News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1901-02-13
FORESTS VERSUS TROUT.
Timber SIashing in Town of Stowe Has
Caused Destructive Freshets.

caused Destructive treShetS.
The seemingly rapid depletion of
forests in all parts of the United
States for some time past has attract
ed the attention of many men who
believe that the result will be disas-
trous to the country generally and to
the district denuded of timber es-
pecially. Anent this subject NEWS
AND CITIZEN has printed several arti-
Giles containing a local application.
Again its attention is called to the
subject this week by Amaze. Bracket
of New York City, who has a summer
residence at Stowe, Vermont, where
she annually passes the heated term.
In letter she says:
65 W. 81. N. Y, Feb. ;, 1901.
Editor News and Citizen -
l enclose cutting from N. Y. Sun
which hope you may see your way
clear to reproduce in whole or in part
| am wondering whether something
cannot be done in Vermont In the
way of legislation to enforce plant
ing again where trees have been cut
down. The cutting as tits carried on
now is suicidal and the one town of
Stove, Vt, has already paid more to
rebuild roads and bridges and re-
fertilize fields ruined by freshets-
which might have been aYOided-than
we'd pay for restocking all the cut
districts in the country. Surely the
forests are of more consequence then
the trout.
Cannot the Legislature be moved
to do something to enforce replant-
ing?
ANNA c. BRACKETT.
Some of the salient points in the
clipping from the New York Sun, en-
closed in the letter printed above, are
as follows:
1t is we'll known that forest mon
agement in most European countries
and in India is under Government
control and laws provide that re-
planting must Immediately follow
cutting. Great Efforts are making,
also, in various countries of Europe
to repair the damage done in the
large areas that were denuded of
their timber before the need of con-
serving forest wealth was realized.
In Switzerland, tor example, over
5000 600 young trees were set out
in 1896, in areas not adapted for
farming whose timber has been
entirely cut off The regions where
forestry methods have been introduc-
ed are not large, however, in COM
parison with the total forest area
and nothing like the stringent regu-
lations enforced in Germany and
some other countries have yet been
applied in the three countries that
are the largest sources of supply.
The United States with nearly $780,
100000 acres of woodlands, Canada
with over 800, 600. 600 and Russia in
Europe with 450,O00,00O acres are
the greatest sources of wood crops.
1t is encouraging to hear from Russia
that official measures have been in
PRODUCED, on large scale, to main
tain the vast forest wealth of that
country. 1t was certainly high time
for the fact is we'll known that practi-
cally all the tim Der within easy reach
of the Ural Mountains has been de-
strOyed to meet the demand of the
mining interests; and the increasing
tendency to drOughts in a part of
the South Russia has been attributed
to forest denudation.
Though proper forest management
has not yet been widely introduced
in the United States and Canada, the
tendency is in that direction and the
general governments of both count
ries as we'll as some of the States OF
the Union ale eXerting s omp infleD
to stop the vast, ful practices of the
past. But this reform has scarcely
more than passed the stage of intia-
ton and a great deal remains to be
done before waste is checked and the
policy of conservation fairly estat-
lished. The need of such a policy,
thoroughly enforced, is made suffci-
emily clear by the fact to which Mr..
Fernow, chief ofthe Forestry Division
at Washington has called attention,
that our present acreage of timber
lands, even if it we're well stocked and
we'll managed, could not produce our
consumption; for this country is al
once the largest producer, the largest
consumer and the largest importer o.
forest products.