Jamestown alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1878-1882, 1879-03-13
The Preservation of Forests.
4eiA0ti6c American i~. a-.

In an artlcle Wltn tnb ABOVE title IN the
North American Review, Felix l.. o.
valid, after reviewing the disastrous
effects which bave followed the wholesale
destruction Of forests in the various coun,-
tries of the world, remarks that since the
year 1885 the forest area of the western
hemisphere has decreased at the average
yearly rate ot 1900, 900 acres, or about
1,4OO square miles; in the United States
alone this rae has advanced from 1000
square miles in 1885 TO Z 600 in 1866, and
, 400 in 1875 Between 1850 and 1886
che total aggregate Of forests felled in
South and Central America Especially in
Southeastern Mexico). ard in the Eastern
Southeastern, and Southwestern States of
our republic, may be estimated at from
$4,000, 900 to 50,000,000 acres. In other
words, We havebeen wast,ngIthe moisture
supply of the American soil at the aver
age ratio of seven pei: cent for each quar-.
Ger Of century during the last one hum
dred and twenty five years, and are now
9 fast approaching the limit beyond which
sny further decrease will affect the climat-
ic phenomena of the entire continent.
If we consider how the agricultural
products Of the eastern continents become
from year to year more inadequate to the
wants Of their still growing population,
we may foresee the time when the hope
Of the world will depend on the produc
tlveness # the American soil; but that
p~ductiveness depends on the fertilizing
snfuence of the American forests. If they
ere gone We shall have on earth no newer
world to hope for-no future Columbus
can alleviate the struggle for existence.
To stay such catastrophe the author
suggests that in every township, where
the disappearance of aboreal vegetation
begins to effect the perennial springs and
water courses or the fertility Of the fields,
. space of say 50 acres should be appro-
priated for township grove" an oasis
60 be consecrated for ever to shade trees,
birds nests, picnics, and playing children.
In all new settlements, where remnant
of the primcyal forests has survived, let
the woods on the upper ridges or on the
summit Of isolated hills be spared by
mutual agreement Of the proplietors. In
the treeless regions Of the great West not
only amateur societies, but every grange
aud farmers unien Of every county, should
devote themselves. to the work of tree
culture; and every landed proprietor
should see to it that the boundaries of his
estates be set with shade trees, and that
wooden fences be supplanted ~ quickest
hedges. Let fruit trees be planted where.
ever there is a piece Of ground neither
otherwise occupied or absolutely barren;
AMI be sure that their influence on the
atmosphere in summer and their fertiliz-
ing leaves in fall will more than indemni
fy the adjoining fields for the modicum Of
sunlight they may intercept. Any State
where these precautions Should btf gener-
ally adopted, would soon be SO unmlstak
ably distinguished by the ,unfalling hu.
inidity and freshness Of its fields and
abundance of its crops, that the sheer
necessity of competition, would induce
backward ncjghbors to try the same ex-
pertinent; and before long the maxim
would not only be generally recognized,
but generally acted upon, that husbandry,
and tree culture are inseperablc. ag
Quantity Of Bread in . Barrel of
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