The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1895-11-28
THE USE AND ABUSE OF THE
FOREST.

An Abstract Of the Opening Address in. the
Agricultural Lecture Course for 1886
School of Agriculture, Ohio state Uni
verify, by President James H. Can
field.
The president said that he would
7 take as his text either OF the follow
ing: Men in all lands and climates
seem determined to bring upon future
generations two calamities at once
the want of fuel and the scarcity OF
water" The hand of man produced
this desert (the Sahara) and every 9th.
er desert on the face of the earth. y
Earth was an Eden once-our sins
against the world of plants have
brought on us all our misery; the burn.
ing sun of the desert isa flaming sword
between us and Paradise" Though
these are extreme statements. there is
in them 4 vast deal of truth. The
whole question of our treatment of the
forest is great question fraught with
interest to us all, terrible in the penal
ties which are threatened through
ignorance and Incidence.
OF course it must be admitted that
deforestation is often both necessary
and desirable. Civilized man lives in
the sunlight and cultivatcs the ground,
and the latter needs air ana sunshine as
we'll as shade. Aside from the necessities
OF cultivation and pasturage much
clearing has been directly beneficial in
its results upon health. Fevers and
other malarious diseases began to dis
appear when the AK let in the air and
sunshine. So, too, there are certain
tracts. and large tracts. of land that
would probably have all desira BILE
moisture even though there was not a
tree or shrub on the surface. Such,
for example, is Florida, the British
isles. 1taiy-at least in part, Oregon
and Washington-witht the damp winds
of the Pacific constantly crossing them.
Further it has not yet been proved
that trees actually increase the amount
OF moisture: nor do health statistics
always fully bear out the usual asser-
tions made with regard to the effects
of deforcstation.
What is the practical value of tim
'Si bhSh ooibC llOhi thS hCG uC
We have three classes of soil with
which to deal. First, the impervious
soil, off which water runs as readily as
though it were the best canvos. Sec
ond. the pervious soil wi,n i.npcrvious
sub soil, which is the source of all our
wet spots, swails and swamps Third.
soils that are pervious throughout
with almost no power of retaining
moisture. The effects of timber upon
such soils are to be regarded from the
examination of the work of either the
roots or the branches.
The ramifications of, the roots of trees
are something wonderful and almost
past comprehension. In the impervi-
GUS soils the roots create natural wa
ter ways; channels by which the mois-
ture is carried to great depths and ex-
tended over large areas. In the pervi-
Gus soils the roots form net works, or
distractions and hold the moisture in
check and form a sort of anchorage
for the soil itself. AS to the leaves
and branches-the leaves and other
refuse from the tree form dense pack
ing, q mass of decaving vegetable mat
ter, which both protects and stimu-
latcs all natural forces and qualities
OF the earth. 1t acts like huge
sponge, takes up quantities of moist
ure and holds it in direct contact with
impervious soils, softening them and
Fastening the process of disintegra-
ton already begun by the roots, and
detaining rainfall that would
otherwise drain away. In the
ease of pervious soils, the effect
Of shades in summer and of warmth in
winter, and of the dead mass. is to en-
rich and give firmness and consistency
to what was before n somewhat doubt
full value. Further, both leaves and
branches protect the soil from the vio-
ence of the storms. The weight of
falling water, and especially of impact
Or driven water. as in n driving storm,
S greater than most of us imagine.
The effect of all this upon the climate
seems to be quite marked Not only is
The moisture retained, but the air is
illed with that which has been taken
lp by the roots but thrown out through
he leaves by evaporation. The gen
,ral atmosphere is rendered more
equal; rs trees in and OF themselves
e,nper both heat and cold. Still fur
her, the general effect upon climate is
,hown by the fact that the western
continent (wooded) is colder than
he eastern along the same latitudes
stripped).
We are stripping the country of tim
Der in every direction with reckless
less and wastcfulness of methods and
/ total Indifference to the teachings of
he past or the known wants of the fu-
ure that to thoughtful people seems
imply madness 1t is said that at the
PRESENT rate of destruction the north
rn states have but about twelve years
upply of tim Der, and the southern but |
eventeen. Ohio has not merchant |
bile walnut tree in the state, and one
# her governors has officially an
lounced that two hundred years would |
carcely make good the ravages of the |
asst fifty. The forest crop of the !
Jnitd States for 1850 almost entirely |
not less than ten millions of |
creS.
In hundred ways that are all avoida-
lie, and most of them inexcusab BILE, we
re wasting our ST. bstance. A clever stat
sticiau has estimated that when our !
imber is exhausted the merchant ma
inc of the world can not carry us lum-
'er as fast as we now use it. The |
uestion is, what are we to do about it? !
We ought to be more frugal in many
Ways. We ought to inclose each twen-
y or forty acres with double or triple
ows of trees. The expense would be
light and the loss of land not nearly
o great as the gain in other ways
luch land that is now called waste
and should be given over to timber.
Iuch land now over run by cattle and
ot yielding twenty-five dollars per
ear in actual pasturage would become
if let alone. More intelli-
ence should be shown in cutting tim
er There is such thing as timber
rop just as there is wheat crop. In
imber already standing a little labor
ach year should be expended in re-
loving tops and broken branches and
lcarinr underbrush. We should do
orc than we are now doing to prevent
rest fires. The state might very
.Operly- npcournra traa nlautiDr or |