The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1908-05-13


long series Of years an increasing
4 forest output and increasing profits
at the same time.
Like other advanced European
4 countries. Germany felt the pinch OF
3 wood shortage hundred and fifty
years ago. and though this shortage
was relieved by the coming Of the
railroads, which opened up new
forests, and by the use of coal,
which substituted new fuel for
wood, the warning was needed, and
systematic State forestry was be-
gun. After all, the scare was not
a false one, for even today Germany
is not Independent as regards wood,
since she has to import one-sixth of
all she uses.
In addition to the wood supply
question, Germany was forced to
undertake forestry by the need of
protecting agriculture and stream
flow. The troubles which France
was having with her mountain tor
rents opened the eyes of the Ger
mans to the danger of floods in their
own land. AS result the maintain
ance Of protective forests was pro-
vided for by Bavaria in 1852, by
Prussia in 1875, and by Wurttem-
berg in 1879.
Each state of the German feder-
alton administers its own forests.
All the states practice forestry with
success. The results obtained by
Prussia and Saxony are particularly
interesting, for they show how for
ests may be kept constantly improv-
ing under a system of management
which yields handsome profit.
The Prussian forests, covering
nearly 100000 acres. are made up
much as if we should combine the
pineries of the Southern States with
the forests of some of our Middle
Atlantic and Central States. When
forestry was begun a great part of
them had been injured by misman-
agement, much as our forests have
been, and the Prussian foresters
had to solve the problem of improv-
/ ing the rundown forests ont of the
returns from those which were still
in good condition. They solved it
with striking success. Immense i'm
provement has already taken place
and is steadily going on.
The method Of management
adopted calls for a sustained yield
that is, no more wood is cut than the
forest produces. Under this man
agement the growth of the forest,
and consequently the amount cut,
has risen sharply. In 1880 the yield
was 20 cubic feet per acre, in 1865,
"a cubic feet; in 1890, 81 cubic feet,
and in 1904, 65 cubic feet. In other
words, Prussian forest management
has multiplied the rate of production
three-fold in seventy-five years.
And the quality of the product has
improved with the quantity. Be
tween 1880 and 1904 the percentage
of saw timber rose from 10 to 81 per
cent.
/ It is striking fact in this connec.
ton that in the United States at the
present time we are using about
three times as much timber as oul
forests grow. If we were every
where practicing forestry with re-
sulting improvement equal to that
made in Prussia, our forests woulo
be growing as much as we use.
The financial returns in Prussia
make an even better showing. Me-
returns per acre in 1850 were q
cents. In 1866 they were II cents
in 1900, $1.58; and in 1904, $3.50
They are now nearly 10 times wha
they were sixty years ago, and they
are increasing more rapidly thar
ever.
These results have been obtained
in Prussia along with almost idea
technical success. When what i
wanted is sustained yield from thu
forest year by year in the long rul
it is clearly necessary to have Away
a certain number of trees ready tt
} be cut; there must be a proper pro
portion of trees Of all ages. Thi
percentage has been secured ant
, maintained with almost mathemati