The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1874-11-25
OUR FORESTS.
TIE WastefnI Rapidfty with
Which They are Being De-
strOyed-SOme Startling Facts

strOyed-SOme Startling Facts
and Figures. s=. ...fI, --s
Eew Yorh Times
The constant and reckless destrue.
ton Of our forests are fast bringing
IT'S to condition i'm which there win
be occasion for real alarm. IL is not
probable that any ''scare" like thst
which few years ago went over
England, concerning the prospective
exhaustion Of her coal supply, win
Immediately occur in America, touch
| ing the loss Of our forests but we
wish something near enough AP-
preaching it might happen to stop o
work that is full of evil promise.
In the whole United States there
is left but one really great tract OF
timber. 1t lies at the far extrems
Of our country, and consists of Rbout
one-half of Washington Territory
aud a third Of Oregon CaIifoFpia
has, perhaps, 500,0 900 acres OF forest
now, of which fully One-half has been
cnt away within the last two or threp
years. Here in New York we have
no considerable forests left except in
the Adirondack region. Our wealth
of maple, walnut, and hickory Is sub
stantially gone, and a large part of
it has been wantonly- destroyed.
Wisconsin had magnificent forest
growth. but the people are sweeping
it away at marvellously rapid rate.
One billion feet of timber were sGit
in n single year. 1t will not take
more than a decade. or two at the
utmost to fairly exhaust this source
of wealth TO the State. Michigan
and Minnesota are following in the
same course, slashiDg away at their
forests as if a tree had no right to
lift it's head. One of our most intel
ligent army officers, Gen. Brisbin,
who knows the Western country
thoroughly, and to whose accurate
knowledge of this subject we are in
1ebted for many facts, says.that 50,-
900 acres of Wisconsin timber are
cut annually to supply the Kansas
and Nebraska markets alone. The
Saginaw forests are even now prac
tically destroyed, and, if the North
ern Pacific railway is built, it will
open up to the ak the one remain
ing belt of timber in Oregon and
w Washington, Territory, ga rea .se7,s
The railroads have been the great
destroyers of our forests. They use
one hundred and sixty millions OF
ties annually-this means the 9level-
ling of at least l50, 900 acresof trees.
The timber they use, also, is not the
refuse or the inferior but amOngythe
very best, fine young trees, eight or
ten inches in diameter. The Union
and Pacific company undertook at
first to lay their road with cotton
wood, drawn from the occasional
wooded canyons along the line. OF
| the road. One consequence of this
was shown in our Washington dis
patch the other day regarding the
legislation to be asked from Cons
gress for the. relief of the road. The
Government commission appointed
to examine the line reported that iE
was not completed within the terms
of the law. The use of these soft.
wood ties was held by them to, be-
an evasion of contract, and govern
ment patents for the lands granted
along two or three hundred miles OF
the road have accordingly been re-
fused. The settlers who have bOughG
the lands can get no titles from the
company, for it has none. This
| looks bad for our forests, since iE
means the ultimate destruction oG
thousands of more good timber TO
replace the condemned ties, which
have already swept off large, part
Of the few precious growths of this
comparatively treeless region. II It
| is remembered that the ties have TO
be renewed every seven years, the
extent of the demand on our forests
will be appreciated. When 10000
miles more of rails have been laid
it will require all the young trees In
the country to supply the demand
for ties. l -er1 HaGhoU .fqG9
Fences are also enormous cOur
sumers of trees, In the East we are
/ learning in this regard economy from
necessity, but in the West, in some
States, the farmers cut down the for
ests with scarcely more thought than
they harvest their grain The fences
of the United States, people may not
| generally know, have cost more than
the lands, and are, to oday, the most
valuable class of property save rail4
roads and real estategin cities. Hlio
nois alone has 100000 invested in
fences, and they, cost annually $l75,
600 for repairs. In Nebraaka, where
excellent herd laws are in forces The
necessity for fences has been-so much
lessened that the fences of the Stats
cost less in proportion to population
than in any other in the Union.
The outrageous waste Of timber
caused by the telling of forests and
the burning Of the trees to ibringthe
land under cultivation still goes on nj
fearful rate. From 1860 to 1870
no less than twelve million acres OF
forest we're thus wantonly destroyed.
for fnelalsO vast tracts are EleVeled
of their trees, II. took 10000 acres.
of forests to supply Chicago With f q
in one year. 1871. Our annual
creasesof forest from ali these can
is not far from s. 600, 600 acresi fYee
we'plant onlyr10, 900 acres of new fOrs
ests a year. ..9a9 as m04T 4ainaa1
The necessity for q commission Of
forestry, and the need of efficient
laws in all the States for the preserv!
alton Of our forests. need no further
argument than these facts. u oa oir
7.q 7lr------ - ------9le ersoj
"a Forty per cent. of the school girls
in Indiana are named Maria half OF
them call themselves Marian, and
the other half Mari.
Mr. SmirkfDs saws he has been