• Irland, Lloyd C.
  US Bureau of Forestry
  

A Maine virgin red spruce and northern hardwoods stand was documented by a US Forest Service employee in 1902 prior to cutting. in this stand, spruce averaged 13.5" (34 cm) diameter at breast height (dbh). Only 22 trees per acre (54.3/ha) exceeded 15" (38 cm) dbh. Red spruce seedlings in the understory stand that had previously been partially cut took as long as 38 years to reach 3 ft (0.9 m) in height. The average dbh of red spruce in Piscataquis county in 1982 was 8"(20 cm). Growth rates achieved in stands measured in 1902 suggest that managed stands can be grown that would resemble the structure of this virgin stand.