The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1889-03-30
MARYLAND'S ARBOR DAY
PHASES OF TREE PLANTING.
ITS DIRECT & INDIRECT BENEFITS.

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Forest Culture as Related to Climate,
Scenery aad Human Industry-The I'M
prcvement of Town and Country.
In recent years throughout the United
States the phrase, "Woodman, spare that
tree," has lost much of its sentiment, and
has become part of the stock of the
utilitarian. Governor Jackson in desig-
mating, according to the provisions of a
resolution of the last State Legislature,
Wednesday, April 10, as Aroor day for
Maryland, has placed the State on line
of policy which has been found to be Le-
cessary and beneficial in other parts OF
the country, and the need of which is
every year becoming recognized else.
where. No longer the spariDg of trees is
the main point of a demand, but the
planting of more trees is absolutely re-
quired. Next to bread, wood is probably
the article most Indispensable to human
ity, and when it is considered that famine
of forests would mean dearth of food,
the Importance of trees as direct aud IN
direct sources and Sustaiuers OF life can
easily be appreciated.
THE DECAY OF FORESTS.
Before the strides of agriculture, some
times conducted on wasteful plans, com
MERGE and manufacture, the virgin forests
of pine and hard woods have rapidly dis
appeared in Mary land and other seaboard
States, and while the traveller sees the
artificial develODement of timber lands
in States west of the Mississippi and III
regions which were once so arid that the
statement was boldly proclaimed that
trees never had grown there and never
could be raised, he notices in Ohio, ludi-
ana and Illinois vast stretches of level
land dotted with stumps and decayed
timber. In Mary land, where once were
forests almost impenetrable, are fields
richly cultivated i'll grain or vegetables
for the most part, but sometimes neg
lected and overgrown with rank weeds or
scrubs that alone are able to survive on
an overworked soil. 1t is hoped that
Aroor day will remedy this.
NECESSITY FOR WOOD.
Notwithstanding the invention of pa
pier mache, the discovery of natural gas
Tor illumination and fuel, the use of straw
in manufactures, wood must be always
used. Railroads stretching out their
lengths hundreds of miles a year level
forests in their way. The trees are
turned into cross ties, planks for building
cars and stations, and the odds and ends
are used for fuel. The cars carry to dis
tant parts of the country lumber to be
used in architecture, to build carriages
and wagons, TO make household utensils,
and to be turned into variety of forms
that affect nearly everybody. On the
trains comes the settler. who clears by
burning or by the axe large areas of ter
ritory. He also must have fuel, his fences
need repairing, and so another onslaught
is made upon the forest. Rosin, pitch
aid charcoal must be had to meet the
requirements of the arts and sciences de-
veloping as rapidly as the country, bark
must be had Tor tanning purposes, aud
the disbarking of tree means its death,
ana the pulp of spruce can be most adj
vantageously transformed into paper. So
1t is easily seen that upon wood is Deepen
dent the supplying of almost every one
of the wants which man has acquired by
civilization and culture. He sees wood
in his morning paper, in the table which
bears his breakfast, his easy chair, the
box that holds his cigars, the carriage or
Car in which he rides to his office, or the
cane he uses if he walks, his desk where
be figures out his income, the binding OF
his ledger, his pocket book, the wardrobe
where his clothes are kept from moth or
rust, and his bed where he rests after his
days labors.
NATURAL AND HUMAN ENEMIES.
These may appear to be trivial enumer-
ations, but they only go to show the
tremendous demands made upon Ameri-
can forests by every-d day life, and when it
is remembered that these forests are not
exhaustless and that they are disappear
ing more rapidly than they are being re-
newed. far reaching minds believe that
it is time for man to repair or replace
what has been damaged or destroyed by
man.
But besides mankind, forests have
other enemies. A spark from a locomo-
tive, a brusEwood fire carelessly left
burning By hunters or campers-out, or a
stroke of lightning may cause a cantiag-
ration which will destroy IN few hours
what it has required centuries to produce
The extent and the possible loss by such
fires may be reckoned from the expert
ence of MARYLAND in former years. In one
month 10, 600 acres were burned over i'll
the western part of Alegany county from
carelessness or from sparks from locomo
tives. By the burning OF 800 acres of
woodland in Cecil county about So 900
were lost, and fires of incendiarieS burnt
5000 acres of young growth, mostly
chestnut about twelve feet high, in three
days in Frederick county. Here the
damage could not be estimated in the
present, but the timber in twenty i've
years would have made 2, 500 rails to the
acre. In some localities mountain fires
are allowed to burn themselves out or to
be quenched by heavy rains; sometimes
aliAers wait until the flames have crept
down to the fats, and then, when barns
and outbuildIngs are threatened they
organize for miles around, and by thrash.
ing or firing in advance check the spread
OF the fire. In exceptional cases a regu-
lar warfare is made by property owners
upon the forest burnngs. Another evil,
which is a small one in the remaining
forests of Maryland, are insects which
else where play great havoc among the
spruces and other coniferous timber,
hickories and oak.
INFLUENCE UPON CLIMATE.
These injuries result in effects upon
man directly. Indirectly their results
are far reaching. Except near the ocean
or other great bodies of water the hui
midity OF the atmosphere and equable
isrribution of moisture are dependent
upon the presence of the forests. They
moderate the temperature, improve
marshy lands as far DIS the health OF near
by inhabitants are concerned, are bull
wal ks on the plains against the Violence
of winds by breaking their force aud
dIui linn their cnrrentS Trees are prnat