The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-03-03
FRANKLIN SOCIETY.
Mr.. Burlingam. Reads Paper on the For
csls of Pennsylvania.

4
! Before the Franklin Society last evening
f. II. Burlingame. C. f., of this city, read a
paper on THE Forests of Pennsylvania and
| Dependent Industries, With Personal Reminis.
| cences."
| AT the opening OF the meeting the secretary,
Mr.. G.. r. browne, presented resolutions in re-
| gard TO the late Samuel Austin, for many
years an active member of the society, which
were by rising vote ordered placed on tho
records and a copy TO be sent to his family.
Remarks were made by Daniel A. Cook. Fran
els Gallagher and l.. w. Russell
Mr.. Burlingame's paper was substantially as
follows Besides her natural advantages in
the fertile soil of her river bottoms, which 2uO
yeas of .tillage. has but little diminished,
Pennsylvania has almost boundless stores of
wealth in coal, iron and earth oil, which have
built up fortunes perhaps as large as the world
has seen. Besides all there was an inn
mense forest wealth. At the time of his first
visit to these forests. 40 years ago, there was
an almost unbroken region bordering south
of the state Of New York for 100 miles. with
an eastward and westward width of about $50
miles. Most Of this vast region was a prime
val wilderness This great section was n
mountain plateau gashed and scanned swith
deep narrow valleys, down which the spring
floods now rush with irresistible force. Here
20 years ago spread magnificent primeval
forest in which the white pine lowered above
its fellows, straight as arrows 10 n height of
l25 TO $50 feet, and were often four TO six and
soven feet in diameter. With these, forming
the bulk Of the forest, were massive hemloclxs,
sturdy and gray, lacking the grace OF the
pine, but with their dense masses lending
shade and sombre gloom which the beholder
could never forget. in moist soil enormous
trunks of the wild black cherry yielded a
wood rivaling in quality the mahogany Of the
tropics The black birch and the white ash
grew luxuriantly; many acres were covered
with groves OF rock and red maple, and occa-
sionally there were great stretches Of beach.
Now all this region is a succession Of barren
hillsdes, for the lumberman has wrought
wholesale destruction and the state OF Pennsyl.
vania has too late awakened tp avert the dis
aster. In the interest Of the tanners, the hem
locks were ruthlessly destroyed for their
bark, many of the trees were either burned or
allowed 10 decay. Forest fires now sweep over
this region, inhabited mainly by squatters,
and all private and public efforts TO forward
new timber growth is continually thwarted
by the individual greed of man.
A discussion followed in which reference
was made 10 the tardy legislation of states to
prevent wholesale destruction of forest lands
and to the commendsble course of the general
government in setting off forest reservations.
Mr.. Burlingame's l6 years of life in the re.
gion of Pennsylvania forests gave him such
facilities for close knowledge OF his subject
that he impaired living interest to his words
which were full Of carefully considered infor.
nation, tinctured with much enthusiasm and
sentiment.
Next lecture March l6 by DIR. A. ID. Mead
OF Brown University Subject, "The Ner-
vous System-Ancient and Modern Views"