The San Francisco call., 1899-06-20
HOW STATELY
FORESTS ARE
BEING RUINED
Must Do Something,
Says Mr.. Mills.
HIS TRIP TO PORTLAND
HIS TRIP TO PORTLAND
LOSS OF THE TREES AFFECTING
WATER SUPPLIES.
Not Only Is All Saving Timber Be-
ing Taken, but in Taking 1t
All Other Timber Is
Being Destroyed.

1--WE have the grandest State in the
Union and we are running it," is w. H.
Mills idea gathered from a trip through
the northern part of this State and
through Oregon. He has been through the
lumber country of both States, and if
there is anything Mr.. Mills grows enthu-
siastic over it is the forestry of Califor-
MIA, but he says there is a limit to the
trees and there seems to be no limit to
their destruction
incidentally Mr.. Mills trip north was to
sell timber land. He went as far as Port
land and there he closed a deal by which
he turned over to lumber men two lots of
land in Oregon. One included 147 900 acres
and the other 1O5 900 acres. All this will
be cleared within a few years. These
sales, with two made in May aggregatng
291 900 acres, make up a respectable total
for two months.
No one has any idea of the way the
forests are being depleted said Mr.. Mills
yesterday. Where a few years ago there
We're miles on miles of unbroken timber,
now there is nothing but bare hills and
blaCkened stumps. | saw one place where
there were five sawmilIs; they cut up 200
logs day and they are clearing about 210
acres a week. In one place where we have
the right to all the timber left by the lum-
Der men / found it took 1900 acres a year
to supply our engines. The lumbermen
though there is a great deal of timber the
lumbermen cannot use.
There should be no timber cut without
the supervision of the forest Wardens.
They should mark the trees to be felied
and no others should be taken. AS it is
now all the best trees are selected by the
stroy not only all the other old trees, but
the young ones as well. The clearing of
the forests is also affecting the water sup
ply. If they go on as they have been GO
he long 10 -
mento River will be nothing but small
stream. In these vast eXtentS of cleared
lands, where when the trees stood you
could not go any distance without cross
ing a stream. there is now not even a
spring; the hills are drying up. When the
rain falls it runs off the slopes as it does
and run like torrents and then dry up
again as soon as the rain is over. Snow
the land drys before spring IS past.
There is another branch of the lumber
trade that is using millions of feet a year;
it is the box trade. Everything is packed
night and day to supply the demand: Peo-
pie do not realize what an amount of lum-
shipped 10000 carloads. of oranges out of
the State; each car had 300 boxes and each
box was at least two feet of lumber. Now
that makes 5000 900 boxes and 1900 O00
After that there are the other fruits
shipped in boxes and then there is all the
mercnanulSe. any one can get some ICed
of that by going along the street and
looking at the wholesale houses shipping
and receiving goods.
You see all this territory being cleared
Is being put to use, mainly through irri-
cation. More people are coming in and
more lumber is being used. The tariff is
almost prohibitive and therefore it limits
the source of supply to, our own forests,
and we have not large forests. They are
big enough so far as acres are concerned
but they are not big forests when you
come to compare them with the great for
ests of the northern country. Between
here and New Orleans there are no for
ests to speak of and yet we have to sup
ply all the demand:
Something should be done about it.
have written to every Assessor in the
State to ask for information as to the
number of sawmills in their counties, and
when | have the answers it will surprise
people. There are hundreds of them and
1 am afraid to guess at the timber they
cut every day"
Mr.. Mills has been gone a week He re.
turned yesterday morning: He did not
confine himself to the main line all the
way, but took side trips whenever the OPP
portrnty offered. He Travelled in his pri-
vate car. saw everything there was to be
seen and heard everything there was to
/ hear.