Middletown transcript., 1908-10-10

creased from 20 III, ana OF bnose Wui0u
employ trained foresters from none
to IL. The membership of forest
associations has increased from $500 to
$1,000. Ten years ago, except for few
of the foremost botanists, European forest
ers knew more about American forests
than did the people Of this country. In
Europe they were then using preserVa-
tires to prolong the service OF beech ties,
and SO adding from twenty to forty years
to their life Here, on the other hand,
scarcely a treated tie had been laid,
though there are now go treating plants,
q of which treat ties exclusively, and an
engineer who recently returned from
Europe reports that both in size and me-
chanical perfection the treating equip
ment of this country is ahead of any to
be found abroad.
'And yet American forestry has only
safely passed the experimental stage and
got ready to do something. Action, i'm
mediate and vigorous, must be taken il
the inevitable femme of wood supplies is
to be lessened. We are now using as much
wood in single year as grows in three,
with only 20 years supply of virgin
groWth-in sight. Only the application OF
forest knowledge with wisdom, method
and energy, in the next ten year., ,can pre-.
vent the starving of national industries
for lack of wood.
"The woodlot offers an excellent oppor-
tunity for the practice of forestry. 1t is
accessible enough to allow Of moderate
cuttings at frequent intervals, and it may
be protected from trespass and grazing,
and from fire, its chief enemy, with
out an elaborate scheme of defense;
then taxation is not a great burden, be-
cause tie revenue from farm supplies
more than meets this item every year,
and thus prevents the accumulation of in
terest In New England, New York, and
Pennsylvania great interest has been taken
in planting white pine and other species.
"The application Of intensive forestry
to large tracts will naturally be Of limited
extent for some time to come. Closer
utilization, the setting Of minimum di-
ameter below which trees shall not be cut,
to provide for second crop, and pro-
lection from fire, are conservative
measures which are steadily gaining
ground. But looking into the future far
enough to make provision for third crop
is not yet common, while efforts to bring
forest lands to high productive capacity
have as yet scarcely been attempted. In
wealth Of soil and high commercial value
of native trees America has decided ad-
vantage over Europe, where intensive for
estrY is paying we'll. American corpora
tions and longtime investors, as well as
the provident farmer, must go deeper in
to forestry to reap full reward"
Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, and
Mississippi are better acquainted with
their forests by reason of forest surveys
conducted in cooperation with the Forest
Service. Taxation now the most difficult
problem in State forest work, is receiving
thoughtful attention.
"The New York State nurseries in
April and May, 1907, contained 549, ,450
four-year-old transplants of white pine,
Scocth pine, Norway pine, Norway spruce,
and European larch, ready for planting.
In addition, an importation has been
made from Germany to complete an even
million trees, to be set out this spring. A
crew of 100 men, under the charge of two
professional foresters, will do the work.
A 10-acre nursery will be established in
central New York for propagating
stock. for free distribution and to furnish
shade trees for the good-roads system. A
new feature is the creation of patrol oI
the Adirondack railroads during the
spring months. This contemplates .
force of 100 men, distributed along the
steep railroad grades and at places in the
forest where conditions are the mos
dangerous. This railroad patrol is entire
ly separate from the fre-warden system
the patrols being paid directly from thu
Albany Office. At the end of the veal
flle railroads refund-half the expenses.
During the summer Of 1907 seed-spot sow
ing was carried on, and a field expert
ment station started. Fifteen species o
seeds have been planted in various ways
The most hopeful experiment is one II
which seed is dropped on the unbrokeI
ground at 5-foot intervals and the seed a
each spot covered with sand. Western vel
low pine seed planted this trees way pro
duced nnearly every spot. An experiment
was made with white pine, by putting {
handful Of black muck on the unbroker
ground, placing few seeds on the muck
and covering the seed with sand.
During the past year New Jersey hal
developed definite policy. The fores
commission is actively working for tht
betterment of the woodlands of the State
to establish values in forest lands, to max,
them continuously productive. The Stat,
contains numerous forest areas Of consid
erable size, but for the most part th,
work concerns itself with the intensiy,
management of woodlots for the produc
tion of ties and lumber for nearby mar
kets. During the one year Of its opera
ton the fire service has succeeded in re
ducing the acreage burned and the dam
age done to woodlands to less than one
tenth that of any former year. This ha
already affected favorably the marke
price Of forest property. The commits
sion has acquired about 1900 acres 3