The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-10-04

Mr. w ID Woods, Of Darlington,
who is quite an expert on he -nnjcct
writes I'll" following timely lr,,cr TO
the Mars ond Louricr ahou, ,hr pre-
vaiii!ir criminal waste Of forest timibr
lnlcss some plan eau bc drvl-ri 20
check the great wa>tr"f what !. pr"p-
cry managed, Is a great su,.rcr Of
wealth, twiIl not be a great many
years brforc our magnificent pine for
est, Will have disappeared. aud there
Will be nothing 10 >hDw for their wan
ton aud incxcu>arlc destruction
TO those who only live for he pre-,
cnt, aud take no Thought for the fu-
turc, the above rcu,ark may scru a
grossly exaggerated Onc, but ii litLlc re-
hcctlon vii. ea-lI, cIietruth
aud Furthermore show the lmpe.a,iv.
Importance of devising some system
attic plan by which the waste may &c
checked, aud the land already dc
privcd Of its timber rc,tockcd with
trees that in the future will prove a
great source Of profit.
AS matter Of course the demand
for lumber for the lnnu.IcrabIc uses
t. which 1t is put must be supplied,
but this can bc easily done WITHOUT
any real injury 70 our forests, provld-
cd that only the ripe or fully grown
trees were used and u little Intelligent
care be given 70 the young trees that
would spring up IN the places Of the
ones that were cut down
unQucstIonably the most destructive
agent to our forests has been the tur.
pcntine distilleries, for, in addition t.,
running the timber, they imp,ve,i-h
the land to such uu extcut AZ &c very
much rctard the growth of the young
trees that stand up in the open places
Even when the trees are no. killed
outright by tapping, they are IN great
or dagger OF being ruiued by tire, aud
even it they escape destruction In his
way and are converted Into lumb-r, it
Is inferior III every way, both in
strength and Durability, To t lumber
made from the uubuxrd trees.
The saw mill is uut really so iujuri
GUS TO the forests, as only the large
trees are used, thc main trouble with
t"cm being that 80 many pine forests
have been deprived uf their most val.
uablc trees without any adequate cnul-
pcnsatiOn tu the owner uf the land,
being practically sold ut about tho cost
OF saving.
Another great source Of destruction
is the habit Of allowing tenants 70 de-
story piuc forests in order TINT they
may half cultivate the land and make
hundred or two pounds uf cotton. or
three "r four bushels Of corn per acre,
the whole crop being wurth IL great
deal less than the standiog trees.
The truth Of the matter is that our
timber resources were originally so
great that they were regarded Is mex
haustiblc, and in accordance with this
belief were valued in proportion, thou
sands of acres q. our tiues, timbcred
lands bcin~ sold for mere fraction of
their yA!,.- and that, too, in many
cases, by owners who were not forced
to sell and who ought to have known
better than to have parted with their
valuable possessions for mere song.
This incXcusablc sacrifice has been
notable especially in the case of swamp
lands that have often sold at less price
per acre than the value Of one large
cypress tree.
Even at the present time timber syn
dicatcs are buying up al Of our avail
able timber lands at very low price,
and that, too, with an iron-clad ar
rangencnt that puts the owner oc the
land entirely at their mercy, the con
tract being that the buyer has ali the
time lie wishes for the removal of the
trees. virtually giving him abs cluic
control Of the land Cor as Ion" a.per:oi
as hc chooses to hold il.
The presence Of large forests has
considerable effect on the temperature,
making it warmer in winter aud cooler
i'll summer than it would be we're the
forests destroyed. The northers that
make tho climate Of Texas so unplcas.
ant and the terrible billiards. thai are
so prevalent on the trecless plains Of
the northwestern States are due almost
entirely to the absence of timber;
there being absolutely nothing to
break the force Of the wind. Were
there no forests in South Carolina the