Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1891-03-18
n. Preservation Of Forest Growth.

| prots citon OF this yass tcffisory from ths
rsysges Of IRE, the great pest vitk which
the woods Of all the states are afflicted.
The area, burned over by p,eventable
fires, Is given by the census Of fes0 ~
| 10, PA ,0s3 acres for tns census year, in sli
tee states, a territory Almost az large as
| that con prisad in the Wild lands OF Maine.
| At this rata Of consumption the entire
wooded area Of the United States would be
barned over in about forty. eight years. La
estimating the loss from such iises. seldom
IL ever, IL sny account made Of the damage
to the land caused thereby. A conservative
estimate for this would be, that such lani
would produce two crops of trees large
enough for saw legs if cleared by the Ak
man without subseq aen. burning, while
producer one such crop. IL the forest was
| burned during severe drought.
/. 10 believed that BY juaicious legislation
fu,thered by an enlightened sentiment
among the people that the enormous loss
from this cause can be sver.ed, or at least
m ,difed largely in its effects.
| That the great value Of this State for its
fusnre consists in its wood lands is obvious,
when her resources in this regard are COM
| pared With the resou,ces and requirenen hts
for forest material Of the entire county.
| Excluding Ais.ks and Indian territory
the total land surface Of this L lion is about
1900, coo coo acres of which Maine COM
prisss the one handredth part or 10000, 900
acres.
| The census Of 1880 revealed the fact
| that more than seventy five per cent Of this
area was land that could IN no sense be
called wood land the balance being classed
as forest. even land spsrsely covered with
scrub oak. grey birch and dwarf pitch pine.
| Of which we have q large area in Maine,
Was reckoned as forest; but the proportion
of cleared land to forest is only half as
great in Maine IS in the country at large,
namely, thirty eight per cent.
| III IL be true rs some maintain, that wood
is growing faster in Maine, at the present
time, than it is being cut, and that her
forest ares is actually increasing. rather
than diminishing in extent, then there il
the greater necessity for the protection
which the forestry bill before the legisla-
ture is designed 20 afford. The larger the
amount OF property one has exposed to the
risk of FIRE the greater is his snxiety for
its protection.
I, cannot be denied that Maine has 3
sufficient forest area to supply the present
aud future demands of her people for home
consumption, besides considerable sur
| plus Of wood and lumber for export, and
| because Of this abundance it may be we
fail to comprehend the extent to which
other portions of our country are being
deforested.
Says Prof. 3. Z Fernow, chief OF the
division of forestry in the Department OF
Ayr culture at Washington: st is a mos.
fsrciai sttempt to deception which has been
practiced in comparing the supplies of one
particular egion with she present require.
| nents Of that region. We are one country,
| one nation; and, unless we build Chinese
walls around our different sections, the
| resources OF the entire country must be
placed in comparison with the require
men,s of the entire country The only
rational way Of looking ut the requirements
sni supplies Of large continental nation
ike ours seems TO me the following
According to the latest estimates, we con-
sumo yearly, with our present popula-
ton of sixty millions, not less than
twenty billion cubic feet of wood. This
amount il made up, in round figures, in the
folio wing manner: 2 800 600, 600 feet for
lumber market aud wood msaufactursrs;
$50, 600 00n feet for railroad construct IN;
$50 600 900 feet for charcoal; 500 900 900
feet for fence material, etc 1850, 000.-
600 feet for fuel. To this il will be SAFE
70 add, for wasteful practices and for
the destruction by yearly conflsgra-
tons. at the least, twenty-five per cent.
The average yesrly gtoEth Of wood per
acre ia the well stocked and we'll cared for
forests Of Germany has been computed at
tifty cubic feet. Apply ing this figure to
oar present requirements. we should have
an area of rot less that SEQ 600 00o acres
II well stocked forest to give US contin-
ual supply of all kinds for our present
needs. Now csreful canvass made four
years Ego (lSS3) developed the result
hat the existing forest area in
the United States. excluding Alasss
snd the Indian Territory, comprised
almost five hundred million acres (4s9. $780,
00oj but it is we'll known 60 everybody
Who IS acquainted with the forests that they
cannot compare in Yield with the average
European continental forests under syste-
matte management. Much of what is re-
ported ss forest is useless trush-lsud, or
open woods and deprecated in its capacity
for wood production by annual fires by
which the physical structure of tie leaf
mould is destroyed, and, thus too, It's ca
patty ,Vt stBiiNS s'tV "Sioth&bs
reducing wood production and killing all
young growth.
Without care, without management, hat
left to the kind but uneconomical work of
nature, interfered with. in addition, By
rude and ignorant action Of man, it is
doubtful whether. on the existing area one
half the smount of woed is produced YEARLY
which We now require"
-; f,..x,
largely depend upon the preser vation of
her present forest area. This will be the
most important factor. when considered,
merely as regards material supply, in de-
veloping transportation facilities and thu,
her manufactures and agriculture.
We have reached a stage in this
State when the earnest attention OF the
sconomis. is called for. Statistics show
falling off on The product of lumber since
it reached its maximum, on the Penobscot
in 1872 of forty per cent.
Hardly 40 industry in our State can be
mentioned. that is not in some way directly
OF indirectly interested in this question.
Our forestry interests,if rightly considered.
are not second to any state interes. snd
should be represented BY a state forest
commissioner. Our VOID isnds, as is
we'll known. may be divided into those
which sre connected with farms, and those
which are in large tracts or wild lands.
Whatever may be the rate OF annual growth
to xnnusl cut in these large areas of our
State. we think thst in respect to the fer
mer areas OF wood lands, ihere 10 q strong
tendency toward their exhaustion. Thu
well known depletion of the forests of
other portions of eur country, which has
excited such general alarm in the nation at
large, should not fail to excite in this State
8 reasonable amount Of apprehension.
The simple fact Of the wide spread slsrn
throughout the entire country at the enor-
nous waste of fcres. growth. suggests tie
importance of proper provisions in tbs
State, whose industry is so important an eie-
ment in her resources. The appointment
of 8 person whose business it shall be to
have care of this leading industry, 10 a
very obvious economy
That the enormous amount Of material
annually drawn from the fores. of the
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