The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1872-12-07
THE PUBLIC DOMAIN ANDTHE
GROWTH OF TIMBER.

TasF
!. A reckless waste Of forests has
been characteristic Of our popula-
tion from the earliest settlement OF
the country. We have made haste
to clear off our wooded lands, in q
very indiscriminate manuer, 40 IL
the timber were the chief barrier
to the progress Of civilization: and
not content with this, thousands Of
acres of primeval forests, in some
of the Western States, have been
felled and burned without the least
regard to any possible value which
they might ever possess, or to any
harm which their destruction might
OCCASION, sooner or later, to the in
terests of the country. The his
tory Of this waste Of timber, could
it be written, would show an i'm
mense national loss, occaaioned by
mere wanton recklessness, the con-
sequences Of which are felt more
ard more each succeeding year.
Even in the oldest and most thickly
populated sections Of the country
We might have built our towns and
made all our improvements and
yet We have spared many q REM
nant of the forests which our early
ancestors found here. Few persons
are aware of the rate at which our
forests are wasting away, through
the rapid growth of commerce and
industry. Every railroad grant
that has been made in q Western
State is sure to doom miles of
them 10 destruction, without the
smallest consideration of the ques-
ton whether they do not subserve
an important purpose in the econ.
omy of nature tor the future bene-
fit of man. If the recent teachings
of meteorological science are to be
depended upon, the consequences
of this destruction are already dis
tinctly traceable in the altered con-
dition of the climate, and especially
in the diminished quantities and
the greater intervals of rain. in the
occurrence cf violent tempests and
the consequent diminution of the
fruits of earth. a
i 1t has been urged of late years
that the growth Of forest trees
should be encouraged, and We be-
lieve that some of the Western
} Legislatures have offered small
bounties to that end. In the rich
J soil ofthe prairie States the growth
of btimer is very ripid. and trees
large enough for fuel and fencing
purposes can be grown from seed
in a period of fifteen or twenty
years. We are pleased to learn
that General Drummond, the Com.
missioner of the Public Lands, will
recommend in bis Forthcoming an
.. nual report an amendment to the
: homestead law, making it obliga
tory to settlers under it 10 cultivate
a acertain number o'acres in trees fcl
three years. We believe this viii
prove wise measure, and it wouls
also be well if some limit could b,
: fixed to the rate of destruction o
existing forests.
The experience of other sland
furnishes conclusive evidence o
the benificial effects of trees upo1
the climate, and it is for US TO lear
lessons of practical value from til
examples there to be found. In
large part Of Spain, for instanc,
), trees ore scarcely to be seen in
:. days journey, and the consequen
is that in the plains there are lon
. lasting dry seasons during whic
!. vegetation is withered and til
crops Pre destroyed for want of til
life-giving influence; while at oths
periods heavy rains ensue whicl
.e gathering in the mountain passe
. pour on tue lowlands in torrent
is inundating the country and desro,
is ing everything green. In our Ney
. England States, they have Ion
m since abandoned the folly of ur
b. roofing every tree, as if it were
le useless eucumbrance, and now pa
g. much attention to the planting az
y, cultivation of such hardy foreste1
d as the oak, maple, elm, and 9th,
a varieties of trees which give she
g. ter to crops by breaking the fore
N Of high winds, and shade and pic
u turesque beauty to the roadway
and places of residence. Sue
farmers and landowners az a,
I'd possessed with the insane desire
ID strip their farms Of every stick ,
ae timber except that which is requi
er ed for their own immediate van
e, fo- fuel and other purposes, ms
. be wise enough in their generatio
be but the effect of such policy vi
II be likely to visit those who con