St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1896-12-04

On the other hand there are shrew'
people who make no pretentious tai
about the beauty Of the world and tn
fundness of their fellow creatures 70
numbering it, who will show by a few
strokes of the pencil, just how many mil
lion dollars have been lost by running
this forest for the sake of ~metamorphos
ing in a single winter the mountain-sid
into "portable property" for a grear
capitalist. They remind us that tn,
timber wealth ofthe United States give.
a yearly product Of over a billion dollars
or twice the value OF the entire output o
all the mines put together-gold, silver
coal, iron, copper, zinc and the rest
This is a resource worth keeping, and
yet we are cutting into our capital at the
fearful rate OF seventy.hve per cent each
year, as only about twenty-five per cent
of the timber market is represented BY
new growth. As for losses from fires that
are started by locomotives, cattle-men,
berry pickers, hunters and i~ncendiaries,
it gives a sufficient idea Of what they
cost us to be told by the forestry COM
missioner Of Pennsylvania that his state
| alone probably suffers to the extent of
$4,000 900 annually from this one
cause. Not only the trees are lost in
these mighty conlagrations; the vege-
table mould which would supply fertility
to the soil for future agricultural pur.
poses or food for the roots OF a second
growth Of forest, is burnt and the first
step is taken IN that easy descent to a
landslide or food bed.
There is real comfort for the
people and the trees in the very recent in
vestigation set on loot by the secretary
Of the interior-a movement which is
easily the most important yet made in
the interests Of the forests. The response
to Secretary Smiths request, the Ma
tIonal Academy OF Sciences has appointed
a commission OF the most distinguished
personnel. This commission
is to study our forest conditions with a
view to informing the secretary just what
is practicable and desirable to preserve
the wooded portions OF the national do
main and what specific legis-
Iation will best remedy the abuses now
so VIGOROUSLY existing.
"FOrcStry means the management Of
forest for proht," In that luminous def
milton elnanaling from Mr.. B. Z. Ternow,
the chief Of the division of forestry at
Washington, lies the hope we have OF
disappointing "Ouida's" Cassandra like
prophecies of a t%reeless, streamless,
desert world. With all our faults, we
Yankees are generally Gre lifted with the
virtue OF kno wing which side our bread
is buttered on; and yet in this matter OF
forest economy we have signally belied
that reputation, sometimes because of
ignorance and too often because OF greed.
The strongest part Of it is that there
should have been but a single instance o
the least Importance where a forest do
main has been cared for as a permanent
investment, even experimentally though
III the greater part OF Europe the woods
are yielding a regular and increasing an
nual revenue. This one attempt at for
est management is a notable one Tor sew
eral reasons; it was conducted under
unusually typical forest conditions by a
man-Mr. George W. Vanderbllt-who
could not have the slightest private in
tereSt in the p%ecuniary success; though
an individual venture, it was on a scale
which fairly justified congratulations
from the results; and, most important of
all, the actual work was laid out bv a
young university man who had ac-
quainted himself thoroughly and profess
s%ionally with the scientific principles of
forestry which the Germans have formu.
The Arabian Nights residence which
Mr.. Vanderbilt has constructed in the
beautiful mountains OF North Carolina
surrounded by a great estate Of which
one hundred thousand acres is forest.
The oaks and pines Of the country had
the usual indiguities from cattle
pasturage. indiscriminate cutting. and