Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1907-11-16

Government Will Re-seed Devastated
Timber Lands In Black Hills For
est Reserve.


sively throughout the middle west dur.
ing the past ten days, is especially ap-
plicable to the Black Hills national forest
is the assertion of E. Nj. Hamilton, the
new forest supervisor here. Mr.. Pin
chot made the somewhat startling dec
laration that in twenty years America
will have completely exhausted her vast
timber resources unless the public at
large awakes to the danger of such
contingency.
The Black Hills reserve or forest,
while 1t is not the largest by any means,
in point of acreage, has long been rated
one of the most important of the gov
ernment's timber possessions. Itcovers
just l ,209,600 acres of timber land and
has as many sales as any of the other
reserves in the country. The extent of
the mining operations in connection
with the forest work, lends this forest
additional importance from a CONNER
cial standpoint.
Supervisor Hamilton is a man of ac.
ton. His selection as supervisor Of this
reserve was recognition on the part Of
the government of his ability With a
wide experience as expert lumberman,
having made that feature of the forestry
work his specially, and his familiarity
with the affairs of the Black Hills forest
during his residence here of the past
year he is in position to push forward
the policies of reclamation of Chief For.
ester Pinchot as that able Frenchman
would wish.
Commencing the coming year, it is the
intention Of Supervisor Hamilton to de.
vote all his energies to check the de-
nuding of the forest. Both President
Roosevelt and Chief Pinchot are en-
deavoring to secure larger appropria.
ton to assure the work, but the local
officials will 60 ahead on what funds are
at present available and when spring
comes more reseeding than has ever
heretofore been accomplished will be
seen on this forest. The work is in
charge of expert scientists, most of them
young college graduates, who are
thoroughly in accord with the principles
OF President Roosevelt, the advocate of
collegiate training in some special line,
and the pushing forward of the young
men of the country. Much of this work
of reseeding has already been mapped
out and it remains for spring TO come
to see its accomplishment. Fire burned
bug infested timber has been cleared
away, and other denuded spots in the
forest, will be sown over with the seed |
of the yellow pine, and the start on a
larger and greater forest commenced.
Last year some interesting experiments
in reseeding we're successfully attempted |
on This forest and will probably be re-
peated. These consisted in scattering |
the seed on top of the last spring snow |
and permitting the seed to fall into wet
ground where it found ready roofing.
But this is just the start Few people
have any conception of the length of
time it requires for the yellow pine to
attain its growth, and this style of pine
has been found not only the best for
commercial purposes, but the only kind
that can be grown here. According to
Supervisor Hamilton, it requires about
100 years before the yellow pine is full
grown. And therein lies the danger.
Were it merely matter of some ten or
even twenty years before a new forest
would spring up, the situation now fac
ing the government would not seem so
serious but century of time may bring
many disasters before the yellow pine
is ready for use. In California, in the
southern part, some trees are grown in
ten years and in other localities it re
qures few years more but nowhere so
long as in this section of the country.
This forest reserve has suffered little
during the past year with forest fires.
There have been q number OF smaller
fires in various sections which burned
over few acres but no destructive ones.
Last Thursday fire near Oreville in the
southern Hills burned bare about IL
acres while the fire west of McLaughlin's
camp, reported so serious, was compara-
lively slight and was put out by two
men, according to a message received
by the forest supervisors Office here,
from Contractor Mclaughlin. The
worst feature with which the local OFF,
cials have had to deal, the bark beetle
is believed to have been effectually era
dicated, for according to the scientists,
this species of destructive bug travels in
cycles of time similar to the seven year
locust and has now lived its period in
the Black Hills and is fast migrating to
some other locality. When the trees
turn red in the spring, and the extent OF
the recent bug devastation is learned,
this fact will be established.
Supervisor Hamilton is ably assisted
in his work in the local Offices which
are we'll equipped for the important ser
vices cut out for them. His chief clerk
J. NJ. Dougherty. who came here from
Denver to succeed George Gorder, who
goes to Cobran, Colorado. Then Paul
Kelleter, with his two assistants, Phillips
and Linscott, have charge of the entry
examinations and boundary work, which
is of most important nature. X. E
Mesmard, one of the governments ables'
constructing engineers, at present locat'
ed here and will superintend the work
of putting up the many cabins in differ
sections of the Hills for the use of the
rangers on what are known as govern
! ment sites.-PioneerTimes.