The Columbus journal., 1885-04-15
FOREST CULTURE.

What Has Been Accomplished in Ne
braska.
No reasonably intelligent person caI
doubt the advantage and benefit to the
country at large of the maintenance OF
q considerable area Of forest. No one
can ignore the value of timber as =
material for use in various arts and fol
the domestic supply of farmers and
others who require rough and cheap
timber for many purposes. 1t is quite
unnecessary to do more than refer tc
these points or to the universally ad-
mitted advantages of the forests ant
timber plantations in regard to climate
and water supply. All these things arc
known and we'll understood. But TREY
are almost entirely ignored anc
neglected and the positive necessity
for general action in regard to the
planting of waste lands with timber 10
lost sight of in the noisy calls upon tho
Government to step forward and do
something" The old story of the cart
man whose cart was stuck in a mud
hole, and who called upon Jupiter to
get him out of his trouble, applies to
this business. Farmers are the most
interested in this matter; they have
an abundance of waste land, or OF land
| that lies useless at present, that might
be very p~roftably planted with timber.
| But because some other persons may
| derive some benefit from the planting
of timber upon their lands and enjoy
| some of the advantages with them of
it, this beneficial work is left undone.
A valuable lesson may be learned from
| Nebraska in this regard. This young
Western State was almost wholly with
| out timber; a t~reeless waste of green
grass and blue sky which met at the
horizon all around the solitary traveller
| who crossed its lonely prairies a dozen
or a score of years ago. Ex-Governor
r. w. Furnas, one of the pioneers who
| settled this State and have covered 1t
with fruitful fields. blossOming Or
| chards and gardens and leafy groves,
was one of the first to arouse popular
favor in regard to tree planting, and it
was, we believe, during the administra-
| ton of his government that Arbor Day
was established as a public festival. of
| which the planting of trees was the
chief object. This idea struck the
popular fancy. and it has spread into
| other States, but fiourishes most fruit
fully in its birthplace, so much SO that
during 1884 the amount of tree plant
ing done consisted of $500, 900 cotton
woods, 400, 900 box elders. SOO,O 600 soft
maple, 25O,O 600 ash. $4,000 elm. $1,000
sycamore. 225, 900 other deciduous
trees, 1850 bushels of walnuts, $50
bushels of acorns and 125 pounds of
catalpa seed. At this rate of progress
Nebraska will soon be melodiOus with
the varying music of the forest and be-
come a place of woods and groves.
while elder States will have unclOthed
themselves and lie bare and barren to
the winds and sun. All this has been
done by private effort. stimulated by
an ambition and rivalry keenly sharp
ened by a public spirit which has pre-
vaded all the people, until ever the
children have their groves. planted by
tiny hands and nursed into growth by
generous care. Government has had
no hand in it. 1t is the ~outgrowth OF
the true American idea of popular
sovereignty, and that what the people
want done the people do for them
selves. If only the people most inter
ested in other States would follow this
bright example all that the State Gov
ernments should do where there are
public lands would be quickly done,
and the remaining forests would be
preserved from the cruel axe and the
wasting fire.