The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-06-03
SCIENTIFIC FORESTRY.
Vanderbilt's Noteworthy Object Les
son at Biltmore.

We ldNC DCCA Clliuliiduy WdciCAQi al Jul
treatment of the forests in America Our
great-grandfathers looked upon the forest
as the great enemy of man, and so vast
areas were destroyed TO get arabic land,
and the wood wantonly burned to get 1t
out of the way. Later, the lumber and the
tanning interests have been just as wan
ton in their destruction, and now the paper
makers are destroying in most wholesale
fashion. AS a matter of fact, all the good
that has come from this forest destruc-
ton might have been achieved, and a very
much larger area Of woodland preserved.
But We have been a "'slap-dash" people,
with a disposition to hustle rapidly to
whatever end in view. We are suffering
now by reason of previous i~mprovidence,
and posterity will not bless US for our
present recklessness. 1t is true the gov
eminent has taken up the subject, through
the Department of Agriculture. and several
Of the States ave taken action to pre-
serve some public forests. Mr.. Vanderbilt
is the first private owner to take up this
matter of scientific forest administration
on a large scale. Scientific administration
does not, it must be borne in mind, con-
template the non-use of the trees, but the
rational use, so that the forests will not
go out of existence, but, on the contrary,
so that new growths will always be ma
turing to take the place OF the old. Such
administration also c~ontemplates that the
forests should always be a source Of in
come, and not one of outlay; more
income, indeed, In even so short a time
as a generation. than would be obtained
by cutting down all the trees and market
ing the various kinds OF wood. 1t was such
administration that Mr.. Vanderbilt wished
to inaugurate when he asked Mr.; Gifford
nnI m rnnGa q GYrrxrny nf tho Rllfnnnra
forests n develop a plan of management.
Lying near the center of the distribution
of the flora Of eastern North America, the
supply of native trees at Biltmore Is nat
are in the majority, and the white oak Is
the most Then. follow In the
order of frequency in the forest the black
oak, scarlet oak and Spanish oak There
are also a few specimens OF other men,
bers of the family, like the chestnut OF
the red, water and single varieties. But
members of the family. save the chestnut
oak, are the short-leaf pine, chestnut, hick-
Dry, black gum, maple, and tulip tree. the
latter sometimes called the yellow poplar.
The black locust M the ~sassafras have
increased of late years, while the black
walnut has about died out as a forest
tree.
In addition to those mentioned, there
are distributed in various parts of the
estate, all Of them being Of natural growth,
this list OF trees: Cucumber, papaw bass
wood and white Eastwood, holly, sweet
buckeye, sugar maple, black maple, soft
maple, red maple, box elder, staghorn
sumac and poison sumac. both the black
and honey locust, wild plum, wild cherry
of both the black and red varieties, crab
apple, haw, scarlet haw and summer haw,
shadbush, witch hazel. Towering dogwood.
s~tagbush. sourwood, laurel and great laurel
or rhododendron. persimmon, rattlebox,
red mulberry, sycamore. hickories of the
bigbud, s~hellbark, pignut and bitternut
varieties, chincapin, beech. hornbeam or
~ironwood. both river and black birch. black
alder, black willow, poplar, balsam, cot
tonwood. red cedar, hemlock and pines of
the white, pitch. scrub, table mountain
and short-leaf varieties.
Not all of these have a mercantile value,
and before the estate was purchased by
Mr.. Vanderbilt they were allowed to grow
indiscriminately and in the most promis-
cuous fashion by the number of small
the estate is made up. That so many va
rieties of trees and shrubs will thus grow
naturally is of advantage in view of the
fact that Mr.. Vanderbilt is establishing
here one Of the most complete arboretums
in the world.
The forest comprises a little over one
half Of the estate, which stretches along
six miles. In all there are 1891 acres of
woodland. The forest Is very irregular as
a result of the clearing operations of the
many previous owners, all OF whom had
their own necessities and their own ideas
of how land should be cleared. The axe
has in some parts entirely denuded the
land Of trees, n fire has served a similar
purpose in other portions. Density of
growth, therefore, varies considerably, both
as to the young and the mature trees. Two
things a at least been proved by the
work that has been lone at the forest.
These are that large trees, surrounded by
a dense growth of smaller ones, may be
felled and removed with comparatively
very unimportant injury to the young crop,
and that the additional cost of the neces-
sary care beyond that of ordinary destruc-
tive numbering is so small as to be out of
all proportion to the result. If this latter
fact should be established later or in other
to the future success of intelligent for
estry will be Of inestimable value to owners
of woodlands.
This selection system will be carried on
over the two-thirds of the estate that is
situated on the west side of the French
Broad. On the other side of the river the
regular high forest system is to be adopted.
There the land has been divided into nine
ty-two sections, and there, I'm a theoret-
ically perfect forest, the trees will be cut
in one section after another, in rotation,
until the whole ninety-two sections have
been cut, when work will again begin on
Section l and be followed year after year
until the whole ninety-two sections have
again been gone over with, when the rota-
ton work will begin again. Mr.. Wander
bilt, young man though he still is. can
hardly expect TO see this plan carried out
and the theory of a perfect forest growth
proved. That will be left To his heirs.