66 
FORESTS OF WISCONSIN. 
soon grow into valuable timber. Both hardwoods and hemlock are 
rather scattered, except in some of the northern townships. The 
hemlock is estimated at about 120 million feet, the hardwoods, of 
which birch, basswood, and maple are most important, at about 150 
million feet. Of the numerous swamps, which form over 20 per cent, 
of the area, many are open bogs, but the majority are stocked with 
tamarack and cedar and some spruce. Both in the swamps and the 
pine slashings, fire has made much havoc and large areas of bare 
stump wastes are abundant. 
Washburn .—An area involving the northwestern one-third of the 
county with broad arms extending up the Totogatic and Nemakagon 
rivers into Bayfield and Sawyer counties is sandy pinery with large 
bodies of jack and Norway pine, mixed with white pine. The rest of 
the county, generally a gravelly gray loam, was covered by a heavy 
stand of white pine with a light mixture of hardwoods. The pine is 
generally cut; the present stand is estimated at 350 million feet. The 
hardwoods have suffered much from fires and over large areas not a 
foot of merchantable timber exists. The standing hardwoods are 
estimated at about 220 million feet, of which basswood, maple, oak, 
and birch in nearly equal proportions form about 80 per cent. No 
swamp woods of commercial importance are reported. Some of the 
largest areas of perfectly bare, cut, and burned-over lands in Wiscon¬ 
sin occur in this county. 
Wood .—The north half of this county was covered by a heavy stand 
of white pine with a mixture of hardwoods, to which was added a 
sprinkling of hemlock along the north line. South of this the sandy 
loam and loamy sand area was covered by regular pinery, which gave 
way on the west side of the river to an extensive open marsh and 
cranberry bog dotted by sandy, pine covered islands. Extensive 
bodies of jack pine follow up the river into Portage county. 
The pine has nearly all been cut, and the 100 million feet of stand¬ 
ing pine assumed for this county are mostly scattering and sapling 
material. The hardwoods have long been culled in all parts of the 
county and not over 12 per cent, of the area, with a probable stand of 
of about 300 million feet is believed to remain. Of this hardwood over 
half is oak and basswood. The hemlock is confined to the northern 
towns and will cut about 50 million feet. Aside from the large open 
swamp in the southwestern part, there are comparatively few swamps 
in this county. Large cut-over and burned-over areas are numerous, 
and much land is stocked with culled woods furnishing ample fuel, etc. 
Some fine groves of young white pine may be seen along the Green 
Bay and Western R. R. near Grand Rapids. 
