Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-08-28
DRIFT


ment OF A griculture for 1896, In which have
found some very interesting reading. I refer
| now particularly 10 N. II. Egleston's report
| OF the Chief OF Division Of Forestry. 1 wish
/ the public could somehow he induced to
read aud ponder the facts, figures and sug.
gestions thero given. There would bo less
| trouble than to enlist the sympathy and In
terest Of people In the forestry associations
and tho proper observance oi our arbor
days. The report would mako a first rate
arbor day tract
TBE charts alone which accompany the re-
port arc powerful arguments for greater care
| In the preservation ot forests and trees, aud
| more widespread interest In the pleasurable
work OF tree planting.
| A LITTLE more than two hundred years
| ago America was the land OF forests, bound
less, inexhaustible forests, they we're sup
| posed TO be. To-day scarcely one-iourth Of
the area OF the United States IL forest land.
When we remember the vast extent OF the
country such a rapid destruction Of our trees
Is something wonderful, and alarming. At
/ the same rate IL would take only about sixty
| five years more to leave our land without
any forests at all Why, during the last
| census year forest fires alone destroyed S25,.
1900 worth OF our timber. In our state of
L y
| 1900, 900 acres, being less than one-fourth OF
/ its total area, forest fires burned up not less
| than SIS, 900 acres oi woodland in one year.
| 1t doesn't tako much calculation to see how
soon that one cause alone will totally strip US
| OF our timber, IL a speedy stop is not put TO
| II.
| As TO the harmful effects of such whole
| sale devastation OF our forests there can be no
| doubt Ii Is only few years since careful
obser ervations have been made In the matter
| in this country, yet the evidence il over
whelming. Take this from the state OF New
Hampshire alone "a small stream in the
state, In the town Of Richmond, in 1855, fur
nished power sufficient Tor four saw mills
nearly all the year. IL began to dry up az
| the cutting OF the timber commenced in its
| vicinity, and the water and the woods now
have disappeared together. In the adjoining
| towns OF Fitzwlliam aud Rindge the same
results have been reached. Well-known
trout streams, once well stocked with fish,
| are now dry one half of the year, the ground
having become treoless. In Chesterfield the
| flow of the streams is reported as more
| irregular than in early times. The same is
true OF the streams about Nashua. Inc
| Merrmac river, so important tor manufac-
| turing purposes, is protected from great
variations IN Its volume from month to
month, by means of large ponds and dams,
but one OF the oldest inhabitants of Franklin,
who has observed the river for sixty years,
thinks its volume has diminished one-fourth
| in that period. One who has given much at
tention to the subject, Is confident that the
water in the Contoocook river has decreased
one-third, even within twenty years, and
that its tributaries have fallen off still more.
At Hanover, Ii is said the Connecticut river
| for many years has been decreasing in vol
ume, and with increasing rapdity the timber
from its head waters has been floating by. In
Canaan, sixly-tive years ago, there were nine
or more mills abundant water-power all
tho year round no thought Of reservoirs,
double dams or precautions against drought
A native OF the place, returning after an
absence OF thirty years, found the hills and
| rocks bare, the springs chokea up, and the
mills Obliged To resort to steam-power or be
| idle" These are onlya few instances. But
| how eloquent and urgent their warning
|
1S the best organized European countries
| observations have boeu made and recorded
| for longer period, and The evidence from
them is most striking. Here, for example,
| is one witness that may be regarded as a
typical case. In the commune Of Labru.
guteue in France is "A forest in which rises a
stream along which are located a number OF
| fulling mills, each requiring eight horse
power, and worked by water power. This
commune disregarded the forestry laws, cut
away its forest converting 1t into an immense
waste, SO that this great property would
hardly pay thecost OF guarding. II and afford
II meagre supply for its inhabitants" But
that was not ALL The following is the further
statement of the French sub-inspector OF
forests, printed in tue ANA deS Sciences
several years ago !: "While the forest was
ruined and the soil denuded the waters after
each heavy rain swept down through the
valley, bringing with them great quantities
OF gravel the debris OF which still encumbe
the channel OF this stream. The violence of
these floods was sometimes SO great that they
were compelled to stop the machines for some
time. But in the summer time another in
convenience made its appearance. Little by
little the drought extended, the flow of
water became Insignificant, the mills stood
idle or could be run only occasionally for
short time" This was previous to 1910.
Then the authorities bestirfed themselves.
The work OF replsnting the trees was COM
menced aud diligently prosecuted. To-day
the whole forest Is restored and in vigorous
growth. Mark the results
"In proportion as the repanting progress
ed" says the sub-lnspector, 'the precarious
use OF the mills ceased aud the region OF the
water courses was greatly modified. They
now no longer swelled into sudden and vio-
| lent floods, compelling the machines to stop,
but the rise did not begin until six or eight
hours after the rain began. They rose stead
| lily to their maximum, and then subsidized in
| the same manner. In short the mills were
no longer obliged to stop work, and tho
water was always enough to run two fulling
machines, and sometimes three"
| II we in this country are not wise enough
very soon to learn the practical lesson taught
| us by Europe, such experiences as the above
| and worse ones, more expensive ones, will
| be ours too. Indeed We are already having
| them and they are bound to get more and
more severe. Natures laws are inexorable.
| To transgress them is to doom ourselves and
| our descendants inevitably to suffer the pen
| atty. If there is one thing certain, absolutely
| demonstrated, it is this 1t doesn't pay to
| denude a country ora county OF its trees.
| Every tree cut down is so much money
| taken out of tho pocket, If not OF ourselves,
| yet of our children aud chidren's children.
And that is the least Off Every tree cut
| down is Just 80 much taken from the essen
| tial conditions Of public comfort and health,
| to say nothing of enjoyment and the refine
ment that comes from the indulgence and
| culture OF the sense of beauty, to which the
| trees, individually and as part of the land
scape, so materially minister.
| AT the same time 1t is Just as incontro-
| vertibly true that Natureis lavishly generous
and bounteous in rewarding every act OF
obedience to her beneticent laws. If she
Furnishes us for neediessly cutting down her
trees, she also rewards us for every tree we
| plant aud preserve. Whoever has tried ii
| has received the proof. In parts OF Germany
| to-day there are districts that are sought out
| by tourists from all over the world first and
| foremost Tor the healthfulness and beauty
conferred upon them by the magnificent
trees a wise foresight has planted there
What is the real charm of beautiful Berlin
| Not her palaces, university, museums and