Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1898-08-18

sAoulu therefore be kept in forest
The climate of the entire region Is
cold; corn is grown successfully only
in the southern and the dryer western
portions: the hickories are practi-
cally wanting as forest trees, and
even the timber oaks are. over the
greater part of the area, represented
only by Ihtnly scattered red oak,
Formerly this entire area was a
continuous forest, fading out at the
southern and southwestern portion in-
10 jack pine and oak openings, or
brush pralries, On the sandy areas
the forest was real pinery. without
merchantahle hardwoods: on the re-
mainder It was mixed forest of hard
woods aud couifers, with scattering
smaller tracts resembling pinery and,
in fewer cases, pure bodies of hard
woods, Hemlock with birch formed
the conspicuous companions OF white
pine on the loan lands OF the eastern
half, but the former was wanting and
the latter largely displaced by oak In
the western, espeeilly southwestern
part. The swamps were largely stock
ed with timber, generally tam
arack with cedar, and only part of
them were bare grass marshes or
moss boys, Tho mixed forest was
mado up Of few species, the scattered
white pine lowered high above the
surrounding trees, homlock occurred
mostly as old timber scattered or In
denser clusters, and the hardwoods
themselves were composed almost en-
tirely of Eastwood, oirsh, elm, maple,
ash and oak. At present thu Pine he's
been cut from nearly 90 per cent, OF
tho area, numerous tracts OF pinery
are bare: tho hardwoods have been
cut into along several OF tho railway
lines, especially in the oak districts;
hemlock has been sparlngly utilized AZ
yet, but the hardwoods, hemlook and
even tho swamp timhors have suffered
in places severely from the fires fol.
lowing Pine slashings.
Though the great body of the land
Is wooded, and In places we'll tlmbered
the cut-over lands without any mer
charitable timber occupy about As Pc
cent OF the total area, tho largest
tract occurring In the areas whore pine
predominated, Originally this area
contained, by reasonable calculation,
about 1870 billion feet II. Nj. Of pine
(fully 90 per cent, white pino). about
20 billion feet hemlock and about 80
billion feet hardwoods: at present
years has averaged near billion feet,
Il, M; homlock, IL billion feet y, NJ:
hardwoods, 10 billion feet Il. M. or
the 1870 billion feet II, M, pine. there
were cut about GO billion In 1S7S-9T:
about 20 billion prior to 1873; stand
Ing, billion; total, 1903 billion. leav-
ing about 80 billion to he accounted
for rs wasted and destroyed. chiefly
by fire, Tho cut In pine for over ten
years has averaged near 3 billion feet,
and was over billion In 1897, How
long this pine will last It Ia impos
tion of the output will ! postpone the
end. Az matters stand the supply 10
rapidly diminishing.
The young timber Is cut, or else In
Jured by fire, and the bare cut-ovor
lands romnn bare, ana their fertility
Is still further reduced by repeated
fires and exposure to wind and sun.
The state of Wisconsin In this man
ner loses the growth from about
million acres of land, while Its sec
ond greatest industry Is gradually
crowded out Of existence, Assuming
100 feet Is. M. per aero and year as n
normal growth for this region-it
might readily be twice that amount
tho annual loss of production Ia nj
least 500 million feet Il. NJ, tho loss
from the removal OF tho wood indus
tries, which must he tho consequence
Of exhaustion OF supplies. may be In
forrod from tho fact that tho capital
invested In the lumber industry alonf
In 1890 was over 80 million dollarA
That this industry paid that year over
10 million dollars In wages, and that
the timber products at first hand were
Gorth 90 million dollars, or about ono
third the value Of all farm products,
That such loss viii be difficult to
balance In state like Wisconsin,
which Itself consumes over GOO mil
lion feet Of lumber, besides more than
10 million dollars worth of other for
est products. Ii evident. and the move
ment for rational and energetic ac-
ton on the part OF It's people, there
fore, most time.