Grantville Gazette-Volume XIII Read online

  With, for example, the shelterwood system, there might actually be several "cutting cycles" within a single rotation. (Chapman 289)

  The U.S. Forestry Service nominally seeks to defer logging until the trees reach "productive maturity," which is when the "mean annual increment" has started to drop (that is, when the trees no longer have a current annual growth which is greater than their average annual growth). However, the problem is that if a timber company buys forest land, it is paying interest on that purchase every year (or at least, its money is tied up in the standing timber and can't be used for something else, and so an economist would say that it has to consider the time value of the money). Likewise, it has costs for maintaining the forest, that is, protecting it against fire and disease. For every year that harvest is delayed, it has to garner that much more revenue in order to make a profit. On the other hand, as the trees grows-, their wood may increase in value; greater bole diameter, fewer branches, less sapwood. Thus, the timber company wants to harvest at "economic maturity," when its return on investment is maximized. (Raphael 185-8)

  Intermediate cuttings. Besides the silviculture systems, which implement the rotation scheme, certain intermediate cuttings (thinning and pruning) may be used on any lot at any time.

  Trees compete with each other for light, and those which lose the race for the heights will wither and die. A thinning is a selective cutting made so as to increase the total yield from the stand. Low thinning removes overtopped trees that won't grow well anyway. Crown thinning is the reverse; it removes the higher trees to give the others a better chance. Selection thinning removes dominants which are poorly formed. (Note that a tree may be healthy but not good for lumbering because of defects in the trunk.)

  While thinning removes entire trees, pruning merely removes branches which would otherwise produce undesirable knots in the wood. It also encourages the trees to grow straight trunks suitable for masts. (Wood, 51)

  Monoculture versus Polyculture: A "monoculture" forest is one dominated by a single tree species. It can arise either naturally ("new growth" after a forest fire, or species which normally occur in pure stands) or through human intervention (planting a single species of tree while culling others). The latter can be called a "tree plantation."

  The advantages of monoculture are higher yield (less competition from other plants, standardized planting, pruning, thinning, and pest control) and reduced waste (by standardized harvesting methods tailored to the dominant species). Monoculture also makes it easier to estimate wood volumes for management purposes. On the other hand, the reduced diversity may lead to reduced levels of game, and if a pest or disease gains a foothold, it may spread more rapidly than it would in a more diverse forest.

  Logging methods. This is probably as good a place as any to mention that all logging methods have environmental consequences above and beyond the removal of the desired timber. Roads and even some cable systems require additional cutting. The movement of tractors, animal teams, and logs (if skidded) compacts the soil they travel over. The power equipment used to cut trees and lift logs consumes fuel, which had to be extracted from the earth in some way. (Berger, 94-5)

  Wastage. In the process of converting standing timber into lumber, some of the wood is wasted. I don't have figures for the seventeenth century, but these are valid for American forests in the mid-twentieth century. For each category, I give the percentage of the total wood volume (not of the wood wasted) attributable to the particular problem:

  stumps 2-3%:

  The stump is left in the ground so, the higher the stump, the more wood is wasted. If the tree is felled when the land is covered with deep snow, or where the ground is irregular, the stump height may be as high as ten feet. Wood can be saved by requiring short stumps. In the American National Forests, the maximum stump height is typically 6-24 inches. Better yet, the trees are cut just above the root swell. Ideally, the trees are cut at ground level. (This is common in twentieth century Europe.)

  tops, limbs, branches 10-12.5%:

  Wood is also wasted at the top of the tree. Trees are cut up to a particular top diameter. In the American National Forests, the specified minimum top diameter is typically 4-12 inches, depending on the species.

  defective and decayed trunks; boles shattered in felling 4-5.5%:

  Care must be taken in choosing the direction in which a tree is felled. If, coming down, it strikes obstacles (other standing timber, stumps, logs, rocks), breakage may occur. (Depending on the species, the loss may be as high as 15%.)

  miscellaneous woods losses (e.g., improper log lengths, transportation losses; decay in storage) 1-1.5%

  When logs are inaccurately measured, or cut only to even lengths, wood is unnecessarily discarded. Logs can be lost in transport; they go astray, or they are jammed and then damaged when the logjam is freed with explosives. If logs are left outside too long, they may rot.

  bark 7-8%

  The bark must be removed for the wood to be used as lumber. However, this isn't waste if the bark can be profitably put to some use.

  saw kerf 8-10%

  Kerf was discussed in the section on sawmills.

  slabs 8-9%

  edgings and trimmings 6-8%

  seasoning 3-4%

  remanufacture 2-3%

  miscellaneous manufacturing losses 1%

  (Brown, 9-11, 115-17, 122-3).

  It is evident that something like 53-66% of the wood in the standing timber is wasted in one way or another.

  Fire Prevention and Control. Any society which relies heavily on wood construction will experience destructive fires. Just in the early seventeenth century there were ruinous municipal fires in Tiverton (1612), Oslo (1624), and Rajmahal (1631).

  North America, with its combination of extensive forests and a hot, dry summer, is especially prone to forest fires. But they aren't unheard of in Europe; 1911EB mentions that in 1811 forest fires in Tyrol destroyed 64 villages.

  Grantville has a fire department, and its personnel should have some knowledge of how to prevent and fight wildfires, even though they aren't as frequent a problem in Marion County (Fire District 1) as they are elsewhere in West Virginia, let alone the Far West.

  Disease and Pest Control. There are a number of references to particular diseases and pests which afflict trees in the 1911EB (articles on Larch, Lemon, Pear, Plum, Apple, Olive, Orange, etc.)

  The "Timber" article warns that to protect it from fungal decay (dry rot), wood used in construction should be well seasoned first, and used in such a way that it is well ventilated. It also discussed preservation by impregnation with creosote, "corrosive sublimate," carbolic acid, or zinc chloride, or by charring, tarring, painting or oiling.

  If a fungal infection appears on a living tree, it may be combated by removing diseased material, grafting (e.g., lemon on bitter orange), or spraying with a fungicide (e.g., with "Bordeaux mixture" on the pear, or ammonium copper carbonate on the orange).

  Pests can be blocked physically (e.g., a tarry cloth girding the tree), removed by hand, or killed with a pesticide.

  In general, grazing animals aren't a serious enemy for mature trees. However, because they eat seedlings, and the foliage and bark of saplings, they do pose a potential threat to the regeneration of the forest. If overgrazed, the forest becomes overmature (ceases to produce new seed), and dies off. This forest-to-grassland devolution has occurred in Spain, Italy, Greece, North Africa, and parts of the Western United States. (Chapman, 11).

  Genetic Improvement. Because of the long maturation period for most trees, the breeding of trees to improve their traits takes time.

  One of the first trees known to have been improved as a result of human intervention is the plane tree (Platanus). The Tradescants, who were British court gardeners, were growing the oriental plane tree (Platanus orientalis) in their South Lambeth garden by 1633. In 1637, John Tradescant the younger returned home from Virginia with seeds or cuttings of the American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis). The two
species, normally separated by the Atlantic Ocean, hybridized, producing the London plane tree (Platanus x acerifolia). The Tradescants were not trying to create a new species, but they recognized that the London plane tree was something novel and useful. (Spongberg 12-13).

  A modern genetics program will involve collecting seeds or other reproductive material from the "star" trees, those whose traits are considered especially desirable. One trick is to cut off the top of the tree (in conifers, that's the part which produces the most cones), and then take cuttings from the tips of the branches. The cuttings, in turn, are grafted onto a compatible root stock, thus facilitating the rapid reproduction of the trees. So the generation time is reduced from, say, sixty years, to just a couple. (Raphael, 40-1).

  With a suitably spaced orchard of "star" trees, natural crossing occurs. But of course the tree scientists make deliberate, artificial crosses, too. The seedlings may go straight to the forest, or first be cosseted in a greenhouse nursery.

  Conclusion

  For the downtime Europeans, wood is a preeminent material: a source of heat and shelter, and a medium of expression for artisans. Yet the forests from which they derive their wood are not managed in a way which will preserve them in perpetuity.

  Caecilius Statius (220-168 BC) wrote, "He plants trees to benefit another generation."

  The up-timers bring with them knowledge both of how to cut trees far more efficiently, and of the deleterious consequences of deforestation. They know of valuable trees never seen by down-time European eyes, and of familiar trees lost or endangered as a result of environmental change, natural or manmade.

  It remains to be seen whether the overall effect of the Ring of Fire on the human relationship with the forests is a positive or negative one.

  Bibliography

  Grantville Encyclopedias

  "Ax," "Saw," "Band Saw," 'Woodworking," "Lumbering," "Naval Stores," "Turpentine," "Wood," "Forest," "Trees," "Forestry," and articles on specific trees, Encyclopedia Americana

  "Timber," "Forests and Forestry," Encyclopedia Britannica (11th ed., 1911)

  modern Encyclopedia Britannica

  Collier's Encyclopedia

  Other Books and Articles

  Aiton, Hortus Kewensis; Or, a Catalogue of the Plants Cultivated in the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew (1810).

  Anon., "Teak—Timber of Empire," World of Wood 10 (May-June 2006).

  Baker, Green Glory (1949).

  Berger, Understanding Forests

  Brown, French Forest Ordinance of 1669: With Historical Sketch of Previous Treatment of Forests in France (1883)

  Brown, Logging (1934)

  Chapman, Forest Management (1950).

  Cordingly, The Billy Ruffian (2003)

  Cox, This Well-Wooded Land: Americans and Their Forests from Colonial Times to the Present (1985).

  Cronon, Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England (1983).

  De Vries, The First Modern Economy: Success, Failure and Perseverance of the Dutch Economy, 1500-1815 (1997).

  Edlin, Illustrated Encyclopedia of Trees, Timbers and Forests of the World (1978).

  Elliot, International Timber Trade (1997)

  Farmer, Chemistry in the Utilization of Wood (1967).

  Fernow, A Brief History of Forestry in Europe , the United States and Other Countries (1907)

  Gordon, The New Science of Strong Materials, or Why You Don't Fall Through the Floor (1976).

  Harrison, Forests: The Shadow of Civilization (1992).

  Hawley, Principles of Silviculture (1962)

  Huebner, A History of Germanic Private Law (1918)

  Lillard, The Great Forest (1947)

  Logan, Oak: The Frame of Civilization (2005).

  Nisbet, British Forest Trees and Their Silvicultural Characteristics and Treatment (1893).

  Pike, Tall Trees, Tough Men (1967)

  Pursell, The Machine in America : A Social History of Technology (1995).

  Raphael, Tree Talk: The People and Politics of Timber (1981).

  Richards, The Unending Frontier: An Environmental History of the Early Modern World (2003)

  Robinson, Crop Histories

  Sands, Forestry in a Global Context (2005)

  Schlich, Schlich's Manual of Forestry (1922)

  Teplyakov, History of Russian Forestry and Its Leaders (1998)

  Toumey, Seeding and Planting in the Practice of Forestry (1942)

  Weeden, Economic and Social History of New England , 1620-1789 (1891)

  Williams, Deforesting the Earth: From Prehistory to Global Crisis (2003)

  Williams, Americans and Their Forests: A Historical Geography (1989)

  Wood, Live Oaking: Southern Timber for Tall Ships (1995)

  Online Materials

  Allen, "The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective" (2006), www.international.ucla.edu/cms/files/Allen_British_Industrial_Revolution_in_Global_Perspective.pdf

  Tossavainen, Dutch Forest Products' Trade in the Baltic from the Late Middle Ages to the Peace of Munster in 1648 (Thesis) http://www.cc.jyu.fi/~jojuto/df_int1.html

  Halstead, "The Northern European Timber Trade in the Later Middle Ages and the Renaissance," www.medievalwoodworking.com/articles/lumber_trade.htm

  Halstead, "Woods in Use in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance," www.medievalwoodworking.com/articles/wood.htm

  Clark, "The Price History of English Agriculture," 1209-1914,"

  www.econ.ucdavis.edu/faculty/gclark/papers/Agprice.pdf

  Patten Lumbermen's Museum, http://www.lumbermensmuseum.org/logger4.cfm

  Evelyn, Silva (1662),

  http://www.british-trees.com/Oldsite/silv.htm

  Houston, "Scurvy and Canadian Exploration," Canadian Bull. Medical History, 7: 161-7 (1990), http://www.cbmh.ca/archive/00000206/01/cbmhbchm_v7n2houston.pdf

  Anonymous, "Charcoal Production Process,"

  http://www.europa.com/~heritage/charcoal.html

  Cassens, "Woods for Home Heating,"

  http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/FNR/FNR-79.html

  Goddard Space Flight Center, "Science Question of the Week" [Maple Syrup]

  http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/scienceques2001/20020315.htm

  Armstrong, "Logwood and Brazilwood: Trees that Spawned 2 Nations," Pacific Horticulture 53: 38-43 (1992), http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ecoph4.htm

  Handisides, "Der Bauernkrieg von 1525: The German Peasants' Revolt,"

  http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Strasse/9298/zuefallig/bauernkrieg.htm

  Unger, "Shipping, Energy and Early Modern Economic Growth" (2004), mauricio.econ.ubc.ca/pdfs/unger.pdf

  Lienhard, "Balsa Wood," http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi233.htm

  Keita, "Wood or charcoal—Which is better?", http://www.fao.org/docrep/s4550e/s4550e09.htm

  "Tree Safari," http://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/fnr/stoutwoods/edu_act/Tree%20Safari.pdf

  Plant Hardiness—

  http://www.uk.gardenweb.com/forums/zones/hze.html

  http://www.richters.com/newdisplay.cgi?page=Zones/Europe.html&cart_id=81.1496

  (Europe)

  http://www.growit.com/bin/USDAZoneMaps.exe?MyState=WV

  (WV)

  http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/fia/states/wv/index.html

  Table 68, http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/fia/states/wv/tables/2000/WV68.8.P.html

  Table 69, http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/fia/states/wv/tables/2000/WV69.1.6.L.html

  http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/fia/states/wv/index.html

  http://www.wvfa.org/forestryfacts.htm

  * * *

  Guilds 101

  Written by Karen Bergstralh

  Guilds had a long history. Depending upon your exact definition, a form of guilds can be traced back over 4,000 years. By the twentieth century all but a few guilds had disappeared and the handful that remain had altered greatly. A major factor in their disappearance was industrialization.

  The following is a very basic outline applicable to most European guilds. It is intended as a starting point o
nly. Anyone intending to write about guilds in a particular city will need to do research into those specific guilds and cities. Guild rules and practices varied by region, country, city, and time.