The Savannah morning news., 1904-07-31

0OSLOU, July OOs-Op III
Maine, where thousands of square
miles are covered by the primeval for
est, United States government experts
will soon begin some new studies of
trees and tree life. and the lessons
learned are likely to be of far reaching
Importance, for America is face to face
with the problem of preserving wood
ed areas. Talk of planting trees seems
strange to men who recall the days
when the forests of the United States
were so vast that the question of their
disappearance was seldom, if ever
raised. But times have changed and
while the forests have dwindled to
make room for the clearing of the pio-
neer and the farms of his descendants,
the uses to which forest products are
put have been greatly diversified and
the demand has been enormously in
creased.
Colleges of Forestry.
To meet the new conditions Ameri-
can colleges are establishing courses in
forestry, the general government is
studying forestry problems, state leg
islatureS are passing stringent laws de-
signed to prevent destructive forest
fires, and the great industries to which
timber Is vital necessity are contrib
uting to the experimental work. For
the work just undertaken by the Bu-
reau of Forestry in Northern Maine,
plots of land have been selected in
typical timber regions where best -four
ish the pine, spruce, hemlock, poplar,
chestnut, etc. Some of these plots will
be left untouched by the ak of the
woodman. while others will be cleared
in order to obtain statistics on the re-
newal of growth.
Demands on the Forests.
New demands upon the forests are
constantly being made which can be
met only by the supply of carefully
selected material. When the electric
light, the electric railway and the tele-
phone were made practical utilities,
few thought of their development as
bearing upon the questions of forestry.
Yet the lighting of thousands of towns
and cities by electricity, the building of
hundreds Of electric railways, and the
extension OF the telephone system to
every state and territory in the Union,
have made it necessary to transplant
whole forests of trees, and place them
along streets and highways in the form
of the poles which carry the wires.
Electricity has been used commercially
for lighting and power purposes just
quarter of century, but in that time
the industry has had a marvellous de-
velopment In the United States to-
day are about 1900 towns and cities
with g. population of $500 or more
and more than three-quarters of these
places have electric light and power
stations from which radiate the wires
carried on poles which, were they
growing together in the form of liv-
ing trees, would make forest many
hundreds of square miles in area And
electric lighting is not confined to the
less than $500 population enjoy its ad
vanta Ses.
Trolley Lines Demands.
Similar to the growth of this great
industry has been the development of
the electric railways and to support
trolley wires over the $1,000 miles of
these roads means the cutting of still
other forests of trees. Wooden poles
are used on about $4,000 miles of cleo
trio railway. For the greater portion
of this distance, trolley wires are held
aloft by span wire construction, requir-
ing the placing of poles on both sides
of the tracks. The country through,
the average number of poles to the
mile in electric railway construction is
about fifty. A little figuring will show
the enormous number of trees which
have been cut to support trolley and
feed wires, and the work of provid-
ing the poles never stops, for renew
ais are frequently necessary and new
roads are constantly under construc-
ton.
The Telephones.
A third great utility developed in the
past twenty-five years is the telephone.
To-day the telephone wires in the Bell
system reach to $4,000 cities, towns and
villages in the United States, and long
distance lines extend for great stretches
Through forests and over mountain
ranges. The system includes nearly
4,OOO,OOO miles of wire of which near
~ two-thirds is carried on poles. The
toll lines alone aggregate over $780,
V0o miles with poles averaging thirty
eight to the mile, or about 5000, 900 in
an, TO say nothing of the other mill
mons in the local plants in the Bell
system. The task of providing the
enormous number of poles needed
every year is attended with constant
~ increasing difficulties. In some of
me wooded sections of the country, no
trees available for poles are left. In
olner regions, they are fast disappear
ing. The telephone pole is looked upon
with such tender solicitude that elab-
crate studies are being made Svith a
view to prolonging its life. Exhaus-
i've experiments are now being con-
quoted by the Bureau of Forestry in
cooperation with the officials of the
Bell system, to determine the best
means Of seasoning poles and treating
mem with preservatives.
ArtstOcrat of the Forest.
Inc tree which is suitable for use in
the manufacture of poles represents
the aristocracy Of forest growth. II
must be straight and sound and Of GER
edih woods. The demand for II has CIV
en- rise TO a new occupation for the
man skilled in Mond-craft The atlnnIr