Connecticut western news., 1875-04-02
Friday Morning, April, 2, 1875.
Feress Free Cnltnrn.


 MR. EpToR.-I wrote m article some time since upon this subject, urging the necessity of forest tree culture. Since reading the report of the U. s. Commission CTS of Agriculture for 1873, am more fully impressed with the knowledge of the necessity than eyer before. According to his report, the forests of Main and Michigan will be cleared in twenty-five years, at the present rate of consumption of building timber, and the forests of Vermont and northern N. Y. will be cleared in less time than that, and people seriously consider the subject, and they consider the consequences of building timber famine, famine of long duration, one that cannot be relieved until crop of timber can be grown. It is computed that if one-fifth of all the cleared land in the United States, including the prairies was put under forest tree cultivation, the balance woull produce more than the present area. The forests would retain the moisture and present to rapid evaporation, and would prevent the2 destructive rain floods and terrible droughts that alternate in countries entirely destitute of timber.
 Streams and rivers would retain their usual sise whereas when the forests are cut of, they dwindle from respectable mill streams to comparatively small rivulets, or periodically dry up. The northern forests may be denuded to that extent that navigation will be seriously impaired or entirely destroyed on the upper Hudson Rlver, north of Poughkeepsie or Hudson city. The ordinary volume of water is already much reduced. The Mohawk, one of it's tributaries is not more than half the volume It was before Central New York was settled and cleared up, and when fiat boatmen used to run up as far as Little Falls direct, and by portage, mile or two would go many miles beyond Utica and Rome. Before the Erie Canal was built Cor the N. Y. 0. R, R. thought of) flat boating was the usual way of transporting goods and merchandise to Central New York. Any person who now knows the Mohawk River knows that that kind of buslness cannot be done with the present ordinary stage of water. It now becomes swollen from . shallow stream in many places not knee deep, running over it's pebble bottom, to destructive flood during the periodical rains. The northern tribu- taries of the Hudson and its sources are in sections still clothed with forests, but the lumbermen are in them and making fearful inroads. The moose is already gone and soon no forest home will remain for him on this continent. The deer, the wolf. and the bear will soon follow. The remedy lies with us, we can replant all our worn out lands, mountain and hill side pastures, with trees indigenous to the soil in the various localities. Most of our New England and northern New York forests sprout and reproduce where the timber is cut and removed. If cattle and sheep are kept out two or three years, the sprouts will be beyond their reach, and rapid growth will follow. In comparatively short time the lands will be enclothed with fine growth of young timber. The farmers of kA8 ADIkUCI1 anu G1SACAu bN0aCS DAOAAA regard their sprout land ss their most vafua- ble possessions. Already lthe climate of Illi- noislhas been very much modified by judici- ous and systematic tree planting. It is no longer subject to those fearful searching winds that used to sweep over her almost trackless praries, and is comparatively free from the deluging rains and excessive thoughts that were once the inheritance of Illinois, and still is of all vast uncultivated prairie countries.
 Insolated individual enterprise in tree planting to reproduce forests, will not do the business. It requires combined system atic effsrt and should be guided by state and national legislation. When Q crop of timber natures it should be harvested the same as any other crop, and as fast as removed . new crop should be started by sprouts, or nut and seed planting. or both, by which system of recroping, a full supply would be kept up. When Q matured crop of timber is not harvested it is just surely loss to the owner as the neglect to harvest . crop of com or wheat would be. M. Y.
 Salisbury. March 29th, 1875.