Special Uses op The Forest. 



.29 



]iroduction reported recently is 329,000 board feet annually, valued 

 at $9,870. It is shipped in the log, because it takes a lower customs 

 duty and is the more readily available for the various forms into 

 which it is finally manufactured. Most of it is used for veneer, ex- 

 cept walnut, which is largely and increasingly used for gun stocks. 

 Six counties within a radius of 50 miles of Baltimore reported ship- 

 ments of export logs in lOl-i. 



Pinwood. — The only county in the State to report this product was 

 Washington County, with -1:40 cords valued at $3,960. For this pur- 

 ]>ose locust is used, cut iut-o lengths of approximate!}^ 4 feet, and sold 

 l)y the cord to a large estal)lishment at Hagerstown which produces 

 considerable cpiantities of insulator pins. Though red oak also is 

 somewhat used, black locust constitutes the chief source of the tele- 

 graph pin manufacturer 's wood supply. 



SPECIAL USES OF THE FOREST. 



Among the special uses of the forests not directly associated with 

 timber production are the growing of basket willow, the production of 

 ]uaple sirup and sugar, and the manufacture of charcoal. These are 

 all uses and products that may more properly be classed under the 

 forest than any other division, and while they are somewhat localized, 

 they nevertheless comprise important industries. 



Willow Production. — The growing of basket Avillows is an import- 

 ant industry in the vicinity of Baltimore. The other centres are 

 Lansdowne, Halethorpe, Elkridge and Laurel, with scattered planta- 

 tions at Frederick, Buckeystown, Rosedale, Catonsville and Crowns- 

 ville. Three kinds of willow are used — the Lemley, American Green, 

 and Welsh — and instead of being permitted to grow to tree form they 

 are annually cut back to near the surface of the ground. The rods 

 which represent a season's growth are from 4 to 10 feet in length, are 

 cut during the winter, peeled, and sold to basket makers and dealers 

 liy the pound. The production reported in 1914 amounted to 400,000 

 pounds, valued at $30,000. Due to the widespread cutting off of im^ 

 ports from Europe during this year and several following, willow 

 growing in this country, including Maryland, has been markedly 

 stimulated. 



Maple Sirup and Sugar. — The Sugar Maple is a tree indigenous 

 to momitain sections, occurring locally over restricted areas in Gar- 

 rett County. The principal stands are in the vicinity of Grantsville 

 and Bittinger, with very much smaller ones near Hoyes Run and the 

 southwestern part of the county. It is the practice in these sections, 

 in cutting woodlands Avhere Sugar Maple constitutes a considerable 

 percentage of the stand, to take out all but these trees, which then are 



