The record-union., 1899-08-30
Weather Forecast.
For Northern California-Fair Wednes-
day; fresh west wind.
A LESSON AND A WARNING.

Wnole section. The example winch mas
quickened the present activity is that
Of the Kansas City, Fort Scott and
Memphis Railway Company. Twenty
years and more ago, that corporation
foresaw a shortage of tree material
for its uses. It secured 120 acres Of
land in Kansas, and under direction Of
Professor Sargent of Harvard had it
planted experimently with young
trees, in variety, white ash, black wal
nut, Usage orange, catalpa, wild cherry
and other varieties.
The experiment proved a complete
success. 1t was found that the ca
talpa speciosa is the strongest grower,
stands dry weather better than any
other tree, and natures years before
any other desirable timber is of sufti-
cient size for use. A contract was
later made to plant trees over 1,20O
acres in Crawford County, Kansas, and
the one variety to be raised was the
catalpa tree. There are 100000 of
these, and they are now fifteen years
old. This tree plantation is great
success financially and otherwise. Al
ready 100 telegraph poles can be cut
from each acre, and thousands of fence
posts without destroying the forests.
AS telegraph poles are worth in the
West from So to $3.50 each, and fence
posts from 10 to 10 cents apiece, some
idea of the value of the tree planta-
tion can be gained by quick calcula-
tion, the entire cost of the plantation,
land, planting and care being but $100
an acre.
The catalpa tree, it must be borne in
mind, is OF high value because of the
rapidity of it's growth and it's enduring
quality when in use. Over sixty years
ago General William Henry Harrison,
in an address urged the planting Of
that tree, he forseeing the great value
of promoting its growth. He told in
that paper of a foot bridge in the Wa
bash section, built of catalpa, that had
been in constant use for 100 years, and
every timber Of which remained sound.
At the old Harrison home near Vim
cennes, Indiana, fence posts of ca
talpa set out in. 1908, were taken up a
few years ago for resetting and were
found to be perfectly sound. 1t is a
valuable wood for ornamental pur-
poses also. taking high finish. 1t is
a fine shade tree likewise and health
ful one.
All this reference is made simply to
emphasize the interest which is taken
in the West in forestizing lands where
the catalpa tree is a prime favorite,
but not by any means the only one.
This is a young country. 1t is really
still in the infancy of its being. But
so reckless have we been in the use
of its wooded lands that a timber fam
inc threatens us in the next decade,
whereas in Europe it took centuries Of
use and denudation to bring civilized
States to apprehension of danger from
stripping lands Of timber growth.
The forestry division of our Agricult-
ural Department predicts a timber
famine in this country very early. 1t
is shown that from the Wisconsin for
ests alone in the last 25 years, $4,000.
100000 feet of red and white pine Were
cut and that only 17,000,000,000 feet
remain. At the present rate of telling,
this supply will last less than ten years.
At the lumbermen's convention held
in Georgia not long ago. the calcula-
tion was made that there is not enough
yellow pine in that State to last ten
years. Ohio, Pennsylvania and New
York announce great shortage of tim
ber, and other States are reporting that
the end Of their timber fields is now IN
view
The department shows that the en-
tire standing of timber supply in the
United States is a little short of 200,
O00,000,000 feet, while the annual cut
is 40000,000.000 feet. According to that
estimate and the present rate of telling
and burning, the entire timber supply
of the nation will be exhausted before
1949.
There are 100000, 100000 feet OF
standing timber on the Pacific Coast; il
follows that the great East will face a
timber famine inside of % years, and
that all the valuable timber east of the
Rocky Mountains will be gone in
thirty years, unless there are immedi-
ate and drastic remedies applied tc
prevent further wanton destruction.
But as a tree has another than lum-
ber value. as it has influence upon eli
mate, and has direct relation to the
maintenance of the streams at aver.
age hight and the prevention Of ex
cessive low and high stages, it will bt
seen that the forestry question and the
water conservation question are prac
tically inseperable. We do not want
the experience of Italy, Greece, ant
the Mediterranean States, where sec
tions once capable of maintaining tn,
then entire population of the worlC
are now withdrawn practically from
human use, according to Professor
Marsh's exposition of the subject. Eu
rope learned her forestry lessons in ths
bitter school of experience. America
has had due warning. If she fails Z
take heed she will deserve no sym