREST. 



Columbus, Ohio. 

 Editor Recreation : 



The prospects are encouraging that the 

 famous petrified forests of Arizona will be 

 preserved in another new national park 

 and public pleasure ground, ranking in 

 grandeur and its natural scenery with the 

 marvels of the Yellowstone National Park, 



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