34 
diameter and below 60 feet in height. Frequently groves of several hun- 
dred acres consist apparently of trees of nearly one age and size. The 
tree reproduces well, grows quite rapidly, but only while young, and is 
generally short lived, reaching its best growth before the eightieth year. 
At present it is not used to any extent, neither stumpage nor logs 
having real commercial value, except in parts of the Jack Pine and Oak 
openings, where it is used as fuel and for farm purposes. The total 
stand of this Pine, if taken down to 4 inches, is about 3,500,000,000 feet, 
of which about 1,700,000,000 might be utilized for dimension stuff while 
the rest could be employed as pulp wood. Its great frugality, ease of 
propagation, rapid growth, and large yields will recommend the Jack 
Pine for the purpose of restocking all poorer sands. 
HEMLOCK. 
Hemlock is confined to the gravelly loam and clay lands of the more 
humid half of north Wisconsin and shares some of the peculiarities of 
the White Pine growing within these limits. It is generally old timber, 
with little indication of active reproduction. Over wide areas only 
large, old trees occur, and in many localities even these are gradually 
dying out. Wherever the forest is partly cleared, where considerable 
pine is removed, the hard woods cut out, clearings and roads opened, 
and also where fire has run, the Hemlock, with its shallow system of 
roots, at once shows its great sensitiveness to any interference in soil 
moisture, and generally all, or at least most, of the trees succumb. In 
this way a large proportion of the Hemlock on the lighter gravelly 
loams of Price, Sawyer, Chippewa, and other counties, and also much 
of the timber on heavier lands in the vicinity of pine slashings, ete., 
has died and now furnishes great quantities of dead and down material 
for future fires, which in turn will decrease the supply of this material, 
the value of which is greatly underestimated. 
There is apparently no lack of seed, for the Hemlock, like Pine, this 
season (1897) was full of cones, and yet there is but very little repro- 
duction of this timber. For miles no young growth of any size is seen, 
and the small trees, often mistaken for saplings, generally prove to be 
runts, suppressed individuals, often 150 and more years old. The only 
places where this tree still seems to hold its own are in some of the wet 
“half swamps” of the eastern part of this area. The young Hemlock 
stands a great deal of shading and close crowding, but grows slowly 
both in height and thickness. The tree does not clean itself well of 
its branches, rarely forks, forms a more tapering trunk than the pines, 
and does not attain their dimensions. In the southern part of its area 
and on the heavier soils it grows to a height of 85 to 100 feet, with a 
diameter of 24 to 30 inches. In the northern counties and on the 
lighter gravels it is usually both shorter and smaller, frequently not 
over 60 feet high and under 20 inches in diameter. Hemlock is gener- 
ally quite sound, but much of it is claimed to be shaky at the butt. 
