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The Forests op Maryland. 



Mixed oaks — which include the Spanish, scarlet, pin and red oaks 

 — are generally distributed over the county, but are most abundant in 

 the southern and southeastern sections. Scarlet, post and black oaks 

 occur on the ridges in the poorer and dryer soils, while the pin, red 

 and Spanish oaks are more commonly found on the lower slopes and 

 along the streams, where conditions of soil and moisture are usually 

 more favorable. Tulip poplar occurs in all parts of Montgomery 

 County, but is not present in sufficient quantity to constitute a very 

 important factor. It grows on the deep, moist soils adjacent to ravines 

 and streams, almost invariably in mixture with other species and 

 forming but a small percentage of the whole. Individual trees grow- 

 ing in favorable locations attain large dimensons, but the high value of 

 this species has encouraged its cutting to such an extent that practi- 

 cally none of the original growth is left. 



The forests of Montgomery County are 94 per cent hardwood, 4 

 per cent pine, and 2 per cent mixed hardwood and pine, according to 

 the Forest Survey made of this county in 1910. There are 4,823 acres 

 of the first-named where the stand equals or exceeds 5,000 board feet 

 per acre, and 59,416 acres of hardwoods amounting to less than this ; 

 272 acres of pine amounting to more than 5,000 feet, and 2,806 acres 

 of less; and 1,504 acres of mixed stands, all below 5,000 feet per acre. 



Uses op the Forests. 



There are 28 large producers of lumber and timber in this county 

 who in 1914 were estimated to have cut and marketed 1,215,545 cubic 

 feet of wood, with a value at the shipping point of $175,422. This is a 

 considerable cut for a county with so small a percentage of forest land, 

 and necessarily exceeds substantially the annual growth. However, it 

 is made possible by the relatively large size of this county's total land 

 area, the seventh in the State in this respect, and it is probable that 

 the present cut may be maintained for several years. In order of 

 amount and value lumber comes first, followed by cordwood, poles, 

 piling, railroad ties, pulpwood, lath, shingles, and tanbark. It wiU be 

 noted that the cut of cordwood is unusually heavy, and it is probably 

 accounted for in part by the nearby market of Washington, as well as 

 that of Rockville, in the county. As to transportation, 15 miles 

 of trolley lines and 32 of railway furnish ample facilities for market- 

 ing the county's forest products. But little manufacturing of wood 

 is conducted, though there are two planing mills and yards at 

 Gaithersburg, with a chair and box manufactory at Washington 

 Grove. 



