The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1908-10-02
need OF FOREST
PRESERVATION
Great Advance Made by De-
partmeEt of Agriculture.
South Produces Strongest Struc-
ursl Timber In The
World.

dIDOok VI tNe bcidI'iltii" vi Lb'.-
culture for 1907, forestry Las ad-
vanced IN this coua,ry from an Amos
unnowkn sc.eL(o 20 = usefu- growing
profession. IN L at tine the number
of technically trained foresleIs has in
creased from, less Il an y Gu.en TO over
400. Zen years ago uei" was rot n
single forest school III i.e Coua'ry;
now there are several Professional lor-
est schools which rank with those of
Europe, and a score more with course
in elementary forestry whose useful
ness is steadily growing. Forest lands
under management have grown from
one or two tracts to many aggregating
1903 900 acres scattered through 3S
States. Tire National Forests have in
creased from 100000 acres. prac-
tically unused and unprotected, 10
165, 900 acres, used, guarded, and
improved both in productiveness and
accessibility. The number of States
ed from / to 10; and of those which
employ trained foresters from none
to IL. The membership of forest as
sociations has increased from $500 TO
$500. Ten years ago, except for
few of the foremost botanists, Europe;
foresters knew more about American
forests than did the people of this
country. In Europe they were then
using preservation to prolong the SER
vice of beech ties, and so adding from
twenty TO forty years TO their life Her
on the other hand, scarcely a treat
ed tie mad been laid though there are
now 60 treating plants, q of which treat
ties exclusively, and an engineer VINO
recently returned from Europe re-
ports that both in size and mechani-
cal perfection the treating equipment
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, Immediately and vigorous,
must be taken if the inevitable family
of wood supplies is TO be lessened.
We are now using as much wood in a
single year as grows in three with
only twenty years supply OF virgin
growth in sight Only the application
of forest knowledge with wisdom,
method, and energy in the next ten
years can prevent the starving of Ma
tional industries for lack OF wood"
Recent test on structural timbers,
loblol.y, lonleaf, and Norway pines.
tamarack, for the eastern United
States and Douglas fir and western
hemlock for the western, have shown
longleaf pine to be tine strongest and
stiffest of the timbers mentioned, with
Douglas fir a close second, while west
ern hemlock, loblolly pine, tamarack,
and Norway pine follow in the order
given. Fortunately, Douglas fir west
ern hemlock, of which there are COM
paratively large supplies, have high
structural merit, as has also loblo.ly
pine, the principal tree in the opera
tons of the southern lumber companies
which are beginning To look upon
their forest holdings as part of their
capital from which successive crops
should be secured.
plans have been made for Florid
tract, which involves the most extern
sive replanting every begun in the
South. The lands, situated in Mar
ion and Citrus counties include 1900
acres of sandy brush and grass COW
cred land, which it will be necessary to
restock by artificial means. Long leaf
pine seed will be sown in spots as a
means of accomplishing this"
Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, and
Mississippi are better acquainted with
their forest resources by reason of
forest surveys conducted in co-opera-
ton with the Forest Service. Taxa |
tion now the most difficult problem in
State forest work is receiving thought
full attention.
During the year the State of Ala
bama created a forest commission,
which has been organized and has be-
gun work. OF especial importance is
the clause which provides for exemp-
ton from taxation for ten years of
small areas which bear a young and
growing stand of timber, provided the
land is protected from forest fires. Bull
letin /, Forestry and Forest Preserva- /
tion in Alabama has already been is
sued by the commission.
"Georgia's interest in forestry is |
manifest in the advancement of the
course In forestry in the State universe |
ty to department, and in systematic !
work by the newly formed /
State forest association, which issues
a publication, Southern Woodlands
The result of a study of Georgias
forest resources, with maps has been