Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1902-11-19

| Sclentlnc Forestry has received q
| great impetus in the last year from the
preserves that have been established
by such men as W. c. Whitney, George
| Vanderbilt and DR.. Seward Webb, and
| from the work of foresters like Clifford
| Pinchot.
Mr.. Whitney has great tract of 6S,-
600 acres in the Adirondacks, in which
he is working out the problems of for
estry and game preservation. He has
already introduced moose, and at pres
ent w. c. Harris, the fchthyologist, is
sstudying the problem of fish supply
there for him. Besides his own forest
ers, of whom he has n regiment, the
foresters Of the United States Govern
ment haze been studying his tract and
have laid out method Of conservative
numbering. This was done in accord
ance with an offer made by the De-
partment of Agriculture to all owners,
public and private, of forest lands, un-
der which the United States authorities
volunteered to make studies of certain
tracts which presented favorable op-
portunities to illustrate forest manage
ment, prepare plans for the work and
to supervise the execution of them.
The owners need merely to pay the
necessary expenses of the Federal en-
ploye assigned to the work
DIR. Webb also had his tract. which
contains about 10000 acres, examined
by the Government. The Government
experts went through the woods with
hatchets on the face of which the ini.
tials ~. s." We're cut. Every tree that
was selected as proper one for telling
was blazed with this below the stump.
and the lumbermen had orders to cboD
down no tree unless it was so marked.
The results of the Introduction of
scientific methods were surprising. The
net cost to the owner of going through
the Webb tract and marking the trees
was S343.79. Among the wasteful
methods discovered in the tract and
checked by the examination was that
of leaving high stumps. The lumber
men do not care to cut the trees near
the ground, because the work is much
harder and tires their backs. By care
1ul measurement, the foresters demon
strated that on tract Of 10000 acres
the net loss from leaving high stumps
was $4S00, which could be saved read
lily each year.
Ihey also drew up plan for cutting
the tops instead Of leaving them in the
woods. AS rule, the lumbermen lon
Or from four to twelve feet of the tops.
and this debris always has been one of
the great sources of forest fires. Lurn-
permen have objected to CARRYING ks
tops out because, they declared thew
were unstable waste and represented
nothing but loss, and that conseouent-
ly 1t would be rulnous to go to the ex.
ira expense Of transporting them.
The foresters showed that the tons
that were left in the woods OF a 40 600.
acre tract would be worth S3SOO. Thus
lmprovident numbering not only had
caused a constant menace from fire
but actually thousands Of dollars had
been left In the woods to rot each wear
Thus. with the introduction of prac-
teal foresters. the problem of the for
ests viii be In way to be solved satis-
factorily and practically in the United
states. LAUNDERING need not be prohib.
tied, but merely guided wisely. and
there VIII be no more danger of Amer
lean lands being denuded of forests
New York Sun.