Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-01-07
Vermont's Forestry Interests.

The Hon. clifford Pinchot. chief of the
bureau of forestry of tho United states
department of agriculture. lecturcd in
Rurlington upon vermont Forestry Con-
ditions and Needs" ON January ;. In view
of this fact the following statements may
prove timely. Thov are from "A letter writ
ten recently by Mr. Clifton u. Howe Of
tho University of Chicago and lecturer in
forestry at tho University of Vermont.
"'rhc forests of Vermont are Il source
Of great wealth. yet they are not man
aged as monoy-carninG capital In fact
the usual method of numbering is such
that the owner of tic forest takes both
the interest and the capital of his in
vostment. Owing to the growing up OF
abandoned farm lands. a larger acreage
! in the state Is covered with trees than
/ 30 voars ago. yet believe not only the
amount Of lumber taken from our forests
/ is diminishing but also its quality iH deter
/ ioratinr This is another way Of saying
/ that the lumber is Int in such a manner
that the subsequent crop is neither 50
| large ror of 50 good quality AZ tho orig
incl.
! "Of course tho treatment q timber lot
should receive depends upon its age. the
| kind Of trees il contains, is distance from
the market. ctc For some cases the prac-
ticc Ut forestry methods would be imprlc-
tieahlo ana unprolitahlc, but think that
IL the majority of eases in this state the
lumpcrmcn could manage their forests
along the lines laid down 10y the bureau
Of forestry with decidedly increased pro-
fits. and at the same time keep them M
To their highest productive capacity in
torms of valuable timber.
This applies rs Will to the farm wood
lot If the farmer gave his woodlot some
thing of the same care that ne gives his
cultivated crops, he would find that his
time thus invested would yield HIM very
profitable returns. H. fact the woodlot is
often worth more than amy other part OF
IN" farm. Som" very helpful suggestions
r. the management Of New England wood
lots may be found in lullotin No, A. re-
comfy issued by the National Bureau OF
Forestry Thon, too, on almost every
farm especially in the hill townships
areas OF greater or loss cXtcrt. UNFIT foi
crops are lying idle. 1t would increase
; the value OF the farms if such places were
planted tc valuable timber trees
'Ncighhoring States are conducting for
estry work along the lines indicated
above In Iane. New hampshire Con
nccticut and New York. the work is un
der tho control of organized forest com
missions ana The newspapers Of Massa
Chusctts are agitatnS the ACCESSIBILITY o
following the lead of these States, 'rh
need of such work in Vermont is Just a.
greet ii not greater than in the state
Just mentioned At present, however, tn
most urgent need is an adequate protsc
tinn from forest fires Fire is the creates
/ enemy of a forest and the greatest deter
. rent in any effort to secure the CONTINUED
i production of wood on any area rh
lumbcrInan cannot afford To save tn
smaller trees for growth unless he is rea
sorably suro that they will not he dcs
troycd by fire.
u Last spring we had an illustration o
: what may happen in an exceptionally DIR
S season Last summer as You know,
g collected data in regard to the extent an
9 damage of the forest fires in the State
9 I have in my possession statements q
f mmhermen and forest owners which nal
> II safe for me to say that between $50 "
r and 500 900 worth Of standing timber wa
$ burned by the fires of last May and Jun,
In some cases the timber burned was
" total loss but in the majority OF cases
u certain part of 1t was saved by lmmC
date cutting. The lunlberman was thu
n compelled to cut trees. which in the non
e NAL condition. he would have left for Sc,
c eral years. sometimes for 20 years So h
10 lost the growth of his timbcrlot for thn
W time. Nor is this the only loss, the FIR
a Hills the young trees which are to max
the future crop. 1t also impoverishcs tn
soil by burning the humus of the decaye
vegetable matter on the ground In tn
absence of the moisture absorbing layer
~ of humus. the soil dries out quicker An
l. the water runs off more readily than b,