The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-01-15
LUMBER IN FOREST RESERVES.
Millions of Feet Annually Cut With
 Regard to Future of the Forests.

Mtit1OnS OH Feet Annually Cut With Regard to Future of the Forests. Federal forest reserves are now
 fixed facts. It is a serious thing to withdraw from settlement, as the government has done, some 63.000. .00S
 acres of land. But when the charac-
 ter of this land is understood, ane the purposes the reservations will ac-
 complish are known, 1t will be gener- | ally recognized that the area perma- nently reserved will serve the public best under forest cover. Its topo- graphy and soil unfit it for agricul-
 ture, but 1t is admirably suited to tree growth. Wisely administered, it will continuously furnish an immense tim
 Der output, while its influence in con serving the water supply for vest de- pendent agricultural areas will prove of inestimable value.
 Without the establishment of re-
 serves. proper control of the public forests Is impossible. The present free use of timber is being greatly
 abused and there is practically no
 management of these vast resources and no income from them. unless .-.e timber and land are both sold out right and together. After the estab- lishment of a reserve settlers within it's boundaries and those living in itS neighborhood are allowed, within de-
 finite and reasonable restrictions, free
 use of timber actually necessary for their domestic needs. The great change for the better. however. is that the reserve laws provide for the
 sale of timber in small or large quan-
 titles to persons both in and outside the reserve. Thus the forests can be made self-supporting, and through funds created in this way they can be protected from fire and be made more productive and useful.
 But in making these sales the fu- ture of the forest is more considered than the money returns from the tim
 Der cut. Hence the sales are sLy., fly
 guarded by bonded contracts between
 tho individuals and tho government.
 The contracts specify the amount of timber bought and the price to be
 paid. limit the area and time of cut ting. prescribe simple and practical regulations to guard against fire. and cover all essential relations between
 the contracting parties pending the completion of the contract No trees
 can be cut except those previously
 marked by a government official. Un-
 der such contracts millions of board feet of lumber are annually being cut from the reserves, to the improvement
 of their condition.
 It is not the governments purpose
 to maintain the reserve forests un-
 touched. but to use and develop them.
 Proper numbering is necessary to a productive forest as protection. ala
 ture or ripe trees should be cut not
 only for the same reason that wheat or corn is, to save and utilize the pro-
 duet, but also to promote reproduce ton. Agricultural crops require sow l ing or planting each year, but forests. properly thinned by cutting. reproduce
 themselves and furnish a continuous
 crop. That this work may be effec-
 lively accomplished there must be pro- ! lection from fires, and proper condi- tions for tree growth must be main
 tained. Important among these con- i, ditions is the demand of trees for room and sunlight. The young growth must be neither crowded nor i shaded out. Thus, for the best re-
 suits in reproduction the mature trees
 should be cut, and the dead and dis
 eased timber should be disposed of
 as rapidly as possible,
 Lumbering, however, as heretofore
 conducted, has had little concern for
 the effect of its operations on tho for
 est. The immediate purpose was lim-
 ited to getting out the valuable tim