122 THE BOOK OF FORESTRY 
tree of commerce. Pine deals and square hewn timbers 
were shipped to all parts of the world, but so plentiful 
was the supply that only the best trees were cut, and 
the forest cover was scarcely broken. After the war 
with Hngland the center of the lumber trade shifted 
westward to New York and the same process was 
repeated. 
First the largest pines were cut, then the remainder 
of the pine, then hemlock, primarily for tan bark, next 
the spruce and finally the hardwoods, beech, birch, and 
maple. There are tracts of forest land in Maine that 
are now being cut over for the fourth time, and sad to 
relate, each crop is getting smaller and smaller owing 
to the larger amount removed at successive cuttings. 
Where formerly trees smaller than ten inches diameter 
were left on the ground they are now using them down 
to six inches in size. 
The lumber industry in this country has grown with 
leaps and bounds during the past sixty years and at 
present ranks third in the list, being surpassed by 
agriculture and the iron industry. An idea may be 
gained of the vastness of the lumber industry and all 
phases of manufacture when it is realized that more 
than one billion dollars are invested in timber, mills, 
and factories, 784,000 men are employed and the 
annual output of mills and factories amounts to 
$1,156,000,000. Figures are at best dry reading and 
the real heart of lumbering is located in the woods 
where the raw material is obtained. Owing to the 
size of this country and the wide range of conditions, 
different mehods of lumbering are used so only the 
most important will be described in detail. 
Harvesting the Forest Crop.—The oldest type of log- 
ging in the country is the spruce and pine operation of 
