New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-03-12

cases his Efforts from the very nature OF his posi-
lion cannot be as far-sighted and continuous as
| nose ~ he forester nor can he afford 10 over
look the expense however slight wnicn such tl ~
invo;ve Nothing quickly destroys i9e Vaiue OF a
forest 20 the water supply as hre' anu 80
! nothing protects tie sources u l"e streams -
/ Forost management, one Of whose prime objects
good condition j. therefore a sale8uar1 ~ ,'.T 80
| funess OF the North Woods in their capacIF -
ttb,tber or hot his is their most important SER
vice 10 the public, there IS certainly no ot'et 80
and more urgently called In a word as agans
M, serious Gisadyantages | have named. the sing e
INK on lana in the North Woods held or controlled
by The State. when compared with forest mat 9s
profit although at the cost of much greater future
returns Whatever Wsight snch i. oTe
csey that one which the Saf as .ne
| ton OF iustc- and foresight. to disregard
THE EVILS OF NUMBERING.
Enough has been said to make It clear that in my
| conceptIon the harm which numbering does. from
the standpoint Of forest preservation. arises as a
| consequence OF the way In which the lumberman
! regards the forest 1t IS the natural ana reasoh-
able result Of his training. and no more 10 be de-
cried as norlinae greed than the attitude Of the
ranchman toward his cattle. or the mne-owner
! toward his mine The fault is with the lum-
herman but with the body polite, when ialIS 10
use the means of forest preservation which IL mas
at hand. Nevertheless. We have seen mat Tor the
|
Adirondacks is not The best way 10 ueat dnenl'
restrict the numbering 10 trees OF IA ueiihlte size
! restriction but the objections which apply to or
binary numbering apply mere also aI'iouEh Po inl9
| fxcd by the law of Ne%-lork for certain cases Is
| II shonld be- SAD in parenthess that IN practice
| this limit is really not a restriction al ak II Is
not at all unusual for lumber companies VINO own
their land to restrict cutting 10 trees - lnchts
stumpage on the State land naturally confines him
| self "a because.
all his logs at the same rate. the larger ones are
worth more to him than the smaller ones. As re-
CARDS its ehec; upon the forest. it does not, in
| The first place. provide for proper precautions III
different character in North Carolina have found
by practical experience that difference Of at Least
growth after cutting the old trees by taking certain
recau'ions which dd mot ,ban IN" or per-
cent. This work. it may be noted. was done under
In the second place the Finch rue allows
| the lumberman to cut many trees whlch l"r Inc
tree not ready 10 be taken. from the forester
point Of vl-s. simply because it has reached Ger
able size the interest Of the forest. as well as the
| revenue. demands It's removal. ana because pro.
vision has been made to have its place taken ny
s9ncies The continued removal Of the softwood
trees. which form but small proportion Of the
growth. without special precautions IN ther taVor;
to their practical extinction from the Adr"Hdatth
forest and with II to the disappearance OF the
from them until the distant time when 1t Will pay
to handle the hardwoods
COOPERATION OF FORESTER AND LUMBEiMAN.
But while these fundamental differences between
the work of the forester and the lumherman exist
and determine their whole relation to the forest.
so long as they act separately. it does not by any
means follow that the preservation Of the forests
be attained without the lumbermans assistance
Effective forest preservation can only come through
the cooperation of the practical lumberman Inc
language OF forest reform in this country has gen
orally been Of such character as to lead 10 the
have nothing in common and that with the advent
OF the forester the lumberman must Inevitably 20.
different conclusion. The mechanical ingenuity Of
American umbermen acting through many years.
has developed for each part OF the country sys-
TEN Of handling timber which We ar" SAFE ~ as
suming as perhaps the most efficient and cconomi-
cal that the given circumstances Will allow. The
forester. from the necessity OF the case, has an
uundeIstanding Of he forest from another SD
land for The production Of timber through an m
affect the reproduction Of various trees ana OF
his special training IN other matters pertaining 10
the woods all touch on points wnlch ne iuinDei man
has not felt the need Of knowing. and consequently
has never learned.
But as soon as the forester begins practical op-
Ia combination which / have never happened to
meet hear of he is simply compelled to 90 10
which has developed Itself in practice IN my own
work in North Carolina is as follows The prepara-
ton OF the general plan devOlved upon the forester
amount Of each Years cut. lie was responsible
for the selection OF trees to fall. although much
Of the marking was done by the umberman accord
F e Hs openo nh upon him Gc
does upon the general superintendent Of lumber
company The lumberman, on the Other hand. who
born and bred and trained in the North Woods
had much the same sort Of work ana responsibility
that would have fallen on him had he remained
in charge Of "A camp at home. He had TO look out
tools and the whole force IN general were IN good
working order; inspect the telling and that II
done in accordance with the instructions Of
the forester and with as little damage to the young
growth as possible see that the logs were properly
mill and in general take direct charge Of the
practical operations.
ADVANTAGES OF THE PLAN
The advantages Of such arrangement are
obvious but they are only to be realized when.
in the case just cited the lumberman has received
training enough in forestry to allow him to grasp
and adopt the spirit Of forest management. once
this IS accomplished and. to judge from my own
experience the time required is not long. nor is II
altogether a loss regards the current work OF
the orest-the efficiency Of both lumberman and
lieved Of a mass Of detail which Is peculiarly bur
densome because out side Of his 9 special T"inng
questions which he alone can decide. secure m the
and understanlinsly carried out The practical
skill of the lumberman. on the other hand, becomes
available for the benefit OF the forest I'm a that
was impossible before, while the business success
telligence and fidelity in degree scarcely less
United States is only little less dependent for It's
success In practice upon the lumbermen who carries
out Instructions than upon the forester who gives
them.
In conclusion then. It may be said that for many
reasons the AdirOndacis peculiarly well suited |
10 forest management. The soil IS excellent. from |
the standpoint Of tree growth, but Of little value
for any other purpose. The young growth Of the |
valuable species Of trees. with the single important
exception Of white pine. IS always sufficiently. and
often exceedingly, abundant. The small proper |
ton of the valuable sofwood trees makes IL pos
sible for forest management to make from the |
very start, almost as large return In money AZ |
numbering; and, as we have seen. the balance must
change soon and permanently 10 the other side Of |
the account. The great interests which are in |
yOlved IN the maintenance Of the water supply are |
fully protected under forest management which |
is not the case under any form Of NUMBERING how
restricted In the size Of the trees which il may
cut. The protection Of fish and game falls natii- |
rally 10 the forester. whose training and traditions,
both fit him peculiarly for such work. In an coun-
tries where forestry has become established, the |
functions OF forester and game warden are com
bined. Finally. the general character and very
uniform composition OF the North Woods are ad-
mirably adapted to the operations OF forest man