Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-05-12
TREES AND THEIR ENEMIES.
Part H.

i.
One Of the most frequent causes Of
forest fires is the grazing of animals or
forest land. To improve the grazing. the
owners of f1ocks and herds often fire the
grass or other fodder plants. sometimes
with the intention of destroying the for
est itself. and thus increasing the area of
tn" pasturaec. but more often to improve
temporarily the quality of the feed. The
majority Of these fires do not kill the old
trees, but, by destroying the seeds and
the young trees. they do great Injury
to the forest and finally to the fodder
plants themselves. And to understand the
enormous amount of damage wrought by
TINS one cause, We must remember that
vast areas are burned over every year. in
nearly All parts of the United States
where trees grow, and it is a fact we'll
known to foresters that hundreds of
thousands Of acres in the West. whore
sheep are in the habit of grazing would
be covered by forests today, if it were
not for the repeated hurnings to which
the ground has been subjected
In forests where grazing is permit
ted. much damage is often done by
trHmpliug. Heavy animals, like horses
and cattlc,pack the soil with their hoofs,
and destroy the rootlots of small trees
but these animals, having big broad feet
do comparatively little harm. Sheep on
the other hand, are very harmful. parti-
cularly where the soil is loose. and upon
steep slopes Their hoofs being small and
sharp. they cut into the soil and powder il
mp ut the same time bcaking and cut
!, '.ng tho young growth to such an extent
that ilourishng young forests are often
completely destroyed. Nor does the dan
ger of trampling stop with the dcstruc-
ton of the forest itself We should take
warming by the disasters which followed
the grazing of sheep in tho Alps Of
southern France There first of all the
forests were destroyed then followed the
grass which had replaced the forests,
and the soil was then left fully exposed
to The rains. The result was a succession
of floods and the force of the water car
riod down enormous quantities of stones
and spread them over what had been fer
| tie fields. depopulating many prosperous
valleys The cost to the French people
has already run into tens Of millions of
dollars, and the end is not yet. The loss is
out of all proportion to any gain which
may have been derived from the mountain
pastures. and even the shocp-owncrs
themselves are losers in the end as the
sheep industry in that region has been
utterly ruined
Then the grazing animals do further
harm 10y browsing on the Young growth,
and on the tender shoots and branches Of
the larger trees, often making them
| unsightlY or unsound. Such damage is
confined chiefly to the forest of broadloaf
|
cor fcrs if they can get anything cles to
cat. Goats are not common in the United
States. but when they are prosen. they
| cause more damage than either sheep or
| cattle by grazing in tho forest Hogs,
! though less harmful, still do their share
of mischief, by eating up tho seeds and
nuts. Birds and squirrels do some harm
at times by eating great quantities Of
| seeds. and mice and porcupincs Kill many
| trees by Gnawing the bark.
| Insects are always at work in the forest,
and sometimes their ravages result in
serious loss. During the last twenty years,
| the larva of "A saw-hy has been eating
| the foliage Of the larch trees in the
| Adirondacks to such effect that nearly
| every ful-grown tree of this species has
been killed in that region. The work of
the elm beetle the gypsy moth, and many
! other insects, is too well known to re-
| quirc comment.
Many other enemies have the trees,
| amongst them being the fungli. which
are ever ready to attack a fresh wound
OF any kind. Their raVagos may often
| be prevented by n dab of paint or tar,
which will exclude the air and the spores
| with which ii Is laden. The wind sweeps
| though the forest, sometimes doing good
| by removing tho old and dying trees or
| by pruning the healthy ones. and some
| times doing harm by throwing down those
! which have not Yet reached maturity
|
| 1t docs good by protecting the soil and
| the Young trees. and it often does harm
| by bending, and breaking. and crushing
| out of shape, many tall young members
| of the forest.
or course. our forests should be pro-
| tected. for the best Of business reasons
but there are trees in this country which
are entitled to our consideration and pro-
| lection. not so much on account of then
money value, but because they are among
| the wonders of the world. OF course
| refer to the big trees of California, many
| of which seem to be doomed unless the
| United States government takes i'm
mediate steps to preserve them. These
Il trees are unique and Of world wide fame
They tower four hundred feet above Tho
| ground, and the age of some of them Is
said to be ten thousand years BE thai
as it may, they are certainly the biggest
the oldest and the grandcst living uhing'
on face oS the earth. If they were owned
by England nr Japan, there would be NJ
doubt Of thee being preserved, over
though the cost of preserving them were
greater; and If We allow these absolutely
unrcplaceable works Of nature to be DIES
troycd for the sake of "A few hundrc.
thousand dollars, We shall earn the JUS
contempt OF all people who have a spccl
of sentiment in their makeup.
Let each one who has an ounce o
} influence bring that influence to bcaI
directly and indirectly upon the gov
eminent that we may guard thos'
wOndrous trees forever from those who
! with axe and saw, would in one wccl
destroy the work of ten thousand years
ERNEST HAROLD BAYNES.