The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1877-11-22
TREE CULTURE.


In the midst Of our Dakota county
campaign the Pioneer Press had a
great deal to say about our consist
ency;;' it claimed to have discovered
that, four years ago, before the finan-
cial issue had loomed up as an ele-
ment in our politics, and before we
had given it any study, we had ex-
pressed the current errors Of the
hard-money newspapers. To this we
replied by an article showing that the
editor sof the Pioneer-P Prees, had
changed front upon almost every inn
portant subject that had arisen DUR
ing the past twenty years; and we
instanced, among others, the question
of tree-planting; referring to the
floods of ridicule which that gentle
man had poured over us in the old st.
Paul Press, and his recent conversion
to the most ardent advocacy of the
same great work. To this the p. p.
replies that the tree-planting propos-
ed by us in Congress, was a wild, cra-
zy, impracticable scheme to cover the
entire sage-bush wilderness of the
interior with one continuous forest,
and that it had no resemblance to the
steps now being taken to promote for
est culture. We were too busy at the
time to reply to this gross misrepre
sentation. We have since searched
up our speech on tree-culture, as pub
lished in the Congressional Globe, and
we quote the following extracts from
it,
sThe government might also very
properly give grants of land to insti-
tutiOns Of learning, such as colleges
and universities, situate in the
treeless states, to enable them to ex-
pertinent i'll the planting and growth
of forests.
"The Homestead law should also he
amended SO that whenever the claim
of the settler does not contain any
timber, and is five miles distant from
any considerable body of forest, he
should be required to plant with trees
| at least ten acres of the one hundred
and sixty taken by him, and to pro-
tect the same until the expiration of
his five years of settlement. This
might at first seem an onerous require
ment, but the settler would soon see
that he derived all the benefits of his
own labor; while the grove thus plant
ed would add largely to the value Of
his land. An extensive tract of coun-
try SO dotted over with grove of ten
acres each would be transformed, not
only in appearance, but inits climatic
conditions; while it's productive pow
er would be largely increased by the
protection its growing crops would
receive from the sweeping Winds
/ We further suggested that the Ag-
ricultural Department should send
out forest--tree seeds instead of gar
den seeds; and that premiums should
be offered to those who did most to
develope the subject.
We do not think that there is any
thing very wild or impracticable in
these suggestions. In fact we antici-
pated in measure what has since
been done. Our plan of requiring ev-
cry homesteader to plant ten acres Of
, trees, would have been an improve
ment on the law finally adopted, to
give 100 acres for planting 40 acres Of
!. trees. This has been found impract-
icable; and bill Is now pending, in
: Congress, introduced by DR.. Stewart
4 to reduce the amount to ten acres the
very amount named by us. But q
, grove Of ten acres on every quarter
4 section would be preferable to grove
5 Of ten acres on every section; nay, not
!. even on every section, for there are
many sections where no tree-claim
D has been entered.
Al We trust the Pioneer Press will dt
2 us justice in this matter. It is un
4 worthy Of great journal to misrep
r resent an individual; creating a mar
e Of straw to knock down; putting theo
= ries into our mouth that never had
! habitati0n there.
al Fair play lis pretty thing, eveI
IL with q political opponent.