The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1902-02-06

able thoughts.
a good feature this year is the wo-
mems session, held separate from the
men and with its own program. Mrs.
c. w. Newman, of Culver, Mrs. Eli
Freese, of Twin Lakes, Mrs. Charity
Stahl, of Culver, and Miss Laura G..
Day. of Purdue college. had the lead
ing papers.
1t is matter of the sincereSt regret
to us that we cannot publish the prin-
cipal addresses of this gathering or even
give their outlines, but this is prevent
ed by sickness in the Office. We APP
pend the thoughtful paper of Senator
Parks on the subject of Forestry
Past. Present and Future -
FORESTRY.
Forestry of today has but little SINH
larity or relationship to the vast for
ests in Indiana forty, fifty and sixty
years ago.
When the first white settlers came
to Northern Indiana, Marshall county
was mostly covered with a thick
growth of timber.
Upon the building of the railroads.
saw-mills sprang up in every locality,
and until the last few years the
amount of timber shipped from this
county was something marvellous. l
have heard it said that during the ten
years from 1850 to 1860 more than two
thousand car loads of lumber were
shipped from Marshall County each
year, bringing an enormous sum OF
money. The slaughter of timber dur
ing these years was like the moving
down of vast army in terrible bat
tie, but as the forests disappeared the
finest cultivated lands have taken
their place, and there are now no better
farms anywhere than are found in Mar
shall County. What is true as to the
slaughter of timber in Marshall County
is true within the whole confines of
the United States.
Forestry for a well-wooded country
may mean instruction, and recommen-
dations for removing the original tim
Der. For woodless region it may
mean information for planting and
growing forests. In other localities
with uniform conditions such as ours,
it must mean all of these additional
features as well.
The procedure to be adopted in one
region, cannot be recommended for
another. Surrounding conditions of
locality largely determine the need of
its people. The person who plants a
forest must also recognize that his
business will be one of future realiza-
ton. The crop which the forester
grows may be harvested many years
from the time of planting. 1t may
be question of working for future
generations We must not view it,
like the gentleman with whom l
talked few days ago, who said,
"What has posterity done for me?"
The future prosperity of the state
is to be retained largely by supplying
forest material to it's industries. For
estry is a great problem; it is one
that the state and its people must give
due consideration.
Forestry as a means to better ag-
ricultural security is equally impor-
tant to that of manufacturing. Agri-
culture is dependent on climatic and
soil conditions more than any Othe-
industry. The lessened rainfall of the
past year, which we are told was more
than inches short, the lowered drain
ing of the lands in this state, the
more frequent and violent storms of
summer, the almost certain drouth,
the lessened snowfall and the fierce
winds to disturb the snow on the
ground, as protection to the winter
crops, is the result in a large degree of
the cutting and removal of timber.
Forests by their foliage are sources
of rain production. The tree by its
cover prevents rapid evaporation. The
diminished rainfall in itself does not
cause such a marked change in the
moisture conditions, but it is the in
tense evaporation resulting from the
clearing out the timber, thereby re-
moving the source which retained the
rainfall to the land.
Root and foliage are the main life
organs of the tree. The tree is said
to be about so per cent water, the
trunk and branches serve as conduct
ors to carry the water down in the
fall season and up in the spring and
summer. The small fibrous roots as
well as the larger ones that sink deep
into the ground take the water and