Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-12-29
WEST POINT FORESTRY.
Valuable Object Lesson in Practical
Work on Military Reservation.

Washington, Dec. 2S.-The superin-
tendent of the Military Academy at
West Point has suggested to Secretary
raft the ACCESSIBILITY of requesting the
Secretary of Agriculture to assign
practical fOreSterS to direct the I'M
rrovCment Of the lands Of the reserv-
alton; and Secretary Taft having acted
faVorably on the suggestion. the Ru-
reau of Forestry has prepared Il work.
ing plan for the work about to be un-
dertaken. The work was intrusted to
u forest assistant and the members of
the senior class of the Yale Forest
School.
The reservation forest contains 2,136
acres actually under forest. 1t is COM
posed of hardwoods, 90 per cent OF
which are of sprout origin, forty to
seventy years old, growing on slopes of
varying steepness ami on stony soil
often among powders. Occasional
stands are as young as thirty years
and individual trees are as old as one
hundred and forty years. There are
occasional white pines and pitch pines:
red cedar occurs on old, abandoned
fields; hemlocl; is an un(ierstory to the
hardwoOds. Rare stands of Seeding
origin are found in coves, along stream
beds and in pockets on the slopes.
Nearly all of TIE forest has been dam
aged by fires and unwise cutting An
nual fires have destroyed the young
seedlings and the ground cover, and
have exposed the soil to the drying
winds. thus seriously sapping the vi
tality of the larger trees. The scarcity
of trees of Seeding origin is accounted
for by these fires. The most common
species and the ones apparently best
adapted TO the locality are red and
chestnut oaks and chestnut which
make a good growth and are found in
I'll situations.
The variety and complexity of the
forest problems demand uniform and
continuous treatment throughout the
period of ten years covered by the
working plan. The changes of policy
and personal ideas which would ensue
in the changing of personnel would de-
feat the object of the work. which is to
make the tract model forest TO serve
as an example of what forestry can do
for hardwood sprout land.
The forest service recommended the en-
ployment of n woods foreman, expert
cnced in the handling of workmen and in
numbering methods. to reside on or near
the reservation throughout the year. and
also that q forester be placed in charge
of the execution Of the working plan.
who, however, should spend only six to
ten weeks in personal supervision of the
work on the tract.
The first part of the working plan deals
In of
absolutely necessary that all fires be kept
out Of the forest; otherwise it would be
useless to attempt Improvement Of the
present conditions. Ground fires are the
direct cause of the scant. dry soil. the
absence of seedling reproduction. the un-
hcalthfulness of the trees, and the deplor-
able silvicultural condition of the tract.
There is hardly Il hundred acres of the
whole area which has not been burned
over within the last ten Years. One
fourth of the area is burned over annu-
ally. Large sears are burned into the
trunks and roots and each year grow
Larger. until finally the tree dies and adds
fuel to the next fires flames. The loss of
the trees actually burned. however. does
not compare with the loss in productive
capacity which the soil SustainS. The
recommendations for protection from fire
include the daily inspection by the woods
foreman, who should have sufficient pow
er 10 make ARE SITS: that the present roads
be cleared of undorbrrIsh and the leaves
and litter burned to a distance Of not less
than ten feet in the spring and fall, that
new fire trails be made that fire line
twenty feet wide be made where the for
est adjOins other forested property, that
throughout the dangerous months Il cav
airy trooper be assigned to patrol the res
ervation from A. NJ. to +. NJ. and a
numLcr of other particulars.
The general plan for cutting for the
next ten years will be in the form of i'm
proVemcnt Trimmings, from which n large
financial return cannot be expected. At
the end of this ten year period however,
the forest is expected to be in such con
dtion that 4 well defined and consecutive
series of cuttings, yielding n sure income
may be instituted. Artificial restocking
by planting young seedlings will esta blish
satisfactory forest cover where natural
conditions would fail to do so. So far as
it is eXpedient it is planned to cut each
year during the first ten wears only so
much wood as will be needed for the use
of the army post and the local market.