The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1896-06-16
ARBOR DAY.
MOST TREE PLANTING CELF-
BRATIONS FALL IN APRIL.
Tho Yearly Crop OF Timber Is Fiji
teen Times as valuable I'm tho
United States as the Gold
and Silver Product.
is an idea more or less

are practical men, that the
preservation OF forests, the planting
of trees and specially the celebration
OF Arbor Day are mere matters of
sentlment-matters unworthy the con-
sideratlon OF the practical men afore-
said. 1t is undoubtedly true that
forest preservation and tree culture
are worthy the finest sentiment, and
that they have provoked the COM
mendation of the best poets we have
had; but it is also true that there is q
purely practical and economic side to
the question with which the prac-
tical man of affairs has more to
do than the sentimental poet who
deals in figures OF speech to impress
an aesthetic truth.
The relations of the precious metals
gold and silver-to one another,
are considered so important and Of
| such great interest, that all other
questions of political policy are now
secondary to this one. 1t may aston.
ish those who are vexing their minds
over this matter to know that the tim.
Der product of the United States is
really OF moro Importance than that of
the precious metals. In other words,
the forests of the United States which
produced in 1894, products valued OF
81 JOS, 600. S57, are fifteen times more
important than the silver and gold
mines. Even If to the value of the
gold and silver product be added the
value of all the other mineral prod
ucts of the same year, including iron,
nnnnnr
ural gas, petroleum, salt, building
stone, the total representing the en-
tire mineral output of the United
States will amount only to 1858, 1852, =
996, or about one half the value OF
the forest products. Now let us look
at some more statistics. The Depart
ment Of Agriculture gives the value
of our cereal crops for the year 1894
as 81, 043, 007,9 4S. This total, it will
be seen, is less by $4,000, 900 than
the value of the forest crop of the
same year. These figures have
been given and these comparisons
made for the benefit of the practical
men" who scorn the sentimental sig
nIticance of every question to such an
extent that they are likely to ignore
the economic Importance of any mat
ter to which sentiment attaches.
Now let us very briefly look at an
other aspect OF the question, an aspect
as purely practical as that just men
toned and OF great public moment.
The leaf mold of the forest is the
natural storehouse of large part of
the snow and rainfall From this
| oft1r
supply of water comes in dry weather
to enable farming to be prosecuted.
Without such a natural storehouse,
and we part with it when we permit
the forest to be destroyed, we have
periods of torrents and periods of
drought, and the earth's value to man
IS most seriously curtailed.
AT present the consumption of our
forests for lumber and for fuel is SO
great that it behooves us to adopt the
German method of never destroying a
tree without planting a new one. 1t is
estimated that the forests of the United
States, for fuel and lumber, now
amount to $4,000, 100000 cubic feet.
"To furnish this amount" says
Mr.. Egleston, of the Department of
Agriculture, "would require the pro-
duct mot the destruction, but the pro.
DUCT of the growth of 1900, 900, 900
acres of woodland, whereas our total
| forest area is less than 500, 900. 900
acres, which is no more than we need
as a permanent stock Of woodland for
the country. 1t will be seen then that
moro than half of our annual consum-
ption is draft by so much upon our
forest capital, when we should only be
drawing from our forests the amount
of their annual growth, or the interest
oil that capital. How long would it
take millionaire to become bank
rupt il he should be annually trench.
ing upon his money capital at like
rate?'
This statement and observation Mr.
Egleston makes in a pamphlet on
'Arbor Day-Its History and Observ-
snce," issued by the Department OF
Agriculture. In it we are told that
Arbor Day was first suggested by
George z. Marsh, long time Minister
of the United States 10 Turkey and
Italy. Mr.. March found that Italy
and Germany, and other European
countries, we're making active en-
deavors at great expense to rehabill-
tate their forests, which had been de.
| pleted centuries before. Ho thought
that In these efforts there wero lessons
for his own people, and he said so in
his book, "Ihe Earth and Man"
But it was the present Secretary OF
Agriculture, J. Sterling Morton, who
took the first practical step In the
direction of the establishment OF IN
Arbor Day, when trees should be
planted by tho school children OF the
country, and the value of forest
preservation impressed upon them.
This was in Nebraska, in 1872.
Twenty-four years later Arbor Day
has become n public holiday, either by
Legislative enactment, or by proclama.
ton, in nearly every State and Ter.
ritory in the Union. The idea OF il
appealed more directly TO the people
OF tho States Of the treeless plains, but
the other States even those in which
the men of two generations ago looked
upon trees as mans greatest enemy
soon saw the benefits TO be derived
from ArDor Day observances, and re.
sponded to the sentiment in favor
thereof. It has been characterized q,