20 



The Forests of Maryland. 



tops and brandies, no portion is immune. It is disseminated by means 

 of spores carried by the wind, insects, or other agencies, and the spores 

 germinate in cracks or abrasions of the liark, sending their root-like 

 structure into the inner bark and developing a canker which soon 

 encircles the portion of the tree attacked, causing its death. It only 

 works in the inner bark and one or two outer rings of the wood, so 

 that the timber itself is not destroyed, and may be used if utilization 

 takes place before natural decay begins. More time and effort have 

 been expended in an entleavor to control this disease than any other 

 tliat has been introduced, but so far they have been without avail, and 

 the only course to pui'sue is that of cutting and utilizing the trees 

 before they are completely killed and nuieli less merchantable. 



This is one of the parasitic fungi which attack living trees, and 

 while there are a number of others that are more or less common, 

 such as peridermium, which attacks the Scrub Pine, they are of so 

 little importance as to reciuire no special mention in a report of this 

 character. 



IMPORTANT TIMBER TREES. 



Of the great variety of commercially valuable timber trees found 

 in the State it is difficult to select those of commanding importance. 

 The variety is so great as to enable the State to furnish material for 

 all uses except those in which tropical woods are required, and 

 while many kinds of Maryland wood have occupied a very important 

 place in numerous industries, the exhaustion of virgin forests with 

 their high-grade material has created the impression among users of 

 timber that satisfactory supplies from this State are no longer avail- 

 able. 



It is true tliat large supplies of a single kind of material are not 

 easily obtained at any one point, but a better understanding of tbe 

 available supplies in different parts of the State, with improved 

 metliods of exchange will, it is believed, help to overcome this diffi- 

 culty. There have been numerous instances of manufacturers import- 

 ing woods at a high cost, where equally good supplies might have 

 been secured within the State at greatly reduced prices. In one case a 

 large wood-user had imported a special kind of wood from Michigan 

 at considerable expense until he found that a species, native to this 

 State and connnon to his own county, though not generally used, was 

 just as good for his purpose, and could be ol)tained at one-third of the 

 cost. 



NATIVE FOREST TREES. 



There are 70 species of trees in the State which may be classed as 

 such, although some of them are of very little importance. In the 



