The morning journal-courier., 1908-12-09

lof tney constitute lue ilISt hnu most important element in tho conservation of the natural resources of the country. There are of course two kinds of nat ural resources One is the kind which can only De used as part of q process of exhauston; this is true of mines. natural oil and gas wells, and the like The other, and of course ul- timately by far the most important, in- cludes the resources which can be im- proved in the process of wise use the soil, the rivers, and the forests come under this head. Any really civilized nation will so use all of these three great national assets that the nation will have their benefit In the future. Just as a farmer after all hls life making hls living from his farm, will if he is an expert farmer, leave 1t as an asset of increased value to his son, so we should leave our national domain to our children, increased in value and not worn out. There arc small sections of our country, in the east and In the vest in the Adirondacks, the White Mountains, and the Appalachians, and In the Rocky Mountains, where wo can already see ourselves the damage in the shape of permanent injury to the soil and the river systems which comes from reckless deforestaton. It matters not whether this deforestation Is due to the actual reckless cutting of timber, to the fires that inevitably follow such reckless cutting of timber or to reck- less or uncontrolled grazing. especially by the great migratory bands of sheep, the unchecked wandering of which over the country means destruction to for ests and disaster to the small home makers, the settlers of limited means.
 Shortslghted persons. or persons blinded to the future by desire to make money in every way out of the present sometimes speak as if no great damage would be done by the reckless destruc- ton of our forests. It Is difficult to have patience with the arguments of these persons Thanks to cur own reck
 lessness in the use of ou splendid for osts, we have already crossed the verge of timber famine in this country, and no measures that we now take can, at least for many years, undo the mischief that has already been done But We can prevent further mischief being dono: and 1t would be In the highest degree reprehensible to let any consid- eraton of temporary convenience or temporary cost interfere with such ac- tion, especially as regards the national forests which the nation can now. at .t.
 All serious students of the question are aware of the great damage that has been done in the Mediterranean countries of Europe, Asia, and Africa by deforestation. The similar damage that has been done in Eastern Asia js less well known A recent investiga- ton into conditions in North China hy Mir Frank N. Meyer of the bureau Of | plant industry of the Unified States de- | lpartment of agriculture, has incidenal- | ly furnished in very striking fashion | proof of the ruin that comes from reck- less deforestation of mountains, and of | the further fact that the damage once | done may prove practically irreparabe
 So Important are these investigations | lilul | l'ItNiil. uLltiNil hH tail 'hlBNhbiN l to my message certain photographs showing present conditions in China, They show In vivid fashion the ap- paling desolatlon, taking tho shape or barren mountains and gravel and sand covered plains, which immediately fol- 1 lows and depends upon the deforesta- l tion of tho mountains. Not many con I Io trzy ,r ,,prt horn l China was one of the most fertile and beautiful spots in the entire world, and
 was heavily forested We know this not only from the old Chinese records,
 but from tho accounts given by the traveller. Marco Polo. He, for instance, mentions that in visiting the provinces of Shansi and Shensi he observed many plantations of mulberry trees, Now there is hardly a single mulberry tree ! in either of these provinces, and the culture of the silkworm has moved ! rarthcr south, to regions of atmospheric
 moisture As an illustration of the complete change in the rivers, we may take Polos statement that q certain
 river, the Hun Ho was 90 large and
 deep that merchants asoended fl from
 the sea with heavily laden beats; to- day this river is simply broad sandy
 he'd. with shallow, rapid currents wan
 dcring hithcr and thithcr across it, ah
 somtely mnayieable, But we do not
 have to depend upon written records.
 The dry wells, and the wells with water
 far below the former watermark bear
 testimony to the good days of the past and the evil days of the present Wher-
 ever the native vegetation has been al-
 lowed to remain, as, for instance, here
 and there around a sacred temple or
 imperial burying ground, thero are sill
 huge trees and tangled jungle. fraR-
 ments of the glorious ancient Forests
 The thick, matted forest growth form
 erly covered the mountains to thcir
 summhs All natural factors favored
 this dense forest growth, and as long
 as 1t was permitted to exist, the plains
 at the foot of the mountains were
 among the most fertile on the globe
 and the whole country was q garden
 Not the slightest effort was made
 however, to prevent the unchecked cut
 ting of the trees, or to secure refores-
 tatlon Doubtless for many centuries
 the tree cutting by the inhabitants of
 the mountains worked but slowly in
 bringing about the changes that have
 now come to pass; doubtless for gen
 erations the inroads were scarcely nos
 ticeable, But there came a time when
 the forest had shrunk sufficiently to
 make each years cutting serious
 matter and from that time on the de-
 struction proceeded with appalling
 rapidity; for of course each year of
 destruton rendered the forest less able to reeuperate, less able to resist next years inroad Mr. Meyer describes
 the ceaseless progress of the destruc'