106
1 Pulpwood
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l)·
Section PULP
PAPER
&
JAN.
1955
l.Vop.
bee1l
hti.Ve
areas
Nonstocked
planted almost exclusively to J?ougl::ts
.
fir, a species successfully ra1sed · 111
nui·.wries and planted with singnlar
ease· and success. If .hemlock could
be gro vn and planted as easily, for­
esters would have wider latitude in
experimental plantings were part of
establishing the right species in the
their limited output.
right place. On sites better suited t o
�;:-..: '
.
Results of this experiment, though- · hemlock planting Douglas fh· sacn­
preliminary, are encouraging for sev­
fices pa;.t of the productive capacity
ern! reu.sons. An impm·hmt one, of
of the land. Hemlock can outprodt!Ce
course, is the inclieution that planta­
Douglas fir where it is the bettw·
tions can he est;thlishecl successfully
adapted species. Also, il areas wl:er.t!
with nursery-grown hemlock. The
deer and rabbits will VJl'tually elum­
problems in growing hemlock in
nnte Douglas fir stock, h--mlock appar­
. nurseries and establishing it in planta­
ently n;ay be grown 'without substan­
tions need solution, particularly . in ·a
tial loss.
The experimental planting will con­
state that .. leads the nation ip pulp
. tinue under observation to insure con­
Washington
produced
production.
.
fidence in these encouraging first-year
over 2 million tons of pulp in 1951,
results.
mostly from hemlock.
Planted Hemlock Shows Good Survival
By· GlEORGtE
R. Sl' A IB!.ER Nursery-grown western hemlock
planted in heavy brush and bracken
on the Hemlook Experimenh\l Forest
in ·western Washington had a first­
venr snrvival of 90% \vhen examined
in .1954. This success is encouraging
since most hemlock l)lantings made
previously in the Pacific Northwest
have failed. Em·lier .at empts were all small-scale trials in which it was neces­
sary to use wildling stock pulled from
naturally seeded. areas, because nur­
sery-grown h·ees were not available.
The experimental forest in which .
the test was ·made is 13 miles north
of Grays Harbor nnd is a cooperative
undertaking of St. Regis Paper Co.
and the Pacific Northwest Forest and
Range Experiment Station. The diffi­
cult site planted is typical of large
areas on the western side of the Olyin­
pic Peninsula.
The planting is part of an experi­
lnent to test ability of native conifer
species to survive and grow under
difficult site conditions. Trees were
planted Feb. 5, 1953, by a contract
crew instructed to plant the seedlings
by the same methods used foi· Douglas
£r. No scalping was done and no
special effbrt made to do a. better­
than-average job. The quality of plant­
ing was, however, entirely satisfactory.
Seedlings were 2-0 stock.
On two small areas, 2500 trees
were planted. One was in heavy brush
and bracken, unburned for many
vears. The other had been burned in
l9.51, and brush and bracken were not yet fully re-established. In each plant­
ing 100 staked seedlings showed a survival of 92% on the unburned area
and 88% on· the bumed. Average
height of live trees was 5.2 in., and
thrift was excellent.
Although rabbit damage was severe
in adjacent plantings' of Douglas-£r,
now 4 years old, the hemlock was not
heavily attacked. Damage to hemlock
was not serious 'since only small twigs'
were clipped-not whole trees.
Pnictices required to grow hemlock
in the nursery have not been fully de­
. veloped, mostly because hemlock as a
plantation species has not been in
much demand. However, the British
Columbia Forest Service is working to
overcome obstacles to successful nurs­
ery production. Seedlings used in' the
o .
.
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ARf rfiC:Rf PRACTUCA!. MEANS TO HHP NATURE
G OW MORIE CH..WVDSE?
How to grow more wood cellulose p r acre per year is subject of this lvlttmthon Co rp .
conference at Rothschild, Wis. (l to r): GEORGE BRABENDER, ns igned to Specntl
Research· J. RICHTER SALVESON, Director of Central Research ; Vwe Pres. ALLEN
ABRAMS and VINCE MARTIN, Research Associate. Samples of wood they hold
dramatically emphasize th faster growth of Wisconsin Aspen vs. Canadian Spr uce .
The big disc -is from an j:g:"year-old aspen, with average diameter of 7lf in. The s mal l
disc in Mr. Martin's hand is from Canadian black spruce, over 100 years old, b_ut on y
2 i n. in dim;neter. Much faster growing aspen is permitting expansion of W 1sfons m
_ ,r we furnish for qu al ity pulps. Mam!hon s Re­
industries and is often mixed w ith sp
search Division has an 80-acre farm near Rothschild for test plots of vanous wood
species. It provides an in terme diate .stage between fundnmental researc l on tree
. breeding and practical tree growing. Universities and colleges can have then· research
evaluated here.
·
Mr. Staebler is with the Pacific Northwest
Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest
Service, U.S. Deportment of Agriculture. ci..'OSIWP 1ELis ·rHE 'STORY
.
Here's how much bigger an 18-year-old .aspen is than a 100-year-old Sl?ruce. This. is
why Michigan and vVisconsin have a new pulpwood supply-basis . for expandmg
industry.
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