New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-11-26

lac mutt fuT
10 the str,ly Of forestry, and lac has enriched tie
literature Of tie subject with series of works Nus
t,atiug tie effects of forest growth under various
conditions upcu climate agriculture, riparian re1i-
mon humidity etc u has also been his ann 10
show tie consequences of had forest management
and particularly che reckless destruction 0f tibef
and he has accumulated in the course OF ms ODsef-
vations mass of important statistics all tending
to demonstrate the great importance OF systematic
forest legislation. The country with which ms last
volume deals the Grand Duchy of Finland, has not
vet reached the stage of development at which ser-
GUS harm can result from tie destruction of the for
eSts.
Indeed there is at present so great a surpusage of
timber there that extensive clearngs must for some
time be beneficial. But even under these circum-
stances a Government which is commonly looked
upon as half-barbarous has deemed 1t duty tOestab
lish regular system OF forest management. Until
recently the only regimen employed in Finland was
what is called sortage" in France, KOOmaree' in
India, and "Svedjande" by the Firms. This con
ssts IN burning over tracts which it is desired to
clear. and strewing the ashes upon the soil as a
manure for cereal crops. 1t is III fact the most
primitive mode of clearing and differs scarcely ut all
from that which was employed by the Indians OF
this continent in the oak openings" The forest
legislation of Finland doubtless owes much TO the
French system of reboisement. which has been IN
operation for a century and half, and under which
parts of Alps the Cevennes and the Prenees nave
been successfully recOthed with timber to the ex-
tinctiOn of many serious evils resulting IRON the
denudation of those mountain slopes.
The whole question of forestry, however, presses
more and more upon the American people, and the
Chief use of such treaseS the one we are review
ing is at present to direct public attention to the
dangers with which this country is threatened by
the rapid destruction of its forests, and to indicate
The means of escape from those dangers which are
pointed out by experience. OF late repeated efforts
have been made to impress upon Congress the neceS-
sity of legislation in this regard, and the exhibits
which have been made to that end are sufficiently
startling to arrest the attention of the least
thoughtful On the one hand, it has been shown
that the supply of white pine and spruce timber Ill
the United States will be exhausted in less than
seven years. and this fact involves revolution OF
the most serious kind. 1t is estimated by Cana
dian authority that the present annual value OF the
forest products of the United States is 81 100000
OOO Of this product the white pine constitutes
large part This white pine is disappearing and
when it is gone it will apparently be impossible to
fill its place. The same writer estimates that 1t
would take the entire sailing tonnage of the world
TO convey the amount of lumber annually consumed
in America from any foreign port. But even if the
tonnage could be had, the timber could not and
therefore unless measures are taken at once to
reproduce the forests which being destroyed it
will be necessary for American ingenuity to invent
substitutes for this great manufacturing staple. So
far nothing has been done in that direction, and it
may be doubted whether any efficient substitute for
timber will or can be found. At all events, in the
absence of any practical suggestion of the kind and
in face of the fact that the forests of the continent
4 10.
nothing less than fatuOus to ignore the necessity of
prompt action in the matter.
Nor is the manufacturing problem though a very |
grave one, the only question to be considered. For
it must be realized that the disappearance of our
forests involves climatic and other changes of the
most serious import. Already in this State there is
reason for believing that our chief water-COurse,
the Hudson, is being injuriousy affected by |
the denudation of the hily region in the |
northern part of the State. To strip noun
tain slopes of their timber is always TO ex-
pose their springs and water-cOurscs TO increased |
evaporation, and to influences which tend TO estab-
lish in them torrential regimen, and a corollary
of this. diminish or perhaps destroy their sum
mer flow. And it must be borne in mind that noun
tain slopes denuded in this way are apt to be-
come incapable of liberalization since they are ex-
posed to snOw-sldeS or avaanches which in many
cases strip the soil from their sides down to the
naked rocks and leave them hOpeessly barren for
generations. In the Alps, Ceyeunes and Pyreuees
all these evil results have followed from The reck-
less destruction of the forests in fact the same con-
sequences must infaliby follow whenever and
wherever like agencies are put in operation. In
California the denudatOn of the Sierra Nevada has
already produced marked effects upon the regimen
of the rivers and streams which supplied from
that watershed The tendency TO winter torrents
a. mimi I,,.
stage of the same stream is becoming lower In time
ana no great time nothing is done to counteract
these influences, the valleys and foothills will be
very seriously injured, and eventually will he rem
dered uninhabtabe. That is what happened in
France and Italy generations ago, andnotwithstand-
ing the governmental vigilance and precaution since
exercised there still remain large areas once fertile
and productive, but which are now abandoned to
desolaton.
In Finland the crown forests and crown parks are
divided into districts of inspection. which are again
divided into administrative districts, and these are
into wards under the charge of wardens
Dr. forest-watchcrs. The districts of inspection are
lnder the charge of oberfoIst-masters and the adj
illustrative districts are under the charge of for
st-masters with the assistance of fOrest-wardens
N each ward. There is besides Il Forest Admnistra-
ion consisting of director-in-chef forest en-
sineer, secretary chamberlain, treasurer and three
orest-masttrs, and the.whole is placed under the
Economic Department of the Senate. All the telling
# timber, all the clearing by fire, is done under
trict regulations and at specified seasons. In
france the forest administration, however includes
system of replanting which is evidently what is
most needed here Mr.. Browns work entitled Re-
'oisement in France" published few years ago,
ives full account Of the legislation adopted in
france, and it is from that country probably that
OH tba 10
stry. 1t would certainly not be creditablc to the
Intelligence and foresight of this great republic if so
Important and pressing question should fail to re-
Give the attention Il demands Nor thongh mod. :