94 Miscellaneous Circular 39, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 
work for its membership is always primer of practical forestry, yet to be 
practical and efficient. written, then will her dream come 
If Cloquet, with all this cooperation true, and she will be proud and happy 
and inspiring helpfulness, can contrib- indeed. 
ute one right sentence to America’s 
CLOSE UTILIZATION IN NEW ENGLAND 
By RICHARD T. FISHER 
Director of the Harvard Forest 
My story is about a small corner of are able to utilize the tree with a re- 
New England, and an old one, and I turn that will enable us to put some 
think it may gain its chief interest money back in the land, we can not 
from the fact that this portion of Mas- have forestry. On the other hand, we 
sachusetts and New Hampshire repre- can not have the tree unless we know 
sents a definite second economic how to take advantage of and main- 
phase—a phase not yet reached else- tain the permanent productivity of the 
where in the United States. So far as forest. 
my remarks to-day apply to it, it is The Harvard forest is a tract of 
about 40 miles square and about 20 about 2,000 acres. It is now produc- 
years old, economically and socially ing approximately 400,000 feet annu- 
speaking. The fiirst settlers came ally of saw timber, and a good many 
there in the first quarter of the eight- hundred cords of wood, as many al- 
eenth century, when the whole region most as we can find market for. But 
was substantially forests. In the first in all the 16 years the forest has been 
140 years they brought the forest area in operation, the thing that has been 
down to approximately 30 per cent; forced upon me over and over again is 
that is, they had nearly 70 per cent of that we can not have more silvicul- 
the total land area under farms or graz- ture, we can not put more intensive 
ing. After that, from then on until (treatment into the woods until we can 
1850, the agricultural element stood find use for this or that unmerchant- 
about still. Since 1850 the percentage able species or waste product. So we 
of open land has been steadily falling, have been constantly jumping from 
and natural reforestation following one end of the problem to the other. 
upon the abandonment of this open As we found out more and more how 
land has brought about exactly the to handle the forest as a crop, we 
reverse condition. To-day we have in were able to apply these improve- 
that neighborhood about 70 per cent of ments increasingly by virture of an 
our area in some sort of woodland and improving market for low grades, 
less than 30 per cent in farms. The small sizes of stick, and less desirable 
first century was wholly agricultural, species. To-day, broadly speaking, any 
with no industry at all except small kind of tree, either hardwood or 
local water mills. The second cen- softwood, that will saw a live edge 
tury has wound up with a woodwork- board with a 4 to 6 inch face, is sal- 
ing community. There are some 20 able. Naturally, even with this kind 
towns within 30 miles of where I live of market, the completeness of utiliza- 
which are largely woodworking, and tion is limited by the cost of trans- 
the main activity of those towns, portation. Nevertheless, the central 
stretching back into the timber, is New England region has actually 
supported very largely by wood. The reached a point where close utiliza- 
point that is interesting to us, I think, tion has made silviculture pay. Many 
as conservationists, is that all that thousand acres in the neighborhood of 
very considerable investment and ma- the Harvard forest are being produc- 
terial prosperity is based upon timber tively and permanently managed. To 
that has grown since the Civil War. a considerable extent this outcome 
To many of you here who come from has been due to a happy combination 
regions, where timber is big, the pic- of economic factors. But whatever 
tures that you will see of these little the cause, the consequence is that 
New England trees will be laughable. many communities in the region are 
But the test of the value of a tree is potentially, if not actually, enjoying 
not its size, but how much value and a permanent yield of wood with the 
utility it furnishes to the population. stability of business that goes with it. 
As I see this problem of conserva- The following figures illustrate cer- 
tion, it is double-barreled. Until we tain methods used on the Harvard