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Page 2

Vol. 18 #2

New York Forest Owner

THENEW YORK FOREST OWNERS

ASSOCIATION

Recording SecretaryLewis DuMond9 Grand St.

Cobleskill, NY 12043

TreasurerEmiel Palmer

5822 S. Salina St.Syracuse, NY 13205

Membership SecretaryHelen Varian204 Varian Rd.

Peekskill, NY 10566

IN THIS ISSUE

P.2 New Members, Directors, Front Cover.

P. 3 Annual Meeting, Autobiography of aTree Farm.

P. 4 Scandinavian Tour, On the Calendar.

P. 5 Cooperatives in Forestry by DaveTaber.

P. 6-7 Argyle Estates, Forestry in Scotland.

P. 8 Spring Wildflowers, Cooperatives,Continued.

P. 9 A Cooperative in Sweden, SodraSkogsagarna.

P. 10 Thinning of Forest Lands. By RobertR. Morrow.

P. 11 Wood Polymer Composites and theirIndustrial Applications.

P. 12 I Like Stumps, by Al Roberts,continued from p. 3.

WELCOMEOUR NEW MEMBERS

Lawrence Hunt221 Genung Rd.Ithaca, NY 14850

Robert H. MerrillBox 134

Waverly, NY 14892

Mrs. Miriam C. Rider26 Parkwood St. W.Albany, NY 12203

George Saxton, Jr. (Family)Geo-Lene FarmsRD #1 Box 63

Union Springs, NY 13160

Ross Sherman35 James St.

Dryden, NY 13053

W.P. Thielens, Jr.440 East 87th St.

New York, NY 10028

Twin Ponds Associationc/o Barry Silverstein

Debar Park, Duane StageMalone, NY 12953

J.I. WagnerRD #1, Box 194

Stanley, NY 14561

Robert Watros14 Evergreen St.

Dryden, NY 13053

James Wildman, Sr.East Freetown, NY 13055

Published by the "'.NEW YORK FOREST OW~ERS

Association

EditorEvelyn A. Stock

5756 Ike Dixon Rd.Camillus, NY 13031..

PresidentROBERT M. SANDOdessa, NY 14869

First Vice PresidentHOWARD O. WARD

240 Owego St.Candor, NY 13743

2nd Vice PresidentROBERT L. EDMONDS

R#3, Box 99Marathon, NY 13803

3rd Vice PresidentPROF. ROBERT R. MORROW

Dept. Natural ResourcesFernow Hall, Cornell Univ.

Ithaca, NY 13852

FRONT COVER:Any day now you can take a walk in your

woods and find the lovely Hepatica. Thereare two types, those with round lobed leaves(three) and 6-10 petals (sepals) and thosewith sharp lobed leaves (5-7). Childrensometimes gather these pale pink, blue,lavender or white flowers to put in May'baskets. Thus the name May flowers. Theyare one of the first welcome signs of spring.

New York Forest Owner Page 3

ANNOUNCEMENTANNUAL MEETING

Saturday, April 19, 1980Marshall Hall

College of Environmental Science and ForestrySyracuse, New York

Theme: The 1980's-A Decade oj Opportunities For Forest Owners

Details by special mailing

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A TREE FARMIn December of 1953 I was purchased by a

pair of young men who had formed apartnership to grow Christmas trees so theycould earn some extra money to help puttheir then young children through college.Through the ASCS (Agricultural Stabiliza-tion & Conservation Service) they pur-chased 10,000 scotch pine seedlings fromthe state nursery in 1954 and planted themin one of my fields along the road.

(My fields had been pastured from about1924 to 1947 and nothing had been donewith me from then until 1954. Only deer hadgrazed on my pastures. My hardwoods hadbeen harvested in 1923 and 1924.)

The forester advised my new owners thatsince they had gotten the seedlings throughthe ASCS, they had actually embarked on areforestation program and the young treeswere not supposed to be sold as Christmastrees or dug for ornamental use. However,since the seedlings were planted on a 5 ft. x5 ft. spacing, they would have to be thinnedand the thinnings could be sold as Christmastrees.

This was fine with them so every year forabout 7 years they continued to set out10,000 tree seedlings per year in myoIdpastures. They varied the species occasion-ally, one year getting white spruce andbalsam, another year a few blue spruce andthe rest white spruce, then all scotch pine,then all white spruce.

During the first few summers they spenttheir time clearing my pastures of thornapple and killing scrub hardwoods bygirdling and filling the girdle with a sodiumarsenite solution by means of a "Cornell treekilling tool".

In about the third year of their ownership(1957) they sold enough hardwood timber tomore than recoup my initial cost to them., In1959 they had a one acre pond built and by1962 had erected a cabin on its shore. In thelate 1950's they made me a member of theAmerican Tree Farm System.

I was pleased by all this improvement. Aforest management map and plan had beenprepared for my new owners early inJanuary of 1954, right after they acquiredme, by District Forester W. W. "Doc"Clingan. Of my total 150 acres, he indicatedthat there were a total of 95 woodland acres.He then indicated where they should puttheir new seedlings. On copies of this mapthey wrote down how many seedlings wereplanted each year in each area.

Twenty-six years have now passed. My,what a change in my appearance! Myhardwood timber has all been thinned but 10acres, which my owner says will be done thisyear. Some timber maple was taken out in1972 but this merely served to enhance thegrowth of the remaining trees.

One of my partner owners decided toretire in 1970 and sold his half to the otherpartner. The children whose college educa-tion was to be helped by the Christmas treesales have all gotten their degrees and areliving their own lives. However, they love tocome back and visit me, to picnic by thepond, fish and swim in it, cross country skiover my many new woodlandaccess roads,cut firewood from the downed thinnings andhunt for deer that roam my hardwoods orhide in the now dense growth of scotch pineand spruce.

Oh, yes! The trees that were left after thethinning for Christmas trees are nowtwenty-five and thirty feet tall. They need tohave their lower limbs knocked off and someadditional thinning. I understand there is nomarket for scotch pine logs so I'm sorry mygood fields are a worthless crop. I mustadmit that it's nice to have the deer beddown among those trees and to have theirroots drink up all the water that falls on me.My Owner's consulting forester says thosescotch pine are serving as a nurse crop forfuture maple timber because the maple hasto gro.w up branch free to stay ahead of thepine in height.

My owner continues to study and learnnew ways to improve me. He has boughtseedlings from private nurseries for anumber of years. These he carefully shapesand cares for them to improve them for theChristmas tree market. He uses the servicesof the state forester to mark hardwood treesfor thinning. He usually signs up throughASCS for the Timber Stand ImprovementPlan or the Forestry Incentives Program(FIP). He says this gives him added incentiveto follow those practices.

He is a director of the New YorkChristmas Tree Growers Association, andthe New York Forest Owners Association.He learns from these organizations throughtheir many magazines, seminars and visits toother tree farms and plantations. Hecontributes his knowledge to newcomers inthe business through articles in thosemagazines and by having other people visitme in groups to learn by seeing and havingstate foresters serve as guides and lecturers.

Continued on Page 8

Page 4 New York Forest Owner

NYFOA SCANDINAVIAN TOURAugust 14-27, 1980

Come with the New York Forest OwnersAssociation to the woods of Denmark,Sweden, and Finland!

ITINERARYAugust 14-Depart JFK airport in NewYork.August 15-Arrive in Copenhagen in latemorning, transfer by private bus to hotel. Tohelp you catch up on "jet lag" the rest of thethe day is free for relaxation and exploring.Hotel Triton.August 16-Breakfast at the hotel andsuggested visits to shops along the famousStreqet, a walking street in the heart of thecity. An afternoon sightseeing tour includesthe little mermaid, Rosenberg Castle, andother Copenhagen highlights. Not con-firmed: an evening meeting with the DanishForest Owners Association. Here weexpect to learn how they are organized andwhat they see as problems and opportuni-ties. Probability for this is high.August 17 -After breakfast at the hotel, wedrive in our private bus to North Sealand tovisit a Christmas tree plantation and theDanish Museum of Forestry. Lunch serveden route. Late afternoon arrival back inCopenhagen. Last chance for an eveningfling in the famous Tivoli Gardens. HotelTriton.August 18-Breakfast in the hotel, then anexpedition to Elsinore for a visit to anexperimental forestry plantation and Kron-berg Castle, setting for "Hamlet." Overnightat an old Danish "Kro" (inn).August 19-After breakfast you'll have ashort while to explore a small Danish townbefore catching a ferry to Sweden. OurSwedish bus and guide will meet us there atHelsingfors, theri on to the Klippan papermill. Visit also to the Morrum pulp millbefore arriving in the late afternoon inVaxjo. Evening in this small town on yourown. Hotel: Esso Motor Hotel.August 20 and 21- These two days will belargely devoted to visiting the people atSodra Skogsagarna, a cooperative ofSwedish forest owners. Their organizationwith its professional approach to manage-ment and marketing may be an inspiration toforest owner associations in the Northeast.Esso Motor Hotel, both nights.August 22-After an early breakfast at thehotel, continue in our private bus to theKinda saw mill. Visit also the Norra Kvillnational park on our way through thebeautiful southern provinces to Stockholm.Overnight at Hotel Birger Jarl.

August 23- Breakfast at the hotel sets youfor a morning of shopping and an afternoonsightseeing tour of the Swedish capital. Visitsto the Old Town and Royal Palace areincluded. Overnight on board a modern shipheaded for Helsinki, Finland.August 24-A bus will meet us in Finland fora sightseeing tour and transfer to hotel. TheCathedral, Market .Square , and SibeliusMonument will be seen. Relax in theafternoon to be ready for a possible eveningwith members of the Finnish Forest OwnersCooperative. Hotel Presidentli.August 25- Trip to Layliainen to see theHaapastensyrja tree breeding center, thenthe Harviala nursery. Drive to Hameenlinnaand its medieval Hame castle. Overnight inthe small town of Aulanko. Evening free.Hotel Aulanko.August 26-Breakfast at the hotel. Make amorning visit to a private forestry owner.Time is also reserved for discussions.Activities of the local forestry association willbe introduced. Early in the afternoon drivesouth to Helsinki with a visit to the Riihimakisaw mill enroute. Evening on your own, toexplore Helsinki's wonderful restaurants.Hotel Presidentti.August 27 - Breakfast in your hotel. Yourlast morning in Helsinki is reserved for yourown professional contacts, last minute giftbuying or wandering. Flight back to NewYork.

NOTE: while we shall do our utmost toadhere to this schedule, some changes maybe necessary due to reasons beyond ourcontrol.

DETAILSPrice-$1196 per person, based on 30

people each paying $700 by 27 March 80,after which time air fares are expected torise. People booking after that date will paysomewhat more. All payment due by 25June 80. In the event of your cancellation,all but $100 per person will be refunded.Price includes air fare and tax, private bus ineach country, double accommodations withprivate bath in excellent tourist class hotels,necessary ship or train travel, gUides,continental breakfasts, and 3 city sightseeingtours. Noon and evening meals are notincluded, with some exceptions. Thirtypeople can be accommodated, first come,first served. Inquire for single supplementfee.

I am presently communicating withScandinavian forest owner organizations tosee if overnight stays with host families canbe arranged.

Regular mailings will be sent to registrants.OUR ALPINE TOUR to Bavaria, Austria,

and Switzerland in 1977 was a great success.This trip promises to be every bit as good!And the price is, remarkably, only $200more!

Please come! You're invited!

MAIL TO: Alan R. Knight257 Owego StreetCandor, New York13743

Please reserve places for the NYForest Owners Scandinavian Tour. I haveenclosed a check for $ . I haveread and understand the conditions.

Names _

Address _

Zip ~----------------

Telephone (

MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO NYFOREST OWNERS ASSOCIATION

On The CalendarWOODWORKERS'SEMINAR

Tappan Zee Towne House, Nyack, N.Y.Saturday, April 19, 1980(Exit 11, Interstate 87)9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

DESCRIPTION: This Seminar willemphasize new developments in the fieldof wood technology and utilization andwill be of particular interest to woodproducts manufacturers in the metropoli-tan area.

TOPICS:Extending the Nation's Wood SupplyThrough Research: serpentine endmatching; press laminated red oak forfurniture; water repellent treatments ofwood.

New Developments in the Use of WoodResidues for Energy: latest equipment;government emission standards andregulations.

For further information, contact: Dean,School of Continuing Education, Collegeof Environmental Science and Forestry,Syracuse, NY 13210 (315) 473-8755.

New York Forest Owner Page 5

(Left to Right) William "Dick" Seymour, U.S.D.A. Cooperatives Specialist; JayTuttle, graduate student at the SUNY College of Environmental Science andForestry in Syracuse; George K. Hecht, Albany County Cooperative ExtensionCommunity Resource Development Specialist; Dr. Bruce L. Anderson,Department of Agricultural Economics of the New York State College ofAgriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University; Jean Fisher, School ofForestry at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse; andJohn G. Kramer, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation,Bureau of Forest Resource Management make plans for the forestry cooperativesmeeting which was attended by over 60 persons on February 21,1980 at the AlbanyCounty Cooperative Extension Center in Voorheesville, N.Y.

February 21, 1980 at the Albany CountyCooperative Extension Association's Voor-heesville headquarters was a landmark indocumenting information about the devel-opment of forestry cooperatives in NewYork. Over 60 persons participated in ameeting to discuss cooperatives as theyrelate to forest management and buyingfirewood. During the program it wasannounced that a major state-of-the-artconference on forestry cooperatives probab-ly will be held in Syracuse within the next 12months.

Cooperatives Specialist William "Dick"Seymourfrom Washington D.C.'s Econom-ics, Statistics and Cooperatives Service ofthe U.S.D.A. was one of the featuredspeakers on February 21 in Albany County.

To help people gain an appreciation ofhow commonplace cooperatives are nowa-days, it was mentioned that Agway, Inc.,credit unions, cooperative housing units,and mutual insurance companies are allclassified as cooperatives.

Seymour noted, however, that coopera-tives are not a panacea and that the mainingredient for success is an investment oftime which includes "meetings, work, andsweat." He went on to note that through acooperative "you can change blood, sweat,and tears into blood, sweat, and a betterreturn" (more income). In addition heimplied that one may lose some freedom ofchoice by participating in a cooperativewhen he asked, "Are you willing to give up alittle of your individuality to cooperativelygain."

Another prominent speaker was Dr.Bruce Anderson, a professor from CornellUniversity's Department of AgriculturalEconomics at the New York State College ofAgriculture and Life Sciences. He specializesin all kinds of agricultural cooperatives.

Agway, Inc. Dr. Anderson reported, isnot only a cooperative doing 2 billion dollarsworth of business annually, but is one of the200 largest U.S. corporations. He noted,however, that "Agway started as a smallinformal group over 50 years ago."

Income taxes may be one importantreason for the cooperative form of business.According to Dr. Bruce Anderson, anadvantage of cooperatives is that theirincome is taxed only once at either thecooperative or the individual level if certainIRS stipulations are met. In contrast theincome of regular stock corporations is taxedat both the corporate profit level and againas dividends to individuals.

Three characteristics which describe acooperative according to Anderson are:

1. Net income is distributed according topatronage which is the volume of businessdone by members witq the cooperative.

2. Capital investment will receive only asmall return which is limited to 8% by NewYork State Law.

3. Democratic control is exercised overthe cooperative with each member normallyhaving only one vote regardless of member'spatronage level although this may bemodified.

What is a cooperative? According to Dr.Anderson's definition, "A cooperative is analternative form of business organization

COOPERATIVES IN FORESTRY.TO SAVE MONEY

byDavid W. Taber

Cooperative Extension SpecialistWood Utilization Service

School of ForestrySUNY College of Environmental

Science and ForestrySyracuse, N.Y. 13210

(Telephone 315/473-8766)

(You saw it first in the Forest Owner)

New emphasis is being given to forestrycooperatives as a solution for increasedfirewood costs.

Not everyone is interested in making thecommitment which is necessary to form aforestry cooperative. However, some peo-ple are finding that their needs can be metthrough group action and association-pow-er.

designed to accomplish what could not bedone effectively by members as individuals."And Anderson explained that a cooperativeis designed to do collectively what peoplefind uneconomical to do individually.

Group success through a cooperativeform of business according to the CornellUniversity professor depends upon thefollowing 3 factors:

1. Product commitment by members ofa cooperative so that in times of both highand low prices, the product is continuallymarketed;

2. Financial commitment by all mem-bers of a cooperative so each has a vestedinterest;

3. Psychological commitment by mem-bers of a cooperative, which means thateach member is willing to give his/her timeto understand what is going on and what theorganization is doing.

In addition to these 3 factors which arenecessary for individuals to achieve successas a group, Dr. Anderson commented that"good management is essential." And hewent on to explain that a cooperative shouldhave a competent manager who hasspecialized knowledge necessary to handlethe organization's affairs.

Forestry cooperatives presently operate inthe states of Maine, North Carolina, Indiana,Mississippi, and Washington, according tocooperatives specialist, Dick Seymour.Under development, he reported, areforestry cooperatives in Ulster County, NewYork; Connecticut; and North'eastern Penn-sylvania.

Continued on Page 8

Page 6 New York Forest Owner

All correspondence to be addressed to

J.T. KENNEDY SHORT

CHAMBERLAIN OF ARGYLL

Telephone No. Inveraray

(0499) 2203

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Scotland PA32 aXE

Dear Evelyn,I enclose some notes on our Woodlands at Inveraray which I hope will be of use and interest to you. Please feel free to adapt them to your

own particular requirements. It is difficult, when you don't know your audience, to be sure of their special interests. Forestry in this country usesmetric units and these in the main have been used with Imperial conversions in most cases. Most of your questions are answered in the article,except as follows:

We do not grow trees for the Christmas festivities on a commercial scale as we are too far from large centers of population.

IntroductionInveraray, the ancient capital of Argyll

and home of the Earls and Dukes of Argyllsince the sixteenth century, is situated at the.mouth of the River Aray at the Northern endof Loch Fyne on the West Coast ofScotland.

The present Town and Castle were builtduring the second half of the eighteenthcentury by the third and fifth Dukes of Argylland could be described as one of the earliestexamples of urban re-development inScotland. Formerly, an important centre ofthe fishing industry, Inveraray is now bestknown as a tourist resort being visited bythousands of holiday-makers annually.The other main occupations are forestry

and farming with a Significant number of itsresidents being engaged in the constructionindustry. The population of the town isaround 500.

ClimateInveraray lies at latitude 560 14' N which is

to the North of Goose Bay in Labrador andthe Southern tip of Alaska. In spite of thisnortherly location, the area has a remarkablymild climate with very short periods of snowand severe frost. However, like mostwestern seaboards in the Northern hemis-phere, the climate is characterized by highrainfall (80-100 inches per annum) andstrong winds. The driest months are in themain during the period March to May. Themean temperature range extends from lc(34f) to 17c (63f).

Geology and SoilsThe whole of the west coast of Scotland is

very complex geologically, with some of theoldest rocks found anywhere in the world.The greatest part of the land surroundinglnveraray is underlain by metamorphicschists of the Dalradian Series. They wereformed', some 600-700 million years ago, bythe deposition of sediments in shallow seas.

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About 500 million years ago the Caledonianorogeny occurred affecting land forms as faraway as Greenland to the west and Norwayto the east. The softer sediments wereconverted to harder schists.

Many of these areas weather easily toform good fertile soils. During the Devonianperiod, the area was subjected to considera-ble volcanic activity and the intrusion of largevolumes of molten magma which cooled toform granite rocks. Where these rocks occurshallow soils are found. The presentconfiguration of the ground owes its originmainly to the ice age of around 1 millionyears ago. Large areas are overlain withdeep glacial deposits.

The soils in the area owe their origin partlyto the ice activity and partly to weathering.They are generally fertile but the absence ofa tree cover has resulted in extensivedegradation. The better drained groundgave rise to podsoils and iron pan soils, andwhere drainage is impeded, gleying isfound. Deep peats are common on the flatareas - depths of 6 to 10 feet beingcommon.

Topography and ElevationThe northern part of Inveraray Estate is

trisected by the River Aray and Shireresulting in the ground sloping into the valleybottoms with steep declivities in places. Thesouthern end of the Estate, bounded by theLeacann Burn, has a generally southeasterlyaspect. The highest ground is found in thenorth and to the west of the propertyreaching just over 3000 ft. AMSL. Theeastern edge drops down to sea level.

Natural WoodlandAlthough it is chiefly conifers which are

planted in Argyll, the natural woodland ofthe area is Oak (Quercus petraea) butregrettably, little of it remains. Large areaswere harvested some on a coppice rotationduring the eighteenth and early nineteenthcentury for charcoal production and thetanning industry.

A few indiginous Scots Pine (Pinussylvestris) are thought to occur in the area. Itwas because of the paucity of natural coniferspecies, there being only three - namelyScots Pine, Juniper and Yew - that exoticspecies were used when the great forestryexpansion was commenced early thiscentury.

History of PlantationsThere is evidence that the Campbells of

Argyll have actively managed theirwoodland since the thirteenth century.The first definite record of planting atInveraray was that carried out by the 8thEarl, the Marquis of Argyll (1598-1611). Anavenue of Lime trees approximately quarterof a mile in length which leads up to theCastle dates from this period and was in partresponsible for the siting of the Castle.

The ninth Earl (1629-1685) continued thetree planting work of his father, receivingadvice from the noted Silviculturalist JohnEvelyn. Some of the trees planted

New York Forest Owner Page 7included Laburnam, Sycamore, Firs,Oaks, Beech and Elms. The third Duke(1682-1761) who commenced the construc-tion of Inveraray Castle, together with hissuccessors the 4th and 5th Dukes of Argyll,were active tree planters.

A contemporary describes how the housewas surrounded with more than a milliontrees which occupied several miles square.Another notes how "One could ride formiles through plantations - for three milesup the River Aray."

Many of the trees planted at this timewere from the Eastern States of America.This is evident from a list of 29.657 treesplanted at Inveraray in the spring of 1756by the gardener and recorded in hisjournal, notably 90 American Larch, 80Red Cedars, 190 Pinaster, 67 ForeignOaks, 40 Black and White Walnuts, 38New England Pine, 20 Three Leaf Pines,55 Carolina Cherry, 55 Dutch Alders, 20White Cedars, 20 Balm of Gilead Firs and17 Tulip Trees. (Researched by E. Cregeenand recorded in Professor Anderson's"History of Scottish Forestry" Vol. 1).

Unfortunately, there is little evidencethat any of these trees remain today, withthe exception of one valiant old 'White' pine(Pinus Strobus). Plantations continued tobe established over the next hundred years.Perhaps the most significant period offorestry expansion was initiated by theeighth Duke (1823-1900). During the latterpart of the nineteenth century it becamefashionable amongst landowners in thiscountry to plant some of the speciesrecently discovered in the natural forestsof Northwest America. One of the mostnotable examples of this period of planting isBalantyre Wood (P 1888) which wasintended to be an experimental area. It isrecorded that two of the plots - one ofGround Fir (Abies Grandis) and the other ofWestern Hemlock (Tsuga Hetrophylla) arethe first groups planted in this country.

Other species in the wood are WesternRed Cedar (Thuza Plicata), Douglas Fir(Pseudotsuga Menziesii) and Sitka Spruce(Picea Sitchensis) during the last ninetyyears they have grown to a height, inmany cases, of over 150 feet. All thespecies are capable of producing fertileseed and are now regenerating freely.

Regrettably, there followed a period ofinactivity during which virtually no replant-ing was undertaken.

The last War 1939-45 made greatdemands on the home grown timbers of theUK and the ever readiness of the Argyllfamily to assist the war effort caused largeinroads to be made into the huge stock ofthe estate's mature timber. A similarsituation had occurred after the First WorldWar and had resulted in the setting up of theForestry Commission.

Their chief task was to acquire suitableland on the open market and to plant theground with trees. After the Second WorldWar the British Government, determined toencourage additional forestry expansion so

as to reduce the Country's dependence onoverseas supplies, launched in 1947, thesuccessful Dedication scheme.

This was designed to enlist the aid of theprivate landowner and especially thosewhose woods had been felled during theWar. In return for a legally binding Deed ofCovent (England and Wales) Agreement(Scotland) in which the owner undertook to'Dedicate' an area' of ground for all timecoming to forestry purposes the owner wasgiven various forms of great aid.

Present Day WoodlandsIn 1949 with the death of the 10th Duke of

Argyll, Trustees were appointed to managethe Estate. A survey of the woods wascommissioned by them and a reportproduced. The result was that a HeadForester, trained by the Forestry Commis-sion, was appointed and a decision taken todedicate some 800 ha (2000 acres) andembark on a programme of replanting about40 ha (100 acres) per annum. In 1953 thefirst compartment was planted. Over. thenext 14 years the programme continued asplanned. It was largely financed by fellingwhat mature timber remained and thereasonably generous grant aid.

The methods of establishment variedaccording to the ground conditions. Wherepossible, specially adapted forestry ploughswere used to drain the ground. In somecases the furrows were cut at a close spacingof around 1.8 m (6 ft) and in other areas at6.1 m (20 ft.). In the latter case the ridgewould be cut up and pieces distributed atregular distances between the furrows.Because of the high rainfall the trees wereplanted on top of the ridge or mound.

Where mineral soil was found without asignificant covering of peat the trees wouldbe planted without drainage work. The chietspecies used, in order of importance wereSitka Spruce (Picea Sitchenss), Larch(Larix spp notably Dedicida, Leptolepis,Eurolepis), Norway Spruce (Picea Abies),Lodge Pole Pine (Pinus Contorta) andDouglas Fir (Pseudotsuga Mensiesii).

By 1967 most of the old woodland areashad been re-established and a decision wastaken to Dedicate a further 1450 ha (3580acres) bringing the total forest area to abouttwo and a quarter thousand hectares (5555acres). The new ground was almost entirelybare on which no trees grew.

By this time methods of establishment hadchanged considerably. All ground exceptthat which was too steep was cultivated ordrained. In the case of the former, shallowerploughs were used with a tine attachmentwhich broke up the hard compact soil toallow penetration by the tree roots. Wetpeaty ground was ploughed with drainingploughs as before at around 1.8 m intervals.

Finally the whole area was "cross drained"so as to form a drainage system and toprevent excessive erosion. In line withcurrent practice these newly ploughed andplanted areas were given a dressing ofphosphate.

In the early days this was applied by hand

but during the seventies helicopters were inregular use for the work and the Estate madeuse of this method for some of its newwoods. Indeed some of the first plantationswere also treated in this way at a rate of 375hg per ha (3 cut/acre).

At the present time most of the plantingand re-planting program has been satisfacto-rily completed. During the 1950's and early1960's the Estate ran its own tree nursery tosupply its needs. This method remainedeconomical as long as wages remained lowbut increases required mechanisation and asthe numbers produced did not justify thistype of development the nursery was closedand trees purchased from specialised firms.

HarvestingThe main preoccupation of the woods

staff at present is the initiation anddevelopment of the harvesting of theplantations which were established duringthe fifties. The timber is still relatively smallbut the practice is to thin the woods so as toimprove the quality of the remaining trees.

In' general this may take place every 3 to 4years. In order to facilitate the fairly difficulttask complete rows are removed, thesimplest form being to take out every fourthone but other more complex forms wereused on occasion. The Estate uses anagricultural tractor to which has beenmounted a cable way winch (double drawn)to extract the trees. This type of equipmentis in common use in Great Britain but it wasdeveloped in the Forests of Scandanavia.

The Estate sells the timber to both paperpulp mills and chipboard producing mills butit is also converting SUitably straight trees intothe round fencing stakes for farming. Prior touse for the latter purpose these are peeledand creosoted. A limited quantity of thetimber is suitable, even at this young age, forlumber and is sold for the purpose to localsawmills. The Estate has a small, formerlywater driven sawmill, but owing to its age isonly put into occasional use.

Before closing this section on harvesting itis worth recording that about every type ofextraction system has been used at sometime or other on the Estate. It is believed thatuse was made of the rivers and lochs to floatthe large trees to other destinations. Horseshave been harnessed and track laying werethe chief methods after the last war. Largewheeled frame-steering tractors have per-formed excellently with some of the hugetrees in difficult conditions.

As has already been mentioned, cablecranes are in use at present. Of perhapsmost interest, a helicopter was hired toremove timber from a precipitous bank.Workers in the wood fixed chokers to thetrees which in turn were attached to thehelicopter as it hovered above. The pilot wasable to jettison the trees over the log dumpwithout landing. Up to 27 tons wereremoved per hour and although the methodwas slightly more costly than conventionalmethods it was amply justified, on the typeof terrain.

Continued on next page

Page 8

Dr. Josiah Lowe

Inverary, ContinuedFuture

No decision has been made to extend theforest area further, much depends on theviability of the upland farms on the Estateand the continuing attractiveness of grantsand fiscal incentives. Forestry is a long terminvestment and although the presentscheme of management has been going forover twenty years, it will be another decadebefore the full benefits are realised. XXX

Argyll Castle at Inverary in the Highlands ofScotland. I had heard of their long timeinterest in forest management and aftergoing there and seeing for myself thoughtyou might be interested in finding out howthey practice forestry in another corner ofthe world.

-Editor

THE TRILLIUM is another of theflowers common to our woods inspring. There are often masses ofWhite Trillium in an area. Thesemay turn pink as they get older.THE PAINTED TRILLIUM has acrimson blaze at the base of its wavywhite petals. It is not as common inmy woods. THE RED OR PURPLETRILLIUM is also less common, andhas an unpleasant odor.

WILD GINGER is found early in thespring in the woods. The leaves arelarge, heart-shaped with hairy stalks.There are two leaves and nestled inthe center close to the ground is ared flower. During RevolutionaryWar times, it was used by the col-onists who could not get their usualsupply of ginger from Jamaica.

SQUIRREL CORN is another of thewood's treasures. This creamy whiteflower is of the Bleeding Heart fami-ly, and similar to Dutchman'sBreeches, but the flowers arefragrant, more heartshaped and lackthe elongated spurs. The rootsresemble grains of corn.

Photographs by Dr. Josiah Lowe

MARCH"A peck of March dust is worth a King's;

"ransom

"So many misties in MarchSo many frosties in May."

"March'll search ye, April try ye, May'lltell whether live or die ye."

APRIL"April weather, rain and Sunshine

both together."

"When April blows his horn, 'tis goodfor both hay and corn."

"A cold is both positive and negative,sometimes the eyes have it andsometimes the nose."

New York Forest Owner

Although Dr. Lowe became ProfessorEmeritus several years ago he continues toteach courses at the College of Environ-mental Science and Forestry. A course inSpring Wild Flowers is one of them.

His camera is ever ready to photographsomething rare or beautiful and the picturesof the flowers on this page and the frontcover are some of his collection.

Joe Lowe is known world wide for hisknowledge of fungi (Mycology) and eagerlysearches new discoveries. But at this time ofyear spring flowe~s take first place.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A TREE FARMContinued

Another thing he does that I like is to hirea consulting forester to mark my merchant-able trees, take bids, award contracts andsupervise the cutting. He believes he notonly gets the most money possible that way,he maintains my forest in the best condition.

I've enjoyed telling you about myself. Myowner, Howard O. Ward, of 240 OwegoSt., Candor, N. Y. 13743 says you can writeto him if you have some questions aboutme.

Ward Tree Farm

COOPERATIVES IN FORESTRYContinued

Development of a Forest ProductsManagement and Marketing Cooperativein Maine is a 42 page report by William R.Seymour, Cooperative Development Divi-sion, USDA-ESCS, (U.S.D.A. Economics,Statistics and Cooperatives Service) 50012th St. S.W. (room 500), Washington,D.C. 20250. This report covers the woodlotowners' cooperative in the Dover-Foxcroftarea of Maine. According to Seymour,"Preliminary data indicates that by organiz-ing a forest management and marketingcooperative, woodlot owners could increasetheir net income per acre harvested by up to24 percent."

In New York State the Ulster EnergyCooperative, according to David Strong, isbeing formed to economically assist mem-ber-participants in a number of waysincluding: 1. obtaining firewood less expen-sively, and 2. purchasing less expensively bygroup action such items as insulation andsmoke detectors.

Persons interested in additional informa-tion about forestry cooperatives may wish tocontact Cooperative Extension, or theUSDA Economics, Statistics and Coopera-tives Service in Washington, D.C.

·New York Forest Owner Page 9

Sodra SkogsagarnaSodra Skogsagarna, Sweden's second

largest forestry company, is owned by44,000 private forest owners in sevencounties in Southern Sweden. Togetherthey own two million hectares (ca 5 millionacres) of productive forest land and aremembers of the Sodra Skogsagarna cooper-ative association. Each member has onevote regardless of the area of forest landwhich he owns.

Each year the members produce a total ofsix million cubic metres of timber, part ofwhich is worked up in the company's ownindustries while part is sold to foreigncompanies. The forest service is theresponsibility of the Forestry Division.

The subsidiary company, Sodra Skogsa-garna AB, is responsible for the industrialactivity. This is subdivided into fourdivisions: the Wood Mechanical Division,the Pulp Division and two paper divisions,one for Packaging and the other for theKlippan group.

Approximately 55 per cent of the totalproduction of Sodra Skogsagarna goes toexport. The company has sales offices in tenEuropean countries.

The central management is based at thehead offices in Vaxjo.

Sales1977: 2,675 million Kronor including

exports 1,352 million Kronor1978 (budget): approx. 2,948 million

Kronor

In the autumn of 1976, building work startedon Sodra Skogsagarna's new pulp mill atMonsteras with a planned annual productionof 300,000 tonnes of bleached kraft pulp.Now, when this is written in the spring of1978, most of the purchases have beenmade and the erection of the mill hasreached the half-way stage. Some buildingwork remains but the installation of the largemachines has commenced.

This past year those impossible-to-splitfirewood sections finally came to rest inour old rose garden, and their presenceprompted the development of a care-free herb garden. So successful wasthe effort - that in sheer delight Iphotographed the display. I amequally delighted to be able to pass theresults on. Joan Teresa, Somerset,N.J.

The picture shows work on the pulp digesterhouse.Water treatment will be trimmed during theautumn. The barking drums are in place inthe wood room. During an interim periodfrom the end of 1978 chips will be producedfor the old mill.Altogether, 800 persons are involved in thebuilding and installation work and 50persons are in volved in the projectorganisation.

An important condition if the planting of anew forest stand is to be successful is that asfavourable an environment as possible becreated for the fragile plants.Soil scarification is a good method. If theground is scarified before planting, competi-tion from other vegetations for light, waterand nutrition is reduced. The water supplybecomes more uniform and the soiltemperature higher since the sun's raysreach down to the exposed soil. At night thestored warmth radiates out and reduces therisk of frost damage. Soil scarification tendsto drive away weevils and thus reducedamage to the plants by these insects.Soil scarification is increasingly popularamong Sodra Skogsagarna's members and afive-fold increase in the area scarified hasbeen noted during the last five years.The work. is efficiently and cheaply carriedout if forest machines and scarifiers are used.The picture shows scarification using a forstharrow.

PULPPulp mills for bleached kraft pulp at

Monsteras, Morrum, Varo and for un-bleached at Delary, production of mechani-cal and thermomechanical pulp at Gota andsulphite mills at Boksholm and Lessebo.

Production660,000 tonnes of kraft pulp73,000 tonnes of mechanical pulp60,000 tonnes of sulphite pulp

FORESTRYThe Forestry Division deals with the

purchase and sale of timber raw material andis responsible for the supply of raw materialto the industries. It also provides themembers with forest service.

The activities of Sodra Skogsagarna arespread over twelve regions, which comprisein turn a total of 96 forestry sections.

80 per cent of the forest in the areacovered by Sodra Skogsagarna is privatelyowned. About 70 per cent of these privateowners are members of Sodra Skogsagarna.

WOOD MECHANICS15 sawmills, particle board factories at

Laholm, Aryd and Hultsfred, house factoryat Hultsfred.

Distrib. of export deliveries on marketsSales SKr mJilion

/B~ FnokmoWI!S! Gerrnany

HanceDenmarkNorway

Swit-erlandHolland

ItalyASia

Others

197121

lO:l-75

::::~9~7 119_40:::::::~~10~5~•••200Production

470,000 cubic metres of sawn woodproducts

270,000 cubic metres of particle board1,671 prefabricated houses11 ,000 cubic metres of creosoted wood

PAPER

PackagingPaper mill and sack factory at Stromsnas-

bruk, board mill at Fridafors, paper mill atEmsfors.

Production35,000 tonnes of board and cartonboard55,000 tonnes of paper68 million sacks

KlippanPaper mills at Klippan, Ostana, Lesebo,

Langasjonas and Havrestrom.

Page 10 New York Forest Owner

THINNING OF FOREST LANDSThere are two principal activities that

influence forests and their productivity.Forest harvesting, improperly carried out,can be harmful. Poor practices may result inpoor regeneration or poor growing stock.The harvesting of immature trees, or soilerosion. Forest thinning, on the other hand,offers the best opportunity for improving thezalue or productivity of woodlands. Properthinning is based on an understanding ofhow forests grow.

The upper limit of forest productivitydepends on solar energy and the ability ofthree species to convert it into growth.Productivity is lowered by limiting factors inthe environment-limitations in:

(a) Climate (amount and distribution ofrainfall, length of growing season, etc.)

(b) biota (helpful effects of mycorrhizae,earthworms, other soi\ organisms or micro-organisms, birds that control insect pests,etc.) (destructive effects of overbrowsing bydeer, soil erosion caused by man, etc.)

(c) physiography (especially topography,including aspect, exposure, elevation-ex-posed slopes vs. coves, dry south and westvs. moist north aspects, etc.)

(d) soils (depth, aeration, drainage, waterholding capacity, nutrient cycling, etc.)

Thus each forest site has a relatively fixedproductive capacity. Growth varies littlewhether spread over 1000 small trees, eachwith very slow growth, or a hundred largethrifty trees. Untended forests often havehigh stand densities, resulting in gradualmortality of some trees and slow growth inothers. Occasional natural catastrophies,such as hurricane or fire, may topple or thinout some trees and permit faster growth ofthose remaining.

People usually have little influence on theproductivity of forest sites (they cansometimes increase it by fertilization,irrigation, etc. or they can decrease it bycausing soil erosion). But they can controlstand density, principally by timely andjudicious thinning out of crowded trees, andselect the individual stems on which forestgrowth will be concentrated. Thinning offorests to produce bigger and better trees foruseful products is the most effective andmost needed forest management activity inNew York and most other forest regions.

ObjectivesThe manner of thinning varies with the

purpose of the forest owner. A commonobjective is to obtain high quality timber forveneer (furniture, paneling), flooring, struc-tural or other kinds of lumber. Largehigh-yielding sugar trees for maple syrupmay be an objective. Fuelwood is anincreasingly common objective, but itshouldn't be obtained by cutting the biggestand best trees. Usually enough fuelwood,and sometimes pulpwood, can be obtainedfrom the smaller and deformed trees that are

Robert R. MorrowDept. of Natural Resources,

Cornell University

thinned out to promote the growth of thebetter trees into high value timber. Over thelifetime (rotation) of a forest, at least half ofthe total productivity, otherwise wasted, canbe thinned out for fuel and other uses. Theremaining half can be harvested at maturity,often for excellent prices.

ProcedureAn orderly procedure in both planning

and doing the thinning entails the followingsteps:

(a) Determine objective-timber, sugar,other.

(b) Mark favored or crop trees wanted forfuture growth-usually 100-150 trees peracre for timber; often fewer for sugar. Forselection of crop trees, see below.

(c) Mark for removal those trees thatinterfere with growth of the crop trees. Lookat the tree crowns for evidence of branchinterference and crown wear (leaf and twigabrasion). The bigger trees with large crownsare the chief competitors; overtopped treesare often harmless and need not be cut.Occasionally valuable trees may be clumpedtogether; some should be removed. Payattention to special competitors such as wolftrees (very large, spreading trees) and whips(small trees with small crowns that whipeasily in the wind and wear away nearbycrowns).

Amount or degree of thinning depends onage and vigor of crop trees, managementobjectives, plans for later thinnings, possibleeffect on insects or pathogens, etc. Foresterscan provide guidelines or sample treemarking plots.

(d) Thin the stand, utilizing the cut treesfor fuel or other appropriate purposes.Sprouting from stumps of cut trees can becontrolled by spraying them with keroseneor fuel oil.

If you have no use for the wood, trees canbe deadened by squirting kerosene or otheroils in a frill of axe cuts that completelyencircle the stem. This can be done anytime,except during sap flow: and is especiallyeffective in fall and early winter treatments.Trees die slowly over a period of 2 to 5years, the result of chemical girdling, andeventually break and fall in the wind.

Selection of Crop TreesThis is the most critical step since all future

thinnings and future value growth dependon the selected trees. Small paint marks maybe used to identify crop trees.

(a) Timber. Crop tree selection is guidedby current and potential value of individualtrees and, to a lesser extent, spacing. Croptree selection criteria include:

Species of high valueHealthy, vigorous crowns in upper

crown classWell-spaced, although groups of 2 or 3

trees close together are permissible.(b) Sugar. Criteria for selection include:

Sugar or black maple, and individualtrees tested and known to have highsugar content or to flow well

Large, deep, vigorous, and healthycrowns

Large stemsReasonably well-spaced.

In comparison with timber trees, sugartrees should have deep branching, prefer-ably reaching to the base of the tree; theycan be deformed or multiple-stemmed; andthey can have some heartrot, but perferablyno sap rot. In addition sugar bushes shouldbe thinned earlier in life and much moreheavily than timber forests. Because of thesedifferences, it is often undesirable to managefor both timber and sugar together.

SummaryForests are renewable and the source of

useful products. Thinning makes more treesgrow into more usable timber. It also has a2-fold effect on energy. It makes thinnedwood directly available for fuel whilehastening the growth of crop trees.Conversion of crop trees into useful buildingand other products is much less energy-in-tensive than metal, brick, concrete, or plasticcounterparts.

In addition, thinning allows more light toreach the forest floor, stimulating low levelplant growth to add to wildlife habitat. It canmake forests more open and useful forrecreation. And it can even increase watersupplies until regrowth again closes theforest canopy.

In the final analysis, forests can be thoughtof as giant solar energy collectors. The objectof thinning is to direct this energy intogrowth forms that are useful to us. xxx

CORRECTION(The article on page 7 of the Jan.-Feb.

Forest Owner, entitled "Potential Los-ses Associated with Harvesting ForestBiomass for Energy" was incorrectlyattributed to John Stanturf. The articlecontained excerpts from a publicationwith the same title, printed in Cornell'sConservation Circular, and written byRobert R. Morrow. The conclusion wasfrom an accompanying article written byJohn Stanturf.)

Teacher: Who was the smallest man inhistory?

Kenny: The soldier who went to sleepon his watch.

A conference is a gathering ofimportant people who singly can donothing, but together can decide thatnothing can be done.

New York Forest Owner Page 11

Wood and man have coexisted on thisplanet from the beginning and wood, as arenewable resource, has provided man withtools, weapons and shelter. During themillennia of man's development he learnedhow to make it harder and stronger. Thismodification was accomplished by dryingand heat tempering his wooden tools andweapons. As man increased his knowledgeof the world he lived in he attempted othermodifications of the basic resource to betterfit his increased requirements. Over theyears tars, pitches, creosote, resins and saltshave been used to coat wood or fill itsporous structure.

During the early 1960's a new class ofchemicals containing one or more doublebonds was used to treat wood: vinyl typemonomers that could be polymerized intothe solid polymer by means of free radicals(2). This vinyl polymerization was animprovement over the condensation poly-merization reaction because the free radicalcatalyst was neither acidic nor basic, nordoes the reaction leave behind a reactionproduct that must be removed from the finalcomposite, such as water. The acid and basecatalysts used with the other treatmentsdegrade the cellulose chain and causebrittleness of the composite. Vinyl polymershave a large range of properties from softrubber to hard brittle solids depending uponthe groups attached to the carbon-carbonbackbone.

Since most vinyl monomers are non-po-lar, there is little if any interaction with thehydroxyl groups attached to the cellulosemolecule. In general, vinyl polymers simplybulk the wood structure by filling thecapillaries, vessels and other void spaces inthe wood structure.

Physical PropertiesWood, when dry, has unique physical

properties in that its tensile strength, bendingstrength, compression strength, impactresistance and hardness per unit weight arethe highest of all construction materials. Thehydrogen bonding, the unique helicalstructure of the cell walls, the combination ofthe linear cellulose molecules with the threedimensional lignin molecules impregnatedwith low molecular weight extractives makeswood an infinitely variable resource. All theunusual features of wood are the reason forthe "ART" of wood treatment.

Commercial ApplicationsRadiation Process. Commercial produc-

tion of wood-polymer composites began inthe mid 1960's using the radiation process.'Parquet flooring was the primary productand the increased hardness and abrasionresistance were used to advantage in hightraffic commercial installations. The long lifeand ease of maintenance justified theincreased cost over normal flooring. Of theseveral original companies who producedirradiated wood-plastic composites only oneis a serious high volume producer today.The ARCO Chemical Company, a Division

WOOD-POLYMER COMPOSITES ANDTHEIR INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS

byJohn A. Meyer

Chemistry DepartmentS.U.N.Y. College of Environmental

Science and ForestrySyracuse, N.Y. 13210

of Atlantic Richfield at Karthaus, Pa. startedproduction in 1968 using the facilities built atthis location by a former nuclear reactorcompany (16). Their production has in-creased from 1600 to 400,000 square feet offlooring per month. Over the last five yearsover 8,000,000 square' feet of wood-acrylicflooring was installed in the United Statesand most of this was produced by ARCOunder the trade name of PermaGrain (17).The original terminology wood-polymer,wood-plastic composites, and WPC hasgiven way to acrylic-wood for commercialproducts.

Red Oak is the wood most used for theproduction of irradiated acrylic-wood par-quet flooring, however acrylic Aspen chipboard and acrylic particle board are findingtheir way into the flooring market. Smalleramounts of maple, ash and black walnuthave been used. The polymer loading of redoak is about 40 % which makes theacrylic-wood flooring quite expensive, ap-proximately three times that of ordinary redoak parquet flooring. The enhanced beautyof acrylic-wood is one of its primary sellingpoints along with its greater hardness andabrasion resistance. Maintenance consists ofwet mopping and machine buffing to restorethe original luster (ARCO supplies a specialmaintenance kit). Cigarette burns can beremoved by simply steel woo ling away thecharred wood, and buffing, since the finish isthroughout the thickness of the acrylic-wood. An untreated red oak floor must bestripped of its old finish and a. new finishapplied every year or even less in high trafficareas. When the total cost of installation andyearly maintenance over the life of the flooris considered, the cost of acrylic-woodflooring is one of the least expensive. Thedata in Table VI was compiled by ARCO in1972lt is estimated that for red oak parquetflooring the cost of the wood is 50 %, thecost of the MMA monomer, dyes, crosslink-ers and fire retardants is 25 %, and the laborand overhead is 25% (17).

ARCO also produces a smaller volume ofacrylic-wood for other uses. Eight foot longsections of hand rails are produced usingmaple and ash. Again the superior abrasionresistance and hardness are important aswell as the look and feel of the finished handrail. During the past year more than a halfmillion knife handles of acrylic blackwalnut have been produced for a cutlerycompany whose high quality products aresold through jewelry stores. IIi this case theesthetic properties of looks, feel and weight

are the key to increased sales. Other smallquantities of acrylic-wood for archery bows,stair treads, window sills and golf clubshave been produced. It must be understoodthat most production information is proprie-tory and not made available for publicdistribution.

Catalyst-heat Process. At the presenttime production using the catalyst-heatprocess for making wood-polymer compos-ites is much smaller than the radiationprocess, but its use is much moreWidespread throughout the United Statesand the world. The simplicity of thecatalyst-heat process and low initial costto begin production is the key to the useby small companies who make high costsmall volume items.

The first small production system wasassembled by the Bowling Division of AMFin 1966 when the first wood-plastic billiardcues were produced. The initial impregna-tion unit cost two hundred dollars and thedry kiln associated with the saw mill wasused as a heat source for curing thewood-monomer, which was enclosed in acapped pipe. After several successive sizeincreases the production system consisted ofa ten inch pipe six feet long with end caps asthe impregnation tank and a similar pipewith an insulated copper steam coil woundalong its length was used as a curing oven.The catalyzed monomer was stored in fivegallon cans in a refrigerator at 34°F. Themonomer solution was transferred to theimpregnation chamber by hand pouring. Ahigh volume exhaust fan at floor levelremoved the monomer vapors. The totalvolume of catalyzed monomer for eachtreatment was 35 gallons. Since each batchof fifty cues absorbed five gallons ofcatalyzed monomer, five gallons of newmonomef solution (0.25% Vazo and 5%crosslinker) was prepared for each run. Byadding new catalyzed monomer to the thirtygallons from the previous run the properinhibitor level was maintained and the levelof extractives was kept at a low level. Withthis system the curing time was about fourhours for each batch and three to four runseach day gave the required level ofproduction. This level of production wasmaintained for several years until the marketbecame saturated, and AMF discontinuedtheir billiard line. The cost of making thewood-plastic cue at that time was fifty centsand this cost was recoverable by increasingthe price of the cue by five dollars. Total costof the treating system was less than twothousand dollars. In addition to the billiardcues, AMF Bowling Division produced hardmaple wood-plastic bowling alley flooring fornumerous test facilities, but the bowling alleyboom died out before commercial installa-tions were built. Other items wereproduced in limited quantities, such as,lacrosse sticks, dynamite tamping sticks,police night sticks and chair arms. At thepresent time the treating plant is instorage. XXX

;~' Page 12

Evelyn A. StockEditor

57:£>Ike Dixon Rd.Camillus, N.Y. 13031

New York Forest Owner

Non profit org.bulk rate

U.S. POSTAGEPAID

Nedrow, N.Y.13120

Permit No. 37

How to MakeAn Ash Broom

I found this bit of Woods lore in an oldbook, WISDOM OF THE WOODS, by DanBeard, c. 1920.

Take a piece of ash about the size of abroom handle and with a sharp knife shaveone end (see fig. 1) until you have strips longenough to bend over and make a broom.(fig. 2)

Whittle the handle down to make a propersized handle. (fig. 3)

This broom is easier to make than it is tobring one from home.

others, maybe everyone wouldn't thinkis another story. XXX

ASK A FORESTERBy AI Roberts

I LIKE STUMPS

Every woods should have some stumpsin it.?" They let you know that it is aworking woods, not just an idle, inefficient,do nothing woods. I like stumps becausethey can tell me so much about so manythings. How come, you say, there shouldalways be stumps in the woods? Well, youngwoods, on a good site should be thinnedevery five to eight years, and an older woodscan have a harvest every ten to fifteen years.I hardly ever cut a tree down or see a freshstump that I don't look it over carefully to seewhat I can see. (Maybe that's why I can'tmake any money cutting firewood). Someof the things I can see are pretty obViOUS,butothers maybe everyone wouldn't thinkabout. Here are some o! the things.

The most obvious thing you can see is thewidth of the growth rings, which of course,tells how fast the tree was growing. Oncherry, ash and oak you should be gettingrings 1/4 inch wide. If you are not, the standshould have been thinned sooner. Allspecies are capable of that rate under certainconditions, but usually six rings to the inch isconsidered good. I bought my woods 13years ago and thinned it. I'm thinning againnow (the third time), and it is gratifying tocount back on the rings 10 to 12 years andsee how the growth increased.

You can also figure out a little of thehistory of your woods from the stumps. Inmy woods there is a scattering of hugestumps cut 15 years ago. The stumps of thetrees I'm thinning out now all have about 45growth rings. So until 45 years ago mywoods was an open pasture, with scatteredshade trees. When the cows were removedthe old pasture trees seeded all aroundthemselves and a new woods started togrow. The old trees were cut for timberwhen the new woods was 30 years old.

Stumps, in their various stages ofdeterioration let you know how long ago the

timber was cut. I had a man who wantedsome advice on what he called his "virginforest". At least it had not been cut formany, many years. He had just recentlybought it. Visions of sugar plums dancedthrough my head as I contemplated thetimbersale I would conduct for him. But aswe entered the woods, what to mywondering eyes should appear but stumps!I hated to disillusion him, but I told him hiswoods had been pretty heavily cut within thepast ten years. He had been taken, but I'mnot sure he believed me. He was going toget a second opinion.

You can also tell a little bit about thewoods owners from the stumps. Was thewoods heavily cut, with all the stumps beingsmall? Either the owner was awfully hard up,or awfully ignorant. Or are there big stumps,all of them sound and solid? I guess theowner didn't know enough to have the cullscut. Is there paint on the side of each stump?Good. It must have been marked by aforester.

Timber cutters leave behind them tell-taleevidence of their skill or lack of it, or theircare or lack of it in felling trees. When I lookat some stumps I wonder how the cutterknew which way to run when the tree startedto go .... uneven cuts in all directions andno hinge left to guide the direction of fall.Some cutters consciously use no hinge orundercut. It saves time, and the tree will rollout of a tree it otherwise might hang up in.He doesn't care to take the time todirection-fell the trees to avoid damage tothe remaining stand.

Stumps enable you to reconstruct the sadtale of a timber trespass. By measuring thestumps and estimating the length of logsremoved, from the position of the tops, avolume table will show the number of boardfeet stolen. Then try to collect ..... But thatis another story.

• •Except a limited amount of wildernessacreage to serve as museums.