Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1903-10-03
Protective Forest Legislation.

data or notes extending over con-
siderable period of years, il is diff
cult to say to what degree forestry
principles can be economically APP
piled in Vermont. But certain
things we do know, First, that this
forestry must be "extensive," or
rather need not he "intensive"; that
is to say, we should confine our
selves to elementary principles, and
not attempt the more advanced and
expensive operations such as plant
ing, permanent road building, etc.
Second, there are certain things
which must precede even the first
principles of technical forestry.
First of all, we must have laws
securing private ownership of the
soil. This, it may fairly be assumed,
we already have. Next, we must
have security for the individual or
corporate owner for the improve
ments, crops, investment of capital
and all that goes to make the land
valuable and useful. All these things
should be protected against theft, de-
struction and injury of any kind. In
case of wilful or careless destruction
of crop of wheat which is not vet
ripe, the law should consider the
value of the capital which is invest
ed in the partly grown crop in the
form of "rental' of the soil, seed,
labor and time, the latter being repre-
scented by the growth which the
wheat has made.
In the same way all tree growth
should be considered as a crop,
whether it has a present money
value or only prospective onc-or,
perhaps, very small present value
but very great future one. Thus.
if man cause the burning of a crop
OF small pine trees he is evidently
as culpablc as if he should suddenly
open dam and food his neighbours
agricultural crop. The fact that
such damage does not occur often
does not lessen the owners right
to have Il just claim at law.
The difficulty in, obtaining lcgisla-
ton to protect the forest owner lies
in the fact that we have never known
the value and necessity of forests
treated as a cultivated crop, though
a crop requiring a much longer
period than agricultural crops to
mature. This is, of course, be-
cause the inhabitants of this region
are still using the accumulated
wood production OF former cen
turtles and have never been forced to
rely upon artificial planting to sup
ply their needs. This situation may
be we'll known to many people, but
very few realize the Importance of
the tradition which it has estab-
lished in favor of the destruction of
forests instead of for their conserva-
tive and economical management
As the proper methods of such man
agement have only recently begun
to be studied. it is very difficult to
say what final yield can reasonably
be counted OH for different species
and mixtures under different condi-
tons of soil, moisture, exposure,
etc. We must have "yield tables"
which will show these things, such
as European countries already have.
With them we can discount at the
present time the future value of any
forest crop as a promissory note is
discounted.
All this is unfortunately long
way off, but if the country, and the
states individually, can recognize the
need before we are reduced to ex-
IRENE necessity, before we have
used up all our accumulated capital
of forest growth and must depend
upon future crops, we shall do what
no other country has yet done. But
the European countries felt the
dearth of forest at a much earlier
and darker period in our civilian
ton, while our chance comes to us
in the twentieth century, and it
might reasonably be expected that
the American people would exer-
else more foresight than European