The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-05-06
Economic Tree.Planting.

Economic Tree. Planting.
BY way of illustrating what may be
accomplished in tree-planting as an in
dustry and as a means of retaining
sterile and unproductive lands, we pub
lish below the experience of forest
culturists in Europe and America. The
details are derived from various sources,
but largely from information furnished
by Hon. b. G. Northrop, who has per-
sonally inspected the artificial forests
on each side of the Atlantic. Vermont
has no sand-barrens like those along
the shores of the Atlantic or the great
lakes, or like those which stretch in
land along the coasts of some European
countries. The state has, however,
large tracts of light or sandy soil, once
covered by forests of pine, which sup
port scanty vegetation and are of little
value as agricultural lands. So the
state has some slight interest in the
wonderful work in retaining sand
wastes which has been done elsewhere.
The southwestern coast of France,
along the shores of the Bay of Biscay,
was the locality of an experiment, about
a century ago, which has resulted in
clothing with forests of pine nearly a
million acres of :" desolate land sup
posed to be doomed to everlasting ster-
ility." Sand hills, or dunes as they are
called, ranging from one hundred
eighty feet to three hundred twenty
feet in height, stretched about a
hundred miles along the Biscayan
shore. The sands, dried at low
tide, were driven by the prevailing
westerly winds, ''as along an in
clined plane, up the slopes which de-
scend seward and thus formed these
growing dunes, which, moving inland,
created great desolation." These en-
croaching sands " had sterilized fertile
regions and buried thriving villages"
Bremontier conceived the idea of plant
ing these sand dunes with the mari
time pine. He put the idea into sue
cessful operation. He protected the
infant trees from the drifting sand by
double lines of paling driven about three
hundred feet apart, parallel to the
shore. These plantations were sue
cessfully continued, and in the single
district where they were begun they
now cover over one hundred thousand
acres. They form stately forest and
within its shades monument to Bre-
monitor commentaries the work of a
man who, George p. Marsh said, " de-
serves to be reckoned among the great
nearly million acres of savage deserts
have been stocked with maritime pines
which twill become for the country a
fruitful source of wealth, and supply
some day the wants of the whole of
France" Only about two hundred
thousand acres of these dunes remain
to be planted. A liberal appropriation
is made annually to continue the work.
A small subsidy is given by the state
to those who plant these trees, hut most
of this land is owned by the govern
ment and is managed by the forestry
department. France draws a large
annual revenue from the resinOus prod
ucts of these forests. Mr.. Northrop
says 50 / visited the celebrated forest
of Fontainebleau in France, which
covers an area of sixty-four square
miles. The soil of this wide tract is
composed entirely of sand. Jules
Glare, student of forest science, says
'The sand here forms ninety-eight pei
cent of the earth and it is almost with
out water. 1t would be drifting DIES.
ert but for the trees growing and arti-
ficially propagated upon it," ain the
vicinity of Antwerp less than fifty years
ago was vast desolate plain. Look.
: ing to-day in the same direction, from
the spire of the cathedral, one can see
!. nothing but forest whose limits seem
lost in the horizon. Forest plantations
have transformed these barren lands
into fertile fields In other parts OF
Europe extensive plains of barren lands
have been reclaimed, the surrounding
country rescued from devastation by
, tree-planting and the physical and by,
: gienic influences of forests upon eli.
; mate measurably restored.
, The example and success of tho
: French stimulated enterprise in tree,
planting in this country, The farmers
/ of Cape Cod were pioneers in the bust
r ness. DR.. Northrop made trip to thai
7 locality few years ago to inspect the
5 reclaimed lands. In Barnstable county
{ he says, ten thousand acres had beer
} planted. John Doane of Orleans hat
! planted one hundred seventy acres ant