The New York Forest Owner - Volume 19 Number 2

IiV(1!k'ANewYor.

Forest Owner~

N6/~V. '1Q

The first real Spring thaw brings thedeer out in search of succulent morsels .after a long winter of buds, twigs and

WHITETAILconifer foliage. Deer linger in the fieldsof a March day, but will soon retireagain to the thickets and copses, re-

stricting their movements more andmore to the dim lit hours.

New York Forest Owner

VOL. 19, No.2

THENEW YORK FOREST OWNERS

ASSOCIATION

In This Issue

P. 2 New Members, Directors, FrontCover

P. 3 View from the President's Chair,NYFOA

P. 4 Current Events, Annual Meeting

P. 5 Maturity, Memberships & Ac-quaintances, Determining HeatLoss

P. 6 Selling Your Timber

P. 8 Lumber Buying Guide, Jour-nalism

P. 9 On the Calendar, Log CabinConstruction Schools, BroadHumor

P. 10 Nebraska City, Nebraska-WhereArbor Day Began, March,Spring, April

P. 11 Maple Syrup, Acid Snow

P. 12 Ask a Forester

Front CoverPhotograph by Walter Lang of Mar-

cellus Other pictures of his may also beseen in the Baltimore Woods calendarfor 1981.

CalendarMARCH 14:• Board of Director's MeetingAPRIL 25:• Annual Spring Meeting; College ofEnvironmental Science and ForestryOCTOBER 10:• Annual Fall Meeting; Arnot Forest• There are no dates as yet forWOODS WALKS

MAY 11-16:• School III Log cabin constructionMAY 18-23:• School #2 Log cabin construction

l

WelcomeOur New Members

FREDERICK BRANTONForeman Forester

Genesee Co. Park & Forestc/o Gen. Co. Hgwy. Dept.

Mill St.Batavia. NY 14020

JOHN W. CARLICBox 63

South Schodack. NY 12162

FRANK X. GEBERTP.O. Box 242

Vestal. NY 13850

MR. ALBERT GEDNEYGramercy AvenueRye. NY 10580

CHRISTOPHER J. HOWARD3104 Ridgeway Ave.Rochester. NY 14606

DR. CHARLES L. PALMER816 South Ave.

Horseheads. NY 14845

STEVEN VAMOSYR.D. Box 382

Stamford. NY 12167

JOHN F. VAN GOTTUnadilla Laminated Products

Unadilla. NY 13849

JAMES GREGORY WARDMountain Ave.

Candor. NY 13743DONALD WEBER

Brink RoadCandor. NY 13743

MR. RICHARD WISE, SR.East Lake Rd.

Skaneateles. NY 13152

SKY LAKE of WYOMINGCONFERENCE, INC.

Att. James Krager. ForesterBox 270. RDII3

Windsor. NY 13865

Published by theNEW YORK FOREST OWNERS

Association

EditorEvelyn A. Stock

5756lke Dixon Rd.Camillus. NY 13031

PresidentHoward O. Ward .: r.;

240 Owego St.Candor, NY 13743

First Vice PresidentRobert L. Edmonds

R1I3, Box 99Marathon, NY 13803

Second Vice PresidentProf. Robert R. MorrowDept. Natural Resources

Fernow Hall, Cornell Univ.Ithaca, NY 14853

Recording SecretaryLewis DuMond9 Grand St.

Cobleskill, NY 12043

TreasurerEmiel Palmer

5822 S. Salina St.Syracuse, NY 13205

Membership SecretaryHelen Varian204 Varian Rd.

Peekskill, NY 10566

It happened in a teenage rock-n-rolljoint. The waiter dropped a tray ofdishes and _six couples got up to dance.


The View From thePresident's Chair

Christmas is past and all of us whohad Christmas trees to sell sold all thatwe had. There appears to be a shortageof Christmas trees being grown in NewYork State at present. More and morelandowners are getting into the busi-ness, however, and five to seven yearsfrom now there may be an oversupply.

Your President was the speaker ofthe evening at the annual meeting of theNew York Christmas Tree GrowersAssociation in Syracuse on January 9.

My topic was "An Alternate to Christ-mas Trees." I stated that in my case, thescotch pine which were not Christmastree quality were left standing and arenow serving as a nurse crop for hardmaple.

The maple is growing up virtuallybranch free in its attempt to reachsunlight through the pine. When mygrandsons are grandfathers, they will beable to sell that maple and the scotchpine will have all died out.

There is a possibility of a wood fibershortage twenty years from now, and I(more likely, my children) may be ableto sell the scotch pine as whole treechips at that time.

In this connection what would youthink of this possibility? NYFOAbecomes a cooperative (like Agway)

and buys equipment for whole treeharvesting and chipping. They coulddevelop a market for the chips andserve the cooperating members byharvesting their wood fiber crop for anominal fee. This won't happen rightaway but I am planting the seed of anidea in a lot of heads. Maybe it will ger-minate and sprout after awhile.

At the Christmas Tree Growersmeeting I pushed the thought that theyshould also be members of NYFOA. Iwas told by several that they would join.I hope that all of our members push formore members in our Associationwhenever they can. Our membership asof January 4, 1981 was 704. Let's get itto 1, 000 as soon as possible and thenkeep on growing.

There are many woodlot owners inthis state (as well as absentee land-owners) who need the informationwhich we have to offer for the propermanagement of their woodlots.

The landowner (not the DECforester, a consulting forester, or thelogger) is responsible for the propermanagement and harvest of his wood-lot. There are too many owners whohaven't the vaguest notion of what theyshould do with the asset they have.

NYFOA wants to help them become

more knowledgeable so that futuregenerations will have timber to harvest.

Let's spread the word.Howard O. Ward

NYFOATreasurer Retires

It is with deep regret that the NYFOABoard of Directors accepted the resigna-tion of Emiel Palmer as Treasurer ofthe Organization at its Januarymeeting.

Emiel is a charter member of the NewYork Forest Owners Association andhas been treasurer since 1967. Beforethat he was either a member of theBoard, or an officer since the firstorganizing meetings were held in 1961.The first official meetings of theorganization were held in 1962.

Emiel achieved a well deserved NewYork Forest Owner annual award foroutstanding service, in 1978. His wifeCarol has supported him in his efforts tohelp build the organization and thelunches she helped provide for theBoard meetings were gourmet fare.

Emiel plans to continue to be active inthe organization but we will miss hisspecial touch as treasurer.

-Editor

,----------------------------------------------


On many occasions, the question ofprices and values of standing timber andcut logs and other products come up inour meetings. Requests have beenmade from time to time to publish suchinformation in the Forest Owner.While probably not being able to answerthis request totally, I will make some at-tempt at price reporting now and in thefuture.

Many people consider the Depart-ment of Environmental Conservation'ssemi-annual Stumpage Price Report asthe most authoritative source for this in-formation because it is the only regularpublication of statewide data. However,because of constantly changing marketconditions and an imperfect datagathering system, the information in thisreport can very quickly become out-dated. The report is available at all

Current EventsBy Robert Demaree

Department offices and is also furnishedto people in the business, such assawmills, consultant foresters, timberbuyers, etc. As a forest owner. if youhave need for this information, you maygo to your nearest Department office.They will have this report on file andyou can refer to it and extract informa-tion for your area at your leisure.

The report quotes stumpage prices byregion for all the tree species that arecommonly sold. It also reports theprices for pulpwood and since it in-cludes northern hardwoods, a firewoodprice report is also available I can onlyreport to you that over the past 18months, prices have been steady orhave declined due to a number ofnegative market factors. As I look at thisreport, I can see for instance that theaverage price for sugar maple appears

to be in the neighborhood of $100 perthousand on the stump: for blackcherry. $150: for red oak. $150: whiteash. $100: white pine. $40: hemlock,$40. These prices are extracted fromthe July 1980 issue of the StumpagePrice Report and are only averages.

One of the things that becomes readi-ly apparent in reading this report is thatthere are sharp regional differences. Forinstance. the most common stumpageprice for black cherry in the western partof the state (the Jamestown area) is$170 per thousand: and it is quoted aslow as $75 per thousand in the HudsonValley. As you can see, a significant dif-ference!

I hope this information is helpful toyou and if you have any further ques-tions, you can write to me for par-ticulars.

New York Forest Owners AssociationANNUAL MEETING

The 1981 annual meeting of the NYFOA has been scheduled for April 25 in Marshall Hall at the College of EnvironmentalScience and Forestry in Syracuse. The theme of the meeting will be forest finances - everything you always wanted to knowabout trees and money.

Registration will begin at 9 a.m. with a business meeting at 10 a.m. and the program to follow during the day. The programwill again offer the workshop format with sessions on income and state taxes, forest valuation, and timber contracts. An excellentluncheon will be served and an awards ceremony will be conducted. To cap it all off, an optional tour of Carrier Dome will begiven in the afternoon.

The registration and luncheon fee for this meeting will be $10 per person. If you plan to attend, please fill out the pre-registration form below and submit it as early as possible. Please return the form to:

Robert Demeree4 Northway DriveCortland, NY 13045

NEW YORK FOREST OWNERS ASSOCIATIONANNUAL MEETING - APRIL 25, 1981

PRE-REGISTRATION FORMI am planning to attend the annual meeting in Marshall Hall at the College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. Iwill bring guests.

Enclosed please find my check in the amount of $ for people.

Please return this form to:Robert Demeree4 Northway DriveCortland, NY 13045

(Name)


MATURITYJohn H. Hamel. M.D.

His weekly work was done. It was histime to wander, observe and admire hisyears of efforts, and enjoy this day, hik-ing a part of his one hundred ninetyacres. It was a warm day in Octoberwith the anxious breeze, churningwaters of his "Shadowbrook", and theactive wildlife making it a truly hilariousexperience.

He had hiked it twenty-six yearsbefore with the seller, when it was afallowing land of brush, pasture and aneglected woodlot. At that time he hadfelt the need to possess a large, wildpiece of property. Perhaps the seeing offour deer with their white flags up,disappearing into the distance, finallyclinched the sale, one that he wouldnever regret.

Noting three choices, he wisely andgladly chose the most prudent. First, hecould cut the timber, and rape the soilfor a monetary return, a thought quickly

rejected. Second, he could just letnature take its course; no harm wouldbe done. His third choice was achallenge to enhance what lay beforehim.

Becoming a cooperator with his Soiland Water Conservation District was theanswer. From them he learned aboutSilviculture and became a chartermember of the New York State ForestOwner's Association and took one ofthe first conservation courses atCornell's Arnot Forest. Later he waselected to membership in the AmericanTree Farm System.

First, to reverse the trend in thewoods, he would thin out competingtrees, destroy the inferior ones; the op-posite from what many owners havedone, who took the best trees as need-ed and left the poor species. By thinninghe would allow new growth, calledbrowse, to spring up, to feed the deer,partridge and the other lesser species,because he realized few birds andanimals live in a mature forest.

On the played-out pasture, heplanted thousands of evergreen treesand shrubs that held their berries duringthe winter to provide emergency feedand cover. He even dug two ponds forswimming, fishing, ice skating and, sur-prisingly to become a haven for mi-gratory geese and a home for muskrat:and mink.

The years had passed and the resultswere beyond his dreams. He hadprivacy, peace and beauty. Each timehe hiked the different areas, he foundsome new development of nature.

Somehow, on this day as he mean-dered, strange thoughts were not to bedenied. He also had matured! He hadcome into this world naked and wouldhave to leave it naked. This beautifulland could not be his. It was simply aloan and he was the steward of it, notthe owner. As he appreciated howgenerous nature had been to him, heremembered a line: "Great is the personwho plants a tree beneath whose shadehe may never sit."

MEMBERSHIPSandACQUAINTANCES

In the November-December Direc-tory Issue of the New York ForestOwner are the names and addresses ofapproximately 480 individuals or hus-band-wife family memberships. YourPresident personally knows 59 or (1/4)one quarter of that number. He wouldlike to know more of you!

Will you, at the annual meeting inApril, make it a point to introduceyourself and your family to me? I'd liketo know as many of you, the member-ship, as possible on a first name basis.We're a family oriented organizationand we should all be close friends if weare to accomplish our goals as a forestinformation group.

Come shake my hand and introduceyourselves.

Sincerely,Howard O. Ward, PresidentNew York Forest Owners Assoc.

GIFT MEMBERSHIPSThe beginning of the year is a good

time to renew your membership andgive gift memberships.

Gift memberships are $8 per personfor a one year period. The moremembers the more services we .cen pro-vide. Let's make this the best year ever.

DETERMINING HEAT LOSSThe approximate heating re-

quirements can be easily determined byusing the formula listed below. Thereare more complex formulas taking intoaccount more factors, but this onegenerally suffices.

BTU/hr = AU TIn order to use the formula, we must

become familiar with the characters in itand how to use it.BTU/hr = British Thermal Units per

hour, a standard used todescribe heat loss through amaterial.

A area exposed in square feet.U heat loss or heat flow factor ex-

pressed as BTU / OF/hr per squarefoot.

T temperature difference betweeninside and outside. The designtemperature for Long Island, NewYork is O°F.

Therefore, the BTU's of any structurecan be readily determined by multiply-ing the area exposed in square feet bythe heat flow factor by the temperaturedifference. If more than one type ofmaterial is used" calculations must bemade using the heat flow factor of eachmaterial and their totals accumulated.The heat flow factors of a variety ofmaterials are listed in Table 1.

Table l. Heat flow factors (commonly calledheat transfer coefficients) for someconstruction materials (ASRAE).

MaterialU

BTU/sq. ft./OF/hr.

Glass 1.13Glass, double layer, 1/4" space 0.65Glass, triple layer, 1/4" spaces 0.47Poly film, single layer 1.15

Poly film, double layer, separated' 0.70FRP (Fiberglass) l.00Concrete blocks, 8" 0.51Concrete, poured, 6" 0.75Cement-asbestos board, 1/2" l.10Foamed urethane, I" plus

1/8" cement-asbestos board 0.14Foamed polystyrene, I" plus

1/8" cement-asbestos board 0.21Concrete block, 8" plus I"

foamed urethane 0.13

Concrete block, 8" plus I"

foamed polystyreneI" nominal softwood

Perimeter-uninsulatedPerimeter-insulated

0.18

0.560.8 BTU/hr-ft

0.4 BTU/hr-ft

New York forest Owner

SELLING YOUR TIMBERSo the time has come to sell off part

or all of your merchantable timber. Aswith any activity we enter into, there arealternatives to consider. As a foresterwith a sense of pride in what I do,nothing sickens me more than to see athriving woodlot turned into a "warzone" due to unscrupulous harvestingmethods.

What can the average landowner doto prevent his woodlot from beingbutchered? Hopefully by reading thefollowing article you will have a betteridea before signing on the dotted line.

Having worked for and in coopera-tion with several local, State andFederal agencies, I have had the oppor-tunity to travel and see many differentforestry practices administered fromNew York south to Tennessee. One ofthe most repeated and most abusedpractices was the harvest of timber fromprivately owned land.

The usual way a logger, or loggingcompany, buys standing timber is tomerely approach a landowner and askthem if they have any timber they wouldlike to sell. Many landowners don'tknow what they have so the logger of-fers to look at it. As he goes through thewoodlot he makes a mental note of howmany sawtimber trees per acre, theiraverage board footage, and their quali-ty. He also estimates the average ton-nage of pulpwood (trees 6" to 10" indiameter breast height (DBH) per acre).He will then affix an average low andhigh price per acre, multiply them bythe number of acres in the woodlot andarrive at a minimum and maximumprice that he proposes to the land-owner.

After the woodlot inspection, thecontractors seek the landowner and ifhe has sufficient monetary backing, willoffer to buy the woodlot on the spot. Acontract (drafted by him and favoringhim) and a check are handed to thelandowner. To receive his money all thelandowner has to do is sign the contract.

A contract is an agreement betweentwo or more persons designed to pro-tect the interests of both parties. Andthis is what a logging contract does.However, it can favor one over theother and it may not be obvious to theinexperienced eye. This favoritism and,consequently, who it favors depends on

who drafts the contract. As seen fromthe sellers point of view, such contractsshould be avoided.Some loggers conveniently omit

some very important items. For exam-ple, there may be no mention of a timewhen the contract is to expire. I wouldassume that this gives them the right toremove their machinery and bring itback at a later date, be it 1, 10 or 100years later.

A contract may make no mention ofthe size of tree that they will be cutting.As I mentioned earlier, pulpwood treesmay be as small as 6 or 8 inches DBH.Some pulpwood companies will onlyaccept stems that are straight and of afew specific species. In other words, thecrooked, defective and low valuedspecies remain on the woodlot.

It's almost guaranteed that there willbe no mention of esthetics or erosioncontrol. It takes time, which meansmoney, to construct water bars on mainskid trails and logging roads. (Waterbars divert excessive water off theseavenues into the woods minimizing ero-sion). If woods roads and the landingarea were to be back-bladed at the com-pleting of the job the general ap-pearance of the work area would bemuch improved. In addition, theseareas could be utilized by the land-owners for the removal of firewood.

The loggers contract may also omitclauses concerning fence repair, dis-placement of tops on adjacent proper-ties, the care taken to prevent harm tothe residual timber stand, or that theywill be covered by compensation andliability insurance.

By observing a number of timber salesites in Tioga County it's easy to assumethat most loggers could care less whathappens to a piece of land when they'rethere or, after they leave. Most will cuttimber sized trees as small as 12 inchesDBH (diameter breast high). Needlessto say, that doesn't leave very muchgrowing stock for the future. There willbe some larger trees remaining whenthey leave. However, a closer inspec-tion will reveal that these trees arehollow or highly defective. These lowquality, genetically inferior, lowervalued species will reseed the woodlotand in possibly 80 - 100 years, willagain be harvestable. Obviously, low

grade timber will be the rule rather thanthe exception.

The main concern of conservationoriented foresters, that is foresters in theprivate sector (consulting foresters) andState Foresters (DEC) is the proper useof the land and the production of highquality timber.

Timber that is marked for removal bythem will coincide with one of thesilvicultural systems (the growing oftrees) as learned in school and throughpractical experience. Trees of alldiameter classes are removed in such amanner that sufficient room for growingis allowed between future crop trees.The crop trees that remain respond tothe added amount of sunlight anddiminished nutrient competition by in-creasing their diameter growth. De-pending upon the site and species in-volved diameter growth at DBH can beas much as I" to 3" in ten years.

Reprinted with permissionTioga County

Soil and Water Newsletter

The photos on the left are of a consultantsupervised sale, while the photos on theright are of an unsupervised sale.

Upper photos show the log landing andtruck loading zone. Landing on supervisedsale has been back bladed by a dozer asspecified in the contract. Debris has beenleft behind at unmanaged landing (in thespring and fall of the year this area can beseverely rutted).

In the second set of photos logging ac-tivities were not permitted during the wetmonths of April and May in the supervisedarea. This prevented serious rutting asshown in photo at right.

The third set of photos show what thewoodlot looks like after the loggers leave.Note the size of the trees that remain asgrowing stock for future harvests in themanaged area as opposed to those in theunmanaged area. The timber in the man-aged area will again be harvestable in 10 -15 years.

The last set of photos shows erosioncaused by the lack of water-bars in the un-managed woodlot road system. The photoof the managed woodlot shows a water-bar (marked by arrows) which reduces thequantity and velocity of the water comingdown the road and diverts it into thewoods.


SUPERVISED UNSUPERVISED


This issues contributor to OBSERVA-TION is Vince Trawinski. Vince was hiredby the District through the CETA pro-gram of the Tioga County Department ofManpower and Personnel on August 4th.Vince is a native of New Jersey who mov-ed to the twin tiers in 1972. At the presenttime he lives on West Candor Road, inCandor. After graduating from the NewYork State Ranger School he wasemployed by the New York State Depart-ment of Environmental Conservation as aforest technician. His main employmentactivities centered around silviculture. Helater accepted a position with KimballConsulting Foresters in Ebensburgh,Pennsylvania. His main concerns therewere with data collection, forest manage-ment and silviculture. Until recently, hewas self-employed as a consultantspecializing in timber stand improvementand timber sales.Vince writes this article from personal ex-perience and observation. There are,however, other facts which support whathe has written. A recent study showedthat timber sales supervised by a con-sulting forester brought an averagetwenty-five percent higher selling price forthe timber. The seller of the timberbenefits by this in that the fee of a con-sulting forester for the average timber saleis ten to fifteen percent. This leaves atleast a 10 percent increase in selling price.Selling timber should be handled thesame as any large transaction. Get theprice from more than one source. It willhelp your pocketbook as well as theresidual stand left on your woodland.

JOURNALISM"What do you mean," roared the

politician, "by publicly insulting me inyour old rag of a newspaper? I will notstand for it, and I demand an immediateapology."

"Just a minute," answered the editor."Didn't the news appear exactly as yougave it to us, namely, that you hadresigned as city treasurer?"

"It did, but where did you put it? - inthe column under the heading 'PublicImprovements.' "

LUMBER BUYING GUIDEFOR CONSUMERS

2" x 4" dimension lumber grades (Western Wood Products Assn.; grades listed from high tolow based on strength:

GradeConstruction (light framing)Standard (light framing)Utility (light framing)Economy (light framing)

Two special stud grades may be available:

Abbreviation or other designationConst. No.1Stand No.2Uti!. No.3ECONOMY"Stud" and "Economy Stud".

Structural joists and planks 2" -4" thick x 6" & wider (Western Wood Products Assn.) Grades

GradeSelect StructuralNumber OneNumber TwoNumber Three

AbbreviationSe!. Str.No.1No.2No.3

Board grades for nominal l-Inch thick lumber (Western Wood Products Assn.). Gradeslisted from highest to lowest based on appearance. 1WP = Idaho White Pine.

GradeB & Better SelectC SelectD SelectColonialSterlingStandardUtility

Abbreviation or other designation1 & 2 clear, Supreme-1 WP

Choice-1WPQuality-1WP#1 Common#2 Common#3 Common#4 Common

1 COM2 COM3 COM4 COM

Lumber Grades for boards of Eastern White Pine and Norway or Red Pine: (NortheasternLumber Manufacturers Assn.; NELMA grades).

GradeD Select (& Better)FinishPremiumStandard

Abbreviation or other designation

No.1 & 2 CommonNo. 3 CommonNo. 4 Common

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:1. Boards are graded on the better side or face.2. S-GRN means that the lumber was surfaced when its moisture content was above 19

percent.3. S-DRY means that the lumber was surfaced when its moisture content was 19 percent

or less.4. S-15 means that the lumber was surfaced when its moisture content was 15 percent or

less.5. Board grades are based on appearance which relates to end -use.

'Prepared by David W. Taber, Cooperative Extension Specialist, Wood Utilization Service,231 Baker Laboratory, State University of New York College of Environmental Science andForestry, Syracuse, New York 13210.


ON THE CALENDARLOG CABIN

CONSTRUCTION SCHOOLS

We are building log cabins at Vander-kamp again this spring. It started withMr. David Goff of Oneida, New York,who has been active at the New YorkState Fair as Director of the Museumand for many years headed up the logcraft and log buildinq demonstrationsthere. His interest led to the construc-tion of numerous log cabins in our area.He worked for the contractor trainingmen and supervising the hewing hand-work on Fort Stanwix in Rome, NewYork. He consulted on the planning forthe Fort at Brewerton, New York. Hedid the handwork on Fort Atkinson inNebraska and Fort Wayne in Indiana.From his demonstrations people haveasked many questions and from re-quests he has been holding "Log CabinSchools" to give people a "hands on"training experience. This is a week longaffair and a real experience to have withthis colorful, practical minded hewer oftraditional log cabins. This year twoschools are to be conducted here atVanderkamp; May 11-16 and May18-23.The result will be two hand built log

cabins in one of our camping areas. Wewill be using our own logs from polewood plantations, heretofore unmarket-able, sphagnum moss for chinking fromour own bogs. We will "trade" someprime Douglas Fir that is marketable forhemlock flooring, roof sheeting, frameand door materials. The only cost willbe cement piers for foundation, screen-ing and asphalt shingles. Windows, apot belly stove and other conveniencescan come later.

School participants will be well versedon the construction of a log cabin by theend of the week - enough to build theirown camp, second home or home; do-ing it themselves without mortgage orother institutional necessary exits.

GENERAL INFORMATIONAND BACKGROUND

Are you one of a growing number ofpeople who dream of owning their ownhome, but are finding their dreambecoming impossible due to out-rageously high material, labor and in-terest rates? If so, knowledge, ex-perience and skill in log cabin buildingmay provide you with one of the waysto own a beautiful home of your own.Building with logs is becoming increas-

ingly popular as a practical, very eco-nomical and exciting way of erecting ahouse or cabin. A log building is warmin winter, cool in summer, is immenselyattractive and is completely suitable forthe owner-builder.

Vanderkamp, in cooperation withDavid Goff, regionally noted logbuilder, hewer and historian, will onceagain sponsor two Log Cabin Construc-tion Schools in the spring of 1981. Thecourse is oriented so that the studentmay learn through practical, hands onexperience gained by going through allconstruction operations from the tree tothe ridgepole. Techniques and skillslearned in this way are not soon forgot-ten.

The buildings are erected in the tradi-tional, northeastern full round log style,a type extremely appropriate to the ma-jority of people with limited time and/orlabor.

The course is open to all healthy menand women 17 years and up. Unusualstrength is not required, while a certainamount of stamina and a genuine will-ingness to learn is. Our diverse groupsin past courses have represented mosttrades and professions, a fact whichfacilitates an even richer learning en-vironment. Four cabins have been com-pleted. You are welcome to come andview the finished projects.

COURSE CONTENTThe six day (about 48 hours) Log

Building Course is intensively structuredto provide an inexperienced personwith all the skills and information need-ed to completely erect a log building -from the ground up. Specifically, eachcourse includes instruction in:

1. Site preparation, squaring andleveling.

2. Tree felling techniques and safe-ty procedures.

3. Discussion of tree and woodcharacteristics, strengths, R-factor,shrinkage, weight, decay resistance andidentification.

4. Thorough introduction to thetools required, their care, safe use andpointers for locating sources for pur-chase. .

5. Peeling bark from logs withspuds, drawknives and custom tools.

6. Extensive and unique ex-perience in raising logs on the building

using rope, pulleys and leverage, inorder that a graduate can construct hisown building without heavy machinery.

7. Two methods for laying floorsupport logs.

8. Experience in hewing floor joistswith a broad axe.

9. Notching, leveling and settinglogs.

10. Notching and setting secondfloor joists with full locking dovetailjoints.

11. Preparing for and installingdoors and windows with regard to logsettling and movement, and structuralloads.

12. Gable log roofs, rafters, purlins,ridgepoles and various roof supportsystems.

13. Field trip to a number of logbuildings in the area.

14. Discussion of decay hazards andprevention including information onbuildlng and roof design, building orien-tation, chemical preservatives and ven-tilation.

15. Discussion of the pros and consof chinking material (ie. sphagnummoss, mortar, clay, poles, oakum andfiberglass) with actual experience inidentifying, locating, collecting and us-ing sphagnum moss.

16. Floor and roof insulationmethods.

17. Porch construction (integratedand add ons).

VANDERKAMPMartin Road, R.D.#lCleveland, New York 13042(315) 675-3651

BROAD HUMORThis sign on a New York service sta-

tion: We collect taxes - federal, stateand local. We also sell gasoline as asideline.

The biggest job Congress has is howto get the money from the taxpayerwithout disturbing the voter.


NEBRASKA CITY, NEBRASKA... Where Arbor Day began

The uniqueness of Arbor Day wassummed up by its founder, J. SterlingMorton. In an address in 1887, he said,"Arbor Day ... which has alreadytransplanted itself to nearly every statein the American Union and has evenbeen adopted in foreign lands ... is notlike other holidays. Each of thosereposes on the past, while Arbor Dayproposes for the future." Arbor Day inNew York State is April 24th.

In 1872 Morton proposed to the Ne-braska Board of Agriculture an annualtree planting day to be called "ArborDay." Prizes were offered to countiesand individuals for properly planting thelargest number of trees on that day. Thefirst Arbor Day was observed in Nebras-ka with the planting of one million trees.Morton continued his campaign fortrees throughout his life, gaining a na-tional forum as Grover Cleveland'sSecretary of Agriculture.

Morton's Nebraska City home, ArborLodge, is now a state historical parkmanaged by the Game & Parks Com-mission. The grounds contain a magnifi-cent arboretum of more than 160varities of trees. Morton's beautifullyrestored home is open for tours frommid-April until the first of November,and the grounds are open year round.

The National Arbor Day Foundationis a nonprofit organization workingtoward a goal of improving tree plantingand care throughout the country,especially in the nation's cities.

The Foundation's Tree City USA pro-gram is sponsored in cooperation withthe U.S. Forest Service and the Na-tional Association of State Foresters.The program provides guidelines whichhelp communities establish a com-prehensive care program for their trees.Winning cities receive a Tree City USAflag, plaque, and signs to place at com-munity entrances.

To be named as a Tree City USA, acommunity must have a Tree Board ordepartment; a city tree ordinance; acomprehensive community forestryprogram; and an annual Arbor Dayobservance. Many participating com-munities have found a significant im-provement in public support for theirtree programs.

The Foundation presents Arbor DayAwards for effective tree promotionaland planting projects by the media, cor-porations, organizations, and in-dividuals. The work of organizations infostering tree planting will continue tobe a critical factor in the beautification ofour cities and countryside. The ArborDay Awards recognize and encouragethe best of these activities.

Through the Foundation's variouscommunication programs, millions ofpeople are made more aware of the im-portance of tree planting and care.Public Service Advertising tells the storyof trees and their role in our environ-ment. The Foundation publishesmaterials on ways Arbor Day can be ef-fectively observed in schools and com-munities, and provides informationalbrochures to assist local groups in theirArbor Day activities.

To become involved in the work ofthe National Arbor Day Foundation inyour community, you can obtain infor-mation on the following:

• Tree City USA• Arbor Day Awards Program• Ideas on observing Arbor Day

Cut out and mail to the National Ar-bor Day Foundation, Arbor Lodge 100,Nebraska City, NE 68410, or phone(402) 474-5655.

The celebration of Arbor Day is one of thebest ways to call attention to the impor-tance of tree planting. The Foundationpromotes Arbor Day through Public Ser-vice Advertising and provides ideas toschools and communities so they can bet-ter observe the tree planters' holiday.

MARCH'The stormy March is come at lastWith wind, and cloud, and changingskies;

I hear the rushing of the blastThat through the snowy valley fliei/.Ah! passing few are they who speakWild stormy month in praise of thee;Yet though thy winds are loud andbleak

Thou art a welcome month to me.

For thou, to northern lands againThe glad and glorious sun dost bringAnd thou hast joined the gentle train,And uiear'st the gentle name of Spring.And in thy reign of blast and stormSmiles many a long, bright summer dayWhen the changed winds are soft and

warmAnd heaven puts on the blue of May.

-Bryant

SPRINGWhat did Spring-time whisper?o ye rivulets,

Waking from your trance so sad,Pleased to welcome fisher-lad

With his little nets,Speed, for summer's in the air,

Prattle, for the breeze is warm,Chatter by the otter's lair.

Bubble past the ivied farm;Wake the primrose on the banks

Bid the violet ope her eyesHurry in a flood of thanks.

Underneath, serener skies!What a revel's coming soon.

Fairies trooping o'er the leas,Making magic by the moon,

Crowned with wood anemones!What a haunted heart the thrush

Nurses in the blackthorn bush,Full of splendid songs to sing,

Cheery welcomes of the Spring-Spring is come!

-Norman Gale

APRIL"Oh, how this spring of love resembleth

The uncertain glory of an April day!Which now shows all the beauty of the

sunand by and by a cloud takes all

away."- Two Gents of Verona

Shakespeare


MAPLE SYRUP... The First Sign of Spring

How it All BeganThe first settlers in New England

found that the Indians had a festiveseason in which they collected maplesap. They cut a gash in the tree andgathered the sap in bark receptaclesThe sap was then poured in woodentroughs where the water was steamedoff by dropping heated stones into thesap.

The northern colonists were quick toutilize the maple as a source of sweeten-ing. and it was often the only sweeten-ing available.Range of Production

The production .of maple syrup isconfined to the northern range of thesugar maple tree - northeast UnitedStates and the Canadian provinces ofQuebec and Ontario. In the UnitedStates. New York and Vermont are theleading producers - New York Statehas led in production in ten of the pastthirteen years.Amount of Syrup Produced

Weather conditions during the springsap-flow season influences to a verysignificant extent the amount of syrupthat is produced. In the United Statesthere is approximately one milliongallons of syrup produced each year.The value of the syrup exceeds tenmillion dollars. New York State leads allstates in production. producing approx-imately 30% of the annual national pro-duction.The Tree

All native maples have sweet sap. butalmost the entire production comesfrom the sugar maple. Other speciessuch as red. silver. and big leaf mapleshave low yields of sap and the sap is lowin sugar content. Some sugar mapletrees produce more sap than others andthe amount of sugar in the sap variesfrom tree to tree. The trees that prod ucethe sweetest sap are often the trees thatalso produce the largest quantity of sap.Large trees with large crowns havingdense foliage are the best producers.Trees that grow in the open with full ex-posure to the sun generally have such aform and are good producers. Heredityin regard to sugar content seems to be.important also.Maple Sap

Maple sap is a dilute solution of waterand sugar along with traces of othercompounds. The sugar that is present inthe sap is manufactured in the leaves ofthe trees during the summer months.

The process involves the chemical ac-tion of water supplied by the soil. car-bon dioxide from the air. and chlor-ophyll. which occurs in the structurescalled plastids inside the leaf cells. Itusually requires between 30-40 gallonsof sap to produce a gallon of syrup.Maple Syrup

It is the boiling process whichdevelops the characteristic flavor andcolor. Syrup with a clear. light ambercolor. free of cloudiness and with a mildmaple flavor is considered to be thehighest quality product: however. manyindividuals prefer the dark syrup withthe stronger maple flavor. Maple syrupis obtained from the sap when sufficientwater has been removed from the sapthrough the boiling process to concen-trate the sap to a point when its specificgravity is 1.32 and of the solids 95% issucrose. Maple syrup of a standard den-sity is obtained when the boiling point is7 degrees above the boiling point ofwater. Maple sugar is produced by con-tinued boiling beyond the syrup stage.Pure maple syrup has approximatelythe same calcium content as an equalvolume of whole milk. according toForest Manager. John H. Engleton atthe College of Environmental Scienceand Forestry Forest Experiment Stationon Lafayette Road in Syracuse. Maplesyrup may be purchased there. For in-formation call: (315) 469-3053.

MAPLE SYRUP PRICES 1980According to the New York Crop

Reporting Service of the Dept. ofAgriculture and Markets at the StateCampus. in Albany in their Novem-ber 18. 1980 Bulletin the averagevalue of the 1980 maple syrup cropin New York was $15.30 per gallonequivalent for all sales. This was$1.80 per gallon higher than thepreliminary estimate in May and$2.20 more than the final averagefor the 1979 crop.

The average retail price for syrupin gallon containers was $16.30. up$1.95 from last year. This is $4.54cents higher than the 1976 price.

ACID SNOW MAY HAVEMORE TOXIC EFFECTS

THAN ACID RAINBy David Stewart

TORONTO - Adirondack Mountainsnows may please skiers. but for fish inmountain lakes these snows may beeven more toxic than acid rain. accord-ing to preliminary research findingsfrom Cornell University.

Acid rain is precipitation polluted bylarge amounts of sulfur and nitrogen ox-ides emitted from industrial and powerplants. automobiles. and other man-made sources. Acid snow is its frozencounterpart.

Prevailing winds carry the pollutantsfrom large industrial areas in themidwest to eastern North Americawhere they mix with precipitation toform acid rain and acid snow. Scientistsagree that this acid precipitation hascaused substantial damage to aquaticlife in New York State's AdirondackMountains region by raisinq the acidityin lakes to toxic levels.

New research shows that acid snowmay be at least as damaging as acidrain. particularly when the spring meltand run-off reach a peak.

The Adirondack watershed study isbeing carried out for the Electric PowerResearch Institute and the federalgovernment. Investigators fromBrookhaven National Laboratory. Col-gate University. Dartmouth College.Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. SmithCollege. Cornell University. and theUniversity of Virginia are participating.along with Tetra Tech.. a consultingfirm. and the U.S Geological Survey.

A MAN WHO had just been pro-moted to vice-president boasted somuch about it to his wife that she final-ly retorted: "Vice-presidents are adime a dozen. Why, in the super-market they even have a vice-president in charge of prunes."

Furious, the husband phoned thesupermarket in the expectation ofrefuting his wife. He asked to speak tothe vice-president in charge of prunes.

"Which kind?" was the reply."Packaged or bulk?"

QUOTABLE QUOTESAnyone can easily make a slip or evena mistake. But do not make the sameerror once more, not to mention timeand again.


Evelyn A. StockEditor

5756 Ike DixonRd.Camillus, N.Y. 13031

Non profit orgbulk rate

U.S. POSTAGEPAID

Camillus, N.Y.13031

Permit No. 57

ASK A FORESTERBy AI Roberts

Question: I have heard variousopinions about section 4S0-A of theReal Property Tax Law. Do you feel itwould be a good deal for me to sign myproperty up under it?

Answer: My answer would be an un-equivocal yes, and no. In case thatdoesn't answer your question I willelaborate.

First, you might not even be eligible. Ihad one man who had me out to lookover his 100 acre property relative tosigning him up under 4S0-A and I hadto tell him he was not eligible. He had40 acres of brushy pasture, 30 acres ofhay field and 30 acres of woods. The re-quirement is, in general terms, that youmust have at least 50 acres of woods.He could have made himself eligible byplanting trees on his 30 acre hay field,but he did not choose to do this.

Assuming that you are eligible, hereare some of the "ifs'' .... If your proper-

ty is in the southeastern part of the stateyou would have a strong economic in-centive to sign up, as the land tax ratesthere are practically confiscatory. If youare paying $30 per acre per year andyou can save approximately SO% ofyour taxes you tend to overlook someof the severe disadvantages of the law. Iwill spell these out later.

If you are temperamentally, philo-sophically and psychologically able tocontend with the state dictating veryclosely how you will manage your land,then you also might sign up.

If you have a considerable amount ofmature timber I would recommend notSigning up .... at least not until afteryou have cut the timber, since there is a6% severance tax on all productsharvested from the property once youhave signed up (except on a smallamount of wood cut annually for yourown use).

The following are the disadvantages Imentioned. They are in no particularorder of importance, as that would varywith each individual case. If you look in-to the law in detail you may even thinkof some I have missed.

1. You will probably have to hire aconsulting forester to draw up a fairlycomplicated and detailed managementplan. This is required by the D.E.Cwhich administers the program.

2. You must carry out the plan,which will require that all stands receivetheir optimum treatment to the min-imum extent of 10 acres per year. If youwere unable to do the work yourself. itwould cost up to $50 per acre to hire itdone. Fifty percent Federal cost shar-ing, if available, could lighten theburden.

3. You must harvest any timberwhich is considered mature by theD.E.C, and pay 6% of the stumpagevalue in lieu of taxes.

4. You must not cut any timberunless it is approved by the D.E.C inyour management plan.

5. Any failure on the owners part tofollow the management plan will resultin a penalty amounting to 2lj2 times theamount of taxes you would have paid ifyour land had not been under 4S0-A.Now, does that answer your question?If not, see your closest D.E.C office fordetails.

Do you have problems or questionsabout your trees or woodlot, or awoodlot you would like to have?

Contact Al Roberts, our "Ask AForester" columnist. His address isR.D.#3, Cortland, NY 13045.

The New York Forest Owner - Volume 19 Number 2

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