The DeLamar nugget. [volume] (DeLamar, Idaho) 1891-1900, 1896-09-25
THE TIMBER SUPPLY.
Natures Reproductive Powers Are
Tried to the Utmost.
Mans Outrages Upon the Forests Are
Rapidly Denuding the Earth OF
Trees-Consumption of
the Pines.

At the present time the guard ranges
OF the Allegheny mountains, which OK
tend into Nonongahela county ". Va,
nre covered with mixed dec:duous FOR
est OF seconJ-growth trees. This is ulc
OF the lest examples that have eon!c tI.-
der my personal observation Of lie nat
ural power Of forest reconstruction.
During the carly half of the present
century this region, embracing .2.Y2'y.
Thousand acres lying across lie north
hank of the Cheat river, was the scat Of
an active iron-making industry. Tie
mountairs afforded Il bog ore wEicl
&faeccSsibie and of great value. The
mo9mtain slopes were then heavily
wooded, and as the iron industry fc-
came established a demand for char
coal was created, and to meet this de-
mand the woods were harvested and
converted into charcoal. This industry
began about I7S9, and was Elost active
from 1622 to about 1852, ard continued
in n small way until in 1868. The
largest proportion of the timber re-
moved for charcoal purposes was cut
during the most active period of the
Industry, and before the middle OF the
century.
As soon as the charcoal burning be-
came unrcmunerative from the cNhaus-
tion of the timber supply and tie sub
stitution of coke for charcoal N The Ie-
tluction of ore, these lands, which were
too steep and rugged for profitable az,
riculture or grazing, were allowed
again to fan into the hands of Mother
Nature. It is true that fire has dore
much injury from time TO time. But
even with the adverse conditions Of soil,
exposure and frequent fires, there is
to-day upon these mountains a forest
OF sccond-growth chestnut, poplar and
oak, worth many times the value OF
the land at the time the iron furnaces
closed-a convincing example tlGt or
forests will reproduce themselves. THIS
we are told is all we'll enough for the
moist mountain districts of the Ale
ghanies, but will not hold in tine &C.
forcsted areas of Michigan, Wisconsin
and Minnesota. There is no picurd
for this argument, for when the forests
were removed no rational system of re-
IOIeSIuJtDH wis dOlCluJ N'N' 4S'Nh ~
protection of the area from fire has usi!-
ally been neglected, and this alone will
suffice to explain why the land stripped
OF its forest cover still remains bare.
Natural reproductive powers have not
been allowed an opportunity 10 assert
themselves. Trees are not grown so
hong as fires are allowed to run period
ically over the exploited tracts; what
might take place, were they suppressed
and prevented, is another question upon
which some light is thrown in the
following remarks by Mr.. IT. B. Ayres.
OF Carlton, Mimi, on "Forest Fires
Gwen men Of intelligence and promi- !
hence in the lumber business have said: |
why prevent fire? Pine win never
come in again after the marketable TIM |
her is once cut This assertion needs |
the strongest possible denial; the men |
who make such an assertion deseryerid- |
icule. They were looking for saw-logs,
and could not have looked for much |
else, for loggers in cutting often leave
OH all acre a hundred thrifty and Wig
orous young pines from four to ten
inches in diameter, and from 20 to 100
feet high after the log-timber is cut,
and on pine-stump land that has es-
capped fire 1000 of little pine seedlings
may be seen springing up. In order
to be able to reSutc such misstatemcnts