The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-01-26
LECTURE ON FORESTRY.
Mr.. j. B. Harrison Speaks on the
Subject ENTERTAINMENT.

Mr. ). B. Harrison, Corresponding Secre.
tary Oh the American Forestry Commission.
lectured on Forestry" last night, in the
Unitarian Room on Congress street. Rev.
Henry Blanchard introduced Mr.. Harrison.
who spoke in brief as follows. "This is a
practlcaI subject, as 1 will show you later
on While the subject interests the whole
country, 1t is of more interest to some parts
than to others. Where nature is left alone
ana undisturbed in country she plants
crop that will reproduce itself always. The
land grows more and more fertile in its for
estry condition. You should always have
as regular crop the growth of the trees
Cut out enough and not too much. People
go to work In this country to cut out forest
to destroy it, Here in Maine you have been
more wise ia cutting your forests so that
they will continue to grow. The first thing
l want to speak of is whether the land shall
be so managed that it will always yield a
crop OF lumber, or whether 1t will be so mis-
managed that the forests will be destroyed.
1t Is my business and duty to present this
subject. to get it in the air and perhaps you
can help me.
Now the Adirondack mountain
system. is perhaps the best IL
lustration of many of the principles
OF forestry that we have in the country.
wish to speak of forestry as regard to large
forest tracts. The Adirondack regions is an
elevated one. You will be surprised in
travelling through that region to see on top
OF huge rocks as high as this room, trees
with their roots coming down on each side
OF the rocks. You wonder how the tree of
which only the stump is left ever got up to
such lofty position. The fact is all the top
OF the soil has been taken away. The trees
have been cut down, then rain has fallen and
the snow melted upon the networks of roots,
and the land being elevated the soil has
been washed away to the low lands.
People go up streams. cut the woods; keep
| going farther up, farther up with their saw
mills, never thinking that the forests may be
exhausted. The area of marsh land was ex-
tending all around when the lumbermen
first went to the Adirondack region. You
find there now miles and miles of bare rocks
| where once grew as grand forests as graced
this planet anywhere. There is a way of
cutting out the forests so that they will re
| produce themselves.
You will find in the Adirondack region the
ruins of saw mills where you would never
| think of building saw mill now. You
| would never imagine there was any stream
there, but looking closely you will
stream onece flowed. The springs
and streams are dried up. In Maine aud
everywhere else where streams have their
origin in forests, IL the forests are taken
away you uuSb tAp6Cb d very IUdIktu CuduSc
in the character of the streams. Then you
cut away the forests. and you may expect
| great freshets. The water gets into the
streams quickly, and makes great freshet
because there are no forests to hold the wa
| ter back. Whenever that Northwestern
| pine supply is exhausted, the people of that
region will begin to move away from there.
| 1t will make the difference between being
| able to live there and not being able to i've
| there. We ought to be learning to take care
nf forQctS bArQ n
seen that great forest region of Puget Sound.
| won't tell you how large the trees
are there, but they.are the largest
ever saw. You can walk along on side
walk there made OF single board laid down
lengthwise. Oh, yes. but three persons can
walk abreast on that board without danger
Of stepping off on either side. Now people
are cutting those trees, and it won't be long
before they too are gone.
Ii the forests are cut off the Rocky Noun
tam region the streams Will be destroyed.
The water won't be there at all times of the
year, but will come down in destructive
freshets. Some people say we had better
cut of the forests and store up the water in
reservoirs. Ii reservoirs were made along
the stream they would be likely to break
away sometimes and washout whole towns,
perhaps causing much loss of life.
l have observed very peculiar desire
among some city men to get, into the coun-
try. to have small growth of trees. The
nhos enin6 tuCJ w 10 w ~ 10 WOFk
to destroy the growth, not in
tentionally Of course. They cut out the
underbrush; If there Is wet place they
drain it, and pretty soon the trees begin to
die and blow down. If they wa mt to pre-
serve their forests the best thing to do is to
leave them alone. In all the leading cities
of this country now it is good form for
women to care for these things. There are
a good many women in this country who
take care of their own trees. think it is
very good work and there ought to be more
of It, The subject is one that ought to be
attended to, that ought to receive more
attention"
In respone to a call from Mr.. Blanchard,
Hon. George f. Talbot spoke highly of the
work of the late forestry convention at Ban
gor. As result Of this meeting bill is now
before the legislature looking toward the
protection of Maine forests. Particular
provisions are to be made against the de-
straction Of woods by fires. A Forest Com
missioner is to be appointed to have the
whole matter in charge. He hoped that Mr.
Harrison would be able to visit Augusta to
present the matter, as the question was be-
coming vital one In relation to our Maine
manufacturers and induetripc