The important timber trees of the United States; a manual of practical forestry ...

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Preface

The sincere but mistaken belief that our forests were inexhaustible was quite a natural one. Such a conolusion arose from their vast extent and vigorous growth, and when a cry for their protection and conservation was heard, it was, at first, deemed but a repetition of theory of "Wolf ! " in the fable, and was unheeded. In the beginning the cry was very faint and apparently far away ; but it grew louder and nearer as the danger of irreparable disaster became more imminent, and we now hear it in strong voice and on every hand. As this awakening to the impending danger has become widespread, there arises in the public mind a strong and earnest desire to know (1) whether the productive capacity of the forests of our country is adequate to meet the demands which will inevitably be made upon them ; and, if not, (2) whether any system of conservation which will make it adequate can be devised and applied. Moreover, the public desires to know (3) whether planting new forests on non-agricultural land, where the axe of the lumberman and successive fires have destroyed all valuable tree-growth, is practicable ; and, if so, (4) what species of trees would best be grown, where they should be planted, and how they can best be propagated and cared for.

A comprehensive answer to the first two of these inquiries must take cognizance of the condition of existing forests and, likewise, their possible future productive capacity. Such answer should show whether we are consuming our forests faster than they grow ; and whether, under any system of forest management, they can be made to meet such future demands as the inevitable increase of population and new uses for forest products are sure to bring about. And the answer to the last two will, necessarily, viii PREFACE

comprise and set forth the details of what may best be termed Practical Forestry. The question how well I have met these inquiries is submitted to the judgment of those who will peruse the following pages.

My endeavor has been to make the work a Manual of Practical Forestry, — indulging in theory no more than is necessary to show the basis upon which theory rests. It is not claimed that a study of this volume will make a fully equipped forester ; for a study of no one book nor of all books can alone do that. The impossible has not been attempted. A fully endowed forester must have both a theoretical and a practical knowledge of all matters pertaining to tree-life, and to this should be added broad experience and large opportunities for observation, covering the restoration, productivity, harvesting, care, and perpetuation of forests grown and maintained for economic purposes. The average person who may desire to grow trees for such use cannot devote the necessary time to acquiring as full a knowledge of the science of forestry as the expert must possess. Such a course would, for him, be impracticable. It is claimed, however, that by a careful study of the contents of this volume one may, with the exercise of good judgment, successfully grow trees for economic purposes without being compelled to call in the services of a trained expert, or without being forced to roam through the domain of botany, dendrology, and silviculture, or to master mensuration, stem analysis, or other purely technical features of scientific forestry. Not that experts possessing such knowledge are unnecessary, for they are necessary, and the country cannot do without them any more than it can dispense with the services of highly educated men in agriculture, or any other line of industry on which the welfare of our country depends. But the average successful farmer does not have to depend wholly upon experts in agriculture successfully to carry on his farming operations, although he may and should be guided by their teachings. Neither should he, when he essays to grow trees for his own use, be

PREFACE ix

compelled to call in the services of an expert in forestry ; nor should any landowner, when he desires to reclothe his denuded lands with valuable species of trees, be unable intelligently to direct such work.

Technical terras are avoided wherever possible, but are absolutely necessary to identify the several species, for nearly all of our valuable timber trees are loaded with numerous local common names, — some have more than a score, — and identification would be impossible without the use of a scientific name which has been established by usage and common consent and adopted by all recognized authorities. A glossary of all these terms will be found in the Appendix, on a page devoted to that purpose. In giving the common and scientific names of the several species of trees which are considered worthy of consideration, I have followed the Check List of the Forest Trees of the United States, by George B. Sud worth, Dendrologist of the United States Forest Service, as the one which should be accepted as a standard of authority. In no other case is a technical term used where there is a substitute, and where there is no substitute the meaning of the term is explained.

Perusal will disclose the fact that the main purpose of this volume is to urge, aid, and encourage tree-growing for economic purposes only, and it is more than probable that the reader will ask why certain species now being largely used have been deemed of enough importance to be described at length and yet are not recommended for cultivation. The answer is that the forests of the future must be largely grown with planted trees, and there is no reason why we should plant or in any wise grow any but the most suitable and valuable ones — those that will produce the best and most needed forest products in the shortest time, and with the least labor and expense ; and such only have been recommended. We now accept less valuable species because they are present with us and they have cost us nothing to grow. Hereafter it will cost both money and labor and require much time to grow forests, and in the

X PREFACE

not distant future the price of forest products will be based upon the cost of production. If White Pine, which is easily propagated, will grow to be a merchantable tree in seventy-five years, and a Hemlock, which can be grown with difficulty, will require from one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and fifty years to reach the same dimensions, and the product of the Pine be worth twice that of the Hemlock, it should be known, and when known there would be no question as to which should be planted. It is sometimes a good thing to know what not to do, and we cannot determine which species are best adapted to cultivation unless we know the habits, character, and comparative value of each. There are enough valuable species to choose from and there is no reason why we should choose any but the very best, always keeping in mind the demands of the market, the uses the wood can be put to, the adaptability of the tree to the soil, climate, and location, and the rapidity of growth and facility of production.

Another feature may cause surprise in the minds of some of my readers. It is not at all improbable that some of the descriptions of trees considered do not agree with the reader's personal observation, and yet such descriptions may well fit the general average of the tree. The character and general appearance of trees are frequently modified to a great extent by location, climate, and soil. Trees of a given species grown in the same vicinity will often vary in form and sometimes in character of wood ; therefore a description of the general average will best fit the case, and to give such has been my endeavor.

Much time and labor have been spent in the preparation of this work, and while it is largely drawn from my own personal observations I feel myself greatly indebted to the aid which others have generously given me. I would gladly here publicly recognize the work of each, but they are too numerous, and I content myself with the personal acknowledgments which I have given by letter or otherwise. I have endeavored to aivc due credit to all authors from

PREFACE xi

whom I have consciously copied. Such recognition will be found in its appropriate place. I must not fail, however, to recognize here the value of the services and courtesies extended to me by the Forest Service of the United States, through its able dendrologist, Mr. George B. Sudworth, and also to extend grateful acknowledgments for the use of many of the photographs here shown, due credit being given on each. I take great pleasure in expressing my gratification at the approval and suggestions of Professor F. W. Rane, State Forester of Massachusetts, to whom was submitted the manuscript before it was placed in the hands of the publishers. Professor Rane's approval is of moment, as it comes from one of the most practical foresters in the country.

S. B. E.

Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania, April, 1912.

PART I I. Introductory 3

II. Present Condition of the Forests .... 8

III. Restoration and Treatment of Forests ... 14

IV. Artificial Restoration . 22

V. Forest Demands 31

VI. Difficulties of Reforestation 38

VII. Planting the Forest ........ 43

VIII. Where and What to Plant 49

IX. When to Harvest 53

X. The Woodlot 58

XI. Life-History of a Tree 63

XII. Classification and Character of Wood ... 79

XIII. The Forest Nursery 87

XIV, The Transplant Nursery ....... Ill

XV. How to care for and when to sow Forest Seeds 115

XVI. Tap-Root 119

XVII. When to Plant Trees in the Forest . . . 121

XVIII. Spacing Trees in the Forest 123

XIX. Will Planting Forests ever become Profitable? 126

PART II xiv CONTENTS

The Eastern Firs 189

The Western Firs 191

The Hemlocks 203

Red Cedar 207

White Cedar 210

Western Red Cedar 213

The Sequoias 226

The Oaks: White Oak Class 231

The Hickories c 208

The Elms 296

The Birches 306

Butternut 317

Cucumber 326

CONTENTS XV

The Gums 338

Eucalyptus 348

Appendix

Glossary of Scientific Names of Species of Trees . . 361

Average Height of Seedlings 364

Approximate Percentage of Germination of Tree Seeds 366 Number of Tree Seeds per Ounce and Pound, etc. . . 367

Index 369

ILLUSTRATIONS

Virgin Forest of Bald Cypress growing in Swamp Frontispiece

Destructive Lumbering, Elk County, Pennsylvania . . 6

Red Pine, Forest-grown, standing on Normal School Grounds, Marquette, Michigan 6

Virgin Forest of White Pine, Clearfield County, Penn- ,

sylvania 14

Characteristic View in the Wiener-Wald, Austria . .24

View in the Forest of Prince Bismarck, Friedrichsruhe, Germany, showing Compartment Line, which serves AS Fire Line and Road 40

An Old Plantation of Spruce near Eisenach, Germany 40

Second-Growth White Pine, about Thirty Years Old, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania 54

Seedling White Ash, One Year Old, showing Development OF Tap-Root 64

Spray and Staminate Blossoms of White Pine ... 64

Development of White Pine Seeds 64

Section of a White Pine Board, showing Annual Rings 72

Section of a Joist Cut from Old-Field Pine, showing Marked Difference between Spring and Summer Wood 72

Section of Red Oak, showing Medullary Rays and Annual Rings 72

Section of Carolina Poplar, showing Annual Rings, Intermediate Rings caused by Alternate Wp:t and Dry Weather, and Irregularly Shaped Heartwood . . 72 txviii ILLUSTRATIONS

Section of White Ash, showing Effect of Lack of Air

AND Moisture for Roots on One Side .... 72

Naturally Grown White Pine Seedlings, showing Lack /

OF Fibrous Root Development 88

Nursery-grown White Pine Seedlings and Transplants, showing Good Root Development 88

Pennsylvania State Forest Nursery, Asaph, Pennsyl- /

vania, showing Lath Screens over Seedlings . .96

White Ash in the Experiment Forest Plantation at the

State University, Champaign County, Illinois . . 96

Ten- Year-Old White Pine Planting near Mont Alto, on Pennsylvania State Forestry Reservation. Work of Students of the Pennsylvania State Forest Academy 136 '

Typical Idaho Forest, showing Western White Pine, Larch, and Cedar, Kaniksu National Forest . . . 146

Sugar Pine, Kings River, Fresno County, California . 146

Round, or Untapped, Timber. Virgin Forest of Longleaf Pine, Ocilla, Georgia 154

Loblolly (Old-Field) Pine, Shannon County, Missouri . 160

Shortleaf Pine, Shannon County, Missouri .... 160

Virgin Forest of Western Yellow Pine and Douglas Fir

NEAR Mount Shasta, California . . . . . . 170

Scotch Pine in Dense Stand on Campus, Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa 176

Douglas Fir, showing Trees more than Seven Feet in Diameter. Western Washington 200

Virgin Stand of White Pine and Hemlock, with Second

Growth of Each coming on where Original Forest ,

WAS CUT OFF, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania . 204

Virgin Stand of Hemlock, from One Hundred and Fifty to Two Hundred Years Old, Tioga County, Pennsylvania 204

ILLUSTRATIONS xix

Bald Cypress, not over Sevexty-five Years Old; Twenty-nine Inches in Diameter Six Feet above the Ground

AND Eighty-four Feet High. State Capitol Grounds,

I- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 216

Big Trees, with Sugar Pine, Western Yellow Pine, and

White Fir, Sierra Nevada, California .... 226

White Oak, Four Feet in Diameter, nearly Fifty Feet

to First Limb, Fox Estate, Clarion County, Pennsyl- ^^^ VANIA 234

Big Burr Oak, Gibson County, Indiana. Circumference . ^ above Swell, Twenty-two Feet 248

Bed Oak, Four Feet in Diameter and more than Forty Feet to First Limb. Jefferson County, Pennsylvania 248

Group of Hickories : Hicoria glabra and Shagbark. Mon- ^

terey, Putnam County, Tennessee 270

Yellow Poplar (Tulip-Tree), Forest-grown, Forty Inches

in Diameter, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania . . 284 ^

Tulip-Tree, grown in the Open, Six Feet in Diameter, MoNASKON, Virginia 284

Black Cherry, North CArolina 292 ^

White, or Gray, Elm, Charlevoix County, Michigan . 296

Cucumber, nearly Five Feet in Diameter, in Virgin Forest, John E. DuBois Estate, Elk County, Pennsylvania 326

Southern Hardwood Forest, mainly Red Gum . . . 342

PART I

THE IMPORTANT TIMBER TREES OF THE UNITED STATES

I

INTRODUCTORY

No one can truthfully deny that we have reached a critical period in our country's industrial progress. We have, in the past, been loath to believe that we were even approaching such a period, for we have indulged in the belief — and many still hold to that faith — that our natural resources are inexhaustible. Observing men, however, know that such a conclusion is very far from fact, and realize that in our rapid advance in material progress we shall soon be face to face with the practical exhaustion of our important natural resources ; and they further realize that we must do something to conserve and, as far as possible, restore such resources or we shall, erelong, be overwhelmed with irreparable disaster.

Fortunately many of our people are now beginning to see the absolute necessity for conservation and they are fast coming to a knowledge of the fact that, of all the re. sources which we now enjoy, — and of which we have heretofore thoughtlessly boasted, — only such as arise, in some form, from the cultivation or use of the soil can be renewed when once exhausted. It is now becoming well understood that the time will come, and in the not far distant future, when our coal, oil, gas, and other valuable minerals will be either completely exhausted or so near that condition as to make their acquisition difficult and expensive. It is being further comprehended that, like other products of the soil, the forests which we still possess can, with proper management, be maintained in useful perpetuity, and in manycases their productive capacity be increased, and that while we are consuming their annual accretion we need not necessarily exhaust them ; and, what is equally important, it is likewise realized that forests can be grown in practically all sections of our country where, in our early history, they once grew but have since been destroyed, and also even where there is no proof that any have ever existed. These facts give vital and commanding importance to that heretofore neglected feature of our national welfare known as "Practical Forestry," a feature which is second only to agriculture and one which hereafter must go hand in hand with that industry.

It is gratifying to know that there is a growing conception of the actual facts relating to our forest conditions, notwithstanding that they reveal a most deplorable state. We have come to understand that our present forests will no longer be capable of producing the vast amount of useful products which will be demanded of them. We have learned from statistics obtained by governmental effort that we are consuming our forests more than three times as fast as they grow,^ and we well know what, if not arrested, that will lead to. It is largely realized, too, that many new uses for forest products have recently sprung up, and that, through these new uses and the rapid increase of population in our country, the future demands for forest products will inevitably be greatly increased ; and all must see that if such demand cannot be promptly and fully met the index hand on the dial of progress of this nation will advance no further, but, instead, go backward.

1 " It has been shown that the present annual cut of forest products requires at least twenty billion cubic feet of wood. To produce this quantity of wood without impairing the capital stock, over seven hundred million acres of forest must make an annual increase of thirty cubic feet per acre. Under present conditions of mismanagement and neglect it is safe to say that the average annual increment is less than ten cubic feet per acre for the entire area. This means that each year's cut, at the present rate, takes the growth of more than three years." — United States Forest Service Circular, No. 97, page 14.

INTRODUCTORY 5

A comprehension of all this, and more, is surely finding a lodgment in the minds of the American people ; and the fact is fast being realized that the thought expressed by President Roosevelt — when he declared, in substance, that the forest problem is the most important one before us for solution — was not only true in every sense of the word but was timely uttered. The growing shortage of our supply of forest products, the rapidly increasing demands for such products, our cut-over, burned-over, and fast-becomingbarren lands, the disturbed flow of our springs and streams, and the erosion of the soil that is going on in consequence of the destruction of the forests, are conditions patent to all ; and these conditions, though vocally silent, convey to us, in a language that we cannot fail to understand, the importance of action on our part. They all point to the same conclusion, — that the forests should be restored at the earliest possible moment.

The duty of the hour can be summed up in one sentence : a supply of forest products must be maintained by properly caring for what forests are left us and by planting others where necessary to meet the demand. If we do not do this the end of our nation's prosperity will soon be reached. Every day's delay adds to the difficulties to be encountered.

How to care for our forests, how to increase their productive capacity, and how to grow new ones are, unfortunately, problems not so well understood by the people of this country as they should be ; but they must be solved. Few have given the subject — more properly the science, for forestry is a science — the careful, intelligent study that its importance demands. To the average citizen forestry is as a "sealed book." He knows not what is demanded; but such lack of knowledge is not to be wondered at. Until recently there has not been felt a necessity for its study. Nature had bounteously provided us with all the trees that we supposed we needed, and it has been believed, and still is believed by many, that she can be depended upon to continue in that work, — and so she could and would have done had we not interfered. But we have seriously and disastrously interfered. Over vast areas we have destroyed her seed trees and burned up her young growth. Instead of encouraging forest reproduction we have thoughtlessly and in many cases maliciously, prevented it. All this must come to an end, and it will in time, but there is great danger that it will not until dire necessity compels it.

Those having faith that we shall erelong take up the good work of reforesting our once productive but now barren timber lands naturally turn to see what other people have done in that line ; and the first thought goes out to such European countries as have now attained great success in growing productive forests. Now, it is true that we can learn much from their experience, but it is equally true that we must largely depend upon ourselves, for our species of trees, our climatic conditions, and, largely, our soil, differ from theirs. So far as forest conditions go, we practically now stand where European nations stood two hundred and fifty or three hundred years ago, and of their experience in reforestation we can make use ; but, like them, we must build from the bottom up, taking from the experience of others such practices as may be found adapted to our conditions.

Realizing all this, the author of this volume has, in the following pages, given the results of more than half a centui-y's arduous, earnest, and painstaking study and observation of forests and forest growth which prevail in this country, both as a student in forestry and as a practical lumberman of large experience, to which is added personal observation of some of the best European forests and an experience of more than seven years as a member of the Pennsylvania Forestry Reservation Commission. This study and experience has forced upon him the conclusion — and it is positive — that the principal effort in forestry in this country must, for the next sixty or seventy years, be directed to tree-growing, and that such tree-growing must mainly be

Standing forest was cut this year and fires will no doubt soon follow. Elk County, Pennsylvania. — Photographed by Dr. Hugh P. Baker.

RED PINE, FOREST-GROWN

Standing on Normal School grounds, Marquette, Michigan.

INTRODUCTORY 7

done by planting seeds where the trees are to stand in the forest, or in growing young trees in nurseries and transplanting them where they are to grow to maturity — the latter, except in the case of nut-bearing trees, being by far the best system. Extensive tree-planting in some form is an absolute necessity for the future welfare of this country. While tree-growing is the prominent feature of this volume, it is deemed advisable to give, in addition, a general view of the condition of our remaining forests, their possibilities and limits, the best method to be pursued in caring for them, and other matters that are necessary for a full understanding, by the plain people, of the fundamentals which underlie the successful growing of trees for economic purposes. Such knowledge is necessary intelligently to determine what is best to do under varying circumstances and conditions. A general knowledge of how forests are grown and cared for; the natural range and local habitat of the several important timber trees of our country ; what treatment each species should receive ; the character and uses of the wood of each ; the difficulties surely to be encountered ; and the peculiarity and characteristics of tree-life and tree-growth should be understood, in order to arrive at an intelligent conclusion as to what and where to plant. If the author has so shown all this that it will be readily understood, and if what is herein set forth will stimulate an effort to grow trees and thus aid in saving our country from irreparable disaster, then his aim will be fully accomplished.

II Present Condition Of The Forests

No proof should be demanded to show that the products of the forests are absolutely essential to modern civilization. Neither should it be questioned that a civilized people must have such products iu abundance in order to strengthen and maintain that civilization. That the supply should be ample in quantity and acceptable in quality and character is undeniable ; and, furthermore, it needs little proof to demonstrate that the presence of forests assures an equable flow of springs and streams, and that in the absence of that equable flow there are destructive floods followed by dry stream-beds and disastrous erosion of the soil. Argument to show all this would be superfluous ; but there are other features of the forest problem which are not so apparent or so well understood.

In former times the lumberman took only that which would make merchantable sawed lumber, and small stuff was allowed to grow; but now, between the lumberman, the tie, pole, pulp, and acid man, practically everything is taken and the ground is cleared of all timber growth that can ever amount to anything. No seed trees are left, and if fire follows, as it usually does, the ground becomes a barren waste. Land once denuded of trees and other vegetable growth is subject to inevitable erosion of the soil, and such erosion destroys not only the hillside and mountain slopes on which it occurs, but fills the water courses, and in time, through the deposition of earth brought from above by the water, may ruin the valleys also. Serious erosion renders natural reforestation impossible and makes any other very difficult and expensive, and in many cases entirely prevents it ; and if such erosion is long continued it leaves the re-

PRESENT CONDITION OF THE FORESTS 9

gion no better than Palestine and parts of southern Europe now are.

It is believed by many that when our own forests are exhausted we can go to other countries for our supply of forest products. That will not be possible. Our neighbor, Canada, must retain enough for her own use, and she is bound to give the mother country what surplus she may have, for Great Britain is practically destitute of productive forests, although at this writing she proposes to plant, at great expense, no less than 9,000,000 acres in the United Kingdom; and much of the expense will be for the purchase of agricultural lands for forestry purposes. Already have several of the Canadian provinces prohibited the exportation of pulp-wood cut on crown lands. Of all European countries only Russia and Norway have more forests than they need, but the area of forests in the latter country is small. Germany imports one third of the amount of wood consumed within her borders, notwithstanding that twenty-five per cent of her area is covered with productive forests. France has eighteen per cent of her domain in forest, but this produces only one third of what her people consume. Except those noted none are growing enough forest products to supply their own wants, and civilized nations should recognize the fact that we are facing a world-wide timber famine, and the calamity of such a famine will come all too soon unless active measures shall be adopted to avert it; and, what is more, the erosion of the soil — "in part consequent upon the denudation of the forests and in part caused by our present careless and unwise system of cultivation — when combined with the rapid exhaustion of all our natural resources, most prominent among which are the forests, will, if continued, render this globe ill-fitted for civilized human abode. The condition of our own country is fairly typical of that of the whole civilized world. It is discouraging to realize that this country of ours will, erelong, reach the high-water mark of its prosperity, but that time will soon come unless the impending disaster of a timber famine can be forestalled. Our downward course will begin when our forests fail to supply our needs.

But supposing it were possible for us to obtain a supply of wood products from abroad, can we afford to put the destinies of this country into the hands of other nations simply because we are loath to do our duty to ourselves and those who are to come after us ? A nation without forests of its own is, undeniably, a weak nation, and one that will be at the mercy of those possessing them. When the world's supply of coal is gone — and it is estimated that at the present rate of consumption two hundred years will bring about the practical exhaustion of all known deposits — those nations possessing a full and continuous supply of forest products will be the independent nations of the world. Neither should we flatter ourselves that, in the event of a failure or serious shortage of supply, some substitute for forest products will be found to any considerable extent. The enormous quantities required and the various uses wood is put to preclude the possibility of that. It is wood that we need and wood we must have or the index hand on the dial of progress of this nation will go backward never again to return.

Recent governmental publications^ show the amount, character, and cost of most of the forest products of the United States for the year 1909, The accompanying table gives the product of 48,112 sawmills for that yeai-. This is instructive, as it names the species of trees and the amount and percentage of lumber cut from each. It will be seen that the thirty-one species named yielded 99.9 per cent of the whole, while, as will be noted, " all others " were embraced in the remaining one tenth of one per cent. The first five furnished 73.1 per cent, the first seven supplied 80.4, and the first ten gave 86.9, while all the several species of pine