Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-07-19
FOREST CuLTURE.

on forest culture made the following re-
port. II is of interest, as verifying the ex-
perience Of many practical men, who have
given this subject much study
The forests Of the continent ae rapidly
passing away. Large districts in the At
lantic States are already stripped of their
most valuable timber. In less than twen-
ty-five years the accessible forests in the
region of the great lakes, on the upper wa
tiers Of the Mississippi, and in the British
Possessions adjacent, will be exhausted.
The industrial progress of the Southern
States is consuming the trees, both decidu-
Gus and evergreen, at an accelerated rate
In the Rocky Mountain regions (where
the hard woods are unknown) the pines,
spruces and cedars are disappearing before
| the farmer, the miner, the architect and the
railroad builder. On the Pacific coast, the
immense home demand, ever increasing, to-
gether with the expectation TO England,
France, -Australis, China Japan, South
America, Mexico and the Pacific Islands,
foretell the exhaustion of the California
timber trees in twenty years; and those
available in Oregon and regions northward,
in brief period. .. D. a.f D..
The demand for the products of the for
rest constantly increases. The supply con-
stantly, and In agrowing ratio, diminishes,
and prices constantly augment, The caus-
es now In operation, and daily gaining
strength, can have but one effect, that of
exhausting all of the available sources of
supply within the lives of persons now in
existence. .'fi 81. rfraE &c ".GfE
This appalling prospect, the view of
which becomes the more vivid the more it
is studied, should arouse the farmers, land
owners, and legislators. 1t Is vital to the
future welfare Of our people that the repro
ducsion OF our forests should at once begin,
not on small scale or in q few localities,
but in large measures and co-extensive
with our settlements. A broad statesman
ship, in the National and State Legislature,
should at once take up the subject, and
deal with it year, by year until the great
work shall be adequately begun.
The few and hesitating experiments in
isolated localities, which have been made
in the growing Of forest trees, have no sig
nifcance so far as the general supply of
future wants is concerned. But they are
of inestimabe value, in so far IS they teach
the ease and comparative rapidity with
which forest trees, useful to the farm, to
the workshop and to the railroad, may be
produced; and in so far IS they show that
the agricultural men of the country have
already Gin advance of the men In high pc
litical life) appreciated the necessities of the
present and the future. They are also of
value in demonstrating that, however re-
mote the profits Of forest culture may have
been heretofore considered, 1t is yet true
that the artificial plantation may in very
few years, by judieious planting at first, be
made to yield current returns equal to the
cost of planting and care.
Notifications and ameliorations of eli
mate, due to the destruction or the extern
sion of forests, have begun to enlist serious
consideration. There can be no doubt of
the beneficial influence of forest areas equal
in aggregate to one-third or one fourth Of
the entire area of any extensive region.
But, however important climate effects may
be in this connection-however desirable
it may be that the crops and animal life of
the farm should enjoy the benefits of forest
influences and shelter, the need of extern
sive forest planting is imperative eneugh
without taking into consideration its effect
on atmospheric movements, temperature,
or rainfall. The store, the dwelling, the
wharf, the wsrehosIse-all these, and more,
demand action; demand it In the name of
domestic life, of farm economy, Of COM
merce, of all the arts of our civilization.
What we shall save in climate by preserv-
ing forest areas, or gain by their extension,
is just so much to be enjoyed in addition to
other compensatons. The less violent
sweep of the winds in Illinois, as compared
with forty or fifty years ago, due to the cb-
struction caused by buildings, hedges,
fences, orchards, artificial groves, and wind
breaks cd the prairies, speak to the under
standing of plain men more forcibly than
any language we could use.
There may be those who regard forest
planting as awork of mystery and grandeur,
beyond the reach of the common farmer.
This is a mistaken view. Nearly all the
most important deciduous trees may be
grown from seed as readily as Indian corn.
OF many species the seed may be sown
broadcast and narrowed in, if the planter
prefers to use the seed laVishly rather than
give more care. The seeds Of many trees
may be planted either in the fall or spring,
as may be most convenient. Some of the
softer wooded trees grow from cuttings as
readily as the grape; and with most decid-
uous trees, the seeds or cuttings may, If de-
sired, be at once planted where the trees
are to stand. Nor need the most .unletter-
ed farmer deny himself the pleasure and
profit of the conifers and evergreens. The
plants, furnished at prices which are insig
nifcant in comparison with their value, are
abundant at reliable nurseries, and with
the simple precaution of keeping the roots
moist, and proper care in planting, are as
sure to grow as any other tree or shrub.
No part of the earth is blessed with
greater variety of useful trees; both Of the
hard and soft wooded kinds, than the Uni
ted States; and these native trees can all be
readily grown in artificial plantations. 1t is
not alone the pines and spruces and cedars
that make up our valuable timber. The
harder wooded trees-the ash, the oaks, the
hiokories, the naples, the walnuts, and the
chestnuts--of which we have heretofore
been so lavish, have value in the arts that
no figures can estimate. They may be said
to be essential to the continuance of our
present civilization. New forests of these
trees must be grown, or our grandchildren
must depart from our modes of life. West
of Longitude 100 degrees from Greenwich,
the material for a common wagon does not
grow on the continent, and we are fast ex-
hausting it east Of that meridian. Ohio and
Indiana, Kentucky and Missouri, have CIR
Ol6u anu DuIbeu udlU WIN OACOS Stiae WIZ =
to-day be worth hundreds of millions OF
dollars. If failing springs and protracted
drouths and extremes of temperature sug-
gest replanting, their people may safely rely
on future market more certain than that
for any other product Of the soil.
The remedies were embodied in the fol-
lowing resolutions
Resolved, /. That we recommend farmers
throughout the United States to plant with
trees their billy or other waste lands, and
at least ten per cent. of their farms with
trees, Ia such manner as to provide shell
ter belts of clumps and rapid growing and
useful timber. 81
2. That we solicit the Legislature of the
several States to pass laws providing boun-
ties for planting useful trees, encouraging
the planting of highways, and for the pro-
vision of State nurseries of young timber
trees; and also the appointment of an Arbor
Day for the annual planting of trees, as has
already been. done in the State of Nebraska.
8. That we ask our Congress of the
United States to'require, so far as practica-
bic, that hereafter railroad companies and
settlers receiving the benefit Of, the home
stead and other acts donating lands, shall