The independent., 1903-04-30
THE REDWOOD
What Forestry Can do for This Noble Tree
Bulletin From Bureau OF

Bulletin From Bureau Of
Forestry
Forestry and irrigation are two en-
terprises in which the Adam Smith
theory of laissez faire does not hold
good. The private owner of a forest
does not, following his selfish in
stincts, act in such a manner as to in
ure to the benefit of society in all
cases. The whole future good is
ruthlessly sacrificed for the sake of
immediate returns. But one cannot
blame the private owner He cannot
be expected to be any more far
sighted or benevolent than other in
dividuals.
Forestry is proper matter to be
conducted publicly for the good Of the
whole people. A private capitalist
cannot wait for "the long rum" he is
looking after the now" He can
not wait thirty, fifty, hundred years
to reap his harvest. Society can.
Right now any further extension Of
the private ownership of timber lands
should cease. They should remain
public property-whatever remnant
may be left.
A bulletin from the bureau of for
estry contains an interesting account
of the redwood, we'll worth the pc
rusal of Independent readers:
What is to be done for the Red
woods of the Pacific coast is ques
tion that has not only agitated Cali
fornia, but is of sentimental concern
to the whole nation. The. bureau of
forestry, attacking the problem in a
thoroughly practical spirit, has
worked out conclusions that should
appeal as reasonable at once to the
lumbermen, who cut redwood on ac-
count of it's commercial value, and to
those who wish this ancient and
marvellous type of tree growth pre-
served.
The results of this study are given
in "The Redwood" bulletin 3S of this
bureau, by r. T. Fisher, recently is
sued by the department.
The Redwood forests are, in point
of merchantable yield, probably the
densest on earth, many stands yield
ing 100000 board feet to the acre;
and redwood logging represents the
highest development of the lumber
ing business that has ever been at
tanned on the Pacific coast. The to-
tai supply IF redwood is estimated
to be Is billion feet. The amount cut
in 1900 was $50 million feet, with a
value of $3,b45,60S. Although only
one-tenth of the forests of the United
States is owned by lumbermen, ac-
cording to the last census, one-fftE
of the redwood is in their hands and
the stands they own are the hand
soonest and most valuable in the Red
wood belt.
Ever since the Spaniards began to
cut redwood along San Francisco Bay
the range of it's growth has been di-
minishing; it now occupies an area of
about 1000 square miles. During the
last SO years several. hundred thou
sand acres CT timber have been cut
over, and the good lands put into
cultivation or turned into pasture. AS
year by year the Redwood forests
have dwindled, it has come to be
pretty generally believed that the
tree is doomed to extinction.
Ills pUpuIdI .luSd Ildt-Lile I6uWOOu
has no chance of survival is not we'll
founded. The studies of the bureau of
forestry have proved that possibilities
of new growth of redwood after the
old trees have been removed are ex-
cellent. Given half a chance, the red
wood reproduces itself by sprouts with
vigor. Measurements
taken by the bureau on cut-over land
show that in thirty years, dn a fair
soil and a dense stand, trees will be
grown 16 inches in diameter, 80 feet
high, yielding 1000 feet board meas
ure to the acre.
With the knowledge that the Rcd
wood as type need not become ex-
tinct, it is possible to consider the
fate of the giant redwoods
in the old forests with a more cheer
full mind. Occasional parks and re-
grounds, such as the Big
Basin Redwood Park of the Santa |
Cruz mountains, may preserve small |
areas of virgin redwood lands; but !
the richest, the densest. the mos: |
beautiful of the forests are owned by |
and will inevitably be |
cut The trees represent invested |
capital; they are merchantable and |
vic