GUIDE TO FORESTRY
BOOK ONE
BY
JOSEPHS. ILLICK
Bulletin 26
PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY
R. Y. Stuart, Commissioner.
GUIDE TO FORESTRY
BOOK ONE
BY
JOSEPH S. ILLICK
Bulletin 26.
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PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY
R. Y. Stuart, Commissioner:
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RECEIVED
OCT5 1922
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FOREST GUIDES
The Vennsylvamia Department of Forestry recognizes that the
oy Scout movement is one of the most valuable agencies in the
State for the elimination of FOREST FIRE. With the approval
of National Boy Scout Headquarters, the Department has adopted
the official designation, ?ennsylvania Forest Guides, to be conferred
on any registered member of the Boy Scouts of America, resident
of Pennsylvania, who signs a Pennsylvania Forest Guide pledge
card to be supplied by the Department of Forestry, Harrisburg, Pa.
Each Pennsylvania Forest Guide will be supplied with a bronze
button and a book “GUIDE TO FORESTRY” after he has signed
the pledge card. Scoutmasters and other Scout officials signing
the pledge card will be given white metal “Pioneer Forest Guide”
buttons. |
Each Pennsylvania Forest Guide or Pioneer Guide who has been
available for service for a whole year in the fight against FOREST
FIRE, and responded to all calls for such service, can, upon the
recommendation of his Scoutmaster, exchange his Pennsylvania
Forest Guide button for a Forest Guide badge at the office of the
District Forester.
The Department of Forestry also offers 100 gold medals annually
to Boy Scouts for special meritorious service in combating FOREST
FIRE in Pennsylvania. It is hoped that all registered Scouts will
take advantage of this offer, and help to protect the forests from
FOREST FIRE—EVERY MAN’S ENEMY.
Boys who do not belong to the Boy Scout organization can be-
come AMERICAN FORESTRY GUIDES by applying to the
American Forestry Guide Headquarters, 431 Elm Street, Reading.
Pa,
FOREST GUIDE OF PENNSYLVANIA
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:—tThis is to certify that the bearer hereof
Is a registered member of the Boy Scouts of America, and having signed the
Forest Guide pledge, is anthorized to wear the Forest Guide button. The
citizens of Pennsylvania are hereby requested to extend all possible courtesies
to him as a Forest Guide.
R. Y. STUART, Commissioner of Forestry.
FOREST GUIDE PLEDGE
Ielieving as a Boy Scout that every citizen should endeavor to see that
our Forests, together with their Wild Life and Plant Life, should be pro-
tected and conserved for our common good, I do hereby pledge myself to do
nothing willfully or carelessly to injure any Forest Tree, Wild Plant, Bird,
or harmless Animal, to do all in my power to protect and conserve the same,
to urge others to do likewise, to prevent and extinguish forest fires.
ESTER CEO 9 ciciarel cra Riviere tat wR <n he Te, 942 errs wld @ via 0 ci eas
Troop No. ROR: ek ae Seen HATO i TORRE PIERS Me Penna
AN APPRECIATION OF SCOUTING
Scouting is worth while. It makes real boys and girls and then
turns them into real men and women. A good Scout makes a good
American. A good American makes a good citizen, and good Ameri-
can citizens make America the first Nation in the world.
Scouting is good fun, but it is a lot more than that. It is the best
kind of preparation for whatever life is to bring in the days ahead.
A good Scout is seldom or never caught unprepared, and a man or a
woman who has grown up out of a boy or girl scout is always ready
to meet the present and future with head up, eyes front, and should-
ers back.
There is a lot more in the United States than can be seen from a
street car. It is the land, and the boys and men, girls and women
who know the land, who make the strength of this and any other
country. Not the least valuable thing about scouting is that it teaches
the city boy and girl to know the country, and the country boy and
girl to know the country better than he or she otherwise would.
The forest is not only the mother of the fountain, but the mother
of men as well. Our ancestors lived in the forest. We live with the
help of the forest. Wood is still the most useful of all materials, and
will continue to be for many years after you and I have passed to our
reward. :
Boys and girls who know the out-of-doors render services of great
value to their Nation and State by understanding the forest and tak-
ing part in its protection. It is just as important for people to think
rightly about preventing forest fires as it is for them to think rightly
about preventing fires in a town, or any other similar calamity. When
you help to make people respect and appreciate the forest you help
in its protection.
An understanding of the forest and of the conservation of all
natural resources is growing rapidly among Scouts. In two years the
number of badges awarded to boy scouts in forestry grew from 153
to 513. I would like to see still more awarded in Pennsylvania.
This booklet is prepared primarily for the Boy Scouts of America,
Forest Guides, American Forestry Guides,. Wood Craft League,
Knights of St. George Cadets, Camp Fire Girls, Girl Guides, and
other junior outdoor organizations in Pennsylvania. I hope that
every boy and girl who gets this book will not only study its pages
but take it into the forest, compare what is here printed with what
they find out-of-doors, and so get to know the forest which is the
home of scouting and woodcraft and a great necessity for the wel-
fare of the human race.
GIFFORD PINCHOT
PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF FORESTY
STATE FOREST COMMISSION
R. Y. Stuart, Commissioner of Forestry.
Edward Bailey.
Henry W. Shoemaker.
Mrs. John L. Lawrence.
(Mary Flynn Lawrence.)
Henry S. Drinker.
Lewis E. Stalcy, Chief, Bureau of Operation.
Ceorge.H. Wirt, Chief, Bureau of Protection.
John W. Keller, Chief, Bureau of Silviculture.
Alfred E. Rupp, Chicf, Bureau of Lands.
Joseph S. Illick, Chief, Office of Research.
W. Erdman Montgomery, Chief, Office of Maintenance.
A. O. Vorse, Chief, Office of Information.
E. A. Ziegler, Director, State Forest Academy.
GUIDE TO FORESTRY
Book One
By JOSEPH S. ILLICK
CONTENTS
Page Page
Introd wetlon aerial iekcl icine natant loner 5) Elow, tow fight) Torest fires; is icici naan
MIG Geli moet Goocadbponoceoocacd 6G) (Other things todo eiereercie)cleisietlkode tenner 18
The march of forest destruction f4-ie: 7 Why plant forest trees, eve leenersfahehetenetarcratte 19
The present forest situation, .......... 8 Why become acquainted with Bay. apo Zl
Forest area of Pennsylvania, .......... 9 How to become acquainted with trees,... 249
WMGhA fh aR ICE Gooqdnsondo ccm coon 11 Some representative Pennsylvania forest
Wwe ita? GEL. soohoonocconwnse eNO 13 LRAT SPE IMIS aIaInIC OI Go Ot cco DO Aooononc | ets
What is wrong with our forests, ........ 13) Where! to* studiys trees; 2) crescis1-1eslonet-na Meo.) bi
Gow forest fires start, ....... AO OO Maro 14 Where the State Forests are located, .... 56
Wiis stay GRAS Gh ooanngasaodooaccus 15 You are welcome on the State Forests, ... 66
Why prevent forest fires, .............. 15 Facts about Pennsylvania State foresta, 57
How to prevent forest fires, ............ 16 ;
The mere mention of the name Robin Hood among a group of
boys kindles a desire to go to the woods. There is only one way to
satisfy this desire which is inborn in almost every American boy, and
that is for him to get ready and go out along the beaten and un-
beaten paths of the forests, and there fill up on the many good things
which our forests hold in store for us.
Where is the boy who has studied American History and not been
inspired by the adventures and heroic deeds of Daniel Boone, An-
drew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. It is the
lives of these men that appealed to every boy. Becoming woods-
wise, learning by doing, being brave, chivalrous, resourceful and
leading a simple, clean, and useful life are worthy qualities which
should be developed in all the boys of our great Commonwealth.
There is no better place than in the forests for boys and girls
to frolic and receive their instruction. Most of their doings relate
to the forest, and the whole scheme of their instruction has its set-
ting in the woods. The forest environment offers the best place to
seek adventure, to become hard and handy, to think quietly, to iden-
tify rocks, to study trees, and learn the need for forestry.
6
The original forests, which formed the background for the un-
usual deeds of the early pioneers, are now practically all gone in
Pennsylvania. Only a few small and widely scattered patches re-
main, and these are beginning: to show man-made marks of travel
and work. A short description of the original forest follows. It
is written with the hope that it will help the boys and girls of to-
day realize more fully the real thrill of pioneer life, and picture the
trials and toils of Daniel Boone and other early explorers.
THE ORIGINAL FOREST
The early American pioneers were confronted on all sides with
forests. There seemed to be no end to the woods in those days.
They extended practically unbroken from the Atlantic Ocean to the
prairies beyond the Mississippi River. They also covered most of
the Rocky Mountains and occupied a wide strip on the Pacific
Coast. In the aggregate the original forests covered 822,000,000
acres, that is, an area about 30 times the size of the State of Penn-
sylvania,
The vast extent of the original forests was only one of their
characteristics. They contained a large variety of trees which at-
tained a great age, reached a large size, and produced enormous
quantities of the choicest lumber ever found on the face of the earth.
Nowhere was an equal area ever found which contained such vast
quantities of forest products suitable for the needs of man.
Nature made Pennsylvania a great and prosperous State. No
phase of her progress is more striking than that which relates to her
forests. The entire State with the exception of a few natural mead-
ows and a small number of rough mountain tops was covered with
a dense forest growth. No better and more valuable stands of
timber could be found ih any of the eastern states.
4
The word Pennsylvania means Penn’s woods, -The name was de-
rived from the first proprietor of the province and the dense and
heavy forests which practically covered all her soil. It required
many centuries of Nature’s best efforts to produce these matchless
and supposedly endless miles of primeval forest, which the first
settlers found upon all the hills and in every valley of our great
Commonwealth.
The primeval forests, untouched by the axe or saw of man, were
a wonderful environment for the pioneer boy. Flis was not an easy
environment, but one full of rich and original experiences. It made
him hard, handy and healthy. It brought out the best that was in
him. But, we of to-day must not forget that much was required of
him. His tasks were hard. He had big jobs to do, the finishing of
THIS IS THE FOREST PRIMEVAL.
Pennsylvania originally had more than 28,000,000 acres of ori-
ginal forest, of which less than 25,000 acres now remain.
TT eS
A FOREST TRAGEDY.
The forests of big trees have been cut, the land is idle, and the inhabitants of this
onee prosperous lumbering town are nearly all gone. In its prime the town of Cross
ork, Potter County. had over two thonsand inhabitants: now less than twenty neople
live there.
Photo by J. 8. lick.
THE MARCH OF FOREST DESTRUCTION.
The lumberman fells trees, then forest fires rage, and thereafter only acres of
desolation remain.
10
which required many days of hard work in some remote clearing
in the woods where human companions were unknown and travelers
rarely ventured. To be a pioneer boy means much more than being
able to help fell trees, build log cabins, and work in the small family
clearings.
The pioneer boy was assigned to outpost positions on the danger
line about the forest border. He helped to provide for his family.
and protect his friends from numerous and treacherous enemies.
His duties required that he become acquainted with the fundamen-
tals of wooderaft. He learned to know the animals of the forest, and
studied the ways of the wild folks. He became acquainted with the
trees and other plants of the forest. He knew the trees which pro-
duced valuable wood, and could recognize the medicinal herbs. The
pioneer boy was indeed rich, not in money but in knowledge and
ability. He knew his environment and could do things. He was
a keen observer, fearless explorer, and a cheerful doer of many good
and useful deeds.
Every boy of to-day can find some characteristics or virtues of
the pioneer boy of the early days which are worth striving for.
There is only one way to get these virtues, and that is the best way.
Go. out in the glorious and boundless out-of-doors, do the things the
pioneer boy did, and learn your lessons as he learned his.
THE MARCH OF FOREST DESTRUCTION
Pennsylvania has a land area of 28,692,480 acres. Almost every
acre was covered originally with an excellent forest growth. But a
great change has taken place since the days when the early settlers —
began building their cabins and clearing their fields. To-day only |
a few small patches of the original. forest remain. Where once
stood heavy stands of the choicest white pine, hemlock, cherry,
oak and other important timber trees, there exist now only endless
stretches of barren mountain land. The questions which naturally
follow are: What brought about this rapid change? Who were the
chief agents of forest destruction?
There were 2 number of agents of destruction, but man played
the leading role. He felled the monarchs of the forest, operated
sawmills, and started forest fires. Even before Penn arrived in
1682, the Dutch and Swedes had sawmills on the “South River” as
the Delaware was then known. But they were few in number and
did not cut much timber. The date when the first sawmills began
operating in some of the counties of the State is given in the follow-
ing table:
1]
COUNTY YEAR
Philadelphia 1662
Franklin 1732
Berks 1735
Lycoming 1773
Allegheny 1776
. Huntingdon - 1786
Wyoming 1793
Warren 1800
Clarion _ 1805
Elk 1825
It was not until 1838 that the first sawmill was erected in Wil-
liamsport. This was the actual beginning of the great lumber in-
dustry of Pennsylvania, which was at its best between 1870 and
1890. In 1850 the lumber output of Pennsylvania was surpassed by
only one state—New York—and in 1860 the Keystone State stood at
the very top. She maintained a rank of first or second until 1890,
when she took third place. Fourth place was given her in 1900, and
by 1918 she had dropped down to the twentieth place, which posi-
tion she is still holding.
Pennsylvania’s fall as a timber producing state was rapid. It could
not have been otherwise, for her forests were gone. Just thirteen
years ago as much wood was cut in Pennsylvania as her citizens
and industries used. Now the annual cut of wood is only one-third
as much as we consume, and what is far more significant, our forests
are growing only about one-tenth as much lumber as we use.
The great and glorious lumber industry flourished for a short
‘ while in Pennsylvania. It brought much business to the State, but
ieft a big blot on its otherwise wonderful and prosperous record
—THE PENNSYLVANIA DESERT. There are in our State to-day
six million acres of mountain land, which can produce only one crop,
and that is a forest crop. This area is too rough and rocky for the
plow; but if handled properly will provide a continuous flow of
valuable and necessary forest products.
We do not want to keep this unproductive desert. Vo do so
would be entirely wrong and selfish, and show poor foresight. It
becomes us to show our worth and good sense by treating these six
million acres in such a way that a full crop of necessary forest pro-
ducts will flow from them continuously.
THE PRESENT FOREST SITUATION
We do not have enough wood to satisfy fully the present de-
mands. It is becoming scarcer each year and the prices are rising
rapidly. Wood will forever be a hunvan need. It is used in the in-
8
-~
12
dustries, the home, and the fields. It is an element of human
necessity from the cradle to the coffin. Next to food and clothing
it is the most indispensable product of nature. We are now in the
early stages of a timber shortage, which we must not allow to grow
worse, for without wood there can be no agriculture, no manufac-
ture, no commerce.
Most of the work of reclaiming Pennsylvania’s Desert wili fall
to young people. They are the ones who look forward and want to
set things aright. It is they who are building for the future, and
concerned with the problems which require a long time to complete.
The boys and girls of Pennsylvania can render a great and lasting
service by helping in the restoration of a forest growth upon Penn-
sylvania’s Desert. They can at least do a part of this fine piece of
work. In fact, they have started upon the job already, are taking
it seriously, and making commendable progress. Boys are helping
to extinguish forest fires in every part of the State. In some cases
they put out fires without any help. They have also reported many
fires to forest officers. A troop of Boy Scouts fought a fire.strenu-
ously for one day and night and conquered it completely. It will
ever be to their credit for having worked so hard and accomplished
so much. The Scouts have also planted many trees, cleaned up the
forest of weeds and debris, improved springs, built trails, and cared
for birds and other wild animals. They have done much good,
which is being appreciated and will live long after them.
But in order that every boy and girl may do his and her part well,
and probably better than would otherwise have been possible, this
little booklet has been prepared. It does not aim to tell all about
the forests or point out all good forestry practices, but its purpose
is rather to impress our young folks with a few of the most impor-
tant things which they should know, and do in order that they may
help protect and improve our forests.
FOREST AREA OF PENNSYLVANIA
Pennsylvania was originally one of the best, if not the very best,
wooded state in the eastern half of our country. The total land area
of Pennsylvania is usually given as 28,692,480 acres. Practically
the entire state, with the exception of a few natural meadows and
several rough mountain tops, was originally covered with trees.
The opening of agricultural lands, lumbering operations, forest
fires, and other agents of forest destruction, have reduced this
acreage considerably. The following table gives the present forest
area of Pennsylvania by counties:
13
TOTAL TOTAL
FOREST ARBA FOREST AREA
COUNTY (ACRES) COUNTY (ACRES)
/. CATT Sai ea cet, 99,262 Lackawanna. 110,020
POD NETIV Te ese. SESE 2 109,200 Laneaster, ._. 99,177
Armstrony, ........ ua pe 27,913 Lawrence, ....... 48,951
RSRHMO tices ctert ok te hie « wees TaS0e) PeDANON, hohe. ene 41,650
aT 13 re ih. ANE 276.000, Lelielivnc.s 6. ashe cbs 47,500
3052 we Re 115.096 Luzerne, . : 380,827
Gio “2 2 ae a eed 136,704 Lycoming, ......... 489,855
Sioit e ae 304-416) MelKean® «405 en. cs 565,000
Sond) ol ne Go oO Mercers oto 2 oe 106,650
50: en TOD DOOM CALLIN sae geome ate 160,251
WETITIEEI SS sc. 5s - OG OTe Monroe: sees ese... 210,000
OUNTGAD Taal ay 197,500 Montgomery, ............ 47,200
“DD TOTEM aa a oR ue 124800) Montonr ssh ss is. . aoe 33,280
PREM Re ek shia gy ators 496,013 Northampton, ............ 39,700
ROMESIM OS Or Si ies See 88.676 Northumberland. ......... 92,000
MIMI RTs cs cca dee fe 15S QUOMREIMY) ease ae See bs 184,039
UT FUEL GAG i ee pees ieee 500:000 Philadelphia. ..... 20>. 4,500
UT OTH ae ne eee AS BOS PIKE hc sce vanes Sak cemaseee 261,118
'@olmmbia, <5... .. ea gs a TST oee POULeI tierce eer Cae eee 509,921
Lh ee 210,000 Nelinylkall: ic. tte et 325,000
Cumberiand. ...:....¢-.-%. Tee DARIEN S171 Co) aan Rye aE. ka 67,000
LSSTCL TD Oa 97,603 Somerset. ......... te 399,960
IB HRU ALORS cei 3 Sis oss hee USOO0 Sullivans .00 3.0. oie. ‘ 210.000
Bikes te ee he, 417.000 Susquehanna, ............ 180,000
PMR er gee ret Sak aa eres SOU TOP Rig tas | hae ji 375,440
BRUCE RECOM 0 Sl tec 2 x epee POPE UMNOMN; fcts ete roe re 98,440
CUP TT i se el Clee ebee OO! WONT EO inteie aie We enske 176,000
DOTA ee ep eee UTSToUBY AMS erates ct eres 395,486
COUT Tyo ia Se eae 140,000 Washington, ............. 76.861
“SOIC Cee SO420 RW aynes et seas cys aso 283,707
RREBIREATI OOO 5 oncom aks dole = lane 355.000 Westmoreland. ........... 215.450
HULU E es eet Eel ge MEO OO WirvOMmings sence cos se eS 139,744
RIEBIMOT 63 92-20 oh hte du oh eA OOO Vierki ceri mare ct as 119,630
TRS L VATS REE, Aa Sm a 108.500 —————————
Total Forest Area 13,046,557
A study of the above table shows that seven adjoining counties,
located in the north-central part of the State, comprise more than
one-fourth of the total forest area of the State. These counties
are McKean, Potter, Clearfield, Centre, Lycoming, Clinton, and Elk.
It is quite significant that while the seven counties comprise more
than one-fourth of the total forest area, they make up less than one-
twenty-third of the State’s total population. The county having
the largest forest area is McKean. It has a total land area of 631,680
acres of which 565,000 acres, or 89.4%, is forested.
There are six counties in the State of Pennsylvania that have more
than 75% of their total land area in forests. They are McKean,
Forest, Elk, Clinton, Cameron, and Pike. It is significant that
twenty-six of the sixty-seven counties of Pennsylvania have more
than 50% of their total land area in forests, and that 45.5% of the
total land area of the State is forest land.
There are in Pennsylvania 13,046,557 acres of forest land and
8,720,017 inhabitants. This means that there are one and one-half
acres of forest land for each inhabitant of the Keystone State. A
study of the forest area and population of each county shows a wide
variation. There are in the State twenty counties that have less
14
than one acre of forest land for each inhabitant; twenty-four coun-
ties that have from one to ten acres of forest land to each inhabitant ;
ten counties with from ten to fifteen acres of forest land to each in-
habitant; and only three counties that have more than twenty-five
acres of forest land for each inhabitant.
The forest area per capita ranges from .0025 acres in Philadelphia
County to 38.3 acres in Pike County. The counties having the
largest forest acreage per capita are:
FOREST AREA
PER CAPITA
COUNTY (Acres)
Pike, 38.3
Cameron, | SA
Forest, 31.0
Potter, 24.2
Sullivan, OPA
Some of the counties having the smallest forest area per Capita are:
FOREST AREA
PER CAPITA
COUNTY (Acres)
Philadelphia, 0025
Delaware, 09
Montgomery, 2
Lehigh, 3)
Northampton, 5
Washington, 4
Lackawanna, 4
Erie, 25
The forest land of Vennsylvania may be placed in the following
classes : °
AREA (Acres)
State forest lamdey cn cee eae eee 126,267
Barm: woodlotsn ae eeeeee ee 4,043,902
Outside of State Forests and farm
WOOCLOES wi 558 saast 2S: Ane en ae 7,870,418
ae
OTA Ue aah eis ee SR a OE 13,046,557
WHAT A FOREST IS
A forest is a complex community of living things. It is more than
a mete collection of trees, for associated with the trees are many
18
other plants and animals, all of which live in close relationship with
one another.
There is a right and a wrong way for boys and girls to find out
what a forest really is. Many hours may be spent in schoolrooms,
libraries, and parlors studing about the forest and its inhabitants.
Such a method has some good points, but there js a better way. The
right way to become acquainted with the inhabitants of forests con-
sists in getting ready, going out, hiking right into them and there
beginning a first-hand acquaintance with the many and interesting
members of which it is made up.
Do not plan to become acquainted witn all the forest inhabitants
on the first trip into the woods for there are too many of them.
Just as it is impossible to become acquainted with all the inhabi-
tants of a city in a single day, so it is beyond the realm of the pos-
sible to learn to know all of the members of the forest on a single
hike.
A good plan for the first hike to the forest is to list or make a
census of all the different groups or classes of plants and animals
which you may observe, that is, make no special attempt to name
the individuals. This may be done by making a table of two
columns, the one with the heading Plants and the other Animals,
and listing under each all the living things observed. Only two
columns are required, for all living things are either plants or
animals. The table may be made up in the following manner:
PLANTS ANIMALS
1. Trees 1. Deer :
2. Shrubs 2. Squirrels
3. Ferns 3. Rabbits
4. Mosses, etc. 4. Birds, ete.
5 5.
6. 6.
fa 7.
8 8.
9 9.
10 10.
Such an exercise will show that while the trees are the most con-
spicuous and the most important members of the forest, they are
by no means its only inhabitants. Instead, the forest is a complex
community of many living things, whose activities are so closely
inter-related that the absence of any group may make itself felt on
all the remaining members,
Photo by Oharles I. Buvinger.
IT IS EVENING. ALL IS WELL WITH THE SCOUTS
AND EVERYBODY IS HAPPY.
Photo by Oharlea I. Buvinger.
A CRUDE BUT COMFORTABLE LEAN-TO SHELTER.
Photo by Charles I. Buvinger.
A LESSON IN NATURE STUDY. BE SURE TO SBE
WHAT YOU LOOK AT.
Photo by Charles I. Buvinger.
Photo by Charles |. Buvirger
J ce IT IS TRUP. ONE TREE MAY
4 TRIO OF TREE LOVERS. MAKE A MILLION MATCHES, BUT
They have named and identified ali ONE MATCH MAY BURN A. MIL-
the different trees about their camp LION TREES.
18
WHAT FORESTRY IS
Forestry is the art of handling forest land in such a way that it
will be of the greatest service to man. It is no field for selfish effort
and has no place for a gtfeedy goal. Good forestry considers the
wants of future generations as well as our present needs. It recom-
mends the wise use of all forest products now on hand, and insists
that a growth of valuable forest trees be maintained continuously on
every acre of forest land. Idle acres, barren slopes, areas of desola-
tion, and unproductive land are objects to be overcome and improv-
ed.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR FORESTS
That our forests are in urgent need of improvement is no longer
a question. Many of them are unattractive; fire-scarred snags, ex-
posed boulders, and bare soil being among their most striking
characteristics. Most of them are unsanitary, for they are filled with
debris, dirt, half rotten trunks, stumps, and insect infested stuff. All
of our forests are producing fewer products than they are capable of .
turning out. Furthermore, there appears to be no order in them,
for they have developed without any attention or care.
A general study of prevailing forest conditions shows that the
forests of to-day fall short of being satisfactory in at least four im-
portant ways:
1. They do not produce enough good wood.
2. They are not attractive in appearance.
3. They are positively unclean.
4, There is no order in them.
The boys and girls cannot do all the things or carry on all the op-
erations which are necessary to bring about the desired improve-
ments, but there are a number of lines of work which they can and
should do; and it is equally important to know that there are other
things that should not be done. Here are some suggestions:
1. Do not start a forest fire.
2. Tell all your companions about the damage which
forest fires do.
3. Report all forest fires to the nearest forest officer.
4. Learn how to fight forest fires, and take a hand in
putting them out.
5. Plant forest trees in vacant corners, wasteplaces,
abandoned fields, on barren mountain slopes and
other unoccupied forest land.
6. Destroy insects which injure and kill forest trees.
7. Destroy rots, blights, and other fungous foes of the
forest.
8. Help clean up the forest by using the dead wood
found lying on the forest floor.
9. Cut out only undesirable trees and guard the more
valuable ones.
19
HOW FOREST FIRES START
Someone may have told you that lightning causes many forest
fires or that spontaneous combustion may furnish the spark which
starts the fires on their mission of destruction. In order that we
may get at the very bottom of this important subject, and not be
misinformed, let us take advantage of the results of a careful study
which has been made of the causes of forest fires in Pennsylvania.
They may be summarized as follows:
1. Few, if any, forest fires are the result of spontaneous
combustion.
2. Lightning does not cause more than 10 or 12 forest fires
each year in Pennsylvania, that is, about four-fifths of
one per cent. of the total number.
3. Someone’s carelessness or neglect causes 99 per cent. of
the forest fires which occur each year in Pennsylvania.
No matter what the immediate or apparent cause
happens to be the real original cause can in almost al!
cases be traced back to the carelessness or neglect of
some person or group of persons. Carelessly con-
structed or neglected camp fires have started many
forest fires. The careless throwing away of a burning
match, cigarette, or tobacco among dry leaves has been
the cause of some of our worst fires. Sparks from en-
gines start many forest fires, but the real cause is
the fact that the smoke stacks were not properly equip-
ped with a satisfactory spark arrester, or a satisfactor-
ily cleared safety strip was not kept on both sides of
the road bed. We all believe in clearing up unsightly
and unsanitary places, but too often brush burners
choose a windy day or forget to take proper precau-
tion so that the fires which they start cannot get away
from them. In many instances those in charge of a
fire go away for a while, only to return and find that
the fire has escaped and is traveling rapidly over an
adjoining woodlot or ascending a steep and heavily
timbered mountain slope.
4. Be sure the camp fire is out before leaving it. Take no
chances, for you can easily tramp it out, smother it
with ground, or soak it with water.
5. Be very careful in cleaning up a camp site. Burn the un-
desirable material when there is little danger of the
fire getting beyond control.
6. Be as careful with fire in the forest as in your home, for
it is an evil doer if it gets beyond control. Careful
boys and girls take no chances with fire in or near the
woods, for its actions are treacherous and its destruc-
tive power great, if it gets beyond control.
Photo by J. &. Iilok.
FOREST FIRE IS EVERY MAN’S BNEMY.
Be sure to look over a forest fire before yeu tackle it, but do not lose much time.
Watching and waiting will not do the work. Lecate the “header” and fight it first
The “header” is the part of the fire that travels most rapidly. The top of a ridge,
or just Weyoud the top and right in front of the ‘header’ of a fire, is the right place
to get busy.
Photo by J. 8. Illick,
FOREST FIRES MAY DESTROY HOMES.
There is no end to the damage that forest fires de. In 1918 nearly 400 persons lost
their lives in a single forest fire in Minnesota, about 2,000 were more or Jess seriously
burned, and 13,000 rendered homeless.
A MODERN STEEL FOREST FIRE TOWER. IT IS 60 FEET HIGH ANID
FROM ITS TOP MAY BE VIEWED 500,000 ACRES OF FOREST LAND.
1D)
WHAT FOREST FIRES DO.
The first thing that every boy and. girl should know about
forest fires is the fact that they do absolutely no good. They bring
no benefits to mankind, for damage and loss are the results of their
work. It would require many pages to discuss fully the loss caused
by forest fires. The following outline will show some of the damage
which they do:
1. Forest fires destroy the beauty and value of a
region.
2. They destroy the animal and plant life of the
forests.
3. They destroy the seeds and seedlings which would
develop into stately stands of timber.
4. They kill enormous quantities of growing timber.
5. They consume a large amount of felled timber and
other forest products stored in forests.
6. They consume the leaf litter and humus on the
forest floor.
7. They impoverish the soil to such an extent that its
capacity to produce timber is almost negligible.
Briefly, they prevent the production of enormous
quantities of needed forest products.
8. They have already made a big desert in Pennsyl-
vania. It covers a large part of the mountains
of our State.
9. They open the way for the destructive work of in-
sects, fungi, erosion, floods and drought.
10. They sometimes kill live stock, and frequently de-
stroy buildings, crops and fences.
11. ‘They occasionally destroy houses.
12. They even may cause the loss of human lives.
There appears to be no end to the damage which forest fires do.
We cannot let them go on. It is our duty to step in right now and
fight them to a finish.
WHY PREVENT FOREST FIRES.
There are many reasons why forest fires should be prevented. It
would make a list as long as an arm if an attempt were made ta
name them all, but everyone cannot help but become enthusiastic
about preventing forest fires after knowing that:
1. Forest fires are unnecessary. There exists no need
for them and they should be stopped.
2. Forest fires benefit no one, except a few selfish
people who still have the false notion that forest
fires are necessary to insure a crop of Huckle-
berries.
23
3. The prevention of forest fires is good business, for
they are the curse of our forests. They do only
evil. No good comes from them. We endure
hardship and suffer great loss because of them.
4. They are responsible for the greatest leak which
exists at the present time in our otherwise pros-
perous Commonwealth.
5. The prevention of forest fires is wise forethought,
for they are not only destroying annually an
enormous quantity of wood, but also prevent an
inestimable amount of wood from growing. It
is our duty to stop them now, because of the
damage they do, and the hardships which will
bear down upon future generations through a
shortage of forest products.
HOW TO PREVENT FOREST FIRES.
lt seems to follow from the study of the causes of forest fires that
the best way to prevent them is to have every inhabitant and every
visitor of our Commonwealth be careful and thoughtful about the
use of fire in all forms and at all times. The following suggestions
should be helpful in out-of-door activities:
1. Be sure you do not throw away a lighted match or
any other burning material while walking
through, resting, or camping within the woods.
2. Clear the ground of all inflammable material before
building a camp fire. If possible, dig a small pit
in a clear area, and surround it at least on three
sides with a wall of stones. This makes an ideal
and safe fire place.
3. Never build a big fire. It is neither necessary nor
safe.
4. Of course, most boys do not smoke, but if you are
allowed to smoke or choose to “steal a smoke,”
be very careful in disposing of the burning to-
bacco, cigar, or cigarette. Many a forest fire
was Started by a carelessly disposed of cigar or
cigarette, and the thoughtless throwing away of
burning tobacco.
HOW TO FIGHT FOREST FIRES.
Someone has said that the best way to fight forest fires is to pre-
vent them from starting. That is good advice and a fine idea,
but some fires will start and must be fought. The putting out of a
forest fire is a real fight. It is one of the severest contests a group
of young men can engage in. Forest fires are a difficult enemy to
overcome, for their advances are usuelly fierce and uncertain.
24
In order to overcome them quickly the fighters must take heart,
and then “dig-in” and use their heads, hands and feet with all their
might. By so doing they will be able to conquer the most formid-
able foe of the forest.
The best results will be obtained if the fighting force 1s well
equipped, properly organized, and so trained that every member
understands the most important rules of the business. A schedule
follows which points out some of the most imporant things which
should be done in case of forest fires.
1. Always be on the watch for forest fires, especially during
the spring and fall when they are apt to occur and in
regions where they happen frequently.
2. The first thing to do, if you are at or near a fire when it
starts, and it is not too large, is to try to put it out.
3. The first thing to do, if you are at a distance from the
fire, or if it is large in size and burning rapidly, is to
notify the nearest forest officer, who may be a Forest-
er, Forest Ranger, Forest Fire Warden or Game War-
den.
4. The second thing to do is to get together a crew of fire
fighters.
5. See to it that the fighters are properly equipped.
Get the fighters to the fire as soon as possible. The secret
of success in fighting forest fires is to knock, kick or
otherwise get them out in the first round, for they be-
come larger and stronger the longer you allow them to
go ahead.
As you approach a fire look it over and proceed to take
the best position to attack it. Always tackle “the
header’”’ first, that is the part of the fire which is travel-
ing fastest.
8. Upon reaching the fire, offer your service to the forest
officer in charge. If so forest officer is present, cr-
ganize your men and tackle the fire without delay.
Lose as little time as possible in discussing the situa-
tion.
9. A slow fire may be stopped by beating it out, but in cases
where fires are progressing very rapidly, it is best to
clear a line about two feet wide of all inflammable
material some distance ahead of the fire. If the fire is
not advancing too fast it will stop when it reaches this
cleared line, but if a strong wind is blowing it is very
apt to jump over the cleared line and proceed onward
doing destructive work. In the case of rapidly advanc-
ing fires it is recommendable to start a “Back Fire” on
the side of the cleared line towards the original fire,
and when they meet, both will die out for want of in-
flammable material. A “Back Fire” improperly placed
or poorly timed may do more damage than good.
Therefore, no “Back Fire’ should be started by boys
~l
25
unless a forest officer, or another person who has had
experience in fighting forest fires, is at hand to direct
the fight.
10. One of the most responsible positions on a fire line is that
of the “guards” who control the back fire and see to it
that the fire does not jump over the fire line.
11. Do not expect every established fire line to hold, for you
will sometimes be compelled to fall back, reorganize the
fighters and begin to battle from a new and more ad-
vantageous position.
12. Do not give up until you have won the fight. Remember
that the fight is not really won until the last spark is
out. Therefore, do not leave a fire immediately after
the flames have been subdued, but patrol the lines and
see to it that it does not break out anew and go on
another spree of destruction.
OTHER THINGS TO DO.
The stopping of forest fires will do much to rebuild our devastated
forests, but there are other things which must also be done in order
to place them in a satisfactory condition. ‘These important tasks
should go hand in hand with or follow right after protection. Some
of these essential things are:
1. Securing a new growth of valuable trees as quickly as
possible on every acre of devastated land within the
State. We cannot afford to leave so many acres of
mountain land remain idle. It does not pay to delay.
Right now is the time to see to it that all unproductive
areas of forest land are so stocked with trees that they
will begin to produce a valuable forest crop.
2. Another thing to do is to give preference to the important
forest trees and eliminate as rapidly as possible the
undesirable kinds. There are over 100 different kind
of trees and about 200 different kind of shrubs native
to Pennsylvania. Nature does not show any preference
for the important timber trees in the early stage of re-
forestation. As a rule, many different kind of trees
come up after forest fires and lumbering operations,
and in the struggle for an existence the inferior ones
often win out. If the job of restocking our forest land
is left to nature entirely, a great deal of ground will be
occupied by worthless trees. It is our business, there-
fore, to learn to know the best trees, and then help
them overcome inferior ones such as scrub oak, fire
cherry, trembling aspen, sumachs and other similar
weed trees. While in camp boys and girls should show
their appreciation of the land owner by helping him im-
prove the composition of his forest by cutting out the
inferior trees and thus help those of better quality.
3. A third thing which is essential to rebuilding our forests
properly is the removal from tke forests of all trees of
Oountesy of the U. 8. Forest Service.
BE SURE THAT THE CAMP FIRE IS OUT BEFORE YOU
LEAVE.
A COMFORTABLE CAMP ON THE MOSHANNON STATE
FOREST IN PENNSYLVANIA.
There are 563 permanent camp sites under lease on the State
Forest of Pennsylvania, and during 1921 at least 80,000 people
used the State Forests for camping and recreatien purposes.
A PLANTATION OF YOUNG WHITE PINE TREES.
Make your idie land pay. Plant forest trees on waste places.
a |
Photo by J. 8. Mok.
AN ATTRACTIVE AND THRIFTY STAND OF WHITE
PINE PLANTED 48 YEARS AGO.
‘ aieitt el
Note the branch scars that encircle the trunks. The distance
between the rings is the height growth of one year.
28
poor quality, and undesirable form, as well as all dead,
dying and damaged specimens. In almost every forest
there are wolf trees, that is, trees which are unat-
tractive, have a wide-spreading crown, and a twisted
and hollow trunk. Such trees grow very little in size
and are continuously decreasing in value. They should
be removed from the forest for they possess no future
promise, and are suppressing and even killing many
young and thrifty trees beneath them. Their days of
usefulness and service are past, and the way should
be opened up for a younger generation of trees by re-
moving their suppressors.
Boys and girls should make it a rule to use for camp-
ing and other essential purposes only such material
whose removal will improve the forests, and thus assist
in rebuilding them and making them even more pro-
ductive and more valuable than the original forests.
4. Another important thing to do is to stock completely all
forest land so that it will begin producing forest prod-
ucts of value. Our forests are now full of gaps and
openings in which nothing of value is now being pro-
‘duced. Many of these areas are small in size, while
some of them cover large areas. The loss from a single
blank area may not be great, but when all of them are
added together the loss is enormous.
Let us give nature a chance to establish forests of baby trees on
all these areas, but if she does not succeed, the thing to do is to go
out upon these barren areas and plant upon them selected trees,
which are well-known, sure to grow, and will produce a valuable
crop of timber. We must not compete with nature or try to outdo
her in places where she is doing good work, but our aim should be
to fill in all fail places. Boys and girls can be of great service in
this work for there is a big tree planting job before all of us. It will
be a creditable piece of work for the young and brave men of our
State to go out among the hills and start to re-clothe them with the
best trees which are now available.
WHY PLANT FOREST TREES.
Nature working through many centuries produced the original
forest. It took a long time for her to accomplish this wonderful
task. In some localities nature will again produce fine forests,
while in other places she is making progress very slowly. We can-
not afford to wait. We must put our idle mountain land to work at
once for we need all the forest products which all the available areas
are capable of producing.
Wherever nature is not restoring a forest growth, we may go in
and help her by planting seedlings of valuable forest trees. The
boys and girls of Pennsylvania have already planted many trees, and
it is fair to assume that as they learn more about this delightful
29
pastime and helpful practice they will plant an increasing number
each year. You may not know about it, but it is a fact that almost
50 million small forest trees have been raised already in the nurseries
operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Forestry and all of
them have been planted on forest land within the Keystone State.
More than 34 million of these trees have been planted on the State
forests, the remainder having been set out by private owners of
woodland.
How rapidly the practice of forest tree planting is grow-
ing may be learned from the following table:
Number of Trees
Supplied to
YEAR Private Planters
1910 EE te® 66,374
191] Sentech te i TRG So 25,360
1912 66,854
|G | se Eee oA, = eee 47,770
2 Cs ee aOR MD. gee SENS 3 108,685
POR ee Ae 115,577
ROG cree ee eee ss i 1,471,875
1 AP Wicgae hal Sa dhs BR: $01 ee RR ‘ 1,812,997
LG come estes SE Es 2 2,186,899
RE SE LE Tay ne 3,139,531
re eT 2,543,374
er. Nici Ace li lt at 3,041,710
1 Nag ce RRS cs 14,627,006
Every Pennsylvania boy and girl should be a tree planter. It is
a helpful and wholesome kind of work. In order that every boy and
girl may know some of the good points of tree planting, a list of the
henefits that may be derived therefrom follows:
ie
Planted trees will help supply the constantly grow-
ing demand for wood. They are a credit to us
who set them out, and will be a blessing to future
generations. Cheap wood is gone forever in
Pennsylvania.
Planted trees afford excellent protection to our
water supplies and prevent erosion on steep
slopes.
Planted trees beautify and protect homes and make
our landscape cheerful.
Planted trees utilize the energies of nature which
might otherwise be wasted.
Planted trees beautify and improve highways,
waterways, and byways.
Tree planting will make worthless land productive
and yield useful forest crops.
30
7. Tree planting will help fll up the storehouse of
needed wealth.
8. The planted forests of France helped win the war.
There is a great need for forest tree planting. It is not hard to
find places upon which trees should be planted. Bare hillsides and
poorly stocked mountain land is common, idle corners are present
everywhere, and eroding slopes and gullies are doing enormous dam-
age in every community.
Boys and girls should remember that they do not stand alone
when they desire to plant trees, for the Pennsylvania Department of
Forestry will co-operate with them. It will supply the trees for
planting if at least 100 are set out. The only cost attached to the
trees is the packing and shipping charges, which should not exceed
about 75 cents per thousand. A troop of Boy Scouts in April, 1920,
planted one thousand trees upon a hillside near Sellersville, Pa., in
about two hours. They enjoyed the work so much that they sent in
a “hurry up” order for 500 more, which they also planted and now
they are planning to take good care of them and watch them grow in
size, value, and beauty.
He that planteth a tree is a servant of God,
He provideth a kindness for many generations,
And faces that he hath not seen shall bless him.
HENRY VAN DYKE
WHY BECOME ACQUAINTED WITH TREES.
Every boy and girl will sooner or later ask themselves the ques-
tion, why should I put forth any effort to become acquainted with
trees for they are such commonplace things? At first they may not
be able to satisfy themselves that the study of trees is important, but
as they revolve the question in their minds they will begin to see
what a wide and practical application to every day lite this subject
has, and that trees ever since the creation have been among man’s
best friends and most useful helpers, and as time goes on and wood
becomes scarcer they will play an even more important role in satis-
fying his needs.
Suppose we pause just long enough to think about a few of the
ways in which trees have been our friends and helpers. We cannot
begin to take an itemized census of all the different benefits derived
from them for we would soon have a list as long as our arms and ~
only half finished, but in order that we may not overlook entirely
some of their good points a list of the most important of them fol-
lows:
1. Trees decorate the landscape. A treeless place is
indeed cheerless.
- 2. Trees supply us with shade and shelter, and protect
our houses and otker buildings against storms.
s
31
3. Trees beautify our homes, highways, and byways.
4. Trees give shelter to and serve as a refuge for birds
and other wild-animals.
5. Trees supply shade and shelter to domestic animals
when in the open.
6. Trees help make, fix, and improve the soil.
7. Trees protect steep mountain slopes against erosion,
and bind the soil along the banks of streams.
8. Trees increase the run-off of water during periods
of drought.
9. Trees help purify the atmosphere.
10. Trees decrease the run-off of water during periods
of flood.
11. Trees help maintain and improve the health and
efficiency of our citizens.
12. Trees help raise the moral standard and social worth
of our boys and girls.
13. Trees furnish the raw material for many of our most
important industries.
14. Trees supply us with some of our most necessary
products of life. They supply us with the wood
with which to build, furnish and warm our homes.
They are the main source of the raw material
from which the paper upon which we write is
made. .
15. Every Pennsylvania boy and girl should become
acquainted with our native trees so that they can
recognize the difference between the important
timber trees and the inferior (weed) species.
HOW TO BECOME ACQUAINTED WITH TREES.
There is more than one way for boys and girls to become ac-
quainted with our common trees. Some are so fortunate as to have
a teacher available who knows the trees and is willing to point out
their distinctive features and peculiar habits. Others are less fortu-
nate in that they do not have a teacher familiar with the trees, but
they do have available for use a good supply of helpful tree leaflets
and manuals. But there is a third group of boys and girls and this
includes by far the largest number, who have neither a good teacher
nor satisfactory literature available to pursue a course of tree study.
It is primarily for this third class of boys and girls that the material
en the following pages has been prepared.
One of the first things which boys and girls should know about
tree study is the fact that to attempt to learn to know all the trees
is a big and long job, for there are over a hundred different trees
native to Pennsylvania. It may be well in this connection to re-
member the old adage “lo not attempt too much for fear of ac-
complishing too little.’ Much better results will be attained by
selecting a small group of trees, or a certain number of representative
a]
EGE LEGS NOTA TT RIE LI EINES RE EE RL IN TEI LEI EY RT OG TEE EE eT A AR
pt ee ee poe eet ig : = gcd
SuITE Piet
Photo by J. 4. Tiltek.
NEEDLE CLUSTERS OF THE SIX PINES NATIVE TO PENNSYLVANIA
White pine is the only pine native to Pennsylvania with five needles in a cluster ;
pitch pine has three needles in a cluster; while the other four native pines have two
needles in a cluster. Left to right: Red pine, pitch pine, table mountain pine, short-
leaf er yellow. pine, Jersey or scrub pine, white pine.
Photo by J. 8. Illick.
CONES OF THE SIX PINES NATIVE TO PENNSYLVANIA.
Left to right: Red pine, pitch pine, table mountain pine, short-leaf or yellow
pine, Jersey or scrub pine, white pine.
MUVva
HIALLL AM GUHSIOONLLSIG Ga AVW VINVATASNNGd JO SANId AML
HUM
‘auld @
qd
euid
ous
peu
ourd
34.
species and learn to know them well, rather than attempt to master
all of them and later on find that you have acquired only a super-
ficial smattering of most of them and know none real intimately.
SOME REPRESENTATIVE PENNSYLVANIA FOREST
TREES.
A small number of Pennsylvania forest trees have been selected
for special consideration in this booklet. They are fairly representa-
tive trees and possess some striking and interesting characteristics.
There are many other equally interesting and important trees which
may be considered in later editions. The trees that will be de-
scribed are:
eae Wile em 9. Red Mulberry
Bee, ANGIE 10. Sugar Maple
fee Eaikehinetme 11. Red Maple
4. Short-leaf Pine 12. Silver Maple
5. Jersey or Scrub Pine “359813. Ash-leaved Maple
6. Table Mountain Pine 14. Striped Maple
7. Buttonwood 15. Mountain Maple
8. Sassafras 16. Norway Maple
17. Sycamore Maple.
THE PINES OF PENNSYLVANIA.
Six different kinds of pine trees are native to Pennsylvania. One.
or more of them occurs in every county of the state, but only the
white pine and the pitch pine have a wide distribution. The other
four native pines have a rather restricted range.
In the winter months, there is something cheerful and lively in the
appearance of the pines in spite of the cold and the snow. They
may readily be distinguished by their leaves which are needle-like,
occur in clusters of 2, 3, or 5, and persist throughout the winter.
The latter characteristic places them among the evergreen trees.
The 34 different pines which are native to North America arer
classified into two groups, namely, Soft Pines and Hard Pines. Of
the pines native to Pennsylvania the white pine alone belongs to the
Soft Pine group, the other five species belonging to the Hard Pines.
-In order that the pines of Pennsylvania may be recognized by
every boy and girl, two simple keys have been prepared, the one
based on leaf characteristics and the other on cone features.
°
35
LEAF KEY OF PENNSYLVANIA PINES*
ly Tieawesoslendes, 9 in a cluster 2... White Pine
l; ) Deavestmenaia-stit 2 or 3 swvacluster 2
Bi LYSAM CSN OREN (Ae CHUISLOR gosta acinetinw. a itChae ine
2. Leaves 2 in a cluster RE aes
3. Leaves 5 to 6 inches long. Red Pine
3. Leaves 4 inches or less in length See: te 4
4. Leaves Stitt and very sharp-pomted—
Table Mountain Pine
-
4. Leaves slender to slightly stiff, dull-pointed ........... 5
5. Leaves twisted, stout, 14—34 inches long.....................
Jersey or Scrub Pine
5. Leaves straight, rather slender, about 4 inches long
(sometimes 3 or 4 in a cluster,...Short-leaf Pine
CONE KEY OF PENNSYLVANIA PINES
lee Cones 5: tonlO ingwes: lone. s fee. t at. White Pine
lie @onestess thane4 mmches lone nee 2
2. Cone scales not armed with prickles or spines..........
Red Pine
2. Cone scales armed with prickles or spines 0. 3
Si Cone rsealespatmed swith piGKleS 2 coe eto 4
3. Cone scales armed. with Stout.spines 4-2-5
Table Mountain Pine
4. Cones narrowly and sharply conical when closed
Jersey or Scrub Pine
4. Cones broadly and bluntly conical when closed.....5
5. Cone scales thickened at apex and armed with short,
ricid and recurved prickles, 2502.2. Pitch Pine
Cone scales slightly enlarged at apex and armed
with weak prickles which may fall off early
Short-leaf Pine
on
WHITE PINE
The discovery of the white pine, which is the prince of all the
forest trees of eastern North America, coincides with the landing
of the Pilgrims on the bleak coast of New England. It was one of
the few green things which greeted them, and it truly made a lasting
*One of the best methods of identifying trees is by the use of a key. The accompanying keys
are simple in their make-up and may be used with little effort. They consist of alternative
characteristics of trees made up in pairs and stated in two paragraphs preceded by the same
number. Hence, if the characteristics of the tree to be identified do not fit the first paragraph,
then they will correspond to those given in the second paragraph, or else the tree in question
does not belong to the group considered in the key.
The two companion paragraphs of alternative characteristics are followed either by the name
of a ‘tree or by a number. If the name of a tree follows then it is the tree in question; if a
number follows thea it directs you to two companion paragraphs further on in the key preceded
by that number. For example, if you find a pine tree in Pennsylvania with three needles in a
cluster you may identify it by the use of the leaf key in the following way: Read the two
statements of characteristics preceeded by the number ‘1."' The characteristics do not fit the
first paragraph but will come under the second paragraph which is followed by ‘'2."' This directs
you to the two paragraphs preceded by 2; of these the characteristics fit the first and not the
second paragraph. Therefore, the tree in question Is Pitch Pine, which name follows the first
paragraph preceded by the number ‘'2."'
OUR NATIVE WHITH PINE MAY BH RECOGNIZED BY
ITS DEEPLY-FURROWED BARK.
A CLUSTER OF POLLEN-
BEARING BLOSSOMS _ OF
THE WHITE PIND
GROUPED BETWEEN
THE NEW AND THE
OLD NEEDLE CLUS-
TERS.
Photo by J. &. IlMok.
: PINE TREES MAY BE RECOGNIZED BY THEIR FORM
[he white pine (left) and the short-leaf pine (right) are of the same age and grew
up in the same environment.
38
and favorable impression upon them and those who came after
them. There is no tree in the civilized part of the World which
surpasses it in beauty, stateliness, individuality and usefulness.
Many years passed before the entire range of the white pine be-
came known. As the pioneers pushed forward they found that this
valuable timber tree had limits. In some localities it was abundant,
in other places it was rare, and as they passed beyond the Allegheny
Mountains it ceased to be a part of the forest. Now we know that
it is found only in the eastern part of North America, extending
northward as far as Newfoundland and the northern shore of the
Gulf of the St. Lawrence, westward to Manitoba and Minnesota,
and southward to northern Illinois and Pennsylvania and along the
Alleghenies to Georgia.
In Pennsylvania the white pine originally formed dense stands,
especially in the central and northern parts of the State. Many
lumbermen claim that the best and most valuable stands of timber
found in the whole United States east of Idaho occurred originally
in northern Pennsylvania, and consisted of white pine and hem-
lock. White pine is still common in the mountainous part of the
State, occurs sparingly in the western and southeastern parts, and
rarely found in the agricultural valleys such as the Lancaster, Leb-
anon, Chester, Cumberland, Lower Lehigh, and Lower Delaware
Valleys.
The white pine is one of our trees which may be recognized with-
out much effort. It is the only evergreen tree native to eastern
North America which has its soft, flexible, and bluish-green needles
arranged in clusters of five. The lateral branches occur in whorls
of 3 to 7 arranged in distinct horizontal layers. After the branches
fall off they leave distinct circles of branch-scars along the stems.
The cones are 5 to 10 inches long, attached to the twigs by a short
stalk, rarely hang long upon the trees, and are covered with thin,
fiat and unarmed scales. ,
The wood is soft, straight-grained, and works easily. It weighs
about 25 pounds per cubic foot, and was formerly used for a wider
range of purposes than any other American wood. It is adapted
for practically all purposes except where strength, hardness, flexi-
bility, and durability in contact with the soil are required.
Sawmills began the manufacture of white pine lumber in 1623,
and in 1635 a cargo was shipped to England from Massachusetts.
Authentic records show that the first house built in America was
constructed of white pine. In fact, the wood of this tree held such
a prominent place in the lumber industry of America until about
1890 that the history of its exploitation was essentially the history
of the whole lumber industry.
The white pine is the most important forest tree in eastern North
39
America, and probably in the \Vorld. It was introduced into Eng-
land by Lord Weymouth and shortly afterwards into continental
Europe, where it has been propagated so extensively that it is. no
longer regarded as a foreigner but as a naturalized member of their
forests.
The white pine promises to become mbre abundant again, for it
is being planted extensively and the remaining natural growth is
now given better protection from forest fires and other destructive
agents. Since 1902 over 25 million small white pine trees have been
planted in Pennsylvania, and during the planting season of 1918
alone over + million seedlings and transplants were set out in the
I<eystone state. They are raised from seed produced in cones on
mature trees. At the base of each cone scale two seeds with long
brown paper-like wings are produced. The seeds are small in size
and brown in color. It takes from 25,000 to 35,000 seeds to make
a pound of clean seed. A pound of white pine seed is sufficient to
sow a forest tree nursery bed of 100 square feet, and if all goes
well, such a bed will produce 10,000 to 15,000 two-year old seedlings.
Many of these baby trees were set out by school boys, school girls
and by Boy Scout organizations. Tree planting by boys and girls
should be encouraged. It is a pleasant pastime and a useful prac-
tice. Their growth will visualize the building-up process in nature
and be an excellent counter-part to the tearing-down operations
which were impressed so vividly upon all of us during the recent
world war.
PITCH PINE
Pitch pine possesses more common names than any other pine
native to Pennsylvania. It has at least a dozen of them. Some of
them are pitch pine, jack pine, hard pine, yellow pine, torch pine,
nigger pine, black pine, scrub pine, long-leaved pine, rich pine, and
fat pine. The scientific name of pitch pine is Pinus rigida.
Most of the common names refer to some distinctive feature of the
tree or its wood. The name black pine and nigger pine refer to the
dark bark frequently found upon large trunks. The name torch
pine was given to it because it supplied the early settlers with pine
knots used as torches about the primitive cabins and for traveling
at night. The name yellow pine refers to old and mature trees that
have replaced their typical blackish bark with vellowish bark. ‘The
names rich pine and fat pine are used locally. The backwoodsmen
of Pennsylvania used these names because many of the old trees are
rich or fat with resin. The name long-leaved pine is quite appropri-
ate when one considers only the pines of the northeast, for some
pitch pine trees develop needles much longer than any of our other
native pines. It is not unusual to find trees with needles six or more
inches in length.
4()
The pitch pine, next to the white pine, is the easiest of the pines
native to Pennsylvania to recognize, for it has positive distinguish-
ing characteristics. Its needles are from three to five inches long
and occur in bundles of three. The other hard pines of Pennsylvania
have their needles in bundles of two and they vary greatly in length
and texture from those of‘the pitch pine.
The bark of the pitch pine is ragged in appearance and breaks up
into irregular plates separated by rather conspicuous furrows. Early
in the life of a pitch pine tree the bark becomes quite thick, and
after the sapling stage is reached the trees are fire-resistant. This
thick bark accounts for the fact that the pitch pine is the most fire-
resistant evergreen tree of the East. Forest fires will kill small
seedlings, but as soon as the trees reach the sapling stage they de-
velop a heavy bark. ._ Severe forest fires have burned over extensive
forest areas, and it appeared as if every living thing had been killed,
but upon examining the area a year after the fire, one is often amazed
to find that many of the medium-sized and larger pitch pine trees
have withstood the extreme heat and are still growing.
Pitch pine does not present a neat appearance, but it is a rather
picturesque tree. Its crown is irregular in outline and the trunk
is often covered with gnarled branches, and occasionally with dense
mats of leaves. It is the only Pennsylvania pine that produces
these dense mats of leaves along the main stem, which occasionally
envelop the trunk completely.
The cones of pitch pine are from two to two and one-half inches
long. They are spherical to ovate in outline when open, persist for
many years, and sometimes occur in dense clusters. A few years
ago the writer found a cluster of nineteen cones on a small branch
upon a young tree in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Trees loaded
down with thousands of cones are common. They may become a
burden to the tree, and sometimes prove fatal, for during heavy
snow storms the cones make an excellent place upon which the
snow accumulates, and it is not unusual for it to collect in such
large quantities that the branches break off and sometimes the en-
tire crown is crushed completely.
The pitch pine is found from New Brunswick to Lake Ontario on
the north, and south to Virginia, and along the mountains to
Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. It is probably the most widely
distributed pine in Pennsylvania. It was originally less common
than the white pine, but since the great lumbering days, during
which the white pine was cut out, the pitch pine has been on the
rise. It is found in every county in the State, but is commonest in
the mountainous regions where it is associated with the rock oak
and chestnut.
There are some excellent stands of pitch pine in Pennsylvania, and
it is quite probable that within this State are found some of the best
41
stands in the entire range of the tree. ‘he pitch pine trees of Mont
Alto, in Franklin County, Snow Shoe, in Center County, and selected
stands in Pike and Clearfield Counties are hard to surpass. From a
commercial point of view, the pitch pine is not so important a tree
as the white pine, but it is gaining favor for new and better uses
are continuously being found for its wood. In the early days, when
white pine was plentiful, no one cared to handle the inferior pitch
pine wood, but conditions have changed and now it is looked upon
with favor for many uses. It has won a place in our markets and
in time it will move forward to a better position. It seems fair to
assume that the wood of this tree will improve in quality when the
trees are raised under good forest conditions.
Pitch pine gives us a good example of a tree that should not be
condenmed before studying its forest habits and growth peculiari-
ties. Until a few years ago this tree was regarded as a slow grower,
and because of this belief was called jack pine. A special study was
made of its growth, and it was found that it grew more rapidly than
was apparent, for instead of laying on all the growth of the season
at one time it often places it in two or more installments. This in-
stallment method of growth was responsible for the false notion
that it grew slowly.
The wide natural distribution of pitch pine in Pennsylvania,—its
fire resistance,—and the fact that it is well adapted to our mountain
soil,_recommend it as an important forest tree of Pennsylvania.
While it appears to be an ordinary tree, yet it has so many good
points that its importance and value will increase as the practice of
forestry becomes more firmly established.
RED PINE
The red pine is a valuable timber tree. It has a number of com-
mon names. Probably the one used most frequently is Norway
pine, a name wholly out of place because it is neither a native of
Norway nor does it bear any resemblance to the pine trees of Nor-
way. It is reported that the name Norway pine was given to this
tree by a Spanish sea captain who thought this tree resembled pine
trees he had seen in Norway. This supposed resemblance is respon-
sible for the inappropriate name of Norway pine which has persisted
until to-day and will no doubt continue for a long time, in spite of
the fact that it is meaningless and misleading. Another common
name is red pine. This is an appropriate name for the bark of the
tree is reddish in color and the heartwood is usually pale red. The
scientific name of red pine is Pinus resinosa, and means resin pine.
This name is also inappropriate for its wood contains little resin in
comparison with that of other pines.
The red pine is a native of the Northwoods. It extends as far
south as central Pennsylvania and the Lake States. It reaches a
THE WHITE PINE HAS A DISTINCTIVE CONE AND
ITS NEEDLES OCCUR IN CLUSTERS OF FIVE.
PENNSYLVANIA. THE TREES HAVE BEEN NUMBERED AND A
RECORD OF THE GROWTH OF EACH TRHE IS KEPT.
RED PINE
LES
ARE
HAS A DISTINCTIVE FORM. THE NEED-
CLI
r
ISTERED OR TUFTED AT THE ENDS
OF THE BRANCHES.
PROBABLY THE LARGEST SPECIMEN OF TABLE
MOUNTAIN PINE IN THE WORLD. IT IS 73 FEET HIGH,
23 INCHES IN DIAMETER AT BRBAST-HIGH, AND FROM
BRANCHES FOR A DISTANCE OF 40 FEET FROM THE
GROUND. IT GREW AMONG HARDWOOD TREES ON A
HILLSIDE NEAR MONT ALTO. FRANKLIN COUNTY. PA.
ad
height of 70 or 80 feet and a diameter of 3 feet. In some parts of its
natural range it attains an even greater size, and, as a rule, it is
mixed with other trees. The optimum growth of this tree is in the
northern part of the Lake States and in the southern province of
Canada. Recently a new outpost of red pirie was found on a farm
woodlot near Selinsgrove, in Snyder County, Pennsylvania. This
new station is 75 miles south of the most southern station of red
pine that was ever reported.
Probably the most distinctive features of the red pine are its
needles and cones. The needles are slender, flexible, from 4 to 6
inches long, and occur in clusters of two. They are surrounded at
the base by a thin membranous covering or paper-like wrapper. The
needles are grouped together in tufts at the ends of the branches.
This characteristic is very helpful in recognizing the tree from a dis-
tance. The cones are about 2 inches long. They occur at the end
of the season’s growth and their scales are not armed with any
spines or prickles. It is the only pine native to Pennsylvania whose
cone-scales are unarmed. In addition to the leaf and cone character-
istics, which should enable anyone to identify it at all seasons of
the year, its general form and appearance and its distinctive bark
will also help to identify it. It is unquestionably one of the most
attractive conifers of the northeast and is being planted extensively
for ornamental purposes.
The red pine is one of the most important timber trees of Penn-
sylvania, and as time goes on its real merits will become better
known. It is not so abundant now in Pennsylvania as it was origin-
ally, for practically all the big trees have been cut out, and only
a limited number of young trees have followed after the old veterans.
The hope of having red pine in Pennsylvania in the future lies not
in the natural growth that is coming on, but in the trees that are
being planted. During the past ten years more than 1,000,000. red
pine seedlings and transplants were planted on the State Forests of
Pennsylvania and about 700,000 more were supplied by the Depart-
ment of Forestry to private planters throughout the State. This
does not include all the red pine trees planted within the State, for
additional trees were purchased from nurseries and planted on pri-
vate forest land. It seems fair to estimate that at least 2,000,000 red
pine trees have already been planted in Pennsylvania and most of
them are growing rapidly.
This valuable and promising forest tree should be carefully pro-
tected and its range extended by planting seedlings and transplants
on the large areas of devastated mountain land in Pennsylvania. It
has few enemies, grows rapidly, and if planted and protected will
produce large quantities of high grade wood which is now urgently
needed by our industries and homes.
an
SHORT-LEAI PINE
The short-leaf pine has more than a dozen common names. Some
of them are appropriate, while others are misleading, and may em-
barrass one who attempts to identify it. The scientific name of the
short-leaf pine is Pinus echinata. Of its fifteen common names none
will ever replace short-leaf pine, for the leaves of this tree are truly
short in comparison with those of the longleaf pine and other pines
with which it is associated. Its distinctive leaves are from two to
four inches long and usually occur in pairs, but occasionally three
appear in a cluster, and sometimes four may be found in a group.
The cones of the short-leaf pine are rather distinctive. They are
brown in color, from one and one-half to two and one-half inches
long, nearly as wide as long when open, and attached to the branches
by a short stalk. Each cone-scale has an enlarged end, which is
armed with a weak prickle. Early in autumn the cones open to dic-
charge the small triangular seeds which are produced in large num-
bers and scattered widely about the trees. Heavy seed crops occur
at rather short intervals, which justifies one in being hopeful that
nature will continue to propagate this important forest tree. Even
as far north as southern Pennsylvania a large number of seedling
trees are found in openings about older trees.
One of the best distinguishing characteristics of the short-leaf pine
is its clean, stately, and slightly tapering, trunk—the bark of which
is marked off by deep furrows into irregular or rectangular plates
covered with thin scales. Some of the old specimens have been ap-
propriately called “armored knights of the forest,” for the bark is
so distinctive and the tree trunk so impressive that the tree cannot
be confused with its associates.
Short-leaf pine is found over an area of more than 440,000 square
miles, but is of commercial importance over about two-thirds of its
natural range. Its natural range extends as far north as western
Connecticut, but near Mont Alto, in Franklin County, Pennsylvania,
is the most northern heavy stand of short-leaf pine in America. In
this stand are many stately trees with trunks two and one-half feet
in diameter at breast high, and clear of branches for sixty feet from
the ground. These magnificient trees are covered with a distinctive
armored bark fully as typical as any grown in the south.
The short-leaf pine is commonest in the South, where it makes its
best growth at elevations of 400 to 1,500 feet above sea level. It is,
however, found from sea level to an altitude of 3,000 feet in the
southern Appalachians. The commercial range of short-leaf pine has
contracted considerably since the settlement of our country. It once
grew as far north as Albany, and from fifty to one hundred years
ago it was lumbered in many places in Pennsylvania where it has
46
now ceased to exist or only a few scattered trees remain. ~The
geographical range is now given as from New York to Florida, west
to Missouri, Oklahoma, and northeastern Texas. |
In Pennsylvania the short-leaf pine occurs only locally. There is
only one heavy stand in the State and that is found near Mont Alto
in Franklin County. A few trees are found locally throughout the
southeastern part of the State, and scattered specimens have been
found as far north as Lycoming County, where it is reported that
ihe tree was formerly far more abundant than it is now. It may be
said that the- tree is practically extinct in Pennsylvania excepting.
in local places in the southern and southeastern part of the State.
The hope of keeping this important timber tree as a member
of the forests of Pennsylvania is in the fact that a considerable
number of young trees are beginning to appear about the few old
trees that still remain, and a considerable number are being planted
for reforestation. In the fall of 1921, 140 pounds of seed were
planted in the Mont Alto nursery operated by the Pennsylvania
Department of Forestry. With 50,000 to 60,000 seeds to each
pound, there should result from this seed sowing at least two million
seedlings.
The short-leaf pine is a companionable tree. One may find small
forest areas occupied by it exclusively, but in the most of its range
it is associated with hardwoods or other evergreen trees. Among
its companions are pitch pine, scrub pine, and occasionally loblloly
pine. At high elevations the white pine and table mountain pine
stand by its side. Many kinds of hardwoods, such as oak, hickory,
sassafras, ash, and cherry, are also associated with it.
The wood of short-leaf pine is hard, strong, and yellowish to dark
brown. It weighs about forty pounds to the cubic foot and is used
extensively for a large number of purposes. It is in great demand
by builders of freight cars, large quantities are used for general
construction work, and box and crate makers employ large quanti-
ties. ‘
Short-leaf pine has been an important timber tree for many years,
and everything points that it will continue to hold a place in the
forest structure of southern and southeastern Pennsylvania. It at-
tains a size sufficiently large for forestry purposes, produces excel-
lent wood, yields large quantities of resin, and is well adapted to the
climate and soil conditions in the forest regions of southern Penn-
sylvania and the south Atlantic States.
Every boy and girl interested in outdoor life will do well to try to
locate a specimen of short-leaf pine in the natural forests of Penn-
sylvania and then become its protector. If no specimen can be
found in the woods, you can satisfy your desire to perpetuate this
47
wonderful tree of the southland by planting a number of young
seedlings and then watch them grow year by year into stately forest
trees.
SCRUB PINE
The scrub pine is unfortunate in its common names. The word
“Scrub” implies that the tree is undesirable as a forest tree and pro-
duces inferior wood. The wood is inferior to that of white pine and
some of the other important pines, but this does not necessarily mean
that it is not satisfactory for use in wood-using industries. Each
year the wood of this tree is being used more extensively for pulp,
shipping crates, and general construction work. A few years ago
more than 20,000 board feet of lumber were cut from trees of this
species in the woodlot of Colonel Henry W. Shoemaker near McEI-
hattan, in Clinton County, Pennsylvania, and used in the construc-
tion of one of the most attractive and suhstantially constructed barns
of northern Pennsylvania.
The scrub pine is also called Jersey pine, because it was at one
time reported as abundant in parts of New Jersey, where pine forests
covered extensive areas known as the “pine barrens.” Recent
studies, however, show that most of the trees in the pine barrens are
pitch pine and not scrub pine. Another common name applied local-
ly to this tree is “slate pine.” This name is used widely in southern
Pennsylvania where this tree frequently occurs on slaty or shale
soil. The scientific name of scrub pine is Pinus virginiana.
Scrub pine has many striking distinguishing characteristics. Its
needles occur in pairs. They are twisted, spread widely from each
other, and are from two to three inches long. These short needles
are responsible for the common names “short-leaved pine” and
“shortshat pine.” No other Pennsylvania pine has needles which
are so short, so twisted, and spread so widely. If one takes a post-
tion under a scrub pine tree and looks up into its crown, the light
seems to be uniformly screened by the evenly distributed short
needles. This type of leaf distribution is entirely different from some
other pines, particularly the red and pitch pines which have their
needles clustered or tufted at the ends of the branches.
The branchlets also have a distinctive feature. They are smooth,
purplish, tough, and usually wavy—not stiff and straight as those of
the other pines. The bark of the trunk is smoother and redder in
color than that of any other native pine. Upon the older trunk the
bark peels off in thin scales, giving the trunk a ragged appearance.
The cones are narrow and conical, rather sharp-pointed, and often
persist for several years. They are helpful in recognizing this small
and distinctive forest tree.
The occurrence of the scrub pine may also be helpful in recog-
nizing it. It is neither a tree of the coastal plains nor of the high
48
mountains, but prefers the rolling uplands between these two ex-
treme positions. It is found from southeastern New York and Penn-
sylvania south to Georgia and Alabama, and west to Indiana and
Kentucky. In Pennsylvania it occurs locally throughout the south-
ern part of the State, and extends as far north as Allegheny County
in the western part, Clinton and Lycoming Counties in the central
part, and Northampton County in the eastern part.
The scrub pine may be regarded as a pioneer tree, for it is one of
the first of our forest trees to march out from the forest and reclaim
abandoned fields. There are thousands of acres of farmland in
southern and central Pennsylvania abandoned within the last thirty
years and now being occupied rapidly by the scrub pine. This tree
cannot be placed in the class with the forest giants or sylvan mon-
archs, but it reaches a height of eighty feet and a diameter of two
feet. Usually mature trees are from thirty to forty feet high and
have a diameter of eighteen inches. The largest specimen reported
in Pennsylvania has a total height of 82 feet and a diameter of 28
inches at breast-high.
TABLE MOUNTAIN PINE
The table mountain pine is the least known of the pines of Penn-
sylvania. For a long time it was thought that this tree occurred
only upon the high tablelands of the southern Allegheny Mountains;
but in 1863 a few specimens were found in central Pennsylvania by
the late Dr. J. T. Rothrock while tramping over the hills of his native
State with his teacher, Dr. Asa Gray—the world-famed botanist of
Harvard University. Now this tree is known to occur in many
places within the State as far north as Clinton and Union Counties,
and northeast to Berks and Schuylkill Counties. These are the most
northern outposts that are now known in the tree’s entire natural
range.
Each year new places are found within the State where the table
mountain pine is growing. These new reports may be appearing
because the tree is found chiefly in remote and inaccessible situa-
tions, which have been little explored by naturalists. The boys and
girls of Pennsylvania should get much pleasure by organizinz clubs
to go out and find new stations of this rare tree. In order to be suc-
cessful in this exploration work, it is necessary to go to the rough
and rugged mountain tops and ragged cliffs, for it is in such situa-
tions that this tree is usually found.
The table mountain pine is also called poverty pine, because it
grows and usually thrives on poor, rocky and shallow mountain
soils. The scientific name of this pine is Pinus pungens. It is an
aggresive tree and consequently becomes a good competitor with
other trees upon poor soil and exposed situations upon which it
sometimes occurs in pure stands, This mountain tree, however,
49
makes its most rapid growth and develops its best form when stand-
ing in mixtures with hardwood trees upon rather fertile soil. What
is probably the largest table mountain pine tree ever recorded in the
World grew upon a mountain side near Mont Alto, Franklin County,
Pennsylvania. This specimen was seventy-three feet high, twenty-
three inches in diameter at breast-high, and free from branches for a
distance of forty feet from the ground.
While the table mountain pine is typical of our highland forests,
it is also found locally at low elevations. A few years ago the
writer found a considerable number of trees of this species growing
upon an island in the Susquehanna River below McCall’s Ferry in
Pennsylvania at an elevation of only about two hundred feet above
sea level. The roots of the trees are washed continuously by the
flowing water—a habitat so different from that upon which they
usually occur. Specimens of this tree were also found upon other
nearby islands and on the adjoining river hills of York and Lan-
caster Counties.
Few trees are easier tc identify than the table mountain pine. Its
needles, which are presen: at all seasons of the year, occur in pairs.
They are very stout, stiff, and extremely sharp-pointed. No other
pine tree native to eastern North America has such sharp-pointed
needles. The cones of this tree are equally distinctive. They are
coarse in appearance and bear cone scales which are armed with
stout spines. They are from three to four inches long and usually
occur in clusters of three, five, seven, or even more. These distinc-
tive cones often persist for many years and cannot be confused with
those of any other cone-bearing tree of the eastern United States.
The preference of this tree for poor rocky soil, and exposed situa-
tions, may also help to identify it, for it is found only from Pennsy]-
vania south along the mountains to North Carolina and northern
Georgia. When grown in the open its lateral branches persist on the
main stem down to the ground, but if grown in dense stands the
trunk is free from branches for a considerable distance from the
ground, and the wood of such forest-grown specimens is satisfactory
for general use.
The table mountain pine cannot be classified as a commerctal
timber tree of great importance, but it should not be despised, for
like all other trees it has some merits. As the practice of forestry
becomes more intensive, this tree will be utilized in protection
forests on steep mountain slopes where it will help prevent erosion
and assist in building up better forest conditions, and while it is
doing this it will produce wood that can be used for a large number
of ordinary purposes.
56
BUTTONWOOD OR SYCAMORE
Our native buttonwood tree belongs to the plane tree family.
Only three different kinds of buttonwood trees are native to the
United States. All of them attain tree size and belong to a group
known by the technical name Platanus, which means “broad” and
refers to the width of the leaves. The leaf-blades are not so broad
as those of some tropical trees, but they are among the broadest
found in temperate regions.
Probably no person with a practical knowledge of trees ever con-
fuses the buttonwood with any other native forest tree. Notwith-
standing the individuality of the tree, it has a good many common
names. It is generally known as buttonwood in most of the New
Fngland and Middle Atlantic States, but it is also frequently called
sycamore. In several of the eastern States, and occasionally in the
Mississippi Valley, it is called buttonball, and locally in eastern
Pennsylvania and in Delaware the name water beech is given to it.
Ever since the closely-related oriental plane tree has been introduced
on an extensive scale for ornamental planting, our native button-
wood tree is sometimes spoken of as the plane tree. The scientific
name of our native buttonwood is Platanus occidentalis.
Our native buttonwood is found from Maine to Ontario and Neb-
raska, and south to the Gulf States, and west to Texas. It prefers
moist, fertile soil but will grow in dry places. In Pennsylvania it
is common along the streams and in other wet places in the eastern,
southern, central, and western part of the State, but it is rare to
absent on dry situations and in the high mountains.
The buttonwood stands out among our forest trees in that it casts
its bark as well as its leaves. All trees do this to a greater or less
extent, for it is a necessity of life that the bark yield to the pressure
of the growing stem from within. Bark shedding is not hidden in
the case of the shagbark hickory, silver maple, and ironwood, but
the buttonwood is even more open in exhibiting its ability along
this line than any other forest tree.
The most striking distinguishing characteristic of our native
buttonwood is its thin, smooth, whitish, or pale green bark on young
trunks resembling a crazy patchwork of white, green, yellow, and
brown. In winter, the predominant color is white, while in summer
there is a tendency towards green and brown. The leaves are sim-
ple, usually heart-shaped at the base, and wavy on the margin. They
are from three to seven-lobed, and hairy or wooly on the lower sur-
face. The most distinctive feature of the leaf is the enlarged or
swollen base of the leaf-stalk. In late summer, just before the
leaves begin to fall, one of the delights of the country boy is to ask
his playmates to find buds on the buttonwood tree. <A superficial
examination of the twigs causes one to conclude that this tree bears
51
no buds, but a-little bit of patience and a somewhat closer examina-
tion of the twigs will reveal that the buttonwood does have buds,
and that they are hidden entirely under the enlarged stalks of the
leaves. Nature seems to have provided a protective cover for the
tender buds until they are fit to withstand the cold of late autumn
and early winter. As soon as the buds are hardened up, the leaves
fall off and the buds are ready for winter exposure. Because of
their unusual position, the buds of buttonwood trees are often de-
scribed as sub-petiolar, which means “under the petiole or leaf-
stalk.” This unusual characteristic enables anyone to identify
buttonwood trees very easily during autumn and the winter months.
Another striking characteristic of the buttonwood is its fruit.
which consists of small balls suspended on slender stalks. The balls
are about one inch in diameter, and composed of a large number of
slender and densely-packed seeds. One ball contains. thousands of
seeds. These balls ripen in late autumn, and may remain attached
to the branches far into the winter, and some even hang on the
trees until spring.
In winter the smooth, reddish-brown, pointed buds are a sure
means of identification. They are completely surrounded by a leaf-
sear and covered with a single bud-scale. If one takes a good look
at the buds and winter twigs of a buttonwood, it will be easy to
recognize it at any time during the winter months, for they are such
positive distinguishing characteristics that they cannot be confused
with those of any other associated forest tree.
The occurrence of the buttonwood is also helpful to identify it,
for one usually finds it along the banks of streams, borders of ponds,
and other wet places. In winter one often sees long wavy lines of
sycamore trees which mark stream courses. They stand out con-
spicuously among other associated trees because of their white bark
and distinctive crown forms.
The wood of the buttonwood is uniformly pale brown, somewhat
tinged with red. It is a clean looking wood, and has an attractive
appearance when manufactured, which accounts for the fact that it
is extensively used in the manufacture of novelties and kitchen
utensils. If one examines the numerous household articles offered
for sale in a five and ten-cent store, it will be found that many of
them are made of the buttonwood. Brush backs, mouse traps,
kitchen utensils, and building blocks are among these articles. One
of the most desirable characteristics of this wood is the fact that it
neither stains or imparts odor or taste to substances that come into
contact with it. The latest statistics show that more han 35,000,000
board feet of buttonwood are cut annually. About one-half of this
amount is used in the manufacture of boxes and crates. It has
THE BUTTONWOOD OR SYCAMORE IS READILY
RECOGNIZED BY ITS DISTINCTIVE LEAVES,
PECULIAR BALL-LIKE FRUIT, UNIQUE BUDS
AND UNUSUAL LEAF APPENDAGES.
THE GIANT DAUPHIN SYCAMORE.
It is over 25 feet in circumference at the base and stands
as a memorial to John Goodway, the last of the friendly Indians
ef Central Pensylvania.
> ites
.
Pe a
Stn bik i he
aN SCs Pas
=
~
ys
THE BARK OF THE SYCAMORE IS DISTINCTIVE
It is a patch work of white, green, brown, and yellow
b4
long been the favorite wood for boxes for plug tobacco, which stains
casily and acquires an unpleasant taste and odor from most other
woods.
Our native buttonwood has many good points, but unfortunately
it has a number of serious enemies. Among them is a blight which
attacks the leaves shortly after they have started to develop in
spring. When the leaves are about one-third grown, little brown to
black dots begin to appear upon them. These dots enlarge rapidly,
and sometimes within a few days the leaves are completely browned,
up and shriveled, and fall to the ground. The leaves appear to be
injured by frost, but the real cause of the damage is the blight, for
which no practical remedy has yet been found.
The buttonwood grows at its best throughout the Mississippi
Valley, and it also reaches a large size along the main rivers and in
the fertile valleys of Pennsylvania. There is a buttonwood tree
standing near Linglestown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, known
as the “Dauphin Sycamore.” It has a circumference of more than
twenty-five feet at the base, a branch spread of over one hundred
feet, and is in a healthy condition. Local historians tell us that the
tree stands as a memorial to John Goodway, the last of the friendly
Indians that lived in central Pennsylvania. It is said that he is
buried about one hundred yards north of this magnificient tree,
which remains as a memorial to his otherwise unmarked grave.
Among the historic trees of Pennsylvania is a buttonwood grow-
ing near Chadd’s Ford in Delaware County. It stands close by the
house used by General Lafayette as his headquarters before the
battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777. This tree is about seven
feet in diameter, well proportioned, and remains as a worthy memo-
rial to the great general. Another large buttonwood stands in a
field on the old Rothermel farm in Maiden Creek Township, Berks
County, Pa. It is the biggest tree in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
This tree is over thirty-seven feet in circumference near the ground,
cne hundred and three feet high, and has a spread of branches of
over one hundred feet.
The buttonwood is the giant of all American hardwoods. A few
years ago a large specimen was found near Worthington, Indiana.
It measured forty-two feet and three inches in circumference at five
feet above the ground, and is one hundred feet tall. It is not unlike
other large sycamore trees in that it branches near the ground. Its
east branch is twenty-seven feet and three inches in circumference,
and its west branch twenty-three feet and two inches in circum-
ference.
We are just beginning to know the real merits of our native but-
tonwood. It seems fair to predict that before long its wood will
play a more important role in the lumber industry of America than
55
it has in the past, and with a better understanding of its quality and
fuller information about its growth peculiarities, this tree will begin
to take a worthy place among our forest trees.
In addition to our native buttonwood or sycamore, another mem-
ber of the family—native to southern Europe and western Asia—
has been introduced extensively into Pennsylvania. It usually goes
hy the name “oriental plane tree.” It has many good points and is
being planted rather extensively for ornamental purposes. In the
city ‘of Philadelphia there are many specimens of it and most of
them appear to be growing well. It grows rapidly, is hardy, pos-
sesses a beautiful crown, gives ample shade, has an attractive bark,
and is troubled by only a few insects and fungi. It stands in the
front rank among our shade trees, and in spite of its foreign origin
has established itself firmly among our ornamental trees.
SASSAFRAS
Sassafras is the only tree of its kind in the United States. There
is only one other kind of sassafras tree in the World. It is a native
of China, and like our native sassafras belongs to the Laurel family.
Our native sassafas is found from Massachusetts to Iowa and Kan-
sas, and south to Florida and Texas. In Pennsylvania one rarely
finds it in the high mountains, but it is acommon lowland tree in the
eastern, southern, and western parts of the State. One frequently
finds it along fence rows and in abandoned fields where it sometimes
forms extensive and dense thickets.
The sassafras was one of the first American trees that became
widely known in Europe. The Indians told the early settlers about
its medicinal bark and other properties, and the white man immedi-
ately attempted to commercialize its bark and other products. It is
reported that sassafras roots comprised a part of the first cargo ever
exported from Massachusetts. At present its medicinal properties
are not prized so highly as in the early days, but its roots are still
used in the preparation of ‘Sassafras tea” and in the manufacture
of flavors for medicines and candy. It is a common practice among
the mountaineers of southern Pennsylvania to grub out the roots.
put them up in small bundles, and carry them to nearby market
places where they are sold for a nickel or dime a bundle. Sassafras
root collectors prefer to dig them up in abandoned fields and along
fence rows where young trees come up in large numbers, often form-
ing dense thickets.
The early inhabitants of Pennsylvania believed that the sassafras
possessed miraculous healing properties. People then thought that
sassafras could renew the youth of the human race. Even to-day
this superstition still clings to this tree, and it is not entirely con-
fined to ignorant people. Bedsteads made of sassafras are supposed
to drive away nightly visitors that disturb peaceful slumbers. The
56
negroes of the South prefer to floor their cabins with sassafras, for
they believe that it will keep away animals that may molest them.
They believe too that sassafras poles are superior to all other woods
for chicken roosts. They are confident that the poles will stop all
kinds of men and animals that may attempt to lift the chickens from
their roosts. ;
The distinctive aromatic taste of the bark, roots, and wood, and
the accompanying pleasant odor of the sassafras, are the best and
most reliable means of identification. If one breaks off a brittle
twig of green-barked sassafras, a pleasant aromatic odor is given
cut immediately, and upon chewing it the flavor of the mucilaginous
inner bark is found to be very delicious.
Three distinctive forms of leaves are often present on the same
branch. Sometimes an even larger number of leaf forms may be
found. The leaves are all simple in form and alternate in their ar-
rangement. The oval entire-margined form is commonest. In the
mitten form the leaf has one thumb-like projection which may be
either on the right or on the left side. Sometimes the leaves are
prominently three-lobed, and occasionally five-lobed specimens may
be found.
The fruit is a dark berry which is borne on bright red and club-
like fleshy stems and arranged in rather open clusters. It furnishes
excellent food for birds but unfortunately does not persist until
winter when the birds are often in great need of something to eat.
Sassafras is not an important forest tree in Pennsylvania. It does
not occur in every part of the State, for one rarely sees sassafras
trees in the cold and mountainous parts of northern Pennsylvania.
Near the northern limit of its range it is generally small, but farther
south it becomes a large tree frequently 40 to 50 feet high and 1 to
3 feet in diameter. Occasionally a tree is found that is 100 feet high
and 3 to 4 feet in diameter.
The largest sassafras tree that has ever been found in Pennsyl-
vania stood in a cemetery at Horsham in Montgomery County. A
group of four large sassafras trees are growing along a state road
about one-quarter of a mile north of Wawa Station in Delaware
County. One of them stands outside of the roadside fence and the
other three within the fence. These four trees measure 10 feet 8
inches, 11 feet 8 inches, 10 feet 7 inches, and 10 feet 4 inches in cir-
cumference at three feet above the ground. Another large and his-
toric sassafras tree stands near Second and Emerald Streets in
Harrisburg. It is a real landmark for the tree is 209 years old. It is
56 feet high and 13 feet in circumference at the base. It was about
15 years old when John Harris—the founder of [Harrisburg—was
born. This tree is no longer thrifty, for most of its crown has dis-
appeared.
a7
The wood of sassafras resembles that of the Chestnut and it is
often substituted for it on the market. In many localities sassafras
wood is sought for the purpose of smoking meats, the claim being
made that it imparts a very desirable taste. The wood is durable
in contact with the soil and consequently used rather extensively
for fence posts, rails, and occasionally it is manufactured into furni-
ture. Sassafras wood is used more extensively than our records
show for it is usually sold under other names. It is not unusual to
find it listed under Ash, and when it is used in the manufacture of
coffins it is listed as Chestnut.
There exists no good reason for believing that the sassafras will
become extinct, for it produces seeds abundantly and the birds carry
them into fence corners and scatter them in large numbers over
pastures where the young trees often form dense thickets.
RED MULBERRY
The red mulberry, when first discovered in Virginia, inflamed
the early colonists with great hopes, for they thought they had
found a new source of food for the silkworm. Unfortunately, their
great commercial dreams never came true, for the red mulberry was
no satisfactory substitute for the white mulberry, the leaves of
which were the chief source of food for the silkworms in Europe and
Asia.
The red mulberry is the only mulberry native to the eastern
United States. It is found from Massachusetts west to Kansas and
south to Texas and Florida. Its best growth occurs in the lower
Ohio Valley and the foothills of the southern Appalachian Moun-
tains. Nowhere in Pennsylvania is the native mulberry abundant,
but it is found locally in the fertile valleys and along the foothills in
the eastern and southern parts of the State. It also occurs locally
in the central part, but is generally absent in the cold and moun-
tainous regions.
Being the only representative of its kind, it is not difficult to dis-
tinguish the red mulberry from our other forest trees. In summer
the large, roundish, sharp-tipped leaves with deeply sunken veins
on the upper surface are distinctive. Some of the leaves are lobed
and resemble an ordinary mitten in outline. The best distinguishing
characteristic of the leaves is the milky secretion given out by the
leaf-stalks if pressure is placed upon them. Only a few other trees
give milk, and they bear no resemblance to the red mulberry.
The flowers appear in spring when the leaves are about one-fourth
developed. There are two kinds, namely, pollen-bearing and seed-
producing. Both kinds occur in short tassels (catkins). The pollen-
bearing and seed-producing occur separately, but may be found on
the same or different trees. The seed-producing blossoms develop
\ Genar & Species
! Commin Name Sanig/nas
Loca) + “onl the.
Collector Drfnve, Bails
Photo by J. 8S. Illick.
SASSAFRAS.
Mature and immature (three forms) leaves, flowers, fruit, and a
winter twig.
FEWNA. STATS FOREST ACADEMY
Fasathy GCS
Ginn &
{| Conta Nawe = “Hed Pulver ey
ees Mark fits, Yo
Caltesios
Photo by J. S. Illick.
RED MULBERRY.
Mature and immature leaves, flowers, and winter twigs.
FoR? Red Maple
Mountaw Maple
Nor woy Marple
Ash-\ecd Mayle
FRUIT OF OUR COMMON MAPLES.
6U
into purplish aggregate fruit which is the distinctive product of the
tree. No other native tree produces a fruit which bears any re-
semblance to that of the mulberries.
In winter the red mulberry is not especially attractive, but it can
readily be distinguished if its twigs are examined closely. They are
very smooth, clean, and light-greenish brown. A milky juice comes
out of them if they are cut. They bear oval and hollow leaf-scars
which contain a large number of dot-like bundle-scars arranged in a
closed ellipse, or they are sometimes distributed irregularly over
the surface of the leaf-scars. No other tree has leaf-scars with such
a hollow, bowl-like surface. -
Two foreign mulberries have been planted rather extensively in
Pennsylvania. They are the white mulberry and the paper mul-
berry. In some localities they have escaped cultivation and occasion-
ally they are mistaken for the native red mulberry. The white
mulberry is a native of China and the paper mulberry is a native
of Japan. The former is common in some localities of Pennsylvania
and it is not unusual to find it in woodlots and waste places, for in
many places it has escaped from cultivation. The paper ‘mulberry
is much rarer in Pennsylvania and belongs to an entirely different
group of trees. It belongs to a group of trees known by the scienti-
fic name Broussonetia, while the true mulberries bear the technical
name Morus. Specimens of paper mulberry may be found upon
waste areas near towns and cities, and occasionally it appears as an
ornamental tree.
The red mulberry cannot be classified as an important timber
tree, but it has many qualities which have been utilized by man.
The fruit is valued for fattening hogs and poultry. It is also inti-
mately associated with harvest time, for many a weary harvester
has found shelter under its crown, and been refreshed by its fruit.
Mulberry trees are common objects along fence rows bordering
fields of golden grain. The mulberry waterkeg holds a prominent
place in many localities, for it is claimed by the laborers who work
in the field that no receptacle is so well adapted to carry and keep
water as a keg made of mulberry wood. The wood is very durable
and used chiefly by boatbutlders, coopers, and implement makers.
THE MAPLES
The maples are among the best known trees in the Northern
Hemisphere. They are abundant in China and Japan, common in
Europe, and widely distributed in North America. There are seven-
ty different kinds of maples known in the world. Thirty-five of
them are native to China and Japan, and thirteen occur in North
America. Six of the latter are native to Pennsylvania.
61
Japan is the ancestral home of the maples. [tis said that one can
find in the Island Empire of the Orient traces of the first maple tree
that ever grew on the surface of the earth, lor centuries the people
of Japan have been breeding maples in order to develop varieties
with unusual and unique characteristics. The development of pigmy
maples is a real art in Japan. For cenuries they have been fashion-
ing these miniature trees, and now there is an established custom in
Japan to hold annual Maple Shows, which are in many ways similar
to the Rose Shows of America.
While the Japanese maples excel in variety and uniqueness, the
American maples are unrivaled in the World in size, beauty, and
commercial value. No other group of our native trees show such
a wide variation in form and structure as do the maples. They range
in size from large commercial timber trees to small trees and
shrubs. The leaves of many of them are simple but a few have com-
pound leaves. The twigs of some are slender, while those of others
are stout; their color may be green, gray, brown, or red. Maple
flowers may occur in small lateral clusters, in long drooping tassels,
or in erect spikes. On some maples the flowers appear before the
leaves, while on others they appear with or after the leaves. The
fruit of the maple is very distinctive. It consists of a pair of
winged seeds which is called a maple-key. Each kind of maple tree
bears its own distinctive key-like fruit, which can readily be dis-
tinguished from that of all other maples.
The maples occur on a wide range of habitats. The ash-leaved
maple grows at its best along the streams and along the border of
ponds and lakes. The sugar maple prefers well drained, rich soil.
The striped maple is satisfied in shaded and moist places, while the
mountain maple thrives on dry, rocky hillsides and mountain tops.
Of the thirteen maples native to the United States, nine occur
east of the Rocky Mountains, and six of these are native to Penn-
sylvania. The six maples native to Pennsylvania are:
COMMON NAMES SCIENTIFIC NAMES
}. Sugar Maple; Hard Maple. Acer saccharum.
2. Silver Maple; Water Maple. Acer saccharinum.
3. Red Maple; Soft Maple. Acer rubrum.
4. Ash-leaved Maple; Box Elder. Acer negundo.
>. Striped Maple; Moosewood. Acer pennsylvanicum.
6. Mountain Maple; Spotted Maple. Acer spicatum.
The maples as a group have so many different characteristics
and such striking features that they can be distinguished with little
effort from all other groups of trees at every season of the year.
They are readily distinguished from other trees, but some of them
are so closely related to each other that it is difficult to tell them
apart. The following table gives the distinguishing characteristics
of the four big maples of Pennsylvania:
62
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63
THE SUGAR MAPLE
The sugar maple is the best known hardwood tree native to
eastern North America. It is found from Newfoundland to Mani-
toba and south to Florida and Texas. It occurs in every state east
of the Mississippi, but is not abundant in the South. It reaches its
best development from New England across New York and
northern Pennsylvania to Michigan. All who have visited the
northwoods know the beauty, stateliness, and healthy appearance
of this prince among our forest trees.
The sugar maple is fortunate in having a number of appropriate
common names. The name sugar maple is appropriate for it pro-
duces annually large quantities of sweet sap. It is also called hard
maple because its wood is hard in comparison with that of the other
maples which are often grouped under the name Soft Maple. The
name rock maple is also appropriate, because its wood is extremely
hard.
The wood of Sugar Maple has a wide range of uses, and the
farmer boy regards this tree as a real friend, for when tapped it pro-
duces large quantities of sap from which the delicious maple sugar
and maple syrup are manufactured. This tree has yielded as high
as 550,000 pounds of maple sugar and 275,000 gallons of maple
syrup in a single season in Penrisylvania. This shows that the value
of the tree lies not only in the fine wood that it produces but also
in other products that it yields.
At all seasons of the year the sugar maple may be distinguished
with little difficulty. The grayish to black bark on old trunks, rough-
ened by shallow fissures, is always distinctive. The slender, brown
twigs, marked with pale dots, are also positive means of identifica-
tion. In summer its large, simple, and compound leaves, with
coarsely-toothed lobes and delicate texture enable one to recognize
it.
There is no more positive distinguishing characteristic of the
sugar maple than its buds. They are brown in color, sharp-pointed,
conical, and covered with 8 to 16 exposed scales. They are clustered
at the ends of the twigs, and occur solitary and opposite each other
along the side of the twigs. If seen but once, the twigs bearing these
distinctive buds cannot be confused with those of any other native
forest tree.
. The fruit of the sugar maple does not mature until about Septem-
ber. It often persists far into winter, while that of the red maple
‘and silver maple ripens in early summer. The seeds of the sugar
maple germinate soon after falling to the ground, and the seedlings
form a dense mat on the forest floor. The writer has counted as
many as 50,000 small sugar maple seedlings on a single acre of
SPE ESL AEP
LEAVES OF THREE COMMON PENNSYLVANIA MAPLES.
Left to right: Ash-leaved maple, silver maple, sugar maple.
Ne eg ea a noe ah oa Te UTS eee
i 3 re ; ) 2 = al
LEARN TO KNOW THE INTRODUCED MAPLES.
At the left is the leaf of theNorway. maple, and at the right that of the sveamore maple.
A
DISTINCTIVE
WINTER
TWIG OF
SUGAR
MAPLE.
FLOWRBRS. LEAVES, AND FRUIT OF SILVER MAILE
66
forest land in northern Pennsylvania, and similar plots are common
in New York, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
The wood of the sugar maple is well known and widely used. It
touches our hands and satisfies our wants almost daily. We use it
more frequently and in a greater number of ways than any other
wood. It may be classified as an all-purpose wood, for it is used in
the manufacture of at least 500 distinct articles of commerce. It
makes the best wooden floor and is one of our chief furniture woods.
Large quantities are used in the manufacture of broom handles, re-
frigerators, kitchen cabinets, toothpicks, children’s toys, musical in-
struments, and agricultural implements. It is difficult to think of
any common household article that is not, at one time or another,
made from sugar maple wood.
The sugar maple tree is quite common in Pennsylvania. In fact,
it is the commonest tree in the State. It is not equally common in
all parts of the State, but is more abundant in the northern, north-
western, and northeastern parts of the State than in the southern
and southeastern parts. It is a member of the northern hardwood
forest, and becomes less common as one enters the southern hard-
wood forests which extend northward into Pennsylvania along the
river valleys.
The sugar maple is one of our most dependable forest trees. It
grows rather slowly, but it keeps growing steadily for a long while,
and in time it attains a large size. One of the largest sugar maple
trees known in Pennsylvania stands near Eagles Mere. It is a
forest giant and towers high above all other surrounding trees. It
is almost 4 feet in diameter, at breast high, and does not bear a
single lateral branch for 60 feet from the ground. An occasional
sugar maple reaches a height of 120 feet with a diameter of 5 feet,
but specimens of this size are rare.
The sugar maple deserves to be protected and propagated for
forestry and ornamental purposes. It produces wood which ranks
among the best, yields delicious syrup and sugar, lives long, fur-
nishes excellent shade, and possesses some of the cleanest and most
beautiful features of any American forest tree. As a memorial tree
the sugar maple has few equals, and as an avenue or roadside tree
it ranks among the best.
RED MAPLE
The red maple never forgets its common or scientific name. At
all seasons of the year some part of this tree 1s distinctly red. Early
in spring red clusters of flowers appear all along the twigs, and red
are the wings of its key-like fruit that matures during May and June.
In summer there is a tinge of red on the leaf-stalks and veins of the
leaves, and in autumn red maple may be found that stands out
67
among its neighbors as a flaming torch. The scientific name of the
red maple is Acer rubrum. This name is appropriate for the word
“rubrum” means red. Other common names of this tree are soft
maple, which refers to the softness of its wood, and swamp maple,
a name given to this tree because it makes its best growth in swampy
places.
The range of the red maple covers more than 1,000,000 square
miles, and touches every state east of the Mississippi River, and west
of it, occurs from South Dakota to Texas. It is found locally
throughout Pennsylvania. It is common to abundant in the regions
traveresed by rivers and their main tributary streams. It prefers
rather wet to swampy ground, but also makes a satisfactory growth
on hillsides and often attains large dimensions in fertile farm wood-
lots in the agricultural valleys of the State. Big red maple trees some-
lames exceed 100 feet in height and are more than four feet in dia-
meter. Their average size is about seventy feet in height and two
feet in diameter. The largest forest-grown red maple tree recorded
in Pennsylvania stands in the woodlot of Jacob Meyers, near Coburn
in Centre County. It is almost 4 feet in diameter and free from
lateral branches for 50 feet from the ground.
The red maple can be recognized in summer by its simple, rather
small, 3 to 5-lobed leaves, which are pale green to whitish on the
lower surface, and darker green upon the upper surface. The clefts
between the lobes of the leaves are shallow and sharp-pointed at the
base. The latter characteristic distinguishes it from the closelv-
related silver maple which has clefts that are rounded at the base.
In winter the red maple is bare of foliage, and displays its distinc-
tive dark-gray bark; also its clean, smooth, grayish branches, and
its bright red twigs, loaded rather heavily with clusters of winter
buds and dotted with numerous white breathing pores known as
lenticels. In winter it is rather difficult to distinguish the red maple
from the silver maple. The latter, however, usually lacks the lus-
trous red twigs of the former and if one breaks the twigs of the
silver maple they give off a rather pungent odor not found in the
red maple.
The wood of red maple is about three-fourths as strong as that
of the sugar maple, and is considerably lighter in weight. In color
the wood is light brown, sometimes slightly tinged with red. The
sapwood is rather thick, and lighter in color than the heartwood.
lumbermen know the difference between the red maple and ow
other native maples, but they do not consider it worth while to pile
and sell the wood separately. It sometimes comes upon the market
as hard maple, and at other times as soft maple, but never is it sold
under the name of red maple. The wood is manufactured into floor-
ing, veneer material. and interior finish. l-arge quantities of it are
A BIG RED MAPLE
4
This one is
feet from the
1a.
in Pennsylvan
d clear of branches for 40
are found
‘Many big maples
feet in diameter an
ground,
b.
ER MAPL
BARK OF SILV
Sealy bark and shallow furrews are the mai
characteristics of the silver maple bark.
n distinguishing
70
also being used for pulpwood. It is also sawed into veneer which
is made up into berry boxes and peach and potato baskets. Its sap
is also collected and manufactured into sugar and syrup, but in
smaller quantities than that of the sugar maple. In the days of
the pioneer, ink and dyes were made from its bark, which also
vielded small quantities of tannin.
There is a place in our forests for the red maple. It is tolerant
of shade, grows rather rapidly, and becomes a big forest tree. It
leserves a place in the understory of the forest, and, when an op-
portunity presents itself, it will grow up into the upperstory of the
forest and produce valuable lumber.
If there is one maple that excels all other maples in beautiful color-
ation in the forest it must be the red maple. It also thrives when
planted along streets and in parks, but it is rather short-lived and
requires plenty of moisture.
SILVER MAPLE
Lhe silver maple is one of the best known of the Pennsylvania
maples, for it has a wide natural distribution and has been planted
extensively as a shade and ornamental tree. It is a favorite with
those who desire to secure shade with as little delay as possible, for
it grows rapidly and is adapted to a great variety of soils, but does
not flourish upon dry situations. It likes moist to wet places such
as are found along river banks and borders of ponds.
The silver maple has a number of common names... Lumbermen
usually call it soft maple because the wood is much softer than that
of the sugar or hard maple. It is also known as white maple and
silver-leaved maple, because the lower leaf surfaces are white or
silvery white in color. Other common names are river maple, swamp
maple, and water maple. These names refer to the habitat upon
which this tree is usually found.
In summer the silver maple may be easily recognized by the
silvery white under-surface of the leaves. The bases of the deep
leaf-clefts of the silver maple are rounded, while those of the red
maple are sharp-angled. The silver maple blossoms very early in
spring before the leaves make their appearance. In fact, it is among
the earliest of our native trees to bloom. In most localities the
Howers appear before those of the red maple. ‘They usually occur
in compact, small clusters along the twigs, for each lateral bud
usually contains from three to five blossoms ranging in color from
reddish to crimson and are favorites with the honey bees which
swarm around them on the first warm days of spring. Its fruit ma-
tures early in summer and is larger than that of any other of our
native eastern maples. The bark is somewhat furrowed and separ-
ates into long scales which are often loose at both ends and at-
71
tached at the middle. This is a helpful distinguishing characteristic
at all seasons of the year. The bending down of the branches and
the distinctive upward sweep of their small ends is also a helpful
means of identification. In winter the silver maple can be distin-
guished from all other maples, excepting the red maple, by its nu-
merous round, red, clustered buds; and from the red maple it may be
distinguished by its bright chestnut-brown twigs which give forth
a pungent odor if broken.
The silver maple occurs from New Brunswick and Ontario south-
ward to Florida, and west to Oklahoma and the Dakotas. It is
usually found along the banks of streams, borders of swamps, and
other wet places. In Pennsylvania it is common along the banks of
the principal rivers and their main tributaries. Along these streams
it is commonest at the lower altitudes where it, together with the
ash-leaved maple and the river birch, sometimes makes up 90 per
cent of the trees along the river banks; but as one goes into the
mountains and ascends to higher altitudes the tree becomes rarer and
about the headwaters of the streams it is often entirely absent.
The silver maple may attain a large size upon favorable situations.
It is not unusual to find a tree one hundred feet in height and from
three to four feet in diameter. The wood is much softer than that
of the sugar maple, but it is used for a wide range of purposes. It
is especially prized in the manufacture of fruit baskets and berry
boxes.
It is planted extensively for ornamental purposes, for it possesses
attractive features. It is one of the first trees to-bloom in spring,
has an attractive clean bark, and produces beautiful leaves, and if
grown in the open its outline and poise suggests an elm. A beautiful
cut-leaf variety with a weeping habit has been developed and is
being used rather extensively for formal planting. Before planting
the silver maple for ornamental purposes, one should know that it-:
is short-lived and its branches are so brittle that they are frequently
broken off in winter by the wind and snow and ice pressure.
THE ASH-LEAVED MAPLE
The ash-leaved maple has ten or more common names. Among
them are box elder, three-leaved maple, and water ash. There is
no good reason why this tree should be called an elder or an ash,
except that its leaves are compound. This characteristic is not suf-
ficient reason for calling it a box elder or water ash, for it would
be equally correct to call it a hickory or walnut, since these trees
also bear compound leaves.
This tree is clearly a maple. Its fruit is a distinct maple-key and
cannot be confused with the fruit of any other forest tree. Its com-
pound leaves do not necessarily take it out of the maple group, for
73 =
the leaves of some of our native maples are deeply lobed, and it 1s
not a long step to the compound leaf with three leaflets.
The natural range of the ash-leaved maple does not fall far short
of 3,000,000 square miles, and is equaled by few other forest trees.
It is found from New England across Canada to Alberta, and thence
south to Florida, Texas, and Mexico. It thrives in hot and cold
climates, and grows well at high and low altitudes and in regions of
much and little rain. The fact that it is such an adaptive tree ac-
counts for its wide use in the early days by tree planters in the
prairie regions. It was planted more extensively than any other
tree by the homesteaders in the Middle West. Its rapid growth
afforded early protection against the scorching summer sun and the
strong winter winds. It was also among the first street trees in
many of the western towns. The people planted it because they
knew it would grow, and they were not so sure about some of the
cther trees. Now better trees have been found and they are willing
to replace the ash-leaved maple by more valuable and better species.
The ash-leaved maple is most abundant in the eastern and south-
ern part of Pennsylvania. It is quite common and attains a large
size along the streams in the southwestern part of the State, and is
the prevailing tree along the Conococheague Creek in Franklin
County and other streams and rivers in southern Pennsylvania. As
one follows these streams into the mountains, the Ash-leaved Maple
becomes rarer and it is usually entirely absent at higher elevations
in the northern and central part of Pennsylvania.
The ash-leaved maple differs from all other maples in that it has
compound leaves with from three to five leaflets. The other maples
of the eastern United States have simple leaves. It also differs from
the other maples found within its range by the fact that it usually
produces its pollen-bearing and fruit-producing flowers on separate
trees, while both pollen-bearing and fruit-producing flowers of the
other native maples usually occur on the same tree. This striking
difference was formerly regarded sufficient reason to place the tree
in a distinct group all by itself, but now it is again classed with the
other maples under the technical name Acer.
Perhaps the most attractive feature of the ash-leaved maple is the
rich color of its twigs. They are gorgeously olive-green and usually
covered with a white bloom, and stand out boldly against the sky-
line. Its stout twigs may, in part, be responsible for the name of
water ash. The large, ovate, and downy buds are also distinctive.
They occur opposite each other and are usually arranged in small
clusters along the twig. The leaf-scars completely encircle the
twigs, and their edges meet in such a way as to form a sharp angle.
The twigs and the buds are so distinctive that this tree can readily
73
be recognized during the winter months from all associated forest
trees.
The fruit of the ash-leaved maple resembles that of the other
maples, but the maple-keys are arranged in drooping clusters and
persist far into winter. It is not unusual to find the fruit clusters
remaining upon the trees until spring. The seeds are scattered dur-
ing four or five nronths of the year, and because of the large number
that are produced the future of this tree is quite secure.
The bark on the older tree trunks is rather thick and distinctly
furrowed, and it rarely breaks up into scales. The bark bears more
resemblance to that of the ashes and basswoods than to other maples.
This feature of the tree may be partly responsible for calling it
water-ash.
The wood of ash-leaved maple is the lightest of the maples. It
weighs less than 27 pounds to the cubic foot, and is manufactured
into boxes, crates, flooring, woodenware, and locally into furniture.
The tree reaches commercial size in at least thirty states, and in
everyone of them it is cut and marketed. Recent tests show that
wood pulp manufactured from it is satisfactory, and it is also used
by distillation plants with the other maples, beech, and birch, and
converted into charcoal and other products of distillation.
The ash-leaved maple deserves a place in our forests, and it may
also be planted for ornamental purposes, but great care should he
taken in selecting places upon which to plant it. It will grow well
if set out in soil adapted to it, but one should remember that it
prefers moist to wet soil. It will make its best growth if planted
along the borders of streams or about ponds and lakes. If planted
upon favorable situations it will grow fast and produce a dense and
satisfactory shade. As a shade tree it has the advantages of rapid
growth, dense foliage, and pleasing color. It is also comparatively
free from the attack of fungi and insects. The chief objection to it
as an ornamental tree is its habit of always shedding something.
The blossoms litter the ground in spring, the seeds are dropped from
early winter until springtime, and the leaves fall in and out of season.
TWO SMALL PENNSYLVANIA MAPLES
The two Tom Thumb maples of Pennsylvania are the mountain
maple and the striped maple. Neither of these trees attain a size
sufficiently large to classify them as timber trees, but both are so at-
tractive and have such striking distinguishing characteristics that
they deserve a place in our forests and in ornamental plantings. To
those people who are fortunate enough to spend their summer
vacations in the mountainous parts of the Northwoods, the moun-
tain maple and the striped maple are familiar sights. Over large
regions these shrubs or small trees are found along highways, by the
margin of trout brooks, and about ponds and lakes. Both of them
ERECT FLOWER, SPIKES, AND LEAVES OF THE MOUN-
TAIN MAPLE.
E eee \y i,
LEERY IER
St yy \
\
LE = Ss
SS
Leo me AS
Eaf\y AARNS
AW 28h uN
FLOWERS, LEAVES, FRUIT OF THE
STRIPED MAPLE.
|
———
in
are satisfied to take their place in the under-story of the forest, while
others of their kin reach up high and struggle for a place in the
upper-story of the forest. The following table gives the striking
distinguishing characteristics of these two beautiful small maples:
MOUNTAIN MAPLE. STRIPED MAPLE.
Shrub or small tree, rarely Small tree, usually 15-30
FORM AND SIZE, over 15 feet high; often occurs feet high.
‘in clumps.
) fee =
Usually 3-lobed, coarsely Goose-foot-like, 5-6 inches long.
LBAVES, toothed, 3-5 inches long. light 3-lobed at apex, finely toothed,
hairy on lower surface. . prominently veined; rusty
hairs on lower surface.
FLOWERS, Occur in erect spikes, 3 to Occur in drooping tassels 3
4 inches long. to 4 inches long.
) es ee
‘Small maple key about 4 Small maple key about } of
FRUIT, ‘inch long, arranged in dense an inch long, arranged in open
drooping clusters. drooping clusters.
On twigs reddish brown to On twigs reddish; on stem
BARK, gray; on stem reddish brown reddish brown streaked with
\dotted with gray blotches. long white lines.
HABITAT, ‘Prefers rocky situations on Prefers moist situations in
mountain tops and hillsides. dense woods.
THE MOUNTAIN MAPLE
The mountain maple has an appropriate common name, for it is
a mountain tree. One usually finds it on moist rocky hillsides and
along the border of ravines and highways. It seldom reaches a
height greater than 20 or 25 feet. In the Northwoods it is usually
small, often occurs in clumps, and occasionally it forms dense thick-
ets. In the South it becomes larger and it is not unusual to find
specimens that stand alone. In western North Carolina one can find
trees with a breast-high diameter up to 12 inches.
The mountain maple is native from Newfoundland to Manitoba,
south to Michigan and Pennsylvania, and extends along the Alle-
gheny Mountains to Georgia. In Pennsylvania it is found locally
in all parts of the State. It is rare in the eastern and western parts,
and common in the mountains of central and northern Pennsylvania.
The natives of Potter County call this tree “spotted maple” because
of the gray dots that are spotted over the reddish brown bark.
The mountain maple can be distinguished by its simple 3 to 5-
lobed and coarsely-toothed leaves. They are smaller, more evidently
lobed, less conspicuously veined, and less hairy on the lower leaf
surface than those of the striped maple. The new twigs of early
summer are greenish and more or less downy, but after the leaves
_ drop in autumn the small twigs have a rather distinct reddish brown
to crimson color. If one examines the twigs closely there is seen
upon them a whitish coating of fine hairs which enables one to dis-
tinguish the mountain maple from all other closely-related trees.
7
76
The flowers of the imountain maple do not appear until early
summer—a short while after the leaves have reached full size. They
are arranged in erect spikes at the end of the new growth. No other
native maple has its white flowers arranged in such conspicuous
erect spikes. The fruit matures slowly during the summer, ripens in
autumn, and often remains upon the trees far into winter. During
late summer and early fall the key-fruits often take on wonderful
hues of red, and may furnish one of the most attractive features of
the landscape. The individual fruit-keys are smaller than those of
any other native maple and are clustered on slender drooping stalks.
The mountain maple is of practically no commercial importance
as a timber tree, but it is valuable as a soil protector on rocky slopes,
and very desirable for ornamental purposes. It seems strange that
this tree is not more widely used in landscape gardening, for at al!
seasons of the year it possesses attractive features. It is very hardy,
and apparently free from insect and fungous enemies. This tree
has enough good points to justify a more extensive planting for or-
namental purposes.
THE STRIPED MAPLE
The striped maple is one of the most distinctive members of the
under-story of the forests of the Northwoods. Anyone who has
wandered through the mountains of the North or the Alleghenies
must have met this beautiful little tree. It is usually found beneath
the big monarchs of the forest, and one cannot miss it for it is so
beautiful and its white-streaked bark compels attention.
In summer the striped maple is easily recognized by the large
zoose-foot-like leaves which have a rather thin blade and are
fashioned with a delicate network of veins. The upper surface of
the leaves is dark green, while the lower surface is considerably
lighter in color and clothed with short rusty brown to reddish hairs.
The margins of the leaves are finely-toothed, and the leaf-blade is
divided into three more or less conspicuous lobes. In spring and
early summer, just when the leaves are about fully developed, the
drooping clusters of beautiful yellow flowers dangle down from the
twigs. The individual flowers are small, bellashaped, and greenish
to yellow in color. They cannot be confused with those of any other
maple. The fruit is a typical small maple key with the wings united
at a rather wide angle. It matures early in autumn, and there are
about 15,000 seeds per pound.
The best wav to distinguish the striped maple, also known as
moasewood and whistlewood, is by its beautiful striped markings
on the bark. The bark is generally some hue of green, or red,. and
streaked through it are conspicuous white lines. This characteristic
is responsible for the name “streaked maple” which is used by the
at
inhabitants of Potter and adjoining counties in Pennsylvania. In
winter the large evidently-stalked buds covered with two smooth
bud-scales, the smooth reddish-brown twigs, and the brown pith will
enable anyone to distinguish this beautiful and distinctive small
forest tree.
The striped maple has practically no commercial value as a forest
tree, but its attractive features recommend it highly for ornamental
purposes and as a member of the under-story of our natural forests
it is worthy of our best care and protection.
TWO FOREIGN MAPLES
Two European maples have been planted widely for shade and
ornamental purposes in Pennsylvania. They are the norway maple
and the sycamore maple. It is difficult to find a town or city within
the State in which one of these trees has not been planted, and in
many places fifty or more per cent of all the street trees are Norway
and sycamore maple. These two well-known and widely distributed
foreign trees have a number of features in common, but they can be
distinguished from each other at all scasons of the vear by the
characteristics set forth in the following table.
. NORWAY MAPLE. | SYCAMORE MAPLE
BARK, {tees j Black, furrowed, not scaly. Brown, scaly, not furrowed
Flexible, large, coarsely- Firm, 3 to 5-lobed, sharp
toothed, almost entire on ly-toothed on margin, slightly
LEAVES, margin, smooth on lower hairy on lower surface; leaf
surface, resembles Sugar stalks do not eontain milky
Maple; leaf-stalks contain sap.
| milky sap. ll a re
FLOWERS, ‘Arranged in yellowish green Arranged in erect spikes
r : clusters. about 3 inches long. ‘<
FRUIT, Large maple-key with wide- Small maple-key with almos:
iv? ly divergent wings. ____ parallel wings. ee :
‘Large and red. _ _‘Large and green.
NORWAY MAPLE
The norway maple comes to us from Europe, where it is foun
from Norway to Switzerland. In its native home it reaches a heigh
of 100 feet and a diameter of 3 feet. It is occasionally used for forest:
purposes, but its main value is as a street, shade, and ornamenta]
tree.
The norway maple can readily be distinguished in summer by tt>
large leaves, which resemble those of the sugar maple, but they are
deeper green in color and firmer in texture. Its large-toothed and
almost entire-margined leaves are readily distinguished from _ the
3 to 5-lobed and smaller leaves of the sycamore maple. A chacter
18
istic by which the norway maple can always be identified is the
presence of milky sap in the leaf-stalks, for no other maple of Penn-
sylvania has this rare characteristic. The milky sap flows freely if
the leaf-stalks are twisted or pressed. Another feature by which
this tree may be recognized in spring and early summer is its yellow-
ish green flowers. They are produced in large numbers and arranged
in dense clusters along the twigs. They come out of the same buds
as do the leaves, and blossom. when the leaves are from one-third to
one-half developed.
In winter this tree can be recognized by its large red, blunt-pointed
and glossy buds. They are usually bright red but may be more or
less olive green at the base especially in autumn before they are
mature. The lateral buds stand close to the twigs while those of
the sycamore maple project outward. The fruit of the norway
maple does not ripen fully until late in summer or early autumn. -
They are larger and more beautiful and distinctive in form than
those of any of our native maples. These key-fruits have wide
divergent wings, which enables one to distinguish this tree from all
other maples. Many of the key-fruits remain upon the tree after the
leaves have fallen. Sometimes they hang upon the trees all winter,
and because of their large size and distinctive form are helpful in
recognizing this tree during winter months.
The norway maple is one of the most attractive of our ornamental
trees and is unquestionably the best maple that we have for street
use. It is especially adapted for city planting because it is tolerant
of unfavorable city conditions. It is also hardy, rather free from the
attacks of insects and fungi, and retains its leaves longer in fall than
our native maples.
SYCAMORE MAPLE
The sycamore maple, like the norway maple, is a European tree,
[t takes its name from the fact that its leaves are supposed to
resemble those of a sycamore. In central Europe it attains a
height of 120 feet, and develops a large spreading crown. The
trunk is sometimes furrowed, and the bark flakes off in thin scales.
In its habit of growth it follows the norway maple, except that its
top is not so compact, and it is also less tolerant of soil conditions
and consequently is not planted so extensively as its European
brother.
The sycamore maple is readily distinguished by its firm 3 to 5-
lobed leaves with sharp-toothed margins. The clefts in the leaves
are sharp-angled, and the lower leaf-surface is usually somewhat
hairy. In winter the large blunt-pointed green buds, the bud-scales
of which usually have a black margin, are a sure means of identifica-
tion. Its leaf-scars do not quite encircle the twigs, while those of
the norway maple reach completely around the twigs. The little
_dots on the twigs known as lenticels are more numerous on the
sycamore maple than on the norway maple. The lateral buds of
the sycamore maple stand out from the twigs, while those of the
norway maple hug the twigs closely. The fruit-keys of the syca-
more maple are smaller and thin wings less divergent than those of
the norway maple. These characteristics enable one to distinguish
the two widely introduced European maples at all seasons of the
year.
The sycamore maple is not so hardy as the norway maple. nor
is there anything distinctive about the tree to make it preferable to
our native hard maple. It is often attacked by borers and does not
thrive on all kinds of soil. There exists no good reason for planting
this foreign maple on an extensive scale in Pennsylvania.
WHERE TO STUDY TREES
The place to study our trees is not so important as the time to
begin getting acquainted with them. The thing to do is to start
studying them to-day, and not wait until to-morrow or next week.
If you live in a city and it is not convenient or possible to go out in
the woods, you may study the trees along the streets or in the parks.
The small woodlots, fence rows, stream banks, and abandoned fields
are much better places. Put, the best place for a real study of our
native trees is the remote wildwoods, that is, the extensive and
natural forests on our mountain slopes, hilltops, and valleys.
In the woods of Pennsylvania there are more than 100 different
kinds of native trees, and when one observes them in the remote
mountain regions they look so natural and fresh. Agsociated with
them are many other plants and a large number of animals. If you
are really anxious to learn to know the trees and can possibly do so,
take a hike to the wildwoods and there observe the wonders of nature
and study the works and ways of the wild folks.
No woods within the State are better equipped for tree study than
the State Forests. In 1897, the State of Pennsylvania, through its
Department of Forestry, began buying land for forestry purposes.
To date (January 1, 1922) 1,126,237 acres have been purchased at an
average cost of $2.26 per acre. This large area is now being de-
veloped so that it will yield not only wood, but be of the greatest
service to the inhabitants and visitors of the State.
In order to handle the state-owned land properly, the aggregate
area has been divided into State Forests, each one of which is in
charge of a technically trained Forester, who aims to manage the
land in his care in the best-interests of the public.
An increasing number of people are annually seeking the advan-
tages and benefits of a few weeks of real out-of-door life on the
State Forests. The Foresters will help vou select a suitable camp
80 ’
site, tell ycu about the streams, springs, roads, trails, and look-out
towers, and even help teach the boys and girls about the trees,
shrubs, herbs, and other plants and animals of the forest.
WHERE THE STATE FORESTS ARE LOCATED
Most of the State Forests of Pennsylvania are located in the moun-
tainous part of the State. They are wide open for use and contain
some of the best playgrounds and rest places. If you are planning
a trip to the mountains, a week in the woods, or some other out-of-
door doings, it may save you much money and eliminate a lot of
worry if you look over the following table, which tells you where
the forest land now (January 1, 1922) owned by the State of Penn-
sylvania is located:
COUNTY ACRES
Ts Aidan irs eee et ae 20,887
2s BedtORCy ss et eee ie oleic: Gate sue eee 10,756
Bi. Ca eT ON). A ety lake Blea clo eae Sn ee 83,055
Ae Centre, 1 GM Ane eae: Aone Ae eer Gi kes SAPnee! oe age 79,388
5. Cléartteld: } aus: ee. thaaee eae 64,875
604 Clintoney Ase ee Soe eras ee 143,829
725 Cuntbentand: oct cos Meee oe ee 21,720
Sees Davipliin, wie r easter se Srey cs datce ne eer eae 3,808
5 PAG 2) Rae Aa Rear one Praha T et Me SNR Pee ccyen oh 225767
107-eFraniclinksnen soe er Sri seh ee 3 & 34,677
U1 on ultonecess tats. SSR ees ein oer 6,355
VANS lelinausnrrodloyiye. sarc ore aos < Phtennte e ae 62,249
[3° jeierson,,.~ ui ee ona ope eee 5,681
DAC eosp mia tare We aet a asia ereke vale tae oe 3,534
15s sackawatinas tcc oe nn. eee Sarr)
Lec "Hiey coming eis ake eee eae 104,306
172 MES fin ats ee Sa en ee 50,383
1S: MOnrOes Biss anh ore rer: pe neat sae 6,400
19's Petty, = haar tatic “sins ote en eee ee Rae 29,468
20.) Pileecel acta Sab kane ee a, na eae 58,109
21 SP OLGERs. cos ea eesucem tn ec Cem eae eas eo 158,785
22. tSnydere ores Pi ee RE Se iets eT IA oi 19,087
23° Somerset, | cesta aes 1 ta ere Paap een ETO 3,467
7A: Wikia Wy rover: was Menara Ucn aoe fate Coleone Wei 66,941
25; UNION? 148. 4a ee Lele he La ee 54,193
26. \Westmoreland) i. onsen LSicPenac the, eae ere 5,005
22. Wyoming. ter je vale. oe Ceehe eee NIU
Total eee 2a a Anan on earner 11265237,
YOU ARE WELCOME ON THE STATE FOREST
The people of Pennsylvania own over one million acres of forest
land which is being administered for them by the Department of
Forestry. Every acre of this vast area, which comprises some of the
PENNSYLVANIA
STATE FORESTS
VENANGOD
~~
MERCER
fe
GNC
a u
LAWRENCE re
- s Ti c 7
ACMOTE
q INDIANA
ALLEGHENY §!
J
—~ {uestMone Land
¢ /
f-
< P
WASHINGT o— Pat
~9 yy 4 “32 2 /
Fare TTE /
WHERE THE 1,126,237 ACRES OF STATE FORESTS ARD LOCATED.
/ CAMBRIA ,
JANUARY 11621
— See eee
POTITER TIQGA
16 ERADFORD
20
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satay
S QUEHANNA
1 gee
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LANCASTER ) :
NUMBERS AND NAMES
or Ol8TRICTS
MICHAUK
BUCHANAN
TUSCARORA
ROTHROCK
KAROGNDINHA
SALO CAGLE
9 MOSHANNON
10 SPROUL
11 SINNEMAHONING
12 TIADACHTON
1
2
3
4
5
6
i
% TIOCA
VALLEY. FORCE
QBSTATE FOREST
[PROPOSED NATIONAL
PURCHASE
S2
most attractive camp site, finest fishing streams, and best hunting
ground within the State, is open for public use.
You do not need a pass to go on the State Forests and to enjoy
yourself. They are neither surrounded with high stone walls or
barbed wire fences, nor with signboards bearing the words “No
Trespassing”’, “Closed”, or “No Admittance”. Instead each forest
is wide open for business and for play.
All that will be required of you is to obey a few simple rules
which all good citizens of the State are always willing to do. There
is no red tape to this proposition of public use of State Forest land.
It is a whole-hearted plan which aims to be of the greatest service
and utmost benefit to all the people of the State.
Remember that you are always welcome on the State Forests of
Pennsylvania. The Foresters in charge of them will be delighted
to show you over the woodland areas in their care. They will do
more than merely greet you, for one of their duties is to help you
locate a suitable camp site and tell you how to get a camping permit.
They will explain to you the rules and Ttegulations of the forest and
direct you to fine fishing streams. They will also point out good
roads, attractive trails, beautiful vistas, wonderful look-outs, and
in addition tell you many interesting things about forestry.
FACTS ABOUT PENNSYLVANIA STATE FORESTS
The original forests covered practically every acre of ground in
Pennsylvania. More than thirteen million acres are still classified
as forest land, but about five million are barren and unproductive.
This is the Pennsylvania Desert.
The Department of Forestry began purchasing forest land in 1898.
The total area of forest land owned by the State (January 1, 1922)
was 1,126,237 acres. The average price paid per acre was $2.26.
Torestry is a business enterprise. A’concise financial statement
pertaining to the State Forests follows:
Rotal (purchase prices -ae Peni nah te MEN MRR SEL $2,546.407.71
Total amount expended for administration, develop-
aMSTHUE Aad. GAMPIRONWCUNSME foo u SSeS sc sos auc aepe 5,182,262.68
AL Otalkinwestiment eandwexDemncititiitesmei eaten nee 7 728,670.39
AMO deposited in wtaterseboo) nunc eels ne 241,793.64
INGE Exgnemeltiwre sob as 55 5. i Pee BBA Set ie 7 486,876.75
Estimated present value of forests .............:- $12,255,439.51
Netcexp enditiresuseimm et eee eecnigknre cn 7 486,876.75
Neb gain) on mites tanemite vce eee ne eee eee $4,768 ,562.76
7
83
The Department of Forestry has paid for road, school and county
taxes $616,040.17 to the counties in which the State Forests are
located.
There are 60 Foresters and 82 Forest Rangers in the employe of
the Department of Forestry.
There are 2,628 local and special Forest Fire Wardens in the
State who watch for and fight forest fires.
There are 422 State-owned buildings on the State Forests valued
at $306,329.39.
Approximately 2,000 miles of forest boundaries have been sur-
veyed, cleared, and marked.
More than 4,000 miles of roads, trails, and fire lines have been
constructed and are being maintained.
During 1921, 400 temporary camping permits were issued to 5,000
persons.
More than 750 leases for permanent camp sites have been issued.
Seventy steel fire look-out towers have been erected by the De-
partment of Forestry for the purpose of detecting forest fires, and
four steel towers were erected by the Anthracite Forest Protective
Association.
Three forest tree nurseries are maintained by the Department of
Forestry, which are producing from five to eight million trees each
year.
A total of 34,222,596 trees have been planted on State Forests.
The plantations now cover 22,468 acres.
During the last twelve years private planters have received from
the Department of Forestry 14,627,006 trees, which were set out in
all parts of the State.
Within the State Forests are many of the best places to rest,
finest fishing streams, best hunting grounds, and grandest views
within the State.
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