St. Landry democrat., 1883-06-30
Forestry.

After awhile the subject of forestry in
this country will assume some methodl-
cal character, and we shall not only Gull
tiyate trees as we do other crops, but
the old forests will receive such atten-
ton as it would now almost seem absurd
to give them. At present they receive
no attention at all. Year after year they
remain without care and without thought.
The ground on which they stand has
never had any care, and that it should
become very hotbed of insects and
even of disease is very natural. We are
complaining, more or less, every year
of the ravages of insects, and are spend
ing annually great deal of time and
money to protect our farms from var
ious pests-without always accomplish
ing the purpose either-but perhaps
maintain upon our farms these UNI
kept, uneleansed forest grounds. In
a recent article which we read, the
writer expressed the thought that we
were wasting great deal of sympathy
when we lamented forest fires.
He thought that their value was far in
excess OF the damages they did, and that
the value was represented not only by
the destruction of the insects which live
and breed upon forest lands, but the
guarantee which they give for higher
degree of public health. He even went
so far, if we remember correctly, as to
say that even the life that was lost by
them was nothing compared to the
life that was lost through the condi-
ton of things which the fires remedied.
Doubtless he was right, too, for we can
not but think that the decaying mass of
rubbish in our forests is productive OF
much disease and death.
However, we can not venture to esti-
mate the worth of life, Or rather OF
death, when we can not rest upon great
er certainty than we can here. But the
sacrifice of life is not necessary in clean
inc up our forests. An object that APP
pears so desirable should be accom-.
plished in some more systematic way
than by exposing human life, or even
buildings and fences, to the mercy OF
accident. Ii our forests were regularly
cleaned up, in all sections adjacent to
settlement, the danger of fire would De
greatly lessened, if not entirely obviated.
The writer referred to suggested a
forest commission in each State, and a
national commission over all, the COM
bined duty of which should be to attend
to this matter among other things. 1t
would not be an objection to such a
plan-if it were successful-thatit would
be expensive. Expense ought not to be
unduly considered when health and
life are in the scale. Perhaps we ase
generally too saving with our money
and too profligate with our health. In
cities we have boards of health whose
duty it is to clean up the dirty places
and to disinfect the plague spots. The
work is usually not done as well as it
should be, but it is supposed to be done.
There n certainly no reason why the
health VI the country should not be as
carefully guarded as the health of the
city, and if there is general source of
danger-such as forest lands-existing
it should be purified. But there is no
doubt that when the saving from free
dom of many farm insects were taken
into consideration, the expense of gem
eral superintendency of forests would be
small.
Individually we can do much to meet
the necessities of such case. If we have
a forest, we can clean it up and keep it
clean. When we shall arrive at the
time when forests are cultivated, they
will be kept clean. They will not pre-
sent the deplorable appearance which
forests now d. Western Rural.