The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-11-06
THE FORESTRY BILL
Hitchcock's sasure Meets With Pos
tive Approval

I'm accordance with the strong rec.
ommendation of Gov Proctor In his
last message a bill has been present.
ed the House to promote forestry
work I'm the state. The endorsement
of this movement by him alone would
be sufficient to insure II the earnest
attention of any of our people who
had not already reached personal con
cmsiOns as to the Importance of fores-
try in Vermont, says the Burlington
Free Press.
This argument gains in strength
when we look back and note that Gov.
Proctor is not the first Of our execu'
lives Who has felt called upon to urge
SOME such step Gov. Woodbury. in
his message in 1894 said; The own
ers of timber lands in our state are
pursuing a rdinous policy IN the meth
Cd used in harvesting their timber.
There is no more valuable crop pro
duced from land than timber" and he
concluded that by wise forestry man
agoment q good crop can be cut
every / 5 years. Il Is of great impor-
lance to the owners of timber land as
well as to the state as a whole that
some measure be adopted to lessen
the wantOn destruction of our forests.
Gov Mccullough, four years ago.
felt called upon to make even more
specific recommendations, as shown
by the following extract from his re-
firing message:
Vermont is a natural park 1t is
capable of infinite improvement, One
method would be to form a state or
ganization for solving the forestry
problem in Vermont following the ex-
ample of European countries, and sup
plementing the work of the United
States bureau OF forestry Let a com.
mission be appointed by the governor
of three or five eminent gentlemen
who are deeply interested I'm this sub
iect and who would serve without com
pensation. and whose duty il should
be TO adopt a comprehensive forestry
| policy for the state and a plan for the
protection and replanting OF the for
ests, for the study of their quality and
| composition the condition necessary
! for successful reproduction Of the
most valuable trees, the prevention OF
| forest fires. the relation of the growth
/ Of forests to humidity and the rain
| fall. and to designate methods by
which numbering operations may be
best carried ON SO to leave the land:
cut over in a condition which vii
more readily admit of forest reproduc
ton
The aim Of the commission shoulC
be both ultilitarian and aesthetic. AC
cording to the census the forest pro
duct Of Vermont was, in 1899, seconC
in value-the hay and forage crop
only, exceeding It, This timber crol
should continue TO be one of Vermont
assets. The existing timber land
should be so utilized as to secure, no
only present profits, but insure deyel
opment and continuance. OF the Ian,
| in Vermont included in farms, more
than one-half Is unimproved TIT
waste and abandoned tracts Of The
state should be planted intelligent.
with such varieties Of trees as will b.
most profitable to our children, a
well as enhancing the wealth ant
beauty of the state"
The recommendations OF Gov. Nc
Cullough are almost exactly IN lin
with the bill now before the legisla
ture and 1t is to be hoped the argu
| ments advanced by the different pro
gressive executives named may pre-
vail with equally progressive mem
bers Of the present legislature.