The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1869-03-26
OUR FORESTS.

with their heavy belts of timber run
ming east and west across the country,
and their well timbered tributaries
coming in from the north and south,
make Lyon one of the best timbered
counties in Kansas. The timber in
this part of Kansas is confined to the
river and creek bottoms. The Yellow
and White Cottonwood, Black Walnut,
Burr Oak, Plgnut, White and Red Elm,
Red Maple, Sycamore, Box Elder,
Blackberry, Honey Locust, Black Null
berry, Coffeebean, Shellbark Hickory,
Pecan, Linden, White and Black Ash,
Pawpaw, Redbud, Black Willow, Large
Red and Yellow Plum, Wild Cherry,
and Hawthorn, are native of this
country. The Black Walnut, Cotton
wood, Burr Oak, Elm, and Mulberry,
are the most valuable for fencing and
building purposes, and are the most
abundant of any of our native trees.
Timber land can be bought here for
from twenty to sixty dollars per acre,
according to the location. Many
farmers living at a distance from tim
Der buy from five to ten acres for their
own use. Timber sells here at the
following rates: Cottonwood, from
$3.50 to $3.50 per 100 feet; Black Wal
nut from So to 81, Burr Oak from So
to 81; blackberry, Maple, and Elm,
from $3.50 to $3.50 per 100 feet. Our
timber is not generally as tall as the
same kinds East, though l have meas
ured Cottonwoods here that were over
one hundred feet high. The growth
of our old forests have been retarded
by the annual raids of the prairie fires.
Tho prairies were formerly set on fire
by the Indians, to destroy the hiding
places of the wild game, and are now
set on fire by the stock raisers to make
the grass start earlier in the spring
1t is my opinion that if God had in
tended that the boundary of the Great
American Desert should be removed
far to the East, that he would have
given stock raisers Chose that make
stock raising their eGcLuSiUe business)
full control of all the land in Kansas.
They would have kept the prairie fires
anu lIOlI CdlGI0 WOuIu ndN0 kcDG
the young timber browsed close to the
ground, so that the prairie fires could
have swept over them and made annual
attacks on the old forests, which from
year to year would have been driven
back until the work of destruction
would have been accomplished. An
other way that our present stock rails
ers aid in the destruction of our forests
is by compelling farmers and horticul-
turists, to build barbados, to protect
their crops from stock running at
large. 1t is true that nearly all of our
farmers and fruit growers own stock,
but there are few that own more than
could be pastured on from five to forty
acres of land. It is certainly more
economical to fence from five to forty
acres of land to pasture cattle, than to
let them run at large and be compelled
Gas we now are) to fence the whole
farm of from forty to three hundred
from them. 1t costs at least one dol
lar per rod to build fence that will
turn cattle. To fence one hundred
and sixty acres would cost not less
than six hundred and forty dollars. 1t
costs not over six dollars per acre to
get prairie land that has never been
broken, into good condition for grow
ing full crop the first year, and seeds
of the Black Walnut, Oak, Maple, and
other trees, enough to plant an acre of
land, will not cost more than two dol
lars, and the planting would not cost
more than one dollar per acre. They
would require cultivation for two years.
Root crops could be raised between the
rows of trees and more than pay the
cost of cultivation, and after that the
trees would require no further care,
making the cost of planting and cul
tivation of an acre of timber on wild
prairie, not over nine dollars per acre.
Now if we could have law pro-
hibiting stock running at large, instead
and forty dollars in fencing one hun
dred and sixty acres of land, the new
settles could plant over seventy acres
of his land in forest trees, and the
timber that he would have taken from
the old forest would be sawed for other
purposes. IF this was done there
would in a few years be such bene-
fetal change in our climate, that even
the most enthusiastic prophesyer of
the good time coming will be sur
prised. Prairie fires have been kept
in check in this county for several
years past, and there are several thous-
ands of acres of young timber growing
where ten years ago there was moth
ing but prairie grass, and blackened
but live roots of trees long since cut
down by the fire fiend. From these
roots have sprung sprouts that have
grown to be trees from twenty to fifty
| feet high. Wherever the prairie is
| broken within two or three miles of
the timber, young Cottonwoods may
be seen growing from seeds carried
from the timber, by the wind.
have measured some Cottonwoods,
ten years from seed, that are now over
forty five feet in hight, and one foot in
diameter The White and Yellow
Pines, Red Cedar and some other ever
green trees are hardy and make a good
growth here. Our county is we'll cup
piled with steam saw mills, land flour
ing mills tool. There are a great
many good mill sites for water mills, on
our rivers but only a few occupied.
Emigrants to this part of Kansas should
bring seeds of all kinds of trees that !
have not named as being native of this
county, that they can get. Many peo-
pie come to Kansas with the expecta-
ton of not having to work much.
Some of that class buy land and go to
farming; they scratch the ground Just
enough to get dirt to cover the seed
they want to plant, drop the seed and
half cover it, and of course don't raise
half crop; then they say, Kansas is
not a good grain growing State, and
every thing else they do is done in a
slovenly manner. They kill their fruit