Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-06-19
VALUABLE EXPERIMENTS OF WANDER.
eILT IN NORTH CAROLINA.
what IL Being Done Around Biltmore--An
Account Of the Treatment and Results
Of tho rirst Years Work.
Boston Transcript)

t$ntfdi puDiC.
Biltmore once consisting OF p number
OF small farms. IL an Irregular piece OF
property stretching for spa,e six miles
along the sinuous course OF the French
Broad river. IL Is situated IN Western
North Caroiinl, about two miles from
Asheyille. In character N Is u broken
hill country. with SUBMITS averaging 300
feet high; II is fairly well watered. and
there are some stretches OF alluvial bot
tom-lsnd between the hills. The whole
area is not far from eleven square miles,
about one half OF which some 400 acres
is woodland. This consists mostly Of
young oaks, with other deciduous trees
and some pines. Much Of the bottom
land is cleared. and under cultivation.
The soil is generally "A stiff, sandy loan,
not rich nor specially favorable 10 the
growth Of trees except in the river
bottoms. The climate. however. Is very
temperate, and the rainfall good. The
situation OF Biltmorc is said to be near
the center OF distribution" Of the forest
fora OF Northeastern American. and the
number Of native trees found growing
there is very large-a list of seventy-two
is given in the report-while conditions
favor the growth Of a very great num-
Der OF others.
HAD DEGENERATED.
Under the small farmers the forest land
had degeneratcd badly Its slender pro-
ducts had led the owners. generally poor.
70 cut all the trees which were marketable
either for fuel fencing, or saw-logs; cat
inf 10 woodlands IN
craze and the young growth destroyed,
forest areas. also. were often burned over
for pasture, so that conditions grew stead
fly worse and were at very low ebb
when the properties changed hands. AS
the present owner made IL one OF the
first requirements that the estate should
pay him a profit while undergoing the
processes of reforestng and forest Inn
provement. the problem presented was OF
course somewhat perplexing. The whole
property was at first surveyed, and dl-
Vided into small squares of 800 feet, each
OF which was carefully examined and de-
scribed upon a card 3x5 inches In size
these cards. over GO in number. forming
a descriptive card-catalogue of the entire
estate in making a wOrking-plan for
the Improvement operations, the forest
was again divided into ninety-two com
partments Of about fOrty-twO acres each,
these being grouped in three great blocks,
which formed the units of management.
Each of these blocks is treated as q sepa-
rate forest, organized cuttings being made
IN IL every year. Three general objects
are kept constantly in mind at BIT
more s-prohtable production. nearly
constant annual yield. and the improve
ment Of the present condition. AS the
whole estate is intended to form coun-
Z with gardens.
farms, deer parks, etc. the forest man
agcment is subject, of course, 10 occa-
sional notifications from this cause; yet
IL is in the main a forest pure and simple
and as such is treated. Two principal
systems. known to experts in this science
as the regular high forest and the Sc
lection system. will be put In practice IN
different parts of the domain. OF course
q great deal Of preliminary work Is re-
quired before Systematic workings can
be fully inaugurated. and what are
called Improvement cuttings have been
actively begun for this purpose. with
view TO equalizing so far as possible re-
ceipts and expenditures. sales Of material
cut are made for fuel. railroad ties. posts
and mill lumber. a portable engine Is
kept at work cutting waste into shliglcS'
besides doing much other work cheapiy.
wool alcohol plant is contemplated later.
HAD TO BE TAUGHT.
Scientific numbering being quite new
idea in this country. men fitted TO carry on
the work were not at once available.
but had 10 be taught. and gradually
worked into the plan. An intelligent
Young man from the Adirondack region.
with experience in ordinary numbering
operations was engaged 10 superintend
the early work and. under the eye of the
advisory forester. to train for the posi-
ton of assistant. With his supervision
small crew Of men was set to work. care
fully watched and gradually taught 10
spare and protect the young growth
while cutting the older From these men
forcmen were at last selected able TO
take charge OF other gangs as the work
expanded. The enlargement was neces-
sarily slow, however, as the idea of the
care of the coming crop OF trees was
totally new to the men. and was not
easily impressed upon them. Once
trained to these nursing, caretaking
methods Of numbering. however. 1t is in
tended to keep at least small force of
men permanently employed As TO the
effect thus far. observable from the "im-
pioNement cuttings" and the compare
tive cost of careful VS.. careless methods
In numbering operations, the report Is
quite explicit Improvement cuttings
seem to have accomplished what was eA-
pccted of them. The appearance Of the
forest where they have passed is much
improved, and the young trees. which
have been set free, are doing well.
Two facts seem established-that large
trees surrounded by dense growth OF
smaller ones may be felled and removed
with comparative unimportant injury to
the young crop. and that the additional
cost of necessary care. beyond that OF the
ordinary numbering. is 50 small as TO ~
out of all proportion TO the results. IL
this latter fact should be established later
on in other parts OF the United States. as
there seems little reason to doubt that
il Will be. its importance to the future
success of forestry will be very great.
Its value In practice is enormous" That
such an undertaking as this could be
at once put upon paying basis was not
perhaps to be expected in a property 80
very much degenerated, and the showing
for the first year appears To be a very
creditable one. With an expenditure OF
s9.9ll.76 the receipts have been brought up
10 s9.5l9.S6. or within less than 500 o.
balancing the output.
TREE-PLANTING
In addition TO the work OF forest recia-
nation extensive experiments in tree
planting are 10 be made and an arbOre-