Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-10-02
FACTS ABOUT THE FORESTS.


At the session of the Forestry Congress
the other day, Rev. \. II. Eggleston, read
Il paper in which he said Our whole
area of land surface, Alaska being left out
of consideration, is l,S56, 0;0 400 acres
The total forest area is 40 800, 600 acres.
The total farm area is 25,65O,O0O acres
OF unimproved and waste lands, includ-
ing "old fields" there are Lis, 1870, 400
acres. In regard to the consumption of
our forests, we have some very significant,
if not startling figures. We have 10000
miles of railway, including side tracks.
1t has required BOG, 600 ties for their
construction. Surprising that the ties re-
quire to he renewed once in six years and
that 10000 miles of new road are built an
nually, which is the average for several
years past, this will require ~, 100000 ties
every year, at a low estimate the growth
of $1,000 acres or by another estimate it
would require the product of an area equal
to that of the State of Rhode Island If
we allow twenty-five years as the time
necessary for trees to attain a size suta-
bic for making ties, then it would require
l5,0OO,OO acres of standing timber to sup
ply the annual demand for ties, or an area
almost exactly equal to that of Vermont,
New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode
Island combined. But with the increase
of railroads it is to be considered that the
annual demand for ties is all the while in
crcaSng. The census reports the con-
sumption of l45,11S. 49, cords of wood and
14OOO,0JO bushels of charcoal for fuel in
dwellings, stores, factories, steamboats,
and locomotives. This would clear the
forests in single year from an area of
3O,O0O,O 600 acres, about equal to that of
New York or North Carolina. The cen
sus also reports that III 1850 forest fires
consumed the trees on 1924, 0sS, acres or
area an equal othat of Massachusetts and
New Jersey combined, and there is no
reason TO think, Judging from the reports
of fires thus far, that Il less area will be
burned over this year than in 1850. The
census gives the amount of lumber cut III
1 1850 as $4,000, DOC, 900 feet. Last wear the
cut had increased to 2S,000 O"i pDj !cet, or
nearly 80 per cent, which wuu!u lay bare
an area of 5000 600 acres, equal very near
ly to that of New Hampshire. Hewn
timber, posts, telegraph poles, wood pro
ducts of miscellaneous character, and
those of which we have but few definite
reports will consume the trees. we may
reasonably suppose on 42GO,OOO acres.
| Thus it appears that the forests of the
country are subject to an annual drain of
80, ,0s9 acres, which would clear a wood
ed surface equal in extent to the area of
all the New England States, together with
New Jersey and Maryland. Or, to put it
! in another way, the forests are being de
/ SlIONttl III lHe Tdte Ol lO5,Ofl acres LOT
every passing day. If this were concen-
trated in one spot, instead of being spread
over, our great continental eXpanse, it
would lay bare an area equal to the State
of Rhode Island in five days, or that of
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in
thirty-seven. We may well inquire how
long the forests can endure this drain,
how long the country can bear this rapid
destruction of the most important ma
terial element of its prosperity.
! Ex-Governor J. Sterling Morton of Ne
braska said Kansas and Nebraska, when
fist opened, had not Il single forest Nat
urally, therefore, trees were set and laws
were enacted regarding forests, and now
there are 1OO,OOO,OOO trees planted by hui
man hands in the State of Nebraska The
law imposing "a duty ON foreign lumber
should at once be repealed, as it is de
structive to our forests in terrible way.
While we on the prairies make forests, in
the East you waste them by keeping a
high tariff on imported lumber.