Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1861-06-19

rinslumbring A lesson from history
Tho white piue- pcrhapa lho most
,rntllp tree lf 0ui forests From
.hc t.rft t,tlirmrnt of The country IL
has btcn most highly priced for lum-
brr and II now forms q part Of almost
every mood dwelling m the land The
window frames and sashcs, the blinds
and doors univcfully made Of pine
IL often Forms the mophoards and
shingles, tho floors and parts Of the
frame work. This tree was widely
distributed over the older States in the
North, and occupied The valleys ofry.
crs and plains. where it was most nc
ccssiblc to the early settlers, The
pine loved smooth easily worked land,
and the settlers did tho same. The
pioneer, in making his clearing for a
farm, had no thought for postcsity.-
He wanted to plant corn and cultivate
grasses, and the trees were his natural
rnomics They had no value except
Tor fuel, as they have none now, in
many of the new settlements remote
ftum nayigablc streams.
As the population increased, and cit
!es bogsn to be built, it would pay to
cut and saw the pine, and send it to
market. Tho settler wanted 10 re-
alize Immediately upon his purchase,
and all the pine lumber was marketed
that he could cut and saw, Thns all
New England, except Maine, has been
stripped Of its pine, and even in the
Pi { Tree State, the pines are begin
ming to fail, and spruce, tir, and hem
l0cli, sre taking their place tits said,
we knownot how truiy, that pine from
Michigan now sometimes finds mar
ket in Maine.
It Is only about eighty years since
Vermont was settled, and it is not fit. .
" years since the lumber trade was
the principal business at Burlington, /,
on Lake Champlain The region ar
ound for twenty miles, back to the
foot Of the Green Mountain range, WAS
heavily timbered with white pine.
The men are now living who rcmcm- !
Der the grand slaughter upon these
monarchs Of the forest, and the ship |
ping of lumber, through the lake, aud /,
the st. Lawrencs, to Europe, Trees
from four to six feet in diameter, aud |
from l40 20 $50 feet in height, were
not uncommon Dr. Whoelock of
Dartmouth College, is said to have |
measured tree that stood upon the
college grounds, and found it 270 feet
in length. But now pine a hundred
feet nigh is a rare object, In a recent
trip from Burlington eastward to the
mountains, we did not see an acre Of
primitive pine forest, and but few of
the second growth. Other yariates
Of wood arc much more common than
the pine Remains cf the old forest
are occasionally seen, in enormous
stumps not yet rottcd in the ground
orin stump fences, that have stood for
a generation. The export of pine lum.
Der has long since ceased, and the re-
glon is now dependent upon Canada
and the West for its supplies Hardly
an intelligent farmer can be found that
does not mourn over the indiscrimin-
ate havoc Of the first growth Of pines.
II would take three hundred years to
restore them.
Is there not lesson in this fact for
the lumbcrmen Of Michigan Sud the
North. western States? They owR the
land, and wish to make the most Of it II
for themselves, and their children T
The clearing up OF their pine lands is
likely to go forward more rapidly than
in Vermont, for the tide of emigration c
moves stronger westward and there is
an immense population along the sea
board, that must be more and more ,
dependent upon these new States for
their pine lumber. AT present they
have but asmall profit upon their lum.
OGr, because Of its distance from mar
ket The market is all the time com .
ing nearer to them, and Judging from
the past, the cost of transporter will "
be diminishing. viii it not be better ,
for their estates, a richer inhcritcncc
for their children, TO leave at least half 8
of these forests untouched by the AK
Suppose an acre Of primitive pine for
est nov standing near the shore Of +
Lake Champlain! With pine lumber !
worth from $50 to $50 thousand, and j
a home market, every one acquainted |
With the business, can readily see the Z
value of such piece of property +
Many of the trees wonld be worth +
300 and upwards, and an acre would y
purchasc a respectable farm.
1t is worthwhile for the new settlers
upon these pine lands to look forward IN
fifty years, and think Of their heirs, if q,
not Of their own old age Then Am
aero Of cleared meadow may be worth
$50 for cultivation, and an acre of pri.
mitivc pine $1,000 for lumber. OF $
,9Grse, the most Of the forests must
perish to make room for farms and o
he onward march of civilization. We