The Republican journal., 1881-04-14
The Destruction of Our Forests,

often wanton-of our forests, and who
are advocating tree planting and trans
planting (the former to reclothe the bare
hill sides, and the latter to shade the
dusty highways) have at last hit upon an
argument likely to prove more effective
than their former scientific and sanitary
reasoning. The propositions that denud
ing the country of trees produces drouths
and adds to the severity of our Northern
winters are doubted by some and needed
by but few. Yet these are clearly estab-
lished facts, and facts of no small i'm
portance, from both sanitary and an
industrial point of view. But they do not
touch the pocket nerve so sharply as a
suggestion made by the American Archi-
tect, and which emphasizes one of the
most practical phases of this subject.
The Architect remarks, in relation to
the wholesale rayages and the wanton
wastes annually made in the pine forests
of the Northwest, that an advance of one
hundred per cent in lumber means, to
the owner or tenant of buildings in the
seaboard district an advance of fifty per-
cent. in rent, whether the general condi-
ton Of business is prosperous or the re-
verse. This is an argument which must
appeal TO those who are regardless of the
| facts that the destruction of the trees has
brought upon us an annual drouth, in
which all vegetation suffers, that it has
dried up streams which once turned mills
| and whose waters were full of fish, and
! that it has perceptibly lowered the mean
| OF winter temperature, thus necessitating
the use Of more fuel aud entailing other
expenses for protection against the cold.
In this vicinity, at the present rate of eX
termination, it will not be many years be-
fore tGlrHe even the wood lots Will cease to exist
unless, indeed, their owners should wisely
turn over a new leaf and follow the prac-
tlces in vogue in the older European
countries. The forests there receive more
attention and are more carefully managed
than the majority Of cur orchards Trees
are selected for the axe the young trees
| are given room to grow; and though a
! large amount Of wood and timber may
be cut annually, it is fully made up by
the annual growth. There the interest
is drawn; here we are squandering both
capital and interest.
There is more cleared land in Maine
to-day than can be prolitably titled by
our present population and better cult
walton Of lesser acreage would no doubt
| produce greater results. And there is
much land that would be more profitable
in timber than in anything else; that in
fact can not be otherwise utilized. The
demand fol- timber is so rapidly increas-
ing and the supply so rapidly diminishing
that the possibilities of profit in this di-
rection would seem to be very great.
| The development OF the manufacturing
interest is such that all kinds of wood are
in demand. Ship timber, spool stock,
staves, shingles, laths, box shocks, tub
| and pail stock, are articles which readily
come to mind, but which by no means
comprise a complete list of The uses for
the different kinds of woods our forests
contain-or should contain.
Mr.. William Little sends letter to the
| New York Times in which he presents
some rather startling facts as to the de
struction of American forests. He asserts
that OF the whole 26 States comprising
| the New England, Middle, Western and
| Northwestern to the Rocky Mountains,
only four, namely, Maine, Michigan, Wis
consin and Minnesota, have supply OF
timber in excess of their own wants, and
the question is how long the supply for
commercial purposes will stand the drain
upon them? The white pine being the
wood OF prime Importance, the supply Of
this timber is confined almost entirely to
the three States of Michigan, Wisconsin
| and Minnesota, and the demand on them
is 50 heavy for all sections of the country
that it will not be possible for them to
respond to it for more than six or seven
years longer.
The Northwestern Lumberman states
that the forthcoming report Of the United
States census will show that the pine and
lumber supply of the Northwest, in 1880
was in Minnesota, credited by popular
estimates with 10000, ,0OO, 900, only 6, $50
| 100000; Wisconsin, from statements va
ried from 10000, 900, 900 to 100000, 900, :
600, only 10000, 900, and Michigan,
on both the upper and lower peninsulas,
$4,000, 900, 900, making a total supply OF
| 81 500, 900, 900 feet of pine timber. This
| paper at the same time states that the
aggregate cut and destruction OF the pine
IN the three States is not far from 5000
600, 600 feet per annum, so that, if we de-
duct the past winters cut, which has
been an exceedingly heavy one, there re-
mains standing to-day in the whole North
west only 73,5O0, 900, 600 feet, which is
distributed about as follows, viz:
In Minnesota. ) 500 900 600
Ia " lseonsil- ..-...-..-.. .}S 900, 900 900
| In Michigan. n.--.-.----..-.-. 30, 900, ,00O, 900
Total 10, 800, 900, 900
From the above it will be seen that
even now, when only three years of the
six or seven mentioned Ay Mr.. Little
have gone, those states have reached a
condition when common prudence would
say that they had not another foot to
spare. They are rapidly growing in
wealth and population, and in all proba-