The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1908-05-23
FORESTRY
Essay by Miss Annie Atkinson, at the
Ioesia High School Graduating
Exercises May q, 1903

thousand years ago IL was discussed
and has been studied and applied
ever since. The sources Of forestry
do not vary but depend upon natural
laws, which are being carried out all
the time. Mr.. Cleveland, Jr, sug-
gests that We take forestry as yard.
stick with which to measure the
height Of civilization. The foremost
nation is the one that has pursued for
estry most widely and Systematically,
and the nation that has overlooked Ii
is termed backward" With little
study it will be seen that those coua-
tries which have gone farthest in the
USE of forestry are the ones which
&tp6ay are the most prosperous, which
have the least proportion of waste
land, and which have the most prom
Using futures.
The German empire today has
nearly 35,000,000 acres of forest and
has to import one-sixth of all the
wood she uses, making considerable
drain upon her neigbboring countries.
Nearly two thousand years ago she
felt thet need Of preserving her fores-
try. and now she leads in scientific
thoroughness, and is increasing her
Z profit annually. Half of a century has
Increased her money returns from an
average acre of forest seven-fold and
has protected agriculture and river
systems.
France produces only one-third Of
her demand and the two-thirds i'm
ported amount to $46,OO0,0O0. Two
\ thirds of the torrents of Europe are
". France. In the Alps and Pyrenees
mountains there are over one thous-
and mountain streams which are dam
gerous. Almost million acres of
mountain slopes are exposed to ero-
sion by these. streams and this does
\ not take into consideration the fiat
lands. AS far back as the 10th cen
fury there were certain laws prohibit
ing the cutting OF forests, but during
the French revolution those laws
Z were swept aside and the mountain
sides We're cleared at such a rate that
disastrous effects were felt within
ten years. When 100000 acres of
farm land had been ruined and peo7
/, pie had been reduced to poverty and
7 forced to emigrate, attempts were
made to check torrents by sodding in
stead of by forest planting, but were
failures, and now forests are being
I, planted and the money expended will
reach $50,00O,000 before the work of
y reforesting for protection Is complete.
The sand dunes on the coast Of
France which covered $4,000 acres
have been planted in forests and in
stead of being constant threat to the
farmers now are producing valuable
crops of wood; 100000 acres OF
Marches have been changed from a
worthless condition into forest valued
at $10O,O00,00O. In France forestry
has, then, decreased the dangers from
floods and dunes, which threatened
to lay waste vast fields and has added
millions of dollars to the national
wealth.
Russia comprises two-thirds of the
whole forest area of Europe and ex
ports over $3O,OO0,O 900 worth of wool
she saw the necessity of forestry be
fore the time of want had come, and
was not forced into it for self-protec
ton, as were Germany and France
She was convinced of their value Dy
a the lessons other countries learned
kby actual experience. Forests of nat
ural growth. which hold shifting sands
to protect the banks of rivers. canals
and other waters, and prevent ava
lanches, are free from taxes, and for
estplanting for that purpose is moi
taxed for thirty years.
Fifty-nine per cent of the total ares
of Japan is under forests. and al
though Japan imports more timber
than she exports, she exports over
4 one million dollars worth of wood ant
four million of matches, and the an
nual revenue is now $S,000,0O0. ,Ths
management of Japanese forestry
dates back to the time before the
birth of Christ. and during the time
of the early Christians forest plant