Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1908-11-18
CONSERVATION OF FORESTS.
Enormous Destruction Of American Forests
Demand Strict Measures Of Conserva.
tiOn.

I'VE are now cutting timber from
the forests of the United States at a
rate of 500 feet board measure year
for every man, woman, and child. In
Europe they use only 60 board feet"
Few statements could be made which
would better convince the average man
that this country leads the world in
the demand for timber. 1t is made bv
Treadwell Cleveland. Jr., in circu-
lar which treats of the conservation
OF the forests, soil, water, and all
other great natural resources, which
has just been published by the United
States Service. In speaking further
OF the consumption of timber in this
country, Mr.. Cleveland. says:
=" At this rate, in less than thirty
years all our remaining virgin timber
will be cut. Meantime, the forests
which have been cut over are general
ly in bad way for want of care they
will produce only inferior second
growth. We are clearly over the verge
or timber famine.
This is not due to necessity, for
the forests are one of the renewable
resources. Rightly used, they go on
producing crop after crop indefinitely.
The countries OF Europe know this,
and Japan knows it; and their forests
are becoming with timber not less.
but more productive. We probably
still possess sufficient forest land to
grow wood enough at home to supply
our own neeus. Ii we are not blind
or willfully wasteful, we may yet pre-.
serv our forest independence aud,
with it. the fourth of our great indus
cries Present wastes in lumber pro-
duction are enormous. Take the case
of yellow pine. which now heads the
list in the volume of annual cut In
1907 it is estimated that only one half
of all the yellow pine cut during the
season was used. and that the other
half, amounting to 5000, 900 cords.
was wasted. Such waste is typical.
Mr.. r. A. Long, in his address on
Forest Conservation at the Confer.
ance of Governors last spring, pointed
out that 20 per cent of the yellow pine
was simply left in the woods-a waste
which represents the timber growing
OIL 800. 600 acres. The rest of the
waste takes place at the mill. OF
course. it would never do to speak of
the material rejected at the mill as
waste unless this material could be
turned to use by some better and more
thorough form of utilization. But in
many cases we know. and in many
other cases we have excellent reason
TO believe, that most, If not all. of
this material could be used with pro-
fit. 1t is simply a question of intel
ligence investigation and. more than
all, of having the will to economize.
But there are other ways to conserve
the forests besides cutting in half
he present waste of forest products.
The forests can be made to produce
three or fonr times as rapidly as they
do at present This is true of both
the virgin forests and the cut-over
lands. Virgin forests are fully stock.
ed with first class timber, hut this
stock has been laid in very slowly, on
account of the wasteful competition
which is carried on constantly be.
tween the rival trees. Then, too,
in the virgin forests there are many
trees which have reaced maturity and
stopped growi z. and these occupy
space which. if held by younger trees.
would be LAYING in a new stock con-
stantly. AS regards the cut-over land,
severe cutting, followed by fire, has
checked growth so seriously that in
most cases reproduction is both poor
and slow. while in many other cases
there is no true forests reproduction
at all at present. and there is but lit
tle hope for the future.