Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1883-03-02

The forestry statistics of the last census
show that our hom supply Of white pine,
which, with spruce. constitute the raw
material OF the greater part of the build
ing trade, is being rapidly exhausted
Prof. Sargent, of Hi rvald Universiry, who
was charged with the compilation of the
forestry statistics OF the ce1s.ts, states that
the whole supply of white pine in tho
today grea ly exceed eish,y thousand mil
lion feet; while the ANIMAL produc ion of
lumber is not far from ten thousand mil
lions of feet In other words. our total
supply of pine lumber, even if he demand
were not greater than it was last year
would be exhausted in ten years. Enough
is now known" he adds, Ito permit the
positive statement that no great unexplor-
ed body of this pine remains, aud that,
with the exception of the narrow red
wood belt of the California coast. no
North American fores' can yield in guam
tity any substitute tor H." This ysvela-
tlon was no sooner made known through
the census than tie price Of pine bands in
some cases WAS more han doubled, and
very little, if any. pine land is Row held
except by the wealthy combination OF
lumbermeu who are beseig,ng Congress to
maintain the present rate of duty on i'm
ported lumber Canada has immense
areas ofwhite pine which have been scarce
ly touchd as yer by the axe, and if the
Slaughter of our forests is to he stayed, it
is to Canada we must resort. Ii is one of
the anomalies of eur legislation thai while
the fedora government is giving the public
lands as bountles 20 those who will plant
them with trees it is encouraging the cut
ting down of our natural forests by put
ting an almost prohibtory dury on the i'm
por alton oflumber. As the Southern Lum-
herman says: I'VE offer premium TO
one class of our population o extend our
stock of growing timber, and we offer an
inducement os twenty per cent to another
class Of oGr population TO cut il down"
But it is not from economical consiaera-
tioas alone that the preserv .tion of our
forests ~ import mt. Their rapid desruc-
tioa involves changes equally serious IN
other directroas. Il is the rcachinc of
scpnCe, Of his DRY and Of observation that
forests temper the extremes Of climate.
.cqualize the rainful an. the flow oil streams
preserve the country from great foods At
some seasons of tie year and from great
droughts at ether seasons. and. acting rs
reservoirs Of moisture and feeders Of ma
tural springs. tend To keep land fertile that
would ethersise become barren The ef-
feet of the tariff on lumber has been 10
put the business in the hands al Il com
parativeiy few wealthy corporations They
have not only absorbed the business but
the pine forests alsn. and have consequent
iy been able to- dictate prices. The result
has been that tlc price of lumber has adj
yanccd in fur years IN the Chicago mar
ket from - to 60 per cent aud in the Al
bany New York; market. in three years.
from % to II per cent. The refusal Of the
Senate the other day 10 removed the tariff
on lumber, and the &C ior of the House in
the samu direction on various amendments,
leaves the game in tie hands Of the mono
Dolists San